Experiences on Bagged blashak wetness

I just spoke with my dealer, I can get bagged blashak for 265/ton delivered + unloaded, and he said he would grab the skids from inside when he picks up in NEPA, then keep them inside locally and work with me to deliver on a dry day. He said normally he keeps skids outside, and this past year my first, I had to dump every bag in a feed container and scoop with a 10 lb scoop into my VF3000.

Has anyone ever received relatively dry blashak bagged that they dumped directly into their either VF3000 or magnum hopper without the feed mechanism getting gummed up?

I am ready to pull the trigger on a TT load and don't want to be doing the extra dry step for 4 yrs. He said he's not sure how long this price will hold w/ $5 diesel.

Also, does anyone know a supplier that will do a TT load of rice on BTU/lb PAR with Blashak in burlap bags that will actually dry in the boiler shed? My boiler is just enough to heat my house during peak demand, I don't want to lose any BTU's/lb in the coal.

Thanks!

Blaskchak is normally FULL of water in the bags. I bought some locally and they were a mess, and if they leak? you get black gunk all over the floor.

Bulk is definately the way to go,I normally get it OILED, keeps the dust down, some dealers can get it or oil it for you, costs a few dollars more per ton, but worth it if you have a bin inside your basement......

My bags have been hit or miss -- some are bone dry, others are soaked, and more are somewhere in between. Was the same with Kimmels I used to burn. Plus my basement is wet most of the time anyway, so it seeps in here too.

Can't get away from moisture with bagged - at least not way out here hundreds of miles from the bagging operation. You guys in PA should have drier bags than we get.

My local dealer claims that he can pick them up from the covered area at the bagging plant and have them shipped here. The stuff I got from him last year was wet, but he keeps bagged coal outside and pellets inside so who knows how long it was soaking for. Last time I priced bulk from a local dealer it was $245/ton (last aug) before diesel shot up. MY local bagged coal dealer said he can do a TT load for me @ 255/ton if I don't use plastic and have someone here to unload in under 1 hr. My unit is outside and I have some wooded area for skids where you won't really see them covered with a brown tarp. I could do a triaxle load for roughly $210/ton, but I have no good place to put it, $1100 over roughly 3.5 yrs isn't that bad to just have the ease of dealing with bags. Maybe in 2014 when I need my next TT load I will get bulk because thats the way it comes on horse and buggy!

Also my dealer said there was a 2 week lead time on the blashak TT load, he said this was unheard of for early may. Those of you that can swing it I'd get your coal now, the recent oil sell off seems to be very temporary, you don't want to be rushing in to buy with everyone else if the saudi king croaks or there is a bad gulf hurricane pushing prices to new records.

A funny thing, I was looking at some old post and folks were getting the TT load of bagged for roughly 210/ton back in 2006. I wish I had the $ for 2 TT loads, 48 ton would lock me in for 7 years! Everyone at work would think I am a mad man, but I'm sure there are many on this forum who would love to do the same!

I have learned that Blaschak is washed and consistently not much dust. For that house cleanness I'm willing to deal with the dampness. Wet coal never goes in my hopper. Cure? 1) Buy Blaschak in the spring and let it dry over the summmer, preferably in a barn or garage. 2) For the ocasional dampness even then, pour the coal into a plastic 30 gal or so plastic bin, it will dry in a day or so if near the stove. Use a couple bins to rotate the coal if more than a few bags are damp.

I've gotten dry to dripping wet. 2010 was not too wet for me. The bags have been well sealed, so the water is packed into the bag at the plant. I have no dust buildup in my house because of it. I used burlap bagged dry coal 1 year and all the furniture and floors had a coal dust layer on them. I have not had that with the Blashak. I have a Leisure line stove and it burns the same whether the coal is dry or dripping wet. It never really matters. I live in CT and am limited to the brands of bagged coal available here.