Harmon Oakwood Wood stove

I have been burning with an Oakwood for two seasons and I love the stove. There definately is a learning curve though. You will find that as with most new stoves a heavy coal bed and temps in the 600 range are required before engaging the secondary burn. I can load the stove at 10PMish and have very good coals at 6AMish. I have seen good 10 to 12 hour burn times as well. The top load is very nice and I hardly use the front door once I am burning 24/7. I also purchased the optional cooking grill which cooks a means ribeye with little or no mess. Just for comparison I am heating a 32X24 log home that is very much open concept and we usually end up cracking a couple windows from time to time. We are in Maine so the climate here can be pretty cold and snowy with temps in the teens all winter.

Hope this helps.

I just installed an oakwood last week and am having a lot of problems with the glass being very dirty. I realize it will need cleaned periodicly, but after burning it for jsut a couple of nights it is completely black. Is this what I should expect or am I doing something wrong.

JELIII said:

I just installed an oakwood last week and am having a lot of problems with the glass being very dirty. I realize it will need cleaned periodicly, but after burning it for jsut a couple of nights it is completely black. Is this what I should expect or am I doing something wrong.

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How dry is your wood, and how hot are you getting the stove before you close the damper?

The wood is what I would consider pretty dry - it has been down and split, and under cover for over a year. I fear after reading some other posts I may have shut it down before I had it hot enough. In the manual they indicate that a hot fire will clear the glass. I thought I had the stove fairly hot, but the glass is still black. I don't have a thermometer on the stove to give you a temp. I have seen mention of specific temperatures, but when i get a thermometer where should I put it?

I have my thermometer on top right behind the top door hinge. When I start a fire, it doesn't take long to get to 600 with the primary air wide open. I shut that down, but not the bypass, as it takes a good while to get a coal bed going. If I feel the stove is getting too hot (near 700) before the coal bed is established, I may close the bypass for a few minutes to slow the fire. I find the initial 30-60 minutes of burning requires smaller splits/branches that will readily burn down to coals. If you toss big splits on right away and close the damper, your secondary burn will stall.
Once this stove gets cranking, it cranks. The burn is long and hot and clean (cruising around 500). But it is not a great stove for when temps are, say, in the 40s. In the dead of winter it is great. So expect some time to perfect your technique. Try different air settings, and go outside to see if your stack is smoking with the bypass closed. When I started burning I thought the secondary was good, but I'd walk out and see thick smoke. Took a while to get it, but if you see no smoke the stove is running right. The better it's running, the cleaner your glass will stay. Mine often gets a bit cloudy, but anytime it gets black it burns off once the fire is good.

Does anyone have experience with the outside air supply feature. I am considering this to eliminate the smoke smell when burning slow that I think may be caused by my central return duct being located too close to the stove. I can obviously turn off the fan, but then I don't get the distribution of warm air throughout the house. How is the air supply controlled with this kit.