Coal quality from various sources

i've burned lenig and kosmer already.....not bad, but the superior puts off more heat

I live in the pocono's right outside of Scranton. Does anyone know where I can buy some good bagged coal. The first bagged I use seemed to be very dusty and dry.Today I opened a bag of Blascheck and it seemed to be a little damp. not as dry as the other. I am new to all this and have only been burning coal for abount a month. Thanks.

Pete, being dusty or damp doesn't have anything to do with how well it burns. The moisture in the blaschak bags is probably from having the pallets of bags stored outside.

Well, it seem that the quality of coal from various sources varies. This week I just got a couple of bags of Reading to experiment with my old Cannon potbelly, it seems to burn well. I think shortly I should have a Hitzer so I have been trying to figure out what best to burn, the Reading coal was nut and size varied. I need the bag coal becuase of storage and keep reading all the posts on quality. Mike

I forgot to add that I live in Allegheny County so I might be limited as to what coal is available in my area. The search goes on, any help would be appreciated. Mike

mikeylhs wrote:I forgot to add that I live in Allegheny County so I might be limited as to what coal is available in my area. The search goes on, any help would be appreciated. Mike

I believe this guy sells Blaschak bagged.

KIEFER COAL & SUPPLY
5088 W LIBRARY AVE
BETHEL PARK, PA. 15102
Ph:4128357900

Blaschak vs South Tamaqua Coal + Greenwoods
I've been burning bagged Blaschak nut, and yesterday got 5 ton of bulk nut of different coal. The delivery company (Country Meadows Coal, Honey Brook PA) uses Centralia Coal Company. When I asked him if he knew what mine(s) the coal was from, he said it's a mix of "South Tamaqua Coal and Greenwoods". There are several references here (with mixed reviews) on South Tamaqua coal, but none that I found via search for "Greenwood" coal. Any opinions on either of these sources?

My first impressions: my new coal appears harder/denser/heavier. Distinctly more "shine" that Blashcak. Harder to get lit (I leave the ashpan door open longer). I got it going well last night, having added to near the top of the firebrick, as usual. I was a little surprised that the stove temp dropped to about 300* overnight. With Blaschak I should have been closer to 375-400*, with the official verdict from wife and daughter: "We're cold". Nothing that can't be remedied with a little coal and patience.

What they're calling nut size is about 33% larger, on average, than what Blaschak calls nut.

I've burned South Tamaqua coal for years w/ no problems. Then I tried Harmony's coal last year and found it puts out more heat than ST.

I have 1/2 a bin of ST and 1/2 a bin of Harmony. I'll use the ST now till it gets really cold and then use the Harmony.

Like I said - I had no problems w/ ST coal. It has been clean and burned consistently, just not as much heat as Harmony.

Problem for me is that ST is 20 min from me and Harmony is 45 min - 1 hr.

Living here in N E Conn. Very few carry bagged coal. Last year it was reading then kimmels. This year Dondon coal sales . More $ and not as good. anybody know anything about this co. Anybody in these parts have another supplier they would recomend. Thanks BP.

BP

Not sure how far away from Monson,Ma. you are but try CSM 413-267-4334. They're right on Rt 32 and sell bagged and bulk, I've burned about 1 ton so far and have had good results.

Dave


http://www.csmenergy.com/

I've burned South Tamaqua coal for years w/ no problems. Then I tried Harmony's coal last year and found it puts out more heat than ST.

Thanks for the feedback, stokerstove. My early impression of ST, compared to Blaschak, is the same as yours with Harmony--less total heat content. Maybe another way of saying this (I'm not sure) is that with ST in my stove, when it's spent, it's spent. Blachak seems to die a slower death compared to ST coal.

I'm going to be in Scranton Tuesday. I'm going to head over to Hudson for a ton or two. We'll see how much fits in the bed of my Twofitty.

Thought I would share another learning moment from my first year burning coal.
This morning I poured a bag of Blaschak rice down my coal chute into the bucket in the basement. I thought I heard a strange couple of "clunks" I'd never hear before but since it normally sounds like marbles going down a plastic pipe, I couldn't be sure with all the noise being made. When I emptied the bucket into the hopper, I found some large pieces (photo) that probably would have caused problems once they reached the bottom of the hopper or the stoker.
Lesson is: all rice coal may not be rice. Check the hopper as you load it up.
Added note: this is not a complaint; I'm very happy with Blaschak rice.
-Len

I've always recommended to my customers that had stokers to screen it. There *shouldn't* be anything in the coal but there is so many ways for a piece to get in there it's impossible for it not to happen. Odd that you had so many though. What I would suggest is screen about half way down the hopper from one side to the other. This way if you keep it half full the screen will be buried and won't cause much dust.