Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - Harman pellet stoves

Can anyone tell me if this is a decent brand? Particularly the P-38. Thanks

go to google and type in P-38 Harmon Pellet stove.... it comes up with a lot of information regarding the p-38 model.. for the price, I like the Whitfield Advantage tho... mine was less money, has a thermostat that self ignites the pellets and all..

I have a Harman Advance and it has been a great stove, I particularly like the large ash tray. A friend has a Whitfield and has to clean his ash much more frequently then I do, also he bought his online and there apparently was a problem with the ignitors with them and he's having a hard time getting it replaced. Harman is one of the top brands, I'm also considering replacing my oil furnace with a Harman pellet furnace.
I would highly recommend purchasing from a local dealer if possible, not via the web, nothing beats personal service, and my stove came with an on site warranty, you don't want to have to drag it back if it needs service, they are heavy.

In addition to the looking at the relative merits of any alternate fuel heating units you are considering, regardless of type, also consider the manufacturer’s service and support policies. I didn’t do this when I bought a Harman Model 2600 multi-fuel central furnace in 2000 to replace an ancient wood and oil burning furnace that we had had for many years. I now regret the choice. Three seasons ago I decided to run the furnace on oil only until my wife recovered from her lung cancer surgery, so that there would be no chance of even a whiff of wood smoke entering the house. When the furnace fired we smelled oil. This has continued right up to this season and we’ve tried everything to get it repaired, complete cleaning and resealing of the oil heat exchanger (twice), various adjustment to the oil burner, chimney cleaning, etc. We even had the air conditioning oil pulled so that the heat exchanger could be inspected for cracks (none found). My heating technician is at his wit’s end and blames it on poor furnace design. Emails, telephone calls, and faxed and snail mailed messages to Harman asking for technical help or referral to a technician who could solve the problem have been unanswered. They won’t even send me a replacement manual. Their standard reply is that all service and parts orders must go through the dealer who sold me the furnace. I of course called the dealer from whom I bought the furnace and was told by the owner’s widow that when her husband died, Harmon pulled her dealership and gave it to someone else, even though they sold 84 Harman units a year. She said her very experienced and qualified service technician would no longer service Harmon products because of the way Dane Harman and his company treated her. The two Harman Dealers within reasonable driving distance from me do not handle furnaces, only stoves, and do not have service technicians qualified in the oil heat part. The bottom line – Do not purchase ANY Harmon product unless you are absolutely sure that your dealer will remain in business for as long as you own the stove and will be willing to provide service and parts when needed.

Jack Jennings
Sicklerville, NJ