Glad I Used The Extra Dime

Today,I needed to make a trip to Lenigs for more rice coal.I was almost out completely.This cold snap pushed my gathering trip ahead about a week. I called them up last week to check their supply of rice.Things were promising. Just before I headed out it occured to me to spend another dime and double check.No rice coal available.Wow. They said maybe tomorrow. I changed plans and went to Superior.Superior is at last years price for those of us that don't know,it is still $160. I came away with 2900# and all is well.The new little dump trailer was right up to the top of the body.It is 5X8 with 16 inch sides,5000# axle and brakes. Next time I will be able to get more loaded as the wooden side extensions will be complete and installed. As usual the folks at Superior are top knotch.Another great coal fetch is now a fond memory and the moral of this story is Call First Always ! Mike

I never head out without checking first. The trip is too long
to find out that they are closed or out of the size I want.
Nothing better than a coal trip.

Going to UAE this Saturday, coal trips are great.

Hey stovepipemike,
I like the coal trips also. I travel from western Pa to superior with my dump trailer for about 9500lbs. legal. Why was Lenig your first choice? Just curious.

Nice trailer! Legal keeps it simple. You must have a big dog, for the bucket loader in front of the mower to pickup the land mines

Captain Michael, Lenig's is good with me because I have never gottten anything but good quality coal in the past.In addition,they are pulling open the chute door for $140/ton which helps out. On the other side of the scale they are 170 miles round trip compared to Superior which is 128 miles round trip and 160/ton.So when you calculate the cost of extra diesel fuel it is almost a wash as to where to go.Calvin Lenigs also gives me more time to soak in the roadside and coal country experience.In addition ,I have found an ideal small diner on each of the routes so I can't loose in the chow department either way. When it comes to a hobby such as this,I feel blessed to live in this part of Pennsylvania and have to make these types of win/win decisions. Mike

What kind of truck do you have to pull that fully loaded trailer of coal, 1/2 ton 3/4 or 1 ton?

70marlin, I pull the 5k single axle dump trailer with a 3/4 ton pickup without difficulty.But I'll bet you want to know what makes the Capt.Michael Mansized dump trailer move up and down those Pa mountain roads. I am curious too because just a bit bigger than that one and we might be into CDL's. Trailers are great!

where is leing's located?

I agree on the trucking! I'm not set up to burn coal just yet but i will be by next winter. My bottom line is $$$$$ what can I heat my house with and spend the least amount to do it. Right now I have one little air tight stone stove in the dinning room and my living area is a consentient 80 degree's. The house has many cold spots. I'm looking at a add on multi fuel furnace to add to my heating system. So far all my wood is free. But the secret is out and wood is getting a lot harder to get with out paying for it. Even though I still pay for chain saws, gas, wood splitter, truck and maintenance. So there’s no free ride with any thing. Coal is very interesting, trucks and trailers I have. Locating the best price on coal and how far I'd have to truck it, Is some thing I need to figure out before I invest $3000 in my new coal/ wood heating system? What kind of pay back I can expect?

70marlin wrote:I agree on the trucking! I'm not set up to burn coal just yet but i will be by next winter. My bottom line is $$$$$ what can I heat my house with and spend the least amount to do it. Right now I have one little air tight stone stove in the dinning room and my living area is a consentient 80 degree's. The house has many cold spots. I'm looking at a add on multi fuel furnace to add to my heating system. So far all my wood is free. But the secret is out and wood is getting a lot harder to get with out paying for it. Even though I still pay for chain saws, gas, wood splitter, truck and maintenance. So there’s no free ride with any thing. Coal is very interesting, trucks and trailers I have. Locating the best price on coal and how far I'd have to truck it, Is some thing I need to figure out before I invest $3000 in my new coal/ wood heating system? What kind of pay back I can expect?

http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparis ... ulator.php
here is a fuel cost comparison calculator that you can use to compare coal to your current fuel oil, propane, ect. there you can figure out your annual savings. for instance, i used propane, well used to. my savings every year is roughly 1,500 dollars. i bought my hotblast furnace last year, cost me 1,050 bucks. so really i started seeing savings within the first year. even better now since i got the best brand of coal you can get, "craigslist coal." lol, free . so simply just figure out your annual savings by how much oil, propane, whatever ya use, and figure out cost of your stove, and if needed your chimney. a basic 20' masonary chimney should run ya approx. $700. and, if ya dont have a stove yet, look on craigslist. lots of good deals on there

http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparis ... ulator.php
here is a fuel cost comparison calculator that you can use to compare coal to your current fuel oil, propane, ect. there you can figure out your annual savings. for instance, i used propane, well used to. my savings every year is roughly 1,500 dollars. i bought my hotblast furnace last year, cost me 1,050 bucks. so really i started seeing savings within the first year. even better now since i got the best brand of coal you can get, "craigslist coal." lol, free . so simply just figure out your annual savings by how much oil, propane, whatever ya use, and figure out cost of your stove, and if needed your chimney. a basic 20' masonary chimney should run ya approx. $700. and, if ya dont have a stove yet, look on craigslist. lots of good deals on there

Thanks for the comparison/calculator! Which hot blast did you buy, that's what I'm looking in to. Are you strickly coal, or do you burn any wood? I'd like to hear more about craig's list coal, I don't belive there much of that here in MI. you must be in the PA area?

Im in western new york. yup, i got the hotblast. i MYSELF love it, but i ll tell ya right now that there are gonna be people telling you look the other way, rightfully so. they are not of the best of design. the "V" shape firebox does not bring the ash down to the grates very well, easily fixes with a long poker for 5 seconds. the shaker grates are less than par, something that took me months to overcome.
successfully burning anthracite coal in a clayton furnace
US Hot Blast Furnace 1557
read up on these. the first link have a few mentions of the hotblasts, the second one has a lot.
Us Stove fixes here
here are the fixes that i made to overcome the shortfalls of the designs. my suggestion is maybe find a used one, like on craigslist. if you really want a hotblast you will probably have these same problems, but for the price it hardly costs anything to make these few changes. and the sucker really does throw out some heat im here to tell ya. and yes, i do burn wood when it is above 32 or 35 degrees. any questions feel free to ask