Harman TLC-2000 or Keystoker HF

EasyRay wrote:Kielanders,

Good idea about a spare glass, but I bought the entire door kit. It includes the door,glass,gaskets,handle,and pins. This way I can just pull 2 door pins remove the door and replace with the new door in about a minute or so. I never have to shut the stove down.
If I remember correctly the kit was about $220 from my dealer, but that price was from a couple years ago. The parts number was listed on their parts list online.

That's a great idea, thanks. Since we depend on the stove right now, simply switching complete door assemblies would be much easier in a pinch. And knowing spare parts prices, it's probably $205 for the glass alone, and $225 for the entire door kit.

Congrats bulldogg on the new stove. That sounds like a good price for this area.
Don't forget we like pictures.

Bulldogg, what size of coal are you going after?

Squirrel,
Hitzer says that pea or nut coal may be used with the stove. Since I'm going to be learning the ropes , I will be looking to burn nut coal , bagged anthracite. The instructions say caution must be used when using pea because you can over shake the coal and waste it. I will be continuing to read for the next three weeks til the stove arrives to learn whatever I can but still nothing like the hands on experience ...

SteveZee wrote:Niel,

Have you seen that Mt Klappan (sp?) article on an enormous anthracite deposit they have been test mining over the past several years. Be nice to volunteer your TLC as a test stove! I hope that pans out up there as they are saying it contains more coal than everything that has ever come out of NEPA. Wouldn't that be nice.
**Broken Link(s) Removed**

I haven't seen that!

You got me thinkin' of loadin' up the truck with a couple of coolers and takin' a road trip up there - second thought, it's October, we can skip the coolers and just tie the beverages to the hood of the truck. There's nothing like beer-slushies on a crisp autumn day, watching the leaves change, prospecting for anthracite with the wife and a few local bears.



Thanks for the link Steve - here's hoping we might have some Anthracite in the next few years!

I like a Harman but the TLC is not a dedicated coal burner and has no hopper. I have been burning a Keystoker HF hopper for three years now and love it. The Hitzer is a good stove but just not pleasing to the eye and has a less than friendly ash pan as it is odd shaped and tiny. The only down side to the Keystoker HF hopper is the grate size is rather large and you must use nut. The up side to the TLC is that it will burn wood great as it is more of a wood stove than a coal stove and heck you can cook a steak on it. Here are some pics of my not fired up yet Keystoker HF Hopper. I like the huge hopper that holds around 70 lbs of coal and the large hopper door that even I can hit blind folded with a bucket of coal. I feel they are more pleasing to the eye over a Hitzer with its cast iron top, rounded corners and glass top door that covers the cast hopper door. The Hitzer has a piece of formed up tin on top and a plate steel hopper door with a small hopper and hopper opening. All said and done you will pay around $700 more for the Keystoker but the quality of materials and craftmenship as well as a well thought out design pay for themselves. Im not bashing the Hitzer but it is just a box to burn coal in. The Harman TLC has the quality but it just wasn't designed to burn coal to perfection like a dedicated coal burner besides im a sucker for a hopper fed stove.

Older pic with better lighting.

That Keystoker looks like a rugged stove! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Semper fi,
That is an awesome looking stove! I have seen them on-line, but never have actually seen one in a stove shop. The price had kept me from seaching any further for one. My mistake; I wish I had a hopper. I've even wondered if one could be put into the top feed section of the TLC-2000. Does that take a blower?

Body Hammer, sorry it took a bit to get back to you. The Keystoker does have a small fan on the back of the stove that blows air under the cast iron/glass top. The stove is set up like anyother stove as far as the exhaust pipe and auto/manual temp setting adustment air inlet. Were I feel the Keystoker is more efficient is in the internal baffling rerouting the exhaust gas allowing the stove to absorbe more heat before it goes out the stove pipe. With my stove simmering like it is now at 180 deg f. the internal flue gass temp is around 75 deg. f. When I run it in the 400 deg f. range the flue gas temp is under 200 deg. f. The magic heat that I just had to have does nothing as it never kicks on unless I have the ash pan door open or I take the stove over 500 deg. As far as a hopper goes all it gains you is a longer burn time without having to fill it. The hopper does add a little to the shaking of the stove as the weight of the coal above the fire adds weight and does to a small degree force the ash through the grates without shaking. The longest my stove has burned unassisted was almost 72 hours, full hopper with no shaking, stove running around 300 deg and me on a ice fishing trip. It was burning on its very last breath but was revieved. As far as putting a hopper in a Harman TLC, well in my humble opinion that would just ruine a cool stove.

SemperFi, do you use both combustion air controls; the spinner and the thermostatic flap? I guess this is similar the the Hitzer combustion air feed options so everyone can chime in. I like the look of the Keystoker HF (90 k BTU/Hr.?). My Vigilant has only the thermostatic controlled combustion air but it doesn't snap shut with a magnetic closure as I understand the Hitzer control does. It will slowly close down but never all the way and in doing so, holds an even temperature for many long hours. Trouble is the Vigilant only holds about 40 lbs (50K BTU/Hr). I could use some more BTUs during the very cold part of winter.

VigIIpeaburner, I never use the spinner in the ashpan door. The air feed control works great and is very adustable. The rating on the Keystoker in my opinion was rated low at 90K BTU. I was burning a Shenandoah coal stove rated at 120K BTU for years till I felt the need for a up grade because it was very antiquated. The Keystoker heats my 2,400 SF home way better even with the drafts at the windows that one could fly a kite with. I believe all of the modern stoves out there today are darn good, its all comes down to what makes you happy. I live in the Hitzer neck of the woods as I am surounded by Amish and parts are dirt cheap, I just like the looks of the Keystoker. Not that I will live long enough to replace the Keystoker but If I were to replace it I think I would go with a Baker stove. If one wants a built like a tank stove Baker is where its at.

Baker might be tank-ish but it's missing in the "looks" department. The Keystoker HF looks good and that means allot to stay 'comfortable' (read on and a between the lines ) My 'coalpiolot' had a big say in choosing the Vigilant because of the aesthetics and it's no slouch in the efficiency department either. To heat this house with a hand fed alone, I need to push another 3/4 of a ton through it in the coldest part of the winter and this one could be a likely candidate.

I hear ya VigII. I got the "Not one of those things with the bowling trophy on top?" when I told her about the nice coal stove I had rescued from someones garage and was going to rebuilt.