What Brand of Stoker Stove is Best

I am looking to burn coal this year and have decided that a stoker is the way to go. Every stoke manuf. says their stove is the best. Who is telling the truth? I am leaning towards Harmon DVC-500. I live in the Adirondack region of NYS. Everyone burns wood or #2 oil, so I dont have any local folks who can give me much insight. Any help for a novice would be appreicated.

"Best" is subjective. You need to get the appliance that fits your needs, budget , circumstances etc. If you buy one from any of the manufactures here in PA that have been making them for decades or in some cases better than half a century then you won't have any complaints. They are all well made and built to last.

The biggest problem you will have with getting any answer to this question is no one is going to tell you they bought a piece of junk. You may get some responses where they wish they made a different purchase but that really comes down to making a poor decision as opposed to not getting the "Best".

I think you best bet is to just read some threads here &, like Richard said, you can't go to far wrong sticking with the major brands most members like here. I would avoid going to the Big Box home improvement stores or even your local hardware store. You may find a good stove there but odds are much better with a the appliances you'll find people here like. Harman is a great name as are Alaska, Keystoker & many others.

Advanced Energy Systems P.O. Box 680 Warrensburg 12885 (518) 623-2090

This man has used quality stokers. He is in your vicinity.

Thanks for all the insights (and especially the contact info for Warrensburg). I know "best" is subjective, just being out of an area where coal (and support) is common, I want to get a very sturdy, well built appliance.

Another good stove is Leisure line , the one thing that it has that the others don't is the control-a-tron.
That is a very nice device that allows you to just set a thermostat in the room where the stove is for the room temp you want (like 70 degrees) and the control-a-tron will adjust the stove automaticly.

I have read that owners of other stoves buy the control-a-tron and try to adapt it to their stove, so that tells you it must be a good idea.

Another thing the leisure line has and it is a brand new option is automatic ignition. They install a electric element in the stove and when you want to light the stove you just push a button.

here is a link to one site( just google and you will get lots more):
http://www.valleystoveandfireplace.com/Products.html

P.S. make sure you have a supplier of rice coal in your area before you buy a stove.

The best is EFM. I can't think of a better built unit on the market today for any price. I also think Chevy trucks are the best and Pepsi is the best cola, and Ski-Doo makes the best snowmobiles and Honda makes the best motorcycles. If it is made in Pennsylvania it is good, if it's made in China forget about it.

e.alleg wrote:The best is EFM. I can't think of a better built unit on the market today for any price. I also think Chevy trucks are the best and Pepsi is the best cola, and Ski-Doo makes the best snowmobiles and Honda makes the best motorcycles. If it is made in Pennsylvania it is good, if it's made in China forget about it.

Axeman-Anderson, Dodge trucks, Coke, Arctic Cat, and BMW of course I do agree about being made in PA is good!

everyone has there opinion of what is THE BEST!richards advice is straight up.buy what you can afford that meets your needs and find a supplier for coal.any one of the stokers that you read about here will heat you house well and should last for many years with some basic upkeep.good luck deciding and keep reading the posts here lots of good advice from helpful people

I've been trying to figure out what brand stoker to buy. I found that most dealers says their brand is better than others. It seemed impossible to sort out the objective information from bias. So, I decided to talk to dealers that sold more than one brand as I thought they would be more likely to give the PROs and CONs of each stove. One dealer I talked to sells: Reading, LeisureLine, Alaska , Hitzer and Keystoker. He had all brands in stock, and openly said that of the brands he sells, Keystoker is the most efficient and the best quality stove. Surprisingly, he wasn't very high on LeisureLine. When I asked about the coal-trol thermostat, he said great device,but it was needed on the LeisureLine stoves. He felt that the coal-trol was how LeisureLine turned a "very inefficient" stove into a somewhat tolerable one. His opinion of Alaska stoves surprised me. I originally had thought about the Alaska Channing III, which he had in stock for $1550, but he cautioned me that "you get what you pay for". He felt the burner design on the channing was not efficient and said that they used more coal than other stoves . If someone was only looking at price, the Channing IIIs were a good deal. In the end, I bought a Keystoker DV90 that he had leftover from last year. It seems that Keystoker was one of the few brands that most people/dealers agreed were high quality. I guess only time will tell.....

I think your dealer was playing salesman... he wanted to sell the Keystoker... the only comment that you wrote that rings true is the comment on the older alaska models, with the early triburner design stoker units..

LeisureLine units are very efficient even without the coal trol,, I've burnt in one,, they are a fine product.. the Keystoker is a good unit, the Alaska is a good unit,, the only one I'd stay away from at retail prices is a Reading...

But all is well, you bought a good stove,, he must have wanted to move that last-years floor model.. I can't understand his comments..

Read this forum's threads on the various makes and models, there really are not any bad units..

Greg L

the only comment that you wrote that rings true is the comment on the older alaska models, with the early triburner design stoker units..

Greg, I'm only slightly offended! My Tri-Burner is still working perfectly, supplying hot water. Just Kidding, of course! I can't comment on anything else since it's the only design I have first hand experience with.

Greg, I agree he probably was pushing the leftover. I hadn't heard negative comments about LeisureLine from other dealers. However, I did get pretty consistent Channing III comments (uses more coal, loud motor, great price). I didn't hear any negatives about Reading stoves (which surprised me because the aren't well thought of on the forum). Anyway, I got a good price on the Keystoker, so I hope it works out.

Dans58 wrote:When I asked about the coal-trol thermostat, he said great device,but it was needed on the LeisureLine stoves. He felt that the coal-trol was how LeisureLine turned a "very inefficient" stove into a somewhat tolerable one.

You need to separate the two. The coal-trol will not improve the efficiency of the stove itself. It's going to output X amount of BTU's at a constant setting. What the coal-trol does is improve the efficiency of how it operates preventing overshhoots and other things. Any stove would benefit from this.

I've seen Jerry mention 85% efficiency which is outstanding, you could make it 100% efficient but that's not going to help matters when everyone is dead from CO poisoning.

Edit: I think i have pretty good analogy, take computer fans for instance. Your typical fan a few years ago ran at a constant speed whether the part it was cooling needed it or not. Today most will ramp up or down as needed which has at least two benefits reducing noise and the amount of dust passed through the case.

patrickhanss wrote:I am looking to burn coal this year and have decided that a stoker is the way to go. Every stoke manuf. says their stove is the best. Who is telling the truth? I am leaning towards Harmon DVC-500. I live in the Adirondack region of NYS. Everyone burns wood or #2 oil, so I dont have any local folks who can give me much insight. Any help for a novice would be appreicated.

Don't feel alone, I drove through Warrensberg twice today chasing U-Haul trucks. Lake Champlain coal in Whitehall will deliver to Warrensberg and there are a lot of us up here that burn coal along with wood, tires, furniture, Ha Ha just kidding. Just because you live in the wildes of NY don't feel left out.

Steve...........Crown Point, NY