Harman P61 or Magnum Coal

[HarryBack]

With the temperature drops below zero happening, it brings up some of the shortcomings of my current stove. The Thelin Parlor Pellet can barely keep my basement - concrete - 1300sq ft - open floor plan - no insulation - at 64 degrees with stove at full tilt.

I was considering the following options - Harman P61 or the Magnum Coal Stoker. I don't want to consider wood due to the maintenance, constant adding of fuel, and being away from the house 8 - 10hrs a day(the fire would go out and the dogs who are in the basement would freeze). I was originally considering the Mt Vernon, but have a Castille on my first floor and I am not overly thrilled with the performance and quirks of this line or product.

I have made some incremental investments within the past year on the basement stove, and want to make a final investment that will last me numerous years. They are both in the $2700 price range, so price isn't a determining factor. I don't want to buy one of these and a year later kick myself for not buying the other as it performs better under adverse conditions.

Hi, i have a p61 and i heat approximately 2000 sq feet , 700 in the basement and 1450 first floor . and it a hard time keeping the house at 65 degrees , i would consider the p68 or the magnum coal stoker .The meg. has more btu's + you can run a duct from it . good luck

If the p61 cant heat the home, I seriously doubt the p68 will do a much better job at only 7,000 but/hr more capacity. The Mag Stoker has quite a bit more capacity, but would of course require a chimney.....and yes, yoc an run a duct to the top of the mag stoker as well....has a 6" cutout there.

 

[mgambuzza]

With the temperature drops below zero happening, it brings up some of the shortcomings of my current stove. The Thelin Parlor Pellet can barely keep my basement - concrete - 1300sq ft - open floor plan - no insulation - at 64 degrees with stove at full tilt.

I was considering the following options - Harman P61 or the Magnum Coal Stoker. I don't want to consider wood due to the maintenance, constant adding of fuel, and being away from the house 8 - 10hrs a day(the fire would go out and the dogs who are in the basement would freeze). I was originally considering the Mt Vernon, but have a Castille on my first floor and I am not overly thrilled with the performance and quirks of this line or product.

I have made some incremental investments within the past year on the basement stove, and want to make a final investment that will last me numerous years. They are both in the $2700 price range, so price isn't a determining factor. I don't want to buy one of these and a year later kick myself for not buying the other as it performs better under adverse conditions.

Hi, i have a p61 and i heat approximately 2000 sq feet , 700 in the basement and 1450 first floor . and it a hard time keeping the house at 65 degrees , i would consider the p68 or the magnum coal stoker .The meg. has more btu's + you can run a duct from it . good luck

If the p61 cant heat the home, I seriously doubt the p68 will do a much better job at only 7,000 but/hr more capacity. The Mag Stoker has quite a bit more capacity, but would of course require a chimney.....and yes, yoc an run a duct to the top of the mag stoker as well....has a 6" cutout there.

Thank you all for the input!

To date - the P61 has been running like a champ. The couple of cold spots that have plunged below zero have proven to be of no problem for this new stove. We can run consistently in the mid 70s (we even overshot one day - took a nap after adjusting the temp and woke up in the 80s) so this stove was an excellent choice. I'll post the story behind sneaking this one in the house when I have a little more time.....

 

[jjbaer]

...all this because I wanted to see if anyone had opinions - good and bad - between the coal and pellet product...

Its unfortunate that between all the posts all I got was 1 or 2 opinions on either of the stoves that I inquired about in the first place...

I don't believe your post is applicable......you see, you bought your stove on 9 March, long BEFORE any of these "bickering" posts were made............so your comment that "all I got was 1 or 2 opinions" has nothing to do with all the other posts because they occurred AFTER you bought your stove. Did I miss something here?

 

[alfio]

With the temperature drops below zero happening, it brings up some of the shortcomings of my current stove. The Thelin Parlor Pellet can barely keep my basement - concrete - 1300sq ft - open floor plan - no insulation - at 64 degrees with stove at full tilt.

I was considering the following options - Harman P61 or the Magnum Coal Stoker. I don't want to consider wood due to the maintenance, constant adding of fuel, and being away from the house 8 - 10hrs a day(the fire would go out and the dogs who are in the basement would freeze). I was originally considering the Mt Vernon, but have a Castille on my first floor and I am not overly thrilled with the performance and quirks of this line or product.

I have made some incremental investments within the past year on the basement stove, and want to make a final investment that will last me numerous years. They are both in the $2700 price range, so price isn't a determining factor. I don't want to buy one of these and a year later kick myself for not buying the other as it performs better under adverse conditions.

Hi i didn't realize that all you trying to heat was 1300 sqr feet or i would have told you that the p61 would fine for that . The only reason i have a hard time heating with mine is because i'm heating from the basement . other then that the stove works grate not a problems with it going on 5 years know .

 

[GVA]

Cast what kind of stove do you own?
Just wondering :-/

Mellow out will ya. :blank:

 

[Corie]

Mellow out will ya. :blank:

Seriously.

 

[mgambuzza]

...all this because I wanted to see if anyone had opinions - good and bad - between the coal and pellet product...

Its unfortunate that between all the posts all I got was 1 or 2 opinions on either of the stoves that I inquired about in the first place...

I don't believe your post is applicable......you see, you bought your stove on 9 March, long BEFORE any of these "bickering" posts were made............so your comment that "all I got was 1 or 2 opinions" has nothing to do with all the other posts because they occurred AFTER you bought your stove. Did I miss something here?

One of the greatest assets of this site is the research value from honest, experienced, and knowledgeable individuals especially in the area of biomass burning. I believe many will agree that there are a wide variety of hearth shops - some that are good, bad, and ugly (in background, experience, and service). This site is invaluable since besides the rating of a dealer, the next most valuable item is the opinion of the consumers who have purchased, used, and experienced the various pellet models that are available. Their experiences, reviews, and troubleshooting skills sometimes exceed the talents of some local shops.

It was for this reason I inquired between the two stoves - same manufacturer - different fuels. I stated in my initial posting that I have had Thelin, Quadrafire, and after considerable debate, was going to go to one of the two Harman models. Not only was I hoping to get some good information on either stove (reliability, durability, heat values, maintenance, and long term value), but I was also inquiring knowing others who would read this post down the road would also appreciate the varying opinions of the many on this site.

Although I appreciate the negative opinion/experience of the one individual, I was also hoping for a number of opinions that were pro/con/coal/pellet with advantages/disadvantages of each technology and Harman stove model. People who may be interested in the initial post title may become discouraged with the content and disregard the post altogether due to the chronic bantering. Yes I did purchase the stove on the 9th - well before the surge, but I still go through the many posts with an eye to the next "great" potential upgrade.

Again thanks to all who make Hearth.com such a great site! Your contributions provide all with an invaluable resource when researching all types of stoves - wood, pellet, coal. Keep up the great work!