Question for TLC-2000 Owners

Caveat: This is a brand new stove, and I've only been running it for about 24 hours.

Question: How far do you load it up?

The book isn't real helpful as to what the best operating conditions for the stove are, but so far, I've had it just about level with the bottom edge of the door (below the grates or right to the bottom door grate) and it seems to be ticking along just fine.

If you load it up to the top of the firebrick does it tend to run hotter? Does it burn longer?

Where have you found it to run best, and do you top or door-load?

Thanks!

I load my TLC up to the top of the firebricks & top of the steel bars in front of the window. (As a matter of fact, I bought 4 additional firebricks this year to build up the height (of firebrick) on the sides & back of the stove. I now bank more coal towards the back & form a slope down to the top window grate. Without these additional bricks I used to end up with coal sitting on top of the firebrick, right up against the steel stove walls.....Not good for longevity.
One thing I never could do was top load the TLC as I would spray coal everwhere, with little control. With the addition of the firebrick height I now could top load & do a little bit. I still find that I have much better contol of coal placement by loading through the window door.

The more coal you can get into the stove, the longer the fire will last, but heat output is strictly governed by the amount of air you give the fire & the draft. Amount of coal loaded has no effect on heat output.

You'll find that it's an easy stove to control, even at low fire temps. (assuming you have a decent draft/chimney of course)
Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Forgot to ask you:
Did you get the blower option? (If not, I would definetly recomend a blower & found one at Lowes that was around $30.00 & more powerful than the (expensive) Harman blower.
I got the cosmetic gold trim pieces but opted for just the black door & no cooking grill (who wants grease splattered all over their nice stove???)

Devil5052 wrote:Forgot to ask you:
Did you get the blower option? (If not, I would definetly recomend a blower & found one at Lowes that was around $30.00 & more powerful than the (expensive) Harman blower.
I got the cosmetic gold trim pieces but opted for just the black door & no cooking grill (who wants grease splattered all over their nice stove???)

I got the variable-speed that Harman specced with the stove, and got the grill as well, but haven't used it yet. As far as I can tell, the grease just drops right into the firebox, so probably not a big deal.

How much depth can you load at a time? I've been putting in 1-2 inches, but suspect I could put a full scuttle in at this point, and still have space at the top.

CBT69 wrote:

Devil5052 wrote:Forgot to ask you:
Did you get the blower option? (If not, I would definetly recomend a blower & found one at Lowes that was around $30.00 & more powerful than the (expensive) Harman blower.
I got the cosmetic gold trim pieces but opted for just the black door & no cooking grill (who wants grease splattered all over their nice stove???)

I got the variable-speed that Harman specced with the stove, and got the grill as well, but haven't used it yet. As far as I can tell, the grease just drops right into the firebox, so probably not a big deal.

How much depth can you load at a time? I've been putting in 1-2 inches, but suspect I could put a full scuttle in at this point, and still have space at the top.

Fill er up!! No coal stove will work well with that shallow a coal bed. Fill it up to the top of the firebricks & top of the window bar grate. I think the specs say that is will hold around 40lbs & you'll be much happier with the resuklts with a full stove.
As far as the optional grill goes I would still be worried about grease splattering & the grill is so small that I could grill maybe a meatball!! Seriously, if I feel the need to barbeque in February I will just go out on the deck & fire up the real grill!

That grill feature seems strange to me. Grilling in my living room on a coal stove is just too weird. The grease the smoke and the associated mess, next to a couch, I don't get it. If my stove ever got as dirty as my charcoal grill I don't know what I would do. IMO if a grill is used properly it will never be truely clean again, Also, is flyash an issue?

Sorry for going off on a tangent but, I would be interested in hearing from someone who uses it though.

SJ Coal wrote:That grill feature seems strange to me. Grilling in my living room on a coal stove is just too weird. The grease the smoke and the associated mess, next to a couch, I don't get it. If my stove ever got as dirty as my charcoal grill I don't know what I would do. IMO if a grill is used properly it will never be truely clean again, Also, is flyash an issue?

Sorry for going off on a tangent but, I would be interested in hearing from someone who uses it though.

Well, I just made some hot-dogs on it, on a well burning fire, and it took about 8 minutes, they came out perfectly crispy, and yummy.

I ran it with the lid closed, so that wasn't really a problem (no smoke/odor in the house) and had minimal grease "drip" along the inside of the door.. we'll see if that burns away with a hot fire.

[quote="CBT69Well, I just made some hot-dogs on it, on a well burning fire, and it took about 8 minutes, they came out perfectly crispy, and yummy.

I ran it with the lid closed, so that wasn't really a problem (no smoke/odor in the house) and had minimal grease "drip" along the inside of the door.. we'll see if that burns away with a hot fire.[/quote]

To each his own......I'm just happy if I can get my wife to hang some of her wash in front of it, rather than use the elctric clothes dryer!

The top of the old VC has a cast iron griddle and while I have never cooked directly on it, have placed bricks on top and then cooked a pot of beans overnight on it. The bricks kept the beans from burning.

Devil5052 wrote:
The more coal you can get into the stove, the longer the fire will last, but heat output is strictly governed by the amount of air you give the fire & the draft. Amount of coal loaded has no effect on heat output.

Would the air draft be the manner in which the stoves control BTU output(ie. 5-70k BTU option)? I thought they did it by controlling the amount of coal that automatically feed into the bed. By controlling the air draft is it safe to say that all coal stoves can have their BTU output controlled whether it's feed by hand, hopper or gravity?

Adamiscold wrote:

Devil5052 wrote:
The more coal you can get into the stove, the longer the fire will last, but heat output is strictly governed by the amount of air you give the fire & the draft. Amount of coal loaded has no effect on heat output.

Would the air draft be the manner in which the stoves control BTU output(ie. 5-70k BTU option)? I thought they did it by controlling the amount of coal that automatically feed into the bed. By controlling the air draft is it safe to say that all coal stoves can have their BTU output controlled whether it's feed by hand, hopper or gravity?

I can only speak to hand fired & stokers may be a bit different but the burning principle should be the same.
I'm also not HVAC engineer but my understanding has always been this: The heat your stove creates only has 2 places to go.....Up the chimney or radiated into the room.The amount of heat generated depends on how much fresh air is going through the coal bed, which is effected by stove air controls & the draft. The more open your air contols, the more air available to the fire.....BUT....if your draft is too strong you will lose heat up the chimney & burn through coal faster. Conversely, if your draft is to little, your fire could be starved for air & be weak or could even go out. A weak draft may also back up odors & possibly CO into the house, not give off much heat & be impossible to control. I suggest your read the threads on Barometric draft controls too.
If anyone has anything to add or correct...feel free...You wont hurt my feelings!

Devil5052 wrote:

Adamiscold wrote: Would the air draft be the manner in which the stoves control BTU output(ie. 5-70k BTU option)? I thought they did it by controlling the amount of coal that automatically feed into the bed. By controlling the air draft is it safe to say that all coal stoves can have their BTU output controlled whether it's feed by hand, hopper or gravity?

I'm not HVAC engineer but my understanding has always been this: The heat your stove creates only has 2 places to go.....Up the chimney or radiated into the room.The amount of heat generated depends on how much fresh air is going through the coal bed, which is effected by stove air controls & the draft. The more open your air contols, the more air available to the fire.....BUT....if your draft is too strong you will lose heat up the chimney & burn through coal faster. Conversely, if your draft is to little, your fire could be starved for air & be weak or could even go out. A weak draft may also back up odors & possibly CO into the house, not give off much heat & be impossible to control. I suggest your read the threads on Barometric draft controls too.
If anyone has anything to add or correct...feel free...You wont hurt my feelings!

Nope.. that's about right, in theory.

However, the "actual" answer depends very much on the stove itself. Is it airtight, a-la a Harmon? Or is it some leaky old monster where half your air coming in is coming from cracks or gaps between the walls and lid of the stove?

That will all vary how much _real_ control you have with the bottom damper.

I just figured the deeper the coal bed the more _burning_ coal you have, so you have more collected BTU (3x the glowing coal should be somewhere near 3x the heat, right?) so, for instance, a 3 inch coal bed at full draft is not going to give you the same heat as a 12 inch coal bed at full draft, assuming the stove is well shaken, has a good draft, etc.

I'd also include, the "area" of the stove's radiating surfaces, as well as the means used to get the heat away from the stove. Bigger stove, bigger fan or heat exchanger, while staying within a safety and comfort zone.

[quote="CBT69Nope.. that's about right, in theory.

However, the "actual" answer depends very much on the stove itself. Is it airtight, a-la a Harmon? Or is it some leaky old monster where half your air coming in is coming from cracks or gaps between the walls and lid of the stove?

That will all vary how much _real_ control you have with the bottom damper.

I just figured the deeper the coal bed the more _burning_ coal you have, so you have more collected BTU (3x the glowing coal should be somewhere near 3x the heat, right?) so, for instance, a 3 inch coal bed at full draft is not going to give you the same heat as a 12 inch coal bed at full draft, assuming the stove is well shaken, has a good draft, etc.[/quote]

I guess my earlier statement ..."Amount of coal loaded has no effect on heat output."....was meant with the assumption that your stove is filled with a good amount of coal. Obviously if you only have two lumps of coal in there you wont get much heat! I guess what I'm saying is that any stove needs at least a certain minimum amount of coal to work. (Conversly if you have a huge stove, the amount of coal will definetly create more heat than a smaller one)

I'm figuring brand new stove, so everything should be as tight as it possibly can be. I've been reading all the new postings and they have one on Barometric draft controls am I to assume that a Barometric draft control is nothing more then the winged damper control inside the exhaust stack and it adjusts automatically for you so you never have to touch it?

I guess I was hoping for an easier answer, like a yes or a no.