Coal isn't coal....

I know you guys have talked about coal being different depending on where it was mined, how deep, etc. Even having read all that I'm still surprised how much difference there is. I burned up the 150 pounds my buddy gave me as a starter in about 6 days. Started burning some other coal I bought from a local place that shops around when they buy coal and they show you the sheet describing ash content, etc. This new coal is very different from the other. Much less ash in the pan and the fly ash is very, very fine and easily cleaned off the glass. I'm amazed at the difference. I'm sure many of you are chuckling at the newbie's epiphany, but I found it very interesting.

I though all coal was the same when I started out as well, it's all part of the learning curve. The quality can vary from excellent to almost impossible to burn.

I bought 2 loads from the same supplier, one load is clean, uniform, and burns really hot and makes a granola/powdery ash with no smell. The other load looks like gravel and is much dirtier. Ash pan is full of metal and stones and it has more sulfur in it by the way the fire smells when you open the door. I guess the way to buy coal is to go inspect the pile personally and getting an analysis before buying a load.

I am noticing *much* more flyash with this batch, but less ash in the pan and the ash on the glass wipes off much more easily. Is this a normal phenomenon that you see more flyash with less ash in the pan?

My supplier gets his coal from Mahoney City. I guess its Blashark's(?). Is this good coal or bad coal?

I only burn coal supplied from this dealer, so I cannot attest to variety.

I didn't see this myself, but it came directly from a dealer, so it's hearsay. Northern coal is better quality. Blaschak coal is good coal, but the mines have contracts with China and Korea and they are getting the coal. What's left for local consumption can be of questionable quality. A Blaschak coal truck(s) was seen loading up in South Tamaqua. Poor quality coal there.

It's hearsay, not to be taken as truth, but from a knowledgeable source.

Hey Leo, How did you ever make out with your coal settings that Lutz gave you?

stoker-man wrote:A Blaschak coal truck(s) was seen loading up in South Tamaqua. Poor quality coal there.

Thats what I was burning two years ago and I'll back you up on that. It wasn't nearly as good as the Jeddo I have now.

I know Lutz has his own trucks and goes to Mahoney City. I've been told by some of the guys who work at Lutz that he's real particular about the quality of coal. He doesn't sell junk. I'm just curious to know how to indentify from ash good coal vs. bad coal?

The efm boiler is working great. I took the insulation off of the boiler this year to let the heat come up through the floors. My wife has commented several times about how comfortable she is in the house! We've been married for 10years and I've never heard her utters those words. Its always griping about being cold.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year!

gotta watch where you get your coal......the breaker we go to had a fire in 2006 and before the amish could get it rebuilt, we needed coal and went to a breaker up on top of the mountain and we had a hard time burning his coal......i know the stuff we get is a mix of strip and deep mined coal.....neighbor burns blaschak coal....his ash is black .....ours is powdery slight reddish tint

Hello guys great forum lots of good info. I have a Keystoker and live in Roxbury NJ. I have used Jeddo coal (not happy with it) Reading (again not happy with it) so I travel to UAE Harmony mine to get my coal. The only problem is they set a 1 ton max limit on how much you can get. I seen in the posts where Hazleton has good coal but I don't know where any of the breakers are or which one to go to. I did use Blaschak maybe 15 years ago when I had my Surdiac but cant remember how it burned. I was thinking of trying Agel coal in Scranton has anyone burned this is it any good? Any suggestions on where to get some good coal would be appreciated

Welcome to the forum, If you travel a little further than the exit for UAE you can get some good deep mined coal at Superior in Hegins (exit 112 or 107 depending on how you get there). I burned a couple of tons of Agel last year, is strip mined and about 20 to 25% ash you will be emptying your ash 4 to 5 times more often than UAE!

Our resident coal breaker and beer guide (AKA coal berner) showed me where Superior is and I have burned it for a week now, burns a little hotter than UAE and has a 12 to 15% ash so is a good alternative.

I'm burning Superior pea coal in my AHS S130 this season. I'm happy with it, less ash than the Reading I burned last season. Granola like reddish ash that doesn't clog up the grate like the problem GregL is having on his A-A burning the low ash UAE coal.

My ash does look like Granolas. But its a Kaki color. Not reddish? Is this good or bad?

I'm out of the loop. What does UAE stand for?

leowis1 wrote:My ash does look like Granolas. But its a Kaki color. Not reddish? Is this good or bad?

I'm out of the loop. What does UAE stand for?

United Arab Emirates

JK....I have no idea...