Coal Not Burning Correctly

Hey Guys, Anyone run in to this. Yesterday afternoon I went down to my boiler to add some coal and found my fire was on "life support". It was still lit but not produceing any heat. I opened the ash door to get a better draft. I added a small amount of nut size coal. After about an hour the fire went out. I re-started the fire using charcoal. It stayed lit thru the night but once again no heat.I closed the ash door and had the automatic draft take over. Now this morning I go back to it and open the ash door again. It seems the fire is going to take off and be ok. I guess my question is: What would have casued the fire to be slow in building back up? Bad Draft? Bad Coal? Combination of both? I am burning the same coal that I got about 2 weeks ago. Any suggestions?

Mac

what was the ouitside temp?? If it warms up enough u lose draft..Just a thought

It sounds to me like you didn't get it shaken very well the prior time. All that ash suffocating the fire.

Sounds like a lack of draft. As stated earlier, the warmer weather may be affecting draft but This may be a sign that somehing is not right. Please check your flue, chimney and cap. Make sure that there is nothing obstructing the free flow of gasses up and out.