Basement Coal!

My electrician friend gave me the # of people that had coal in the basement of their 1800's home. Big old coal boiler down there too. I felt a little sheepish calling them, but they agreed to give it to me. They're happy to get rid of it! Stove coal anthracite whoo hoo! Be careful what you wish for.... I hit the mother lode. It's been a lot of labor, but I think I'll end up with over 8 tons. Two spackle buckets at a time, about 60 buckets per load before my old GMC starts getting too heavy. Two trips a day was do-able. I lost count of the trips. I had to clear out the back shed to make a coal bin! Lots more pics if anybody wants to see 'em.

WOW, good find!

Sa-weet! Have you burned any of it?

Congrats!!! This is how I come by most of my coal. I have moved 12 tons worth of 5-gallon buckets full of coal over the past year in preparation for this winter. It was hard work, but well worth it!

Cool, the work is worth it.

What are they heating with now? That boiler doesn't look like it has oil/gas or anything to it now.

Thanks, guys! Freddy, it burns very well to a fine ash and no Colonel Klinkers. I'm using 1 or 2 spackle buckets a day. It's thanks to all you guys that have helped me along that I'm now an anthracite fanatic. I think my enthusiasm for coal has helped bring me some good luck. I'm still learning to control my stove and getting better at it as I go along. Current fire has been going several days. I just got a Dwyer 25, only other thing I need now is a hygrometer. I think I can keep comfortable humidity based on the size of cake pan I keep on top of the stove.
I think the man's new boiler must be as old as I am. The owners have been really cordial and have been in that house 30 years. I'm theorizing the old owners must have just gotten a big delivery when their coal boiler went kaput, and made the change to fuel oil. I found pieces with pure sulfur on them, and pieces with a blue powder on them! It looks like chalk line chalk, I'm wondering if it's some natural mineral inclusion or what.

Dann757 wrote: I found pieces with pure sulfur on them, and pieces with a blue powder on them! It looks like chalk line chalk, I'm wondering if it's some natural mineral inclusion or what.

I wonder if you have some of the famous "blue coal" from the Huber breaker. Read about it here: Blue Paint on Anthracite Coal? Paper Discs in Anthracite Coal?

GREAT score Dann! That's alot of work there -- hats off to you!

Are you gonna haul them boilers out of there too?

Looking at the pic of the oil boiler, I noticed the 2 circulators: one modern one (green) & one from the late 60's or early 70's (red)-- take a look at the difference in SIZE!! Technology is a great thing, isn't it? And the expansion tank looks like an old grease drum conversion. It's got a modern Beckett burner... and I'll bet the tech tells them the boiler is operating at 85% efficiency............it is........but none of that heat is getting to the water inside!

What about Reading Red ? I was told they painted their coal red as a trademark years ago.

Good score Dann.

Wow, I'm learning more all the time. It did me good to do all that labor, it was putting me in shape. I get motivated when something is free! There is a lot of man-hours involved, wear and tear on my 700r4 junkyard trans, gas, etc., but a really nice ride to the country.

Definitely a chalk-line type blue on some of the coal; very interesting! Everything is known about coal here!
This is a word of mouth deal, I have a really good mutual reference so the owners are being very accomodating. I might offer to remove the big old boiler- must be a few bucks in the scrap iron value. Main tool there would be a sledge hammer. One thing at a time...
I am being careful to treat the people with kidd gloves, I'm not much of a business man, but when I met them they were probably thinking, "Be nice to the guy, he's taking away that useless nuisance coal!" and I was thinking, "Be nice to them, there's a mountain of anthracite here!"

WOW, good score man!!!

Great price too