Tell L2053 - Grade 2 Entry Lever Lockset

The L2053 ships with the 4-7/8 x 1-1/4 inch ANSI/ASA strike, which is the full-lip strike mortised into a hollow metal or commercial wood frame. If your frame already has that prep, the lock drops straight in. If your frame is prepped for a small residential T-strike or a round-corner strike, the 4-7/8 face will not cover the cutout and you will be filing the frame or fitting a wrap plate.

F109 is the push-button entry lock. The latch retracts with either lever when unlocked. Push the button on the inside and the outside lever locks, and a key from outside is needed to get in. Push and turn the button and it stays locked: the key from outside or the inside lever will retract the latch to let someone through, but the outside lever stays locked until somebody manually releases the button. That is the difference from a storeroom function, which never unlocks from the outside lever at all.

The L2053 uses a conventional cylinder with a Schlage C 6-pin keyway, so it takes standard SC1 blanks and pins into an existing Schlage C system without an adapter. Order keyed alike if a set of doors should share one key, keyed different if each opening needs its own, and there is a key code field if the locks have to match a bitting you already run. There is also a less-cylinder option if your locksmith is supplying the cylinders.

The Hager 2525 is a Grade 2 cylindrical entry lock with a lever handle, and it carries a 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch door thickness range that matches the L2053. Both are keyed entrance-function levers at the same grade, so a property manager replacing a Tell L2053 on an apartment or office door can specify the Hager 2525 without changing the door prep expectations. The L2053 uses a 2-3/4 inch backset with a 1-1/4 inch by 4-7/8 inch ASA strike, so confirm the strike prep on the frame matches before swapping.

Use a storeroom function lock. The Cal-Royal AG05 is a Grade 2 storeroom lever lockset with a deadlocking latchbolt, and the Hager 2580 is a Grade 2 storeroom cylindrical lock with the Withnell lever. Both keep the outside lever locked at all times so entry is by key only. The Tell L2053 is an entrance function where pushing and turning the button on the inside locks the outside lever until it is manually unlocked, which means a tenant or staff member can leave the door unsecured. On a mechanical room, storage room, or riser door where the opening must never be left free, the storeroom function is the one that matches the requirement.

The Dexter C1000 Series entry/office lever is a Grade 1 cylindrical lever lock with a clutching, keyed design, covering doors 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch thick. The Falcon B511CP6D is another entry/office option but sits at Grade 2, medium duty, the same grade as the Tell L2053. For an institutional specification that calls out ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 on the drawing, the Dexter C1000 entry/office is the one that meets it; note its door thickness range stops at 1-3/4 inch, while the L2053 covers up to 2 inch.

A classroom function keeps the outside lever locked or unlocked by key only, with no inside button, so a room cannot be locked down by an occupant leaning on a pushbutton. The Cal-Royal AG03 is a classroom lever in the AG Series with a 6-pin Schlage C keyway keyed different on a 2-3/4 inch backset, the same backset the Tell L2053 uses as standard. The Dexter C1000 classroom is a Grade 1 clutching keyed classroom lever, and the Dexter C1000 classroom security version adds key control from the inside as well. The L2053 is an entrance function locked by a pushbutton from inside, which is not what a school corridor door specification calls for.

No handing to specify. Each lever on the L2053 has independent spring action, so the same lockset works on a left hand or right hand door and you stock one part for a building with openings swinging both ways. Nothing to reverse in the field either.

Grade 2 is the mid-duty ANSI/BHMA tier, above residential Grade 3 and below the Grade 1 used on high-traffic institutional openings. The L2053 is graded for a unit entry, an office, or a back-of-house door in a multi-family building. For a main building entrance, a school corridor, or anything cycling constantly, step up to a Grade 1 cylindrical lever such as the Dexter C1000 Entry/Office or the Corbin Russwin CL3300 series.

The Hager 2525 is the nearest match: a Grade 2 commercial cylindrical entry lock with the same 1-3/8 to 2 inch door thickness range. Falcon's B511CP6D is another Grade 2 lever in entry/office function, medium duty. If the budget is tighter and the door is residential, the Cal-Royal AUS00 is a Grade 3 entrance/office lever for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors. Watch the function, though: the Cal-Royal AG05 and the Hager 2580 are storeroom locks, so the outside lever stays locked at all times, which is not what the L2053 does.

The L2053 is a bored lever lock with a keyed latchbolt only, no deadbolt in the chassis. On a unit entry door where a deadbolt is wanted or required, order one separately and key it alike to the lever, both take the Schlage C keyway so one key can run the pair. If you would rather buy the combination as one assembly, the Callan Bennett is an entrance leverset sold with a deadbolt combo.

The Cal-Royal AUS00 is a Grade 3 entrance/office lever lock with a solid brass forged body, covering 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch doors, and the Callan Artino is a Grade 3 entrance leverset. The Cal-Royal AG00 entrance lever runs a 6-pin Schlage C keyway keyed different on a 2-3/8 inch backset across the same 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch thickness. The Tell L2053 is Grade 2 and is offered in both 2-3/8 inch and 2-3/4 inch backsets, so on a residential door where the existing bore is 2-3/8 inch, the L2053 covers it without stepping down a grade.

For a hall, closet, or interior door that only needs the latch to operate, a passage lever is the simpler part. The Falcon B101 is a Grade 2 cylindrical passage lever with a non-handed design, the Hager 2510 is a Grade 2 passage cylindrical lever with the Withnell design covering 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch doors, and the Accentra 4601LN is a Grade 2 passage lever with Augusta trim. None of these accept a key or a pushbutton; the Tell L2053 is keyed and takes a conventional cylinder in a Schlage C 6 pin keyway. If the same interior door needs to lock for a bath or bedroom, the Hager 2540 is the Grade 2 privacy option in the same lever family.

Yes, if a code is acceptable in place of a key. The Delaney LP250 is a Grade 2 electronic keypad leverlock, the same grade as the Tell L2053, and the Lockey 1150 is a heavy duty mechanical keypad lever set with a double combination covering 1-1/8 inch to 2 inch doors. Emtek also builds a Classic keypad leverset. The trade is key control: the L2053 takes a conventional cylinder in a Schlage C 6 pin keyway and can be ordered keyed alike across multiple doors, so it drops into an existing master key system. A keypad unit is managed by code instead, which suits a short-term rental or a shared amenity room rather than a building already keyed to one system.

Not directly - the Arrow HK11 is a turn-pushbutton entrance cylindrical lock with a ball knob and a conventional cylinder, Grade 2, for 1-3/8 inch to 1-3/4 inch doors. The locking behavior is the same idea as the Tell L2053, which is a Grade 2 entrance lever with a conventional cylinder, but the trim is a knob rather than a lever. On any opening where a lever is required for accessibility, a knob will not substitute. The L2053 also carries a door thickness range up to 2 inch, so on a thicker door the Arrow HK11 does not reach.

The Callan Bennett is a Grade 3 entrance leverset supplied as a deadbolt combination, so the lever and the auxiliary bolt come together and key to each other. The Tell L2053 is a Grade 2 entrance lockset on its own, with a latchbolt operated by the lever from either side and the outside lever locked by an inside pushbutton. On a unit entry door that needs a second point of security, the L2053 pairs with a separate deadbolt, and because it takes a conventional cylinder in a Schlage C 6 pin keyway it can be ordered keyed alike with that deadbolt.

The Falcon K101 is a Grade 1 heavy duty passage cylindrical lock with non-handed levers, carries a fire rating, and covers 1-3/8 inch to 2-1/4 inch doors. The Corbin Russwin CL3110 passage/closet is a Grade 1 vandal resistant cylindrical lever, also fire rated, for 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch doors. Both are passage function, so they latch without locking - on a rated stair or corridor door where the opening must only latch, either one carries the rating the inspector will look for. The Tell L2053 is a Grade 2 keyed entrance lockset, which is a different function class entirely.

The Corbin Russwin CL33903 is a Grade 1 fail safe electrified cylindrical lever at 12VAC/DC, offered with the NZ lever and D rose, for 1-3/4 inch to 2 inch doors, and there is a keyed 12VAC/DC version of the same lever. Fail safe means the lever unlocks when power drops, which is what a card reader or fire alarm release circuit needs. The Tell L2053 is a mechanical Grade 2 entrance lockset with a conventional cylinder and an inside pushbutton - it has no wiring path, so it is the choice for an opening controlled by key alone.

Four finishes, in both backsets: 626 satin chrome, 613 oil-rubbed bronze, 605 bright brass, and 622 black. Satin chrome (626) is the usual choice when the rest of the building runs commercial hardware, since it matches the 26D closers, hinges, and exit devices already on the openings.

Deltana builds several entry levers with distinct designs: the 5851 Claremont, the 6201 Manchester, the 6411 Morant, and the 6431 Linstead, all entry function, with the Manchester, Morant, and Linstead each covering 1-3/8 inch to 2 inch doors - the same range the Tell L2053 covers. Baldwin's Estate 5103 with the 5048 rose is offered in passage, privacy, and handed half dummy versions for matching the rest of the openings in a residence. The L2053 is a Grade 2 entrance lockset on a 4-7/8 by 1-1/4 ASA strike, so a swap to decorative trim should be checked against the existing frame strike prep.