How to Use Harman Mark III Coal Stoves
The Harman Magnafire Series Mark III coal stove is a one-quarter-inch steel and cast iron stove designed to burn steadily for up to 24 hours on a single load of coal. The stove burns pea, nut and stove-sized anthracite coal in a brick-lined, one-piece firebox accessible through a single load door at the front of the stove. Harman Stoves has designed the Mark III for simple ignition and use. With a few pieces of newspaper, kindling and coal, you can quickly have a hot fire burning in your home or office. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Newspapers
- Kindling
- Matches
- Coal
- Fireproof gloves
- Ash shovel
- Metal ash bucket
Instructions
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1
Roll and crumple seven to eight pieces of newspaper. Open the load door on your Harman Mark III coal stove and place the newspaper on the cast-iron grates.
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2
Pick out small pieces of kindling--no bigger than three-quarter-inch--from your kindling. Place the kindling on the newspaper in a single layer, criss-crossed "XXXXXX" pattern. Open the draft control completely.
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3
Light a match and burn the newspaper near the center of the door opening. Close and secure the load door. Wait three minutes and then open the load door slightly--about an inch wide--to let the smoke and gases out of the stove and then open it all the way.
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4
Add additional kindling, close the door and wait for the kindling to burn down to embers again. Continue this process until you have a layer of hot wood embers burning. Then repeat the process, but instead of wood, slowly begin adding small pea or nut-sized pieces of coal to the burning wood until you have a brightly lit, hot bed of burning coal. Close the ash door if open.
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5
Load the firebox slowly with coal until the coal aligns with the top of the bricks to make a deep bed of coal. Turn the draft control slowly until the heat comes out in the amount that you want. Reload the firebox every 24 hours as needed.
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6
Shake the ash shaker handle vigorously at least twice a day to force ash from the coal bed into the ash pan. Put on fireproof gloves and transfer the ashes often from the ash pan with an ash shovel into a metal ash bucket. Place a lid on the bucket, move it outside away from flammable materials and, after the ashes cool completely, dispose of the ashes per your municipality’s local regulations.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're uncertain of the size of coal to use to start your fire, pea-sized coal can fit through a "screen" hole nine-sixteenths-inch to seven-eighths-inch in size and nut-sized coal can fit through a seven-eighths-inch to 1 1/2-inch hole.
Always add kindling and coal slowly at the beginning. Too much of either can smother your fire.
Never block the flue gas exit with coal. Carbon monoxide buildup can result.
Never leave the ash door open while your stove burns normally, as the open ash door can cause rapid burning and dangerously high temperatures.
Never leave the room with the load door open. Embers can fall out of your stove and ignite furniture or other items nearby.
Always crack open the load door slowly to leave out smoke and gases before opening it completely.
Never stir around or shake the embers of a low fire. Instead, open the control draft and add small amounts of additional coal until you once again have a brightly lit, hot coal bed.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
