Harman Oakwood installation

[nelraq]

Hello! This is my first post. I have been heating with wood for many years; and have "been there/done that". I've run lots of different wood stoves as well as a masonary heater and an outdoor boiler. My favourite - by leaps and bounds - was the masonary heater - but couldn't take it with me when I moved!

I've been running a PE Sprectum classic for the last couple of years. It's been a pretty good stove, but recently decided to "upgrade" to a good looking 100% cast iron stove. I've narrowed the field down to the Hampton, the Oslo and the Harman Oakwood. I actually like the looks of the Harman the best, but the clearances from the stove to the backwall are much larger than the others.

Finally, my question for you folks! The listed stove to wall clearance with the factory heat shield is 13". After lots of enquiries to local inspectors/WETT certified techs, I am permitted to further reduce the clearance by building a heatshield that attaches to the wall. This will enable me to install the stove 6.5 inches from the wall.

I've noted from the Oakwood reviews and other comments that the stove releases a huge amount of heat from the back. Will this double heat shielding be adequate/safe?

I do have a couple more questions about the Oakwood, but will post them later!

 

[branchburner]

As for safety, I will yield to the WETT men or others with more install and heat shield experience. Try finding the opinions of a few Harman dealers/installers (MountainStoveGuy maybe?). As for practicality, I think the more space you have to circulate air behind the Oakwood the better, but a fan can help. Since the secondary burn chamber is in the rear of the stove, it radiates much heat from the back as well as the top and front. My stove sits in front of a fireplace, so I have a fan blowing cool floor air to back of the hearth to bring that heat out.

 

[unhappy]

Looking for temp information on the Harman Oakwood. What should the flue and top stove temp be when in the after-burn mode?

 

[branchburner]

Looking for temp information on the Harman Oakwood. What should the flue and top stove temp be when in the after-burn mode?

I do stove top temp only - after a cold start I usually hit between 600-650+ before closing the bypass, maybe a half-hour up to an hour to get some coals first. Once in after-burn mode I usually see 450-550 depending on wood type and how much primary air I give it.

 

[unhappy]

Thank you for the info. The Oakwood is real diffrent from our previous steel stove.....we are not yet comfortable with how hot the Oakwood likes to run at. Our stove sits with the rear corners 18" away from our cast stone wall and I am shocked at how hot the wall gets.....to hot to keep your hand on when the stove is running with the stove top temp around 500-550. We live in North Dakota and wanted a work horse and we got it! The Oakwood will keep our house at 73 with the outside temp at 0. We have noticed that the flue temp drops alot when you kick in the after burn.....is that normal? I watch our temp gage on the flue and get nervous when it reads around 200 in the (creosote range). The Oakwood has been a nervous learning curve for us we are burning Ash,Elm and some Boxelder that was cut and stacked early last spring. I really appreciate Harth.com this helps with our learning curve...........thanks for your help and info.