Testing a new coal sorce in the OW/CB

Found a source for lump coal in New Lexington Ohio known as Oxford Resource Partners or better know as the Tunnel Hill Rd mine. $75 /ton for lump coal. I've burned Kentucky lump in the past and with only one load of the new coal in the boiler so far I can say this coal is no worse on the initial firing than the Kentucky Lump as far as smoke/odor. The main difference so far is the color of the smoke; KY lump is more yellow/gray and this is a gray/dark gray, and the price is much better! On the second cycle of the boiler, the smoke was minimal. Will know more in the morning when I see what is left on the grate.

How'd it turn out for you wawrd ?

Well the new source isn’t so bad. The coal has burned well except when we got quite warm for January. Had a very long period between blower cycles on the ODB and we lost the fire. Mixing in a little wood has stopped that problem. The other issue is this Ohio coal has higher sulfur content than the Kentucky lump I was burning and the odor last through the 1st couple burns of a new load. Not bad for $75 a ton and the mine is close to home. The Kentucky lump in $220 per ton this year.

certain ohio coals have trouble holding a fire without good firebox insulation or constant load keeping the burn temp higher. One way of solving this is to blend with a good eastern KY coal that doesn't have that problem. If you didn't want to blend with wood, buying a ton of Eastern KY to mix in a bit with the majority ohio coal during warmer weather will keep the fire from going out.