I thought that I would post this for Harman Fire dome users to read due to the fact that this stove is surprisingly lacking in good info. Here is what I found works very well so far providing you have good dry wood and kindling. This is a repost and I apologize to the Moderators but this needs to be put up so people like me can start with a heads up list.
Setup
Make sure you follow the guide lines the most important of which 17 ft chimney. If you have problems getting it to stay lit you can put an outside air kit in which will improve the draft by taking all the air from outside the house. In well insulated homes the air will not come in through cracks like it does on my uninsulated 1800's home which means you will need to provide air from outside (this is also a safety issue for you the home owner lack of oxygen = death). You can also crack a window in your room some where to provide air the stove more than compensates for the cold.
First off this stove is amazing now that I have learned a few tricks with it here is what I know so far.
1) When lighting from a cold start take your time and burn down a lot of kindling first.
2) when you scoop your ashes around don’t use a shovel use a fire poker, this will prevent you from breaking apart hot coals that could otherwise still provide a hot bead.
3) Scoop them to the front and sides then replace them even around the box.
4) In order to start a new fire on hot coals put a couple of pieces of kindling on the bottom letting them burn with the damper open until the stove reaches 500. (Stove not Pipe temp) Get a surface thermometer and put it on the top load door in the center.
5) Then put a load in and let that burn until its burning well.
6) Shut the damper and leave it on high for about 15 minutes then turn it to where you want and walk away.
It should be noted but they only tell you in one video on the harman web site that you can shut the damper then wait about ten minutes and the smoke should vanish. When I follow these steps it usually vanishes
within 5 minutes. My cruising stove top temps are around 450 to 550 if I hit 400 I usually dial it up a little, also I don’t care if people tell you not to get a probe thermometer for your chimney it is vital with this stove
! The flue can get very hot very fast and you need to figure out where to set the air control in order to stay under 900 for your safety. This will hopefully help new users learn to burn the beast it throws very good heat and burns forever! This is really not that time consuming once you understand how to lite it however I really do recommend taking a weekend to learn it before you lite it the first time. This stove makes cracking popping noises that is normal it is the afterburner housing at work and is kind of homely once you get used to it.
Good luck to all
Pete
Setup
Make sure you follow the guide lines the most important of which 17 ft chimney. If you have problems getting it to stay lit you can put an outside air kit in which will improve the draft by taking all the air from outside the house. In well insulated homes the air will not come in through cracks like it does on my uninsulated 1800's home which means you will need to provide air from outside (this is also a safety issue for you the home owner lack of oxygen = death). You can also crack a window in your room some where to provide air the stove more than compensates for the cold.
First off this stove is amazing now that I have learned a few tricks with it here is what I know so far.
1) When lighting from a cold start take your time and burn down a lot of kindling first.
2) when you scoop your ashes around don’t use a shovel use a fire poker, this will prevent you from breaking apart hot coals that could otherwise still provide a hot bead.
3) Scoop them to the front and sides then replace them even around the box.
4) In order to start a new fire on hot coals put a couple of pieces of kindling on the bottom letting them burn with the damper open until the stove reaches 500. (Stove not Pipe temp) Get a surface thermometer and put it on the top load door in the center.
5) Then put a load in and let that burn until its burning well.
6) Shut the damper and leave it on high for about 15 minutes then turn it to where you want and walk away.
It should be noted but they only tell you in one video on the harman web site that you can shut the damper then wait about ten minutes and the smoke should vanish. When I follow these steps it usually vanishes
within 5 minutes. My cruising stove top temps are around 450 to 550 if I hit 400 I usually dial it up a little, also I don’t care if people tell you not to get a probe thermometer for your chimney it is vital with this stove
! The flue can get very hot very fast and you need to figure out where to set the air control in order to stay under 900 for your safety. This will hopefully help new users learn to burn the beast it throws very good heat and burns forever! This is really not that time consuming once you understand how to lite it however I really do recommend taking a weekend to learn it before you lite it the first time. This stove makes cracking popping noises that is normal it is the afterburner housing at work and is kind of homely once you get used to it.Good luck to all
Pete
