$2499. Harman Oakwood - Actual cost $5200.

[begreen]

Yes, the Oakwood is a downdraft. From the reports we have here it seems they are ok as long as the draft is within spec, wood is dry, splits are the right size, air is controlled properly and the moon is in the correct phase. It's not a stove I would recommend to someone new to woodburning, but for someone with a good setup and knows what they are doing they seem to work ok.

 

[Pallet Pete]

What kind of warranty issues were you guys having with the stove? I thought harman was a great stove? It gets real good reviews online from what I've read in the past few months.

I had a bad combuster from the factory in the rear of the stove. Harman on the phone told me to remove the back plate on the stove and inspect the combuster and call back. When I called back they said that because I had opened it the warranty was void and they could not / would not service it. After several more issues like that one I tried to return the stove which I will just say turned into a total nightmare as Harman said talk to the dealer and the dealer said talk to Harman. Short of going to court we sold it to a gentlemen who has a very good Harman dealer near him and got it fixed. He loves it ! The setup on the stove took us a long time to figure out because it was down draft as we discovered it has to be exactly right conditions or it burns like crap. We spent a lot on pipe and got almost 30 feet before it was properly burning. I can say it would go for days with a bed coal 2 to 3 days at a time ( No Joke ) but the service just wasn't there when we needed it.We ended up buying a Jotul after driving everyone on the forum nuts with questions . Jotul makes some darn good stoves and so far we have had great success with customer service.

 

[Dill]

I had issues with mine. I had to pull it apart and clean it every 3 or 4 cords. And I did have to replace it last year for 250 or 300 bucks, I'm sure the thread is floating around. The new design looked a lot better and wasn't as flimsy as the old one. I'm torn on how I like the oakwood. I really like a top load stove,but it did seem like a lot of heat was going out the back. The air control lever really didn't do much and the inlet would get clogged with dog hair.
However I really did the like the "one big lever approach", and I've never burned a stove with secondarys, the oakwood operated much like my old vigilant. The ash pan was good, if I remembered to empty it every 3 days. And the grill was damn awesome. I guess after I get a season with the f600 I'll let you know what I thought of the oakwood. It sold with my old house or I would have moved with it. But I wasn't about to go out and buy another.

 

[Woody Stover]

I see 30° elbow pipe on the quote,

$361 for that, and $268 for " 5-1/2' Tel section-black" Is there something I'm missing here or is that outrageous??
As far as the Oakwood, you might get more input by searching "Harman Oakwood" in this forum. I see that a few reviews have also been submitted:
https://www.hearth.com/ratings/search.php

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Looks like something you could handle yourself. Wood stoves are not rocket science. Plus you got this forum to ask questions. I love my harman TL-300 and no way will i part with it. If it needs service ill be the one to tear it apart and fix it. Stove works great in a variety of conditions. Not many wood stoves( If any) that burn as clean and as long and you can cook a couple steaks in and use it like an open fireplace. The Cadillac of non -cats.I have 2 other brands of non cat EPA stoves and i still like the harman the best and its the highest quality of the 3 IMO.

 

[Dill]

The big issue is the lack of help from Harman either on the phone or in the manual on the downdraft maintenance.
Thank god I found a good dealer for support.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Going on 5 years with my TL-300 ,no maintenance needed so far. Ran quite a few cords of soft wood and hard wood through this baby and it takes it all with ease. I even got rid of a few barrels of lathe boards (known to smoke like crazy) All burned clean. This year i plan to use the Internal roasting grill and the open fireplace feature more often.

 

[dylskee]

Well after visiting the Stove Place today i realized I have to put up a brick or stone hearth very similar to the one I removed to satisfy the inspector. I should have done my homework before I broke out the sledge hammer! If I can't get this done for a reasonable price I'm going to have to buy a pellet stove. After looking at the required clearances I can get away with a hearth pad on the floor and I don't have to brick the wall behind it so that would be an affordable option at this point, too bad because I really love that Oakwood stove! I have a neighbor who owns a chimney company giving me a price on the hearth and surround, his price will dictate my decision whether I go wood or pellets.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Pellets is like a imitation wood stove,go for the real McCoy. THere are way too many imitation wood fireplaces out there,most of them are electric(really a poor substitute)

 

[dylskee]

Pellets is like a imitation wood stove,go for the real McCoy. THere are way too many imitation wood fireplaces out there,most of them are electric(really a poor substitute)

Yeah I hear you man! I really want the wood stove but my funds are tight right now and the heating season is approaching fast. I was just thinking, If I have to I will get the hearth installed and throw my old stove back up there for this winter and get a new one in the spring. I didn't realize I could run my stove without the catalyst but it looks like I have been for the last few years anyway! I'm REALLY hoping to get the Oakwood for this season. Everyone is telling me "Get the pellet stove, no more wood to deal with" but I don't mind cutting and stacking wood and lugging it into the house. Nothing beats a nice warm wood fire on a cold winter day! But I have to heat the house with something other than oil this year because I'll go broke doing it.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Well after visiting the Stove Place today i realized I have to put up a brick or stone hearth very similar to the one I removed to satisfy the inspector. I should have done my homework before I broke out the sledge hammer! If I can't get this done for a reasonable price I'm going to have to buy a pellet stove. After looking at the required clearances I can get away with a hearth pad on the floor and I don't have to brick the wall behind it so that would be an affordable option at this point, too bad because I really love that Oakwood stove! I have a neighbor who owns a chimney company giving me a price on the hearth and surround, his price will dictate my decision whether I go wood or pellets.

What is your budget? Are you willing to go used? I'll help you out locating a used stove if the new stove is too pricey. If you go used, deals are out there, you just need to be flexible in terms of how far you are willing to drive.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Yeah I hear you man! I really want the wood stove but my funds are tight right now and the heating season is approaching fast. I was just thinking, If I have to I will get the hearth installed and throw my old stove back up there for this winter and get a new one in the spring. I didn't realize I could run my stove without the catalyst but it looks like I have been for the last few years anyway! I'm REALLY hoping to get the Oakwood for this season. Everyone is telling me "Get the pellet stove, no more wood to deal with" but I don't mind cutting and stacking wood and lugging it into the house. Nothing beats a nice warm wood fire on a cold winter day! But I have to heat the house with something other than oil this year because I'll go broke doing it.

I've bought six stoves for an out of pocket price of about $2,000 in total. What size cu ft stove do you need?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have 4 EPA stoves all bought NEW , the last 3 were $669 (NC-30) $649) Another NC-30, Both 3 CU Ft & $499 Country Hearth About 2CU Ft. There are bargains out there.

 

[dylskee]

I was hoping for new, and the Oakwood but I have to wait and see what the hearth is going to cost me first. I've been checking my local craigslist for the last few weeks but nothing decent yet...... And as far as size 2.5 or so, seems like that would be plenty to heat my house. A 1600sq/ft cape.

 

[Pallet Pete]

To add to Randys post Summers heat is the same as Englander the difference is Lowes sells Summers Heat and Home Depot sells Englander. For your info England's stove works is the owner and they are out of the USA and they have superb customer service and quality.

http://www.englanderstoves.com

Pete

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I was hoping for new, and the Oakwood but I have to wait and see what the hearth is going to cost me first. I've been checking my local craigslist for the last few weeks but nothing decent yet...... And as far as size 2.5 or so, seems like that would be plenty to heat my house. A 1600sq/ft cape.

I hear ya,my first EPA stove was a harman TL-300 which i paid $1995.00 I wanted a cadillac, and i got one,turned out to be a good price as they go for closer to $3000 now. The next 3 stoves were for workshops,garages and project houses.

 

[rdust]

Plenty of other good stoves out there that only require ember protection on the floor and have close rear clearances to combustibles. No reason to give up on a stove it just may not be the one you "want". To be honest after reading about all the headaches with downdraft stoves I wouldn't even begin to look at purchasing one.

 

[dylskee]

CRAP!! Well, after reading A LOT of complaints about the Oakwood I am turned off of this stove. Man I'm changing my mind like the wind!! I think I'm going to stick to my original plan and get a catalytic stove, I have my eye on the Woodstock Fireview. I might take a ride out there today, I can make it there in 2-1/2 hours.......

 

[dylskee]

Road trip!! Heading out there now........

 

[weatherguy]

Road trip!! Heading out there now........

Good choice, I think the Woody will be perfect for your house and you cant beat the quality and customer service.

 

[dylskee]

UPDATE: Just bought the Fireview in charcoal, absolutely beautiful stove! Great people over there, going to pick it up next weekend. I'll post pics when I get it, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on the Oakwood because this Woodstock stove is hand crafted beaut!

The Progress Hybrid is an awesome stove but way too big for my small living room!

 

[rdust]

Awesome! They make a great stove! The fireview has many happy owners.

The only knock(if you can call it that) is the large clearance to combustibles and hearth requirements. The Progress rear clearance is only 7" with the rear shield so that's pretty good!

 

[dylskee]

Awesome! They make a great stove! The fireview has many happy owners.

The only knock(if you can call it that) is the large clearance to combustibles and hearth requirements. The Progress rear clearance is only 7" with the rear shield so that's pretty good!

With the Fireview and the rear heatshield it's 18" which works out great for me, the stove will sit 23" from the wall so I won't have to put up and kind of surround right now. I will do a nice slate tile on that wall but that will wait until next year. I can't wait to get this stove! I got to go out back and hand pick my stove, I had about a dozen to choose from with 5 different colors. I went with the charcoal, it looks great with the blue stone.....

 

[BrowningBAR]

UPDATE: Just bought the Fireview in charcoal, absolutely beautiful stove! Great people over there, going to pick it up next weekend. I'll post pics when I get it, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on the Oakwood because this Woodstock stove is hand crafted beaut!

The Progress Hybrid is an awesome stove but way too big for my small living room!

Good to hear. I think you will enjoy it more than the Oakwood. You will get longer burns and your shoulder season will be easier.

 

[Pallet Pete]

Congrats good choice ! Those are a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and quality.

Pete