Prospective Coal Burner, Where Do I Get Coal in Illinois?

Hi guys,

I'm new to forum. I've been burning pellets for 10 years and am thinking of moving to coal. One thing that concerns me is where to get it? I live in between Decatur and Springfield Illinois. There are a few coal mines in this area but I'm not sure if they sell to the public. Any info is appreciated.

Hi and Welcome to our coal board!

What coal type (soft or hard) and what machine are you going to fuel?

Your local mines are not mining hard coal, but you can get certain sizes of bagged hard coal at Tractor Supply.

Hard coal is nearly 3 times more money than what your local soft coal might be. But many experienced coal burners have little issue paying the premium for the hard coal. Hope this Helps

Welcome to the forum.

You may wish to call some of the mines for distributors.

Also, you need to decide if you wish to burn anthracite or bit or both (and plan accordingly). You should have plenty of bit suppliers around.

I found these on a yellow pages search:

http://www.yellowpages.com/decatur-il/coal-for-sale

Check out local Landscape supply company's too..

Even though anthracite (hard coal) is more expensive than the bituminous (soft coal) Anthracite will likely still be less expense per BTU than wood pellets.

Very good , thank you for the responses. To be honest I'm just today researching the subject. I really have no knowledge on the matter. I have seen the bags at TSC when I have bought pellets there and I had quite a sticker shock when I looked at the price. Thats was several months ago so I'm not sure if its gone down much. I remember thinking maybe the pellets weren't such a bad deal after all. Pellet prices have essentially doubled since I started burning them. Propane is obviously much cheaper then it was but since I havent been using it for 10 years, my furnace no longer works. This led me to look at coal. I was thinking of something to hook up to the ductwork in the basement. I was kind of hoping I could just take the truck to the coal mine nearby and low the bed up. That's how they do it in North Dakota...lol. At least they were 10 years ago when I was there installing grain truck probes at country elevators. I kept seeing pick UPS loaded with coal running across the scale there and I finally ask someone what it was about and was told it's just people get coal to heat their homes. I found this very appealing.

My house is an old split faced block 1200 sq ft cottage built in 1912. It is only insulated in the attic and very poorly. I intended on studding the interior perimeter walls out and insulating them but all the research I have done on this suggest that will lead to the mortar joints rotting. So as it is on a single digit day with a fairly heavy wind I will burn 5 bags of pellets in 24 hours just to stay comfortable. I am wonder how many bags of coal I would use.

fig wrote:So as it is on a single digit day with a fairly heavy wind I will burn 5 bags of pellets in 24 hours just to stay comfortable. I am wonder how many bags of coal I would use.

Wood pellets only have 2/3s the heat value as coal does by weight. So 200 pounds of wood pellets (5 bags at 40 pounds per bag) would equal only 133 pounds of coal ( a little over 3 bags at 40 pounds per bag)

Coal still seem expensive from this perspective?

figure 1.7 ton to equal 1.0 ton of coal...see calculator/comparision in upper left corner of this page.

then see which costs more for your heat.

Do you have space to store a lot, you can ship in 23 tons a TT Load,from PA, that may bring the cost down, maybe...

Yes coal does seem cheaper. I'd be saving $6 a day. Maybe more if I could get a truckload delivered. I have space outdoors but not indoors. I store wood pellets outside. I usually buy 7 tons at a time. The pallets are wrapped pretty good and I throw another bag on them and wrap that bag again. I've only had two bags fo bad in ten years of storing this way. I reckon coal would be the same. It would be nice to have an alternative fuel source in the house.

fig wrote:Yes coal does seem cheaper. I'd be saving $6 a day. Maybe more if I could get a truckload delivered. I have space outdoors but not indoors. I store wood pellets outside. I usually buy 7 tons at a time. The pallets are wrapped pretty good and I throw another bag on them and wrap that bag again. I've only had two bags fo bad in ten years of storing this way. I reckon coal would be the same. It would be nice to have an alternative fuel source in the house.

You could throw the coal on the ground uncovered, and come back ten years later, throw it in the stove and burn it. Coal won't go bad. I have 2 tons of bituminous coal sitting outside on a pile covered with snow right now.

SWPaDon wrote:You could throw the coal on the ground uncovered, and come back ten years later, throw it in the stove and burn it. Coal won't go bad. I have 2 tons of bituminous coal sitting outside on a pile covered with snow right now.

Hi FIG and WELCOME to NEPA!!

Not to mention that bugs and other vermin have no appetite for coal. Never have to worry about something chewing into your product. As mentioned by SWPaDon Anthracite is also not bothered by the weather. You are burning for lack of a better description the closest thing to "rocks" that you can.

Lots of Amish burn coal. If you have any Amish near you might be worth checking out and see if in your area are also selling coal as well. More than a few members here buy their coal from an Amish dealer. If you have the space, can afford the upfront cost, buying a TT load will provide the best value for your dollar. It can be a good feeling knowing you have several years of fuel in stock. If had the space I would do it in a heartbeat.

Don't be shy about asking questions. There is literally 100's of years of coal burning experaince on this board and a membership that is always ready to help. Again.. WELCOME!!!

Mark

www;chubbystove.com

Little late now but when I got a 10% coupon from Tractor Supply they had all their coal on Managers clearance. I was down around 229/ton. Its bagged on a pallet and I'll try the same trick next year if they get it in. Go to their website and let them know you are interested, maybe you can get a mid season order deal?

drujinin wrote:Little late now but when I got a 10% coupon from Tractor Supply they had all their coal on Managers clearance. I was down around 229/ton. Its bagged on a pallet and I'll try the same trick next year if they get it in. Go to their website and let them know you are interested, maybe you can get a mid season order deal?

Good price IMO.