Where do you get your Bituminous coal and a going price?

Unless you have a stoker or have a large firebox to keep fuelbed temps low (you can almost smolder the fire) or you have documented AFT from the mine, I would avoid Illinois coal when you could send a semi west and pick up better (although lower btu) coal. When you decide to get a truckload of coal, if you want to hand-fire it, check two things - get the Highest AFT available and the lowest coke button available: below 2 is ideal, under 4 is ok. Knighthawk coal has a few mines and they may be able to point you to some stoker that has both a high aft and a very low coke button or FSI. You don't want to handfire the particular coal europachirs is using because it's a coking coal with a high cokebutton which means as the coal is burning in your hand-fired stove it will melt and fuse together (not to be confused with a clinker, that's related to the AFT and not the same thing).

note specs on a few selected coals in this table: http://www.et.byu.edu/~larryb/Ash%20Fus ... res_1.html (take a look at eastern KY coal in that table BTW)

OK I understand the fusion temp is low on IL coal making it hard to burn unless you can feed it slow like a stoker. If I want to try and sell some to help pay the diesel fuel bill I should find something user friendly. So the coal to my west like South Dakota or going to Kentucky might be better.
How about the coal from Phoenixcoal.com near Tulsa OK. I get past there with an empty trailer about once every two or three years, is that worth bringing home.

the phoenix stoker coal looks pretty decent, but you'd have to find out the "coke button" before buying to use in a hand-fired stove. Ideally (especially if you want to sell some) you'll go to eastern KY and pick up some high btu, low coke button, low ash LUMP coal; you'll love it and the people that buy it from you will as well.

ron138 wrote:I don't know about Knighthawk, but all the IL coal I've burned so far was so full of iron, you could see the rust in it and pyrite. It would clinker up really bad. My stove doesn't handle them very well. Something to keep in mind.

That was my experience with the Indiana coal we burned when I was a kid - full of pyrite and actually had yellow sulfur on it.

Conversely, this coal I'm burning now from Knight Hawk is beautiful. Not quite as shiny as anthracite pea or nut, but pure black, clean and not messy to handle, i.e. it doesn't turn everything that touches it black. However, this coal is the exception, not the norm. These low sulfur, low ash coals were formed in limited areas where the peat deposits were not overlain with marine sediments - i.e. a river through the swamp covered the peat with fresh water silts first before seawater covered the area. Most of these low sulfur deposits have long been mined-out.

My coal does tend to coke and "agglutinate" quite a bit, but seems to lessen as the coal weathers - it's worst in freshly mined coal. But it doesn't clinker very readily, so would likely work well in a hand fed stove (and your coal would work better in a stoker)

Chris

Berlin wrote: Knighthawk coal has a few mines and they may be able to point you to some stoker that has both a high aft and a very low coke button or FSI. You don't want to handfire the particular coal europachirs is using because it's a coking coal with a high cokebutton which means as the coal is burning in your hand-fired stove it will melt and fuse together (not to be confused with a clinker, that's related to the AFT and not the same thing).

I've not found much analysis data on the Murphysboro seam, but I did find two FSI values of 6 and 7.5.

If you have some free time dig around here: http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/maps-data-pub/publications/coal-pubs/out-of-print.shtml. It is a treasure trove of information of every imaginable topic regarding coal, including a series of 4 articles on stoker tests of various coals and preparation methods thereof.

a "ton" isn't that much coal. Most people won't even bother with you unless it's for a few ton. no one will ship you 100lbs of coal for a decent price, people just won't bother. you're probably looking a couple hundred dollars just to ship (via ups, fedex) and an additional charge for the person to screw around boxing up and handling the coal. If someone locally sells coal, go out and buy a ton, if it's bad coal, you've learned and managed to procure yourself some fill or garden mulch (coal makes great mulch).

My first post here, and am grateful to have located these comments. I am hoping to locate anthracite to burn this winter (verses wood, which I need to load in the stove every 6-7 hours). With the snow last year, I spent a lot of time hauling wood, and the house was cold by the time I returned home at night. Although I live in Oregon, and there is little coal here, I am hoping that someone may know of how I might either locate coal, or ship (rail?) it out this way. I'm more hopeful of home heating with coal, since it will burn longer without loading the stove and will also be warmer.

If anyone can give me any information, I would sure appreciate the help.

Berlin wrote: no one will ship you 100lbs of coal for a decent price, people just won't bother. you're probably looking a couple hundred dollars just to ship (via ups, fedex) and an additional charge for the person to screw around boxing up and handling the coal.

Not Bituminous, but this old Post of mine will give you a laugh. Coal from a vending machine!

Edit (forgot to ad the link)! Click on it for the whole story.

Coal Vending Machine!

flytesurfer wrote: I am hoping to locate anthracite to burn this winter

It wouldn't be cost effective to ship anthracite from Pennsylvania to Oregon.

Member http://nepacrossroads.com/member/mslisaj/ lives in Oregon and might have information for bituminous coal suppliers near you. She hasn't been on here in a while but if you send a PM (private message) she might get an email and respond.
The only other suggestion I have is to check with local blacksmiths, they might know of some local sources for coal.

Most likely the closest place to get coal may be Utah. It will be bituminous.

Hey MarkC, if your still reading here, have you narrowed down your list of suppliers in Kentucky? I've called several on your list, BTW thanks for posting it, and I'm not having any luck finding folks who sell to the public. Are you still selling Bit boilers?

Hi All,
This is my first post here. I am in Forest Hills, Pa 15221. I get my coal delivered for $25.00 from Gulf Trading in Braddock, Pa about 1 mile from my house. Last year (Sep 2010) I paid $85/ton for BIT house coal . Got 2 tons delivered for under $200.00. They said they were selling more and more to residental, so they bought what looks to me like a junkyard 5 ton dump truck. last year they delivered my coal in a 30 yard roll off dumoster that they dumped in the street as usual. Said they were having problems with their dump truck.

If anyone knows of other suppliers in the east pittsburgh area, please post.

Jim

Western PA, 25 miles NW of Pittsburgh,PA

Dettinger Coal Yard Rt 51 Beaver Falls PA 724-843-3773. Call to verify he will be there. About 1 mile off Rt 60 at Chippewa.

He also has Hard Coal bagged & bulk.

I have a few extra tons of stoker bit in central Wisconsin if anyone needs any. I went down to ILL with my semi and brought back a load, so I have extra if anyone needs any $120 ton

Im getting mine at Don Kennedy landscaping for $65 per YARD, not ton, I live 50 mi south of Erie Pa