Coal

[Ctwoodtick]

Wasn’t sure where to post this. In CT I noticed a sizable stack of anthracite coal being sold next to the wood pellets. That’s new to me. Couldn’t help but think that it has to due to with increased demand for alternative fuel. Anyone else seeing this ?

 

[bholler]

Wasn’t sure where to post this. In CT I noticed a sizable stack of anthracite coal being sold next to the wood pellets. That’s new to me. Couldn’t help but think that it has to due to with increased demand for alternative fuel. Anyone else seeing this ?

Well we see coal for sale but that's normal in this area.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Well we see coal for sale but that's normal in this area.

I haven’t seen coal sold here in the big box stores before. I can’t imagine many people have working coal stoves in the area. I feel like I’m missing something though for Lowes to be carrying it.

 

[bogieb]

I've never seen it in a BBS, but some of the local hardware stores / home & Garden stores sell coal. I don't personally know wnyone that has a coal stove, but obviously there are some.

 

[shtrdave]

There is a place not far from me that used to push gas and gas logs, was never big on pellet stoves talked against them usually. The last time I was there they were promoting the hard coal stoves similar to a pellet stove.
We have a lot of soft coal furnace users around and quite a few hard coal stokers used in boiler applications.

 

[peakbagger]

Remembering back to the Arab Oil Embargo when heating fuel was not only very expensive but hard to get, old coal stoves were getting pulled out of junk yards and some new ones were appearing and folks were burning coal as dry wood was hard to find. Pellets and biobricks didnt really exist like today. There was no bulk delivery of coal in the area, so folks were buying it by the bag and heating their house with it. Once it got cold the hardware stores could not keep it in stock. A year or two later most of the stores did not carry it.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Remembering back to the Arab Oil Embargo when heating fuel was not only very expensive but hard to get, old coal stoves were getting pulled out of junk yards and some new ones were appearing and folks were burning coal as dry wood was hard to find. Pellets and biobricks didnt really exist like today. There was no bulk delivery of coal in the area, so folks were buying it by the bag and heating their house with it. Once it got cold the hardware stores could not keep it in stock. A year or two later most of the stores did not carry it.

I remember in about 1990 when I was in the sixth grade, I have this really awesome teacher who gave us the very open ended assignment of answering the question “what was happening with fuel in the mid-1970s?“. Having no idea what he was talking about, me and a couple my friends spend some begrudging time at the local library trying to figure this out and then finally he were able to learn about the whole embargo situation. I remember thinking, whoa, we’re finally able to figure out what happened. I imagine today a kid could obtain that information in about 15 seconds using Google But I bet they forget it again about 15 seconds after that. Here I am 30+ years ago.. good memories

 

[bholler]

There is a place not far from me that used to push gas and gas logs, was never big on pellet stoves talked against them usually. The last time I was there they were promoting the hard coal stoves similar to a pellet stove.
We have a lot of soft coal furnace users around and quite a few hard coal stokers used in boiler applications.

Really soft coal is used for home heating in SW pa??? I was pretty sure all of pa used anthracite

 

[shtrdave]

Really soft coal is used for home heating in SW pa??? I was pretty sure all of pa used anthracite

No the hard coal is foundmostly in the north eastern part of the state I believe. You can buy it here but, most of what is used around here is either deep mined, or strip mined and is soft coal.

 

[bholler]

No the hard coal is foundmostly in the north eastern part of the state I believe. You can buy it here but, most of what is used around here is either deep mined, or strip mined and is soft coal.

It would all have to be run through hand fired units. I don't know of any stokers that will run on bituminous. I just have never heard of anyone using bituminous coal for home heating in pa.

 

[shtrdave]

It would all have to be run through hand fired units. I don't know of any stokers that will run on bituminous. I just have never heard of anyone using bituminous coal for home heating in pa.

Not sure about home models, but I remember going with my Father in the winter to clean out the big boiler at the coal cleaning plant. There was a hopper there that augered coal in. It was a huge furnace though.

 

[bholler]

Not sure about home models, but I remember going with my Father in the winter to clean out the big boiler at the coal cleaning plant. There was a hopper there that augered coal in. It was a huge furnace though.

Yes bituminous is very common in industrial applications

 

[Bill A]

Wasn’t sure where to post this. In CT I noticed a sizable stack of anthracite coal being sold next to the wood pellets. That’s new to me. Couldn’t help but think that it has to due to with increased demand for alternative fuel. Anyone else seeing this ?

All of the Anthracite comes from Pennsylvania, it is probably the cheapest way to heat your home. It burns clean, no smoke and with a blue gas like flame.
Coal has gotten quite a bad rep lately and most of the breakers in PA have shut down so it isn't as readily available as it used to be.
I'm not sure you will be able to buy it 10 years from now, but the batteries in my crystal ball have run down.

I burned coal for years first in a hand fired VC Resolute, then in a Harmon stoker stove and finally in a Harmon stoker boiler before I switched to a pellet stove. Lots of fly ash to deal with, much more so than a pellet stove, but they put out a lot of heat.

Now I burn my pellet stove mostly for the ambience of the fire.

Here in northern NJ, the local TS has bagged rice coal, not sure if they have any other sizes. Rice is used for stokers, pea and nut for hand fired. Wilson coal in Sparta has bag and bulk in different sizes and sells stoves too.

 

[Dmac_coal]

Wasn’t sure where to post this. In CT I noticed a sizable stack of anthracite coal being sold next to the wood pellets. That’s new to me. Couldn’t help but think that it has to due to with increased demand for alternative fuel. Anyone else seeing this ?

Not the case in S. RI, where it's very difficult to find coal reasonably priced. There's 1 hardware store in South County selling, but you have to shovel and haul your own. Nearest alternate is TSC, at 10 bucks a bag or 40lb. I don't think there's a lot of increased interest in coal as an alternative fuel, maybe just a reaction to insane prices of heating oil.

 

[3650]

Actually coal is more common than you think. At least it was up until this year when the price per ton has nearly doubled for some reason. I’ve been heating with it for about 10 years. This is the first year I didn’t buy any due to the price. I have a ton left over from last year that I’m saving for the colder months. I’ve used both soft and hard coal. I prefer the hard coal. It’s really a good way to heat. The best way in my opinion.

I’ve been using pellets and wood some in the shoulder season and switching to the coal furnace when the cold weather hits. From that point it’s nothing but coal. The prices are so ridiculous now I’m probably done unless they come back down. It seems all forms of energy are skyrocketing though.