Heating with coal in the midwest

with the cost of heating oil and natural gas increasingly prone to spikes, some homeowners in the Northeast, pockets of the Midwest and even Alaska are deciding coal is worth the trouble.Burning coal at home was once commonplace, of course, but the practice had been declining for decades. Coal consumption for residential use hit a low of 258,000 tons in 2006 — then started to rise. It jumped 9 percent in 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration, and 10 percent more in the first eight months of 2008.

I also live in Nebraska and heat with coal. At first we contacted local power companies to see about a rail car. They laughed and suggested electric space heaters. Every stove dealer we talked to throughout the state had no idea people 'still heated with coal'. One guy even said "The only people who still heat with coal are the Chinese." and he tried to sell us a corn stove. We've picked up both Anthracite and bituminous coal from Iowa, but lately we've settled for smaller quantities of bagged, delivered pallets. Naturally freight is prohibitive and moving 4 and 5 ton of bags is a bit of a pain. If there's someone in the S.E Nebraska area (hell I'll settle for the tri-state area) that would be interested in quantity amounts I'm interested in splitting freight or cost. Or if you know of local sources for coal I'd like to hear about it. We have burned Anthracite, bituminous (Ky Lump), wood pellets, corn and cherry pits in our Hitzer and we are completely satisfied with the stove. We have LP back up and haven't had to buy any for quite some time nor have we had to use our local power company which provides inferior heat and a questionable supply during the winter storm months. Thanks for all the great advice and words of wisdom on the forum!

Are you near a railroad yard?? You could get a railcar full, it's 100 tons of coal and would require much more work to move, and store,, but who knows?? it may work for you.

The guy in new britain ct has two giant silos on property right by the railroad.

If you could buy a cheap plot just big enough for three cars, nut, pea, rice 50+ tons each, and broker a deal with csx or norfolk southern then you either have a lifetime supply or a business that would probably pay for your lifetime supply.

I know the nb house hold oil is charging 100 to 150 $ above breaker probably 130 for those volumes around 280/ton and its still 50$ cheaper than bagged.

what you really need is to burn some western subbit or lignite, then you'll really save money.

This is the appliance you need: http://www.bismanonline.com/king_coal_stoker_furnace_3

http://www.canadiancoal.ca/

If become part owner maybe you could get a few deliveries. They are closer. I suspect it would be cheaper to move to nepa.