I am buying a new stove soon and have somewhat zeroed in on a Harman Oakwood. Would be interested in hearing from anyone with experience on these stoves. Had been looking at VC Encore, have one from early 2000's but have heard mixed reviews on these stoves of late. Thanks all.
Harmon Oakwood Feedback
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The Oakwood is a downdraft stove. Mixed reviews too, though perhaps more robust than the Encore. These stoves can be more challenging when factoring in draft, wood quality, and how the stove is run. An easier going stove in this class would be the Quad Isle Royale or the Jotul F600.
Thanks, looking at the F600 too. I mis-posted this in the wrong forum so apologies. Anything about the F600 you can enlighten me on? I don't believe it has an open/close damper like say the VC Encore, how does one shut it down for slow burns -- with an air flow control of some sort? Thanks.
I would not pick either of those stoves honestly. I like the isle royale not much ecperince with the jotul but from what i see here it is obviously a good stove. We have a customers with oakwoods and encores and most of them struggle with them. There are a few that love them but most we have dealt with do not
The F600 is controlled with a single air control. No need for the open/close bypass damper as the Jotul is a front/side loader instead of a top loader. The Isle Royale does have the bypass damper for top loading.
If you do a down draft Harman be advised they do best in non-shouldering 24/7 DRY wood burning situations. They will do fantastic if you accept this. I have an Exception. Other forum members mentioned in previous posts are great sources of information
As others have mentioned, the Oakwood (and other downdrafts like Lopi Leyden and certain VC models) can be a bit fussy about dry wood and good draft, requires a bit more babysiiting and longer learning curve, and is not well-suited to slower/lower burns in months like November and April. There is also the issue of the rather fragile refractory in the back of the stove that may deteriorate or get clogged -- while you might go a decade before having problems, it is also common for problems to arise after just a few seasons... YMMV.
That said, it really cranks out the heat when burning 24/7 in the dead of winter, although my impression is that by burning very hot under strong draft condition I am losing a bit more heat up the flue, using more wood, and getting somewhat shorter burn times than would be ideal. For these reasons I am considering switching to a Woodstock cat.
That said, it really cranks out the heat when burning 24/7 in the dead of winter, although my impression is that by burning very hot under strong draft condition I am losing a bit more heat up the flue, using more wood, and getting somewhat shorter burn times than would be ideal. For these reasons I am considering switching to a Woodstock cat.
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