Kentucky Lump - Did I get ripped off?

I found your forum two days ago and read up on different types of Bit coal. Decided that I really like the idea of burning Kentucky Lump in my outdoor wood boiler. I found a place nearby that told me they sold KY Lump and went over and got 1/2 ton to try. The coal was priced at $210 per ton which corresponded to prices that were discussed on the forum. The coal was loaded with a front end loader and was under several inches of snow. When I got home and unloaded I noticed that the pieces were walnut to hardball in size and there was a tremendous amount of powdered coal (I would estimate >20% of the total volume). This is not at all what the pictures of KY lump look like throughout this site. I don't know much about Bit coal and was hoping someone could give me advice as to whether or not I need to do something or if this is normal.

JoeSmo,I don't know were you live,but for that size of coal that's not considered lump by no means.When i get lump coal,i always load my truck by hand so not to get all of the fines.Their's several places around to get Kentucky lump but need to know were you live.

I live near Sturgis, MI (49091) about 10 miles from the Indiana line.

Their is some of the forum members from MI,saying about a place in Flint,MI called Streat Fuel.They supposely have bit coal but don't know what type.You might end up having to come down into Ohio to get Ky coal.I think i would take that mess of coal back and get your money back.No sense in trying to burn that.But that's just me.

If that boiler isn't set up to burn coal,then you won't be able to burn coal.

It depends, if it was taken off the "front" of the pile when the truck dumped it, it could have been some smaller pieces and fines and still be "lump" size coal. In that situation, you were just unfortunate enough to get the small percentage of fines and smaller pieces in the load. If a substantial portion of the pile was coal of this size, then no, it's not lump and you shouldn't buy from them. There are also a number of retail sellers and yards that dishonestly sell other decent bituminous coals as Kentucky coal to make a large profit, unfortunately, only kentucky coal burns as good as kentucky coal and even though some other coals are quite good, you could be getting taken advantage of. Try asking around and look for someone selling coal that has a good reputation for honesty. $210/ton in michigan for KY lump is a little on the low side and would seem to me to be a bit suspicious.

Thanks for all the advice. I will call them today and see what type of response I get from them!

Joe, you can burn the fines, just dump them in paper grocery bags, roll the bag up to make a 3-4" diameter 'log' and put this in the center of the firebox.. your outdoor boiler probably has a large firebox, and this will fit in fine.. then an hour or two later, take a poker and break apart the pile of fines, if it has stuck together..

Greg L