Harman XL Hearth Hero?

I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of a Harman XL Hearth Hero coal/wood stove. I have not been able to find any information on this model online and am hoping that someone in this forum might know somehting about it. I am in the process of converting from oil heat to coal and have an opportunity to purchase a used Harman XL Hearth Hero but am not sure if it will fit my needs as I can't find any info on it and the owners do not have any either as they came to own it through purchasing the house it is installed in. They believe the original owners purchased the stove in or around 1984 but nothing more is known.

Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Mary-

Take a digital photo or two of it and post the photos here,, a photo of the grates, ashpan and door, and firebox will help.

Compare the appearance, features and size to the Harman insert and hearth models on their website..

Does this unit have shaker grates with an external handle? and a separate door for the ashpan??

Or is it equiped with an electric coal feeding mechanism [a stoker] and has a coal hopper to pour coal into to feed the stoker??

Greg L

I went into the archived stove manuals on the dealer side of the Harman site and there is no reference to an XL Hearth Hero. As Greg said post a photo someone should be able to help.

NHGal wrote:I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of a Harman XL Hearth Hero coal/wood stove. I have not been able to find any information on this model online and am hoping that someone in this forum might know somehting about it. I am in the process of converting from oil heat to coal and have an opportunity to purchase a used Harman XL Hearth Hero but am not sure if it will fit my needs as I can't find any info on it and the owners do not have any either as they came to own it through purchasing the house it is installed in. They believe the original owners purchased the stove in or around 1984 but nothing more is known.

Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Mary-

The Harman Hero was Made before the Mark 1 2 3 in the early 80's I think 1979 or 1980 When Dane Harman first opened
the door's on the company They where wood and coal combo stoves My friend has one it is the same size as the Mark I But has No Glass in the door soild door with two air contol knobs and one knob on the ash door It has a side shaker handel The Hero are Just like the Magnafire series Mark I II II But do not have Glass doors and are soild doors with draft control knobs on them for burning wood over the fire air when burning coal close them and use the knob on the ash door
You can keep the knobs on the door cracked a little to leave the air carry the coal gases up the flue Pipe on fresh reloads
of coal so you don't have a coal gas blow back when you open the door but that Takes out all of the Fun on burning a hand feed stove Most Harman dealer's don't know anything about the Hero Series Unless they where a dealer from the beginning when Harman started in 1979 Or You could call Harman Themselves Good luck on That

Thats good information Coal Berner, I searched the Harman site on the restricted dealer side and they make no mention of it. Must have been made while Dean was still working in his garage They have a number of manuals from discontineued stoves but no Hero

Steve My Friends Hero Has the Harman metal Tag on the back well it was on the back it fell off but he still has it It was
Glued on Anyway it says Harman Stove company Made 4/82 He called all of the Harman dealers in the area Nunn of them
ever head of the Hero one of the dealers gave him The Main Harman Number he called it It Took them a little time but
they told him about it and sent a Photo copy of the Papers they still had They where the first wood & coal Models they
made His is the same size as a Mark I But with a solid Door With the two air control Knobs on it & one on ash door It also has the blower Fan on it 6" Rear Flue He won't give it up Heats his 1400 sq ft split level very well to well he always opens the windows up on the second floor two to three shovels of coal a day holds 40lbs Three Tons a winter They are Nice little stoves

Moving this topic to the hand feed forum

Greg L

Thank you Coal Berner and everyone! That information is a huge help to me. It sounds like the stove would be able to heat my little cape quite well. I am sure I will be back with more questions down the line and am glad I found a group of folks so knowledgable about coal stoves. It makes the task of changing over my heating system a little less daunting. Thanks again!!

Hello Everyone:

We have purchased the XL Hearth Hero. It was a 1984 model and came with all of it's original paperwork from Harman and the dealer who sold it. The stove is in very good condition especially considering it was bought in 1984 and received little maintenance as far as I can tell but it also seems to have had little use.

Next step is to install the stove in the basement and try it out. We are installing a chimney that will handle wood or coal as the stove also burns wood and once the chimney is in we will fire the stove up. The idea of adding a hot water coil has crossed our minds but we are not 100% on that yet.

Anyway, thank you to all of you for your help. i am sure I will be asking for more guidance once we get the stove hooked up and are ready to burn.

Many thanks!!