Harman Stove info for new users.

I thought that I would post this for Harman Fire dome users to read due to the fact that this stove is surprisingly lacking in good info. Here is what I found works very well so far providing you have good dry wood and kindling. This is a repost and I apologize to the Moderators but this needs to be put up so people like me can start with a heads up list.

Setup
Make sure you follow the guide lines the most important of which 17 ft chimney. If you have problems getting it to stay lit you can put an outside air kit in which will improve the draft by taking all the air from outside the house. In well insulated homes the air will not come in through cracks like it does on my uninsulated 1800's home which means you will need to provide air from outside (this is also a safety issue for you the home owner lack of oxygen = death). You can also crack a window in your room some where to provide air the stove more than compensates for the cold.

First off this stove is amazing now that I have learned a few tricks with it here is what I know so far.
1) When lighting from a cold start take your time and burn down a lot of kindling first.
2) when you scoop your ashes around don’t use a shovel use a fire poker, this will prevent you from breaking apart hot coals that could otherwise still provide a hot bead.
3) Scoop them to the front and sides then replace them even around the box.
4) In order to start a new fire on hot coals put a couple of pieces of kindling on the bottom letting them burn with the damper open until the stove reaches 500. (Stove not Pipe temp) Get a surface thermometer and put it on the top load door in the center.
5) Then put a load in and let that burn until its burning well.
6) Shut the damper and leave it on high for about 15 minutes then turn it to where you want and walk away.
It should be noted but they only tell you in one video on the harman web site that you can shut the damper then wait about ten minutes and the smoke should vanish. When I follow these steps it usually vanishes
within 5 minutes. My cruising stove top temps are around 450 to 550 if I hit 400 I usually dial it up a little, also I don’t care if people tell you not to get a probe thermometer for your chimney it is vital with this stove! The flue can get very hot very fast and you need to figure out where to set the air control in order to stay under 900 for your safety. This will hopefully help new users learn to burn the beast it throws very good heat and burns forever! This is really not that time consuming once you understand how to lite it however I really do recommend taking a weekend to learn it before you lite it the first time. This stove makes cracking popping noises that is normal it is the afterburner housing at work and is kind of homely once you get used to it.

Good luck to all
Pete

Troutchaser

I run around 450 with a fresh load and 550 when it burns down the flue usually is around 650 to 700.

Dill
I use can usually get a god coal bed in about an hour with kindling however thats using a lot of kindling.

Pete

Additional info for you guys:
This stove does not like soft wood even if it is dried properly, smoke can be the enemy of this stove. I was burning a little 2 year old soft maple as a test and man it would not quit smoking as soon as I put a fresh hard wood load the smoke quite . Another trick is to get the flu to 800 on a hot bed of coal then turn the stove to half air and the smoke quits almost every time.

Pete

Seasoned Oak that is possible but it has been split dried for two years on most of it. Our old stove burned it fine without smoke so I am thinking the new one doesnt like it or possibly its too dry.

Pete

Hmm what temp do you shut your bypass at ? I have to play with the stack at times to get the smoke to stop ( not often ). Today I tried shutting the bypass stove top was 550 flu was 800 and had about 4 inches of hot coal bed. I wonder if my draft is still wonkey! That was a real problem at times with the old stove sometimes it was awesome other times it was usless depending on the wind.

Pete

Ok so I have had my tl300 for a while now and absalutly love it ! I installed an oak kit last week and man what a difference it makes even in my very drafty home I have discovered it didn't get enouph air. This stove uses an enormous amount of air because of it size and it can cause strange problems if it isn't getting enouph air. One of my problems was the left side of the cumbustor was not getting enouph heat and took about 10 minutes longer than the right to heat up. Give it about 20 minutes and whoosh they both go from a cold start with dry wood! I had improper draft and didn't realize it until the oak was installed so I played with my chimney height for two days and found 16ft exact was just right ( it was 17 ). Now this stove has a coal bed two days after the last load that's rediculas I just throw some small splits in every morning and build a fire from there. I havnt needed a fire starter in a week ! Last night got to 12f and the house was 71f when we went to bed when we got up it was 65f but I will have the house back to 70 in about 30 minutes. I hope this helps somebody this stove is very nice and it really gets a bum rap for being down draft.

Pete

The optimal chimney height is not the same as real world it all depends on your location for example height above or below sea level surrounding trees buildings and so on. I am at a heigher elevation for my area but a tall roof and trees also is next to my house 16ft is good because it is roughly 1ft above the taller roof and vents properly. Some homes with high wind can get away with lower chimney heights some with low wind can have taller chimney heights and so on. It's like a huge brain teaser that took me forever to figure out lol

Pete

Randy did you order them from your dealer or strait from Harman ? My wife would love the fireplace screen in the spring and fall!

Thanks
Pete

Ok thanks guess I have to call the dealer lol

Pete