outside matters= bad news

If anyone hasn't bought coal for the season yet around Hawley/Honesdale,Pa. I would advise to stay clear of Outside Matters.There are rocks mixed in with their nut coal.If you miss picking them out when loading your stove they get stuck in the grate while shaking and you have to shut the stove down to remove.Huge pain.Not to mention paying for rocks.It's going to be a frustrating winter for me.

Make a screen and screen all the coal as you need it. It means a little more work and time, however, it would be worth it to not have rocks in your stove resulting in shutting it down. I have a sceen setup for when I get reclaimed coal from someones cellar or outbuilding. I have a shop vac hooked up to my system so I do not have any black dust while I screen the coal. Makes for nice clean coal.

the snowman.

The rocks are the same size as the coal I'm not understanding the purpose of the screen.

Which is heaver: A ton of feathers....or a ton of lead???????

Looks like you get to be a kid again and play with rocks and get dirty hands. I can't relate, I've had 37 years of excellent coal quality.....but with a stoker boilers, size being equal, it doesn't matter.

A friend found a rusty 7/8" socket in his hand fed grate....No need to ask why....it's not a perfect world.

No advice, but thinking about your problem. GRrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

For me I usually find rocks that are smaller than the coal and I always get fines, so when I screen, the rock and fines fall through and I am left with clean coal. In your case with rocks the same size as your coal you can still use a screen. It will mean a little more labor and a little more dirty process. The screen will allow you to spread out the coal and pick out the rocks and in the process eliminate any fines you might have in the coal. I use latex gloves when I sift so my hands do not get all black from the coal. Once you get a technique down that works for you, you will be amazed how fast you will be able to pick out the rock. It will be a pain, however, it will be well worth it in the end. I have found lime stone, shale, nails, wood, coins and glass in reclaimed coal. When I'm done screening I empty the container into a trash bag and put it in the trash.

the snowman.

Just a silly question here, have you contacted Phil or one of the other folks at Outside Matters to see if they can do anything to help ease the pain? Maybe some free coal or take this coal and give you better coal. I'm a big believer in letting the source of your issue solve the problem before taking it to an open forum such as this, if you already have tried to resolve this with them and could not I humbly retract my statement!

Since you can't screen out the rocks, then I would suggest building a 4'X4' or so frame with a finer screen than the coal and sort through it as Snowman suggested, at the least you will find most of them and end up with coal with no dirt or fines.

Best wishes for a solution to your issue, not a fun situation.

Matthaus wrote:Just a silly question here, have you contacted Phil or one of the other folks at Outside Matters to see if they can do anything to help ease the pain? Maybe some free coal or take this coal and give you better coal. I'm a big believer in letting the source of your issue solve the problem before taking it to an open forum such as this, if you already have tried to resolve this with them and could not I humbly retract my statement!

Since you can't screen out the rocks, then I would suggest building a 4'X4' or so frame with a finer screen than the coal and sort through it as Snowman suggested, at the least you will find most of them and end up with coal with no dirt or fines.

Best wishes for a solution to your issue, not a fun situation.

yes I called 3 weeks ago no one would call back.My damage is done, I'm just giving people a heads up.

I've had similar problems with Kimmels bagged. The first year I used it, there were more rocks than coal, it seemed. A couple jammed the grates & required cleanout. The biggest rock I found was a 4 lb. boulder the size of a softball, but flatter.