What to do with unburnt coal??

[Verynycegirl]

I just burned coal for the first time last night and I was quite impressed how well I did....UNTIL this morning when I should have left it alone but I just HAD to shake!! Now I have unburnt coal left! If I start a small wood fire will they catch or do I need to remove them? Thanks for any advice!

 

[CoalHog]

Shake the ash off and light her up. It's not as hard as some like to make it sound. It will burn just like the rest of the new coal you are going to put on top. :coolsmile:

 

[elkimmeg]

Btw do you have a good supply of coal? Is there a coal distributor near by and how much does it cost per bag or bulk per ton?

 

[Verynycegirl]

I've only bought a few 50 lb bags to try it out to start off. I have a place right down the road from me that sells 50 lb bags for $6 a bag. They didn't have "bulk" coal last week but were expecting a shipment in and a ton delivered was $200. Is this a good price? I know there are several places in my area that sells it but I have not compared prices since this place is only a mile or so from my house.

Thanks,
Tracy

 

[BS-N]

I am pretty new to coal myself and one of the things I realized was that you don't shake it as much as you think. It burns pretty good. The first day or so that I light a coal fire I don't shake at all. All of the layers that make up the depth of the fire were added in a pretty short interval of time compared to the normal 10-16hrs when I fill it. Once the fire has been established for over a day, I shake a little in the morn and again at night. It doesn't take much though until I see a glow and stop. You don't need to wait for red coals to fall. THe faint glow means there is a useful fire bed directly above (it isn't obstucted from ash, hence the glow. )

 

[Martin Strand III]

Unlike Dylan, I give my unburnt coal nuggets to my girl friend who holds them between her knees, whereupon, by morning, they're diamonds.

Arhg,
Marty

 

[Corie]

$200 per ton is awful, at least by me. We only paid $148 a ton with a three ton minimum.

Meanwhiel though, to answer the first question- I can usually get away with leaving a fair amount of unburnt coal in the stove when lighting. However, if the sucker is just about full, you'll have a pretty hard time. I usually empty out any unburnt stuff down to about a single layer on the grates and then shake every piece of ash off them before starting. But that's just how I do it, just do what works.