Harman TL 300 on the way...

[farmking5088]

First time poster but long time lurker. Been burning wood for about 10 years in an outdoor Heatmor wood boiler. I recently purchased a Harman TL 300 from a local dealer for my other homes basement, my final two stoves in the running where the Lopi Cape Cod and TL. The reason I went with the TL is the top loader with grill insert option also the TL was 500 bucks less. Dealer said both stoves are excellent choices and I would be happy with either one. Hope I picked the right stove I would like your opinions on thoughts on the TL especially from owners of this stove. Any advice and tips would be great! Thanks.

 

[BrotherBart]

TL owners here love'em. Being a downdraft stove there is a little learning curve and you have to be careful with that refractory Firedome casting in the back and not beat it up but it is a good heater.

 

[farmking5088]

TL owners here love'em. Being a downdraft stove there is a little learning curve and you have to be careful with that refractory Firedome casting in the back and not beat it up but it is a good heater.

Yea I should have mentioned it earlier but a certain member here had a big influence on my choice

 

[BrotherBart]

Heaven forbid that you are comfortable about a stove purchase from actually learning the experiences of a real user of the stove on hearth.com. Well, that is pretty much why we do this stuff.

Enjoy that fine heater.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

A basement install seems to be a good choice with this particular stove. It puts out so much heat on the lowest setting that it could overwhelm a smaller living space room on the main floor. Of course you could always just burn a few sticks of wood in it, but then you dont get the benefit of the clean reburn action which needs a certain minimum amount of wood and heat to achieve reburn. I love mine,but i dont fire it until i need serious heat.

 

[Todd]

I like the looks of the stove and the awesome grill option but the finicky burns and reported refractory issues still scare me away.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have my stove 5 Yrs . No refractory issues. Expected lifetime of the combustion package is 10 years. Once you become familiar with the way the stove burns theres no problem ,its a learning curve as with every stove. Cat stoves need periodic maintenance as well, but are worth the effort as well as the harman is worth the effort. It seems i get a good deal more heat from the harman than i do with either of the 2 other brand of EPA wood stoves from the same amount of wood,that has to be worth something.

 

[NACPEYE]

Have mine now exactly one year and love it. I have it on the main floor of a 3 bedroom home and provides plenty of heat to heat the entire 2200sf. As others have said, it takes a little of getting used to, but you'll soon get the hang of it. I can only bring the air down to the 3/4 mark for a good burn of 10 hours. Any further chokes the burn. A lot better than my old Sequoia, which I thought was great for 21 years. Good luck!

 

[farmking5088]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Cant wait to get the TL installed and up & running this month. Can this stove really get the 12 hour burn times and still be putting out good heat the last couple hours of an over night full load?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Cant wait to get the TL installed and up & running this month. Can this stove really get the 12 hour burn times and still be putting out good heat the last couple hours of an over night full load?

As long as you pack it good with seasoned hardwood. Top loaders can be packed right up to the lid ,whereas front loaders like my NC-30 i always have to worry about whacking those air tubes and gouging the refractory material on top of them. A good draft is important as well to maintain a steady after burn. If your reburn stalls you will pay a penalty in heat output.