From Blaschak to Lehigh

ChrisS · Post by **ChrisS** » Tue. Feb. 10, 2015 1:42 pm

Sorry for my own posts hijacking this one. Bottom line for me is that I feel good with either Blaschak or Lehigh, they both have kept us warm till now. Now it's time for some fine-tuning for me. What can I do better next year? What should I have thought about this year that I can now plan ahead for next year?

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Tue. Feb. 10, 2015 1:53 pm

Welcome to the insanity part of burning coal my friend

Den034071 · Post by **Den034071** » Tue. Feb. 10, 2015 5:35 pm

Guys hers my input .Going for coal with my son dave was a bonding day .Hes now Deceased .We would stop for breakfast an go then to Lehighs breaker .Go to Scalehouse an bullshoot with weigh guy .Talk mining and how it going .Got in line with big trucks .Met a trucker from Lancaster Pa . who said all this coal will be bought by Amish .Get loaded with coal back to scale .Sometimes I knew local coal delivery guy shoot more breeze .Got free Lehigh calendar .All in all you can not measure the time doing this in bucks .Now I do this with grandson .I would say the coal trip Is Priceless .Jack from Coaldale .Priceless.

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Tue. Feb. 10, 2015 6:29 pm

There it is in a nut shell,i didn't see the hijacking part. Your choices ~~~ Get Blashack delivered or pick up Lehigh at the breaker or get Lehigh delivered or pick up Blashack at the breaker ,the consensus is that coal is good to burn for heat,whether it's Lehigh or Blashack or vice-versa. Get it delivered & have some quality time at home or pick it up & have quality time doing that.Burning coal is lots of fun no matter which way you decide to get coal into your bin.

Eb426 · Post by **Eb426** » Tue. Feb. 10, 2015 7:31 pm

I also have to agree with jack from the Lehigh valley. I am sorry for the loss of your son.
My 8 year old daughter also loves going to the mine with me. We do breakfast also and usually stop at cabelas on the way home.
If I could only haul a ton at a time I still would make that trip just for the time with her. Financially it would not be worth it due to fuel costs though. But I am able to physically fit just over 4500# in my truck. It's an f350 and it handles that kind of weight very well. Making the trip financially feasible.
As far as more wear and tear I am sure there is but not to the toll of a dollar a mile. My biggest fear is getting pulled over and getting fined for being over weight as my registration says I can only haul a ton of payload.
I should also add that I burned blaschak too for a good year. I had no problems with it what so ever. I am on day 3 now with the Lehigh nut.
I am certainly not an coal burning expert by any means but I definitely liking the results I am having with it so far.

JeepinPete · Post by **JeepinPete** » Wed. Feb. 11, 2015 10:03 pm

I am burning Lehigh for the first time this year. Last year was Gale and Direnzo, year before was Harmony, year before that was Blashack. I was having delivered up until the middle of last year when the delivery guy found a new career.

The delivered load last year from Gale was junk. It was a mix of barley, fines, and buckwheat. Did not care for how that burned, nor for how it bridged in the bin and compacted into a solid lump. I should have rejected it, but I needed the heat, so what are you going to do?

I ended up renting a U-haul trailer last winter to haul home a couple tons from Direnzo. That was a royal pain the butt simply because that trailer was difficult to unload.

This year I bought a military trailer. It holds two tons to perfection. It also sit way higher than the Uhaul trailer, which makes getting the coal into the basement much easier. It is a lot of work, but the break even on the trailer vs paying the local guy I found this year to deliver who knows what is two years.

grobinson2 · Post by **grobinson2** » Sun. Jul. 12, 2015 11:23 pm

Den034071 I could not agree with you more. Quite sorry about the passing of your son but happy to see you have a grandchild to share the coal tridition with. Again I could not agree with you more.

Thanks again,
Glenn

stovepipemike · Post by **stovepipemike** » Thu. Aug. 20, 2015 8:18 am

Deno, I have to agree with your thought on the haul, some things are a type of pleasure that is difficult to put a price tag on. Some folks choose to see it in a dollar and cents perspective only. To each his own but I agree with your sentiments, and consider it great fun to just plain get out there and do it myself. I am too old to worry about a few bucks spread over a heating season, so let me into that diner right before the turn off to Lehigh. As the old welder told me when I asked him what mileage he got on his brand new 1965 Dodge wagon with the big block V8 engine he answered ,"Kid I don't care one bit about mileage at my age,I only care if the wagon will keep burning the gas I put in it" . Now I finally know what he meant.

Mike