Which stove I should better?

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Spacecadet
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 30-95, Hitzer 30/95
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Other Heating: US stove 6041 pellet

Post by Spacecadet » Sat. Feb. 10, 2018 10:16 pm

Hello all. For the last few days I've been reading lots of posts here. I definitely believe I'm learning a lot. I'm looking into buying a used hand feed coal stove. I'm tired of cutting splitting and stacking firewood. Im not as young as I used to be. A friend has hand feed stove and got me into the idea. With my woodstove I have to load it every couple hours to keep the house warm. I could really use some sleep.... Anyway. I've found 2 used stoves that other users here have and seem to like. One stove is the Gibraltar Llc and the other is the Harmon Tlc-2000. Both stoves are priced the same and pics show they are in decent shape. My house is 12x48 - 1200 sq feet with an open floor plan. I plan on removing my wood stove with magic heat and placing the coal stove in its place. I have 6 foot triple wall stainless metal chimney that stick out of my cathedral living room ceiling.
Which stove do you believe would do me the best job. I work 10 hours a day m-f and come home for lunch. Since I have a hard time with the work of the wood stove I don't use it much anymore. So I had bought a wood Pellet stove, I bought 4 tons of pellets at the begging of the season and only have a ton left. The Pellet stove is 45k btu and does heat the house however Not really well when it's 0* or bellow. Anyway help in any direction would be appreciated.

 
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michaelanthony
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Post by michaelanthony » Sat. Feb. 10, 2018 11:01 pm

Hi Spacecadet, welcome. Where are you located, space is a big place lol! Both stoves should be up to the task at hand...IIRC the TLC 2000 comes with a grill for cooking. :yes:

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Sat. Feb. 10, 2018 11:07 pm

The TLC sits raised on a pedestal so you wouldn't have to stand on your head...that's a plus over the LLC.
The TLC has a smaller footprint if floor space is limited.

Harman TLC2000 Manual

Gibraltar Manual

 
Salemcoal
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Post by Salemcoal » Sat. Feb. 10, 2018 11:46 pm

I would pick the Gibraltar , indestructible , you could get long burn times with that stove dialed back . Look at the grates on each stove .

 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 12:05 am

If you come home for lunch, you could tend to it then, and your biggest concern for the long burn, would be through the night. Consider yourself lucky for having that option. Welcome to the "pail", and good luck with your choices.


 
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Seagrave1963
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman TLC2000
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Post by Seagrave1963 » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 5:45 am

We've been very happy with our TLC2000 - generally goes about 12-16 hours between reloading even on the coldest days/nights and we're heating a moderate sized Cape Cod built in 1996. Depending on how insulated your home is, you would be fine with probably going even a bit longer. Ours was purchased when it was considered a "duel-fuel" stove until EPA changed the rules, so we burn wood on the shoulder months (and Momma likes the ambiance!) and it does well with the fuel too. We generally use about 1-1/4 tons of coal per season but temps here on the Eastern Shore of MD are not as brutal as many of the other members here on NEPA. The only "problem" we've had over the years was my rookie mistake of cleaning the "glass" with Windex and it became crazed.

As others have said here, it does come with a small grill insert and it makes for a very convenient option to make a good grilled meal during the worst weather outside. Makes the house smell like a steakhouse restaurant!

 
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Spacecadet
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 30-95, Hitzer 30/95
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Post by Spacecadet » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 8:11 am

Thanks! I'm from the college town - new paltz Ny. My house is a 1975 modular on a foundation. I bought it from my parents in 98. It was an all electric heat home. The electric bill was was almost as much as the mortgage payment. . For the time it was built it was considered 'well' insulated. When I reroofed the house in 05 I stuffed it with a nice thick blanket. It made a big difference. The first year of living here, I eliminated all of the electric appliances except the water heater and added the wood stove. The stove sits upon a 4' wide ceramic tile platform that is one foot tall. Makes life easier cause I have a bad back and on 'bad' days I can't bend to the floor to tend it.

So it seems both stoves are good choices. The burn box on the Gibraltar is bigger and seems it would be easier to have a wood fire in the warmer months. The tlc2000 has a smaller box. But the way it seems it must use a fire screen in place of the door for wood burning ?? Can't close the door ? Or did I get something wrong.

 
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michaelanthony
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Post by michaelanthony » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 8:31 am

Do you have any pic's of the stoves as well as the door issue?

 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 9:37 am

Good Morning and welcome SC.. The guys here are much more familiar with the different coal stoves. I want to put a plug in for the Coal Chubby though. They're a simple, some might say elegant design rated in the 70k BTU range. Used they run about $300 or so. I have a small 2 story 800 sq ft house and run it around 550 F. It's like central heat. I burn about a bag a day in very cold weather.

You're gonna love coal.

 
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Spacecadet
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 30-95, Hitzer 30/95
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Other Heating: US stove 6041 pellet

Post by Spacecadet » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 10:34 am

ILL try and post pics of both units. I don't think there is a 'door problem'. It's that I read that there is a screen your suppose to install in the TLC2000. I wasn't sure if it supposed to be in place of the door or inside the unit.


 
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michaelanthony
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Location: millinocket,me.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant 2310, gold marc box stove
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Gold Marc Independence
Baseburners & Antiques: Home Sparkle 12
Coal Size/Type: 'nut
Other Heating: Fujitsu mini split, FHA oil furnace

Post by michaelanthony » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 10:44 am

Spacecadet wrote:
Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 10:34 am
ILL try and post pics of both units. I don't think there is a 'door problem'. It's that I read that there is a screen your suppose to install in the TLC2000. I wasn't sure if it supposed to be in place of the door or inside the unit.
I can't imagine you need the screen for burning coal unless a screen is in place behind the glass. Use the search box in the upper right hand corner and type in "TLC2000" without the quotations. Happy reading!

 
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Seagrave1963
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman TLC2000
Coal Size/Type: nut
Other Heating: electric heat pumps, propane fireplace

Post by Seagrave1963 » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 2:03 pm

The screen for the TLC2000 is for burning wood only and is not required as there are 2 "over fire" vents on either side of the stove body. It does make for nice ambiance (and Mama likes that!). The screens simply clip into the opening of the stove front with the door opened completely. The screens are difficult to find now as Legacy (current manufacturer of Harman's coal line of stoves) only makes coal ONLY due to EPA regs. There may be some NOS or one can be made fairly easily if you're handy.

Here's a pic of the screen that we got from Harman.
IMG_20180211_135238.jpg
.JPG | 161.3KB | IMG_20180211_135238.jpg

 
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Spacecadet
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 30-95, Hitzer 30/95
Coal Size/Type: nut
Other Heating: US stove 6041 pellet

Post by Spacecadet » Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 8:24 pm

Thanks for the pic of the screen and the explanation. I understand and I don't think I would ever use it.

I had gone and looked at the Gibraltar LLC stove today. What a big beautiful stove. It looked in good condition. it is just too big.

I'm going to look further into the TLC2000. I think that's the stove is more the size I need.

 
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Seagrave1963
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman TLC2000
Coal Size/Type: nut
Other Heating: electric heat pumps, propane fireplace

Post by Seagrave1963 » Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 5:02 pm

FWIW - if you intend to burn a lot of wood in the TLC, be prepared for the "glass" to become dirty quickly. I learned a tough lesson our first year and used Windex to clean it and the "glass" became crazed and pitted. Apparently, ammonia based cleaners should not be used on ceramic ("glass"). We have been using Imperial Gas Fireplace Glass Cleaner and the "glass" looks like the first day I replaced it 2 years ago.

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