Dexter C2000 Series - Grade 2 Privacy Cylindrical Lever Lock, Non-Clutching, Non-Keyed

No handing to specify. The C2000 privacy lever is non-handed, so the same lock goes on a left hand or right hand door and you do not need to know the swing before you order. That is what makes it workable for a property manager replacing locks across a building without surveying every opening.

It comes with the C2000-ACLS strike, an ANSI 1-1/4 inch x 4-7/8 inch curved lip strike, which is the full ANSI frame prep. If your frame already has that ANSI cutout, it drops straight in. If your existing openings use the smaller 1-1/4 inch x 2-1/4 inch T-strike, the frame prep will not match and you would be filling or re-cutting. The latch faceplate itself is 1 inch x 2-1/4 inch.

It is a non-keyed privacy function, ANSI/BHMA F76, the bed and bath function. There is no cylinder and no key. Locking is from the inside only, and F76 is the function with an emergency release on the outside so staff can get in without a key. If you need key control on that door, privacy is the wrong function and you want an entrance or storeroom lock instead.

The Hager 2540 with the Withnell lever is the nearest match. Both are Grade 2 cylindrical privacy locks with a lever handle. The Dexter C2000 privacy lever covers a 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch door thickness range, while the Hager 2540 covers 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch, so the Hager reaches thicker doors if the opening runs heavy.

The Arrow MK02-TA is a privacy cylindrical lock built for a 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch door thickness range, and it is fire rated. It uses a Tudor knob rather than a lever, so it is a knob trim answer to a thick door rather than a lever one. The Dexter C2000 privacy lever is specified for 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch doors.

For a door that only needs to latch, a passage lever is the right call. The Falcon B101 is a Grade 2 medium duty cylindrical passage lever with a non-handed design, matching the Grade 2 tier and non-handed trim of the Dexter C2000 privacy lever. The Hager 2510 is another Grade 2 passage cylindrical lever, with the Withnell design and a 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch door thickness range. Neither has the privacy turn button and emergency release side of a privacy function.

Dummy levers are the common mix-up. The BEST 7KC single dummy trim is a Grade 2 non-keyed cylindrical lever, and the Callan Bentley is a Grade 2 dummy lever - both share the Grade 2 tier and non-keyed nature of the Dexter C2000 privacy lever, but a dummy is fixed trim with no latch and no turn button. The Dexter C2000 privacy lever is a privacy function lock and ships with a springlatch and strike.

The Dexter C2000 privacy lever is non-keyed. For a keyed opening in the same Grade 2 cylindrical lever family, the Falcon B511CP6D is a Grade 2 medium duty entry/office lever, the Hager 2525 is a Grade 2 commercial cylindrical entry lock with a lever handle for 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch doors, and the Cal-Royal AG05 is a Grade 2 storeroom lever lockset with a deadlocking latchbolt for 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch doors.

Grade 2 is the standard commercial medium duty tier, and the C2000 is catalogued for commercial use, which covers apartment bed and bath doors, office restrooms and hospitality interiors. For a high traffic public restroom in a school or a stadium, step up to Grade 1: the Arrow MK02-TA is a Grade 1 privacy lock, though it is a Tudor knob rather than a lever, and it fits 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch doors.

The C2000 privacy model uses a lever handle rather than a knob, which is the operable-without-grasping-or-twisting part of the ADA requirement. Two lever designs are offered, a curved lever and a regular lever, both non-clutching. If your spec calls for a knob instead, that is a different product entirely.

Non-clutching means the outside lever is rigid when locked instead of spinning free. Force a non-clutching lever hard enough and you can damage the internal parts, where a clutching lever just rotates and the lock survives. On bedroom and bathroom doors in occupied rentals that is usually fine and it is what the C2000 privacy models are built as. On doors that get abused, look at a heavier lock: the Corbin Russwin CL3110 is a Grade 1 vandal resistant cylindrical lever, though it is passage function, not privacy.

The C2000 privacy lever only covers the bed and bath doors. For the hall, closet and pantry doors on the same job you need a passage function lock, and if you are matching a single manufacturer's trim across an opening set, look at a Grade 2 lever family that offers both functions: the Accentra 5301LN Augusta is Grade 2 passage, the Falcon B101 is Grade 2 passage, and the Hager 2510 is Grade 2 passage fitting 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch doors. Lever shape will not match Dexter exactly across brands, so pick one family and run it through the whole unit.

Both are privacy function levers, but they are built for different jobs. The Baldwin Estate 5103 privacy lever comes with the 5048 rose and is a decorative estate-line trim. The Dexter C2000 privacy lever is a Grade 2 commercial cylindrical lock, non-handed, with a 2-3/4 inch backset springlatch and an ANSI 1-1/4 inch by 4-7/8 inch curved lip strike as standard. If a Grade 2 commercial specification is on the drawing, the Baldwin does not carry it.

For non-keyed Grade 1 cylindrical levers, the Falcon K101 is a Grade 1 heavy duty passage lock with non-handed levers, fire rated, covering 1-3/8 inch to 2-1/4 inch doors; the Corbin Russwin CL3110 is a Grade 1 vandal resistant passage/closet lever, fire rated, for 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch doors. Both are passage function, so they latch without locking, unlike the Grade 2 privacy function of the Dexter C2000 lever.

Both are Grade 2 non-keyed cylindrical levers, but the function and the door range differ. The Arrow GL01 is passage/hall/closet function on the Sierra lever for 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch doors. The Dexter C2000 lever is privacy/bed/bath function for 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch doors and is non-handed. Order the GL01 where the door only needs to latch and runs thick; order the C2000 privacy lever where the room needs to lock from inside.

For an asylum or institutional utility opening, the Arrow MK33-BD-CS is a Grade 2 heavy duty asylum/institution/utility lock with a ball knob and a conventional cylinder in Schlage C keyway. That function keys both sides rather than relying on an inside turn button, which is what the Dexter C2000 lever's privacy/bed/bath function provides.

A keypad set changes how the door is controlled. The Lockey 2835 is a mechanical pushbutton keyless lever lock with passage function and ADA compliance for doors 1-3/16 inch to 2 inch thick, and the Delaney LP250 is a Grade 2 electronic keypad leverlock. Both control entry by code from outside; the Dexter C2000 lever is privacy/bed/bath function and non-keyed, locked by the occupant from inside. Choose the keypad where you want to restrict who enters, the privacy lever where the occupant secures the room while in use.

Three finishes: 605 bright brass, 613 oil-rubbed bronze, and 626 satin chrome. Each is available on both the curved and the regular lever. 626 satin chrome is the standard commercial finish and the one most likely to match existing office and multi-family hardware; 605 and 613 are the decorative options for hospitality or residential-look interiors.

Accentra offers the Augusta trim in Grade 2 cylindrical levers: the 5301LN in the 5300 Series is passage/closet function, and the 4601LN in the 4600 Series is a Grade 2 passage lever with the Augusta trim design. Both are passage, so they latch without locking; the Dexter C2000 lever is Grade 2 privacy/bed/bath, which adds the inside lock for bed and bath doors.