harmon magnum stoker inverter

good morning everyone,

can a harmon magnum stoker be operated during a power failure using a 'modified sine wave' inverter without any damage to the control unit, blowers, or motors?

or is a 'pure sine wave' inverter necessary?

i already have a 'husky brand' 400 watt MSF inverter and would like to know if anyone has any input on battery backup for this stove.

thanks to all!

tom

I would not use a 'modified' sine wave inverter on any device with microprocessors in it. Almost guarantees failure.

-- Mike

thanks for the reply mike, but most mid-range ups backups for pc's use a stepped approximation sine wave, which for all practical purposes is a modified sine wave output, and every pc has a microprocessor. i wish harmon stoves had a contact # for inquiries, but i can't find it. the dealer sells an inverter for the stove, but it's way overpriced, but is most likely a MSW inverter. i'll have to go to the store to inspect the unit they offer.

regards,
tom

Tom,

No problem. I was just speaking from some experiences my group has had with small gensets that used modified sine wave inverters. We used them to supply emergency power to HF radios in emergency situations. Interestingly, the processors on 2 of the radios failed. After the engineers examined the system, they declared that we should stop using that genset, an use a true sine wave generator. Apparently the processors were not designed to see a modified square wave... who knew. We have used a new genset for the past few years without incident. PC inverter backups run off batteries, probably will also give you a more steady backup than a generator anyways, even with the voltage regulator.

Just trying to help you out. Let me know what you hear from Harman, if you can get a hold of them.

-- Mike

mike,

i went to the stove store yesterday & asked to see the inverter harmon sells for the magnum stoker. it's a 'surefire 502' which harmon just slapped their name sticker on. the inverter nor the manual stated stated what type of inverter it was, but at the price of $501.00 i was certain it was a true sinewave model. i called up don rowe (don rowe inverters website) on the telephone when i got to work, and he looked up the surefire model 502...it's a MSW inverter. he was shocked at the price for a 450W model, even with a battery charger built in. he stated i could get a similar model at a home center for about $39.00. since i already have a 'husky 400W' model i purchased at home depot for $36.95 last week...i'm in business with watts to spare! go figure the outrageous mark-ups dealers are charging to unsuspecting patrons, most of whom would not know any better & buy it.

my stove will be delivered in a week, so i'm getting the flue ready in my lower level where my old 'federal' coal stove use to be 10 years ago, before i got rid of it. back then i decided to switch to a propane hot-air furnace since it was the 20th century (what am i doing heating with coal i asked myself?) & propane was $.75/gal. well, the propane furnace is disconnected & up for sale, and i'm looking forward to the constant heat my old coal stove provided. i have blowers in the floor registers above the stove & sometimes in the winter we'd have to open the windows a crack cause it was so hot. so history repeats itself, and what once was old, is new again...haha!

it was good talking to you!

regards,
tom

I also have a Harman Mag Stoker, will a 300 watt inverter(600 watt surge) run this stove till I get a chance to hook up the gennerator? Thanx Jimmy

i doubt it jimmy, with all 3 motors running i calculated the draw to be 380 watts. luckily MSW inverters are very reasonable in price, and my 400 watt husky was under $40 at home depot.

regards,
tom

thanks, off to the depot.