Oiled Coal and Strong Sulfur Smell

I had gotten this score of free coal over the summer I think 5 of those 50 gallon plastic garbage containers and the containers themselves. I mixed a little in yesterday morning when I reloaded my stove and then last night I only added in the free coal and I noticed a strong sulfur smell from it, probably from me opening the door so much trying to make sure she was going good enough for my own piece of mind so I could walk away and not have to look at her until the next morning (much like I normally do). This morning I added more coal and in getting the coal going I got a flame from the coal which was a normal white flame like you get from burning wood and not the blue flame and white smoke from my chimney. The sulfur smell was still there but when I checked the coal it's self I could feel that there was some kind of an oil or something on it that must be burning off? My draft .04-.06 and all the setting's are the same as they have always been but a couple of times when I opened the door I got a burst of flames coming out and the damper was about half way opened.

Right now you see just the blue flames dancing across the coal with the damper just about closed and her set to run until I touch it tonight. I know some companies oil their coal down but how normal is the sulfur smell and does the oil burning off the coal really flare up like that? I've really never had either of these problems but I've only ever used the Santa coal.

The joys of Suburban Shallow Mines...
Never really know what you got till it burns...
I have had some funky flames off of SSM hauls...
Some smelled like diesel, some like rancid oil...
Who knows what was on the coal before...
Just give it some more air above so the crap burns off...

Can't complain much since it's free Just never had coal that was so volatile, really took me for a surprise. I guess the wife is going to get out of learning to use the stove this year.

At least she seems to be burning well! (knocks on wood)

Maybe got some bit coal from that haul...
Someone down here picked up several tons of it and did not realize what it was...
Until it was in their stove...

It's not soft at all, looks and feels like regular nut coal. Is the sulfur smell harmful in any way? Should I be concerned?

'Soft' is relative.. my Bit coal I swore was Anthracite.. but it wasn't.. The hint is the smell, smoke, and fumes..

Try this 'experiment' When your fire is burnt down to a nice hot bed of coals.. take a handfull, like 3-8 pieces of the suspect coal, and set them together on the center of the redhot coalbed..

Anchracite will pop and crackle, like 'rice crispies' breakfast cereal.. and sometimes a piece will shoot off the coal.. so wear safety glasses, or regular glasses.. you will get a little steam then blue-white flames..

Bit coal will start to steam then fume or smoke, often a gray-yellow smoke, that is fairly dense as the coal heats up.. once the fumes/smoke catch fire, the fire will be yellow and heavy, and usually with thick black smoke.. once the volitiles burn off, it will act pretty much the same as Anthracite coal.. even with the blue flames.. but not untill the volitlles have burnt off.

You could have some inbetween coal, that is more anthracite than Bituminuous, but still has some higher sulphur smell and water content..

As long as the only problem is the smell, you'll eventually burn it all up, so I personally wouldn't be too concerned. The sulphur when mixed with humidity will make some acidic fumes and ash, but it's the beginging of the season, any possible moisture will be long gone in a few weeks..

Greg L.

This morning when I loaded the stove it did a little bit of everything you described with the two different types of coal. It crackled and popped acted completely normal then a little while later there was the yellow flame and the gray smoke out the stack and the puff outs. I just put some on the middle like you said and she was crackling. Does bit coal do anything different to your chimney then anthracite? Any extra build up? I thought bit coal was suppose to be very messy and oily? This stuff looks very normal to me, pieces are broken up a just little differently but other then that looks like nut to me.

I read you warning about the coal popping out at you and the first thing I thought of was you jinxed me just like those darn football announcers do! Sure enough coal popped out at me!

LsFarm wrote:Anchracite will pop and crackle, like 'rice crispies' breakfast cereal.. and sometimes a piece will shoot off the coal

I don't know if any bituminous coal back east does crackle/pop, but "some" bituminous coal here in the west behaves just like you described. It sounds just like the crackling/popping sound you hear on videos posted by members loading their stoves with anthracite....Otherwise it behaves similar to other bituminous coals.

I was going by memory of MY Bit coal.. there are at least a dozen different bit coals that all burn somewhat differently. I think the poping is from the traped water flashing to steam an blasting pieces off the piece of coal.

It sounds like you have a mix of anthracite and some bit coal together.. I've never seen yellow flames and grey smoke from known anthracite.. only Bit coal..

But if this is the only noticable characteristic, it's really nothing to deal with.. Just provide a little extra over-the-fire air untill it stops smoking, then it sounds like it is burning just like anthracite.. Some Bit coal has swelling, bridging, clinkering issues.. buy your's sounds like it' does not have these other less user-friendly characteristics.

Greg L

The oil they use is usually a vegetable based oil.

There are a lot of misconceptions about bituminous coal out there. Sounds like you have a decent quality bituminous coal. as far as the coal itself, it may be a bit less shiny, but it's not any dirtier, messier and none of it (unless it's been oiled) is "oily". you will have a yellow flame and visable smoke untill the volitiles distill off. although you will get a little powdery soot (that usually will fall down the stack and/or dissipate without building up to the point that you have to clean it) it still produces NO flamable or dangerous creosote etc. If you're getting puffbacks, that's why you're getting the sulfur smell in the home (most eastern bituminous doesn't have much more sulfur than anthracite, .5- 4% to anthracite's .8- 1% with most being toward the bottom end - under 3%) if you're getting puff-backs, try banking the coal a bit, leaving an ignited portion of the previous coal peaking through a spot in the newly loaded stove. also, increase the draft on the baro and allow more overfire air if you're stove has that provision. You won't get any smell in the house from bituminous coal if you're successful at preventing puff-backs.

I restarted my stove this morning because I just left it last night do to it still running and it was 84* in here. When I first started it she lit like anthracite but after I got a good bed of coals I filled her up and then she was acting like bit again. Some is shiny some isn't. I'll just have to use my side vents and keep the door closed. Thanks for your help everyone!