Blaschak Bagged Coal is Very Wet and Freezing

wlape3 wrote:

av8r wrote:Huh...all the Blaschak rice I've burned this year has been slightly damp, but hardly soaking wet like many of you describe. Weird?

Not really. The worst of the wetness problems seem to be associated with storing the stuff outside. If you store yours inside and your dealer does too that can make a big difference. My dealer stores his outside and so do I. All it takes is a little rain. Even pallets which were stretch wrapped from the bagging plant were still very wet when I opened them. The woven bags breath better and do not build up as much water.

Same as me...dealer stores outside as do I.

I've been in the bagging plant,, I've seen the operation, the dryers, the conveyor of dry coal getting dumped into the bags prior to sealing the bag shut.. I promise you, the coal is NOT wet when it is bagged,, the warehouse floor adjacent to the bagging machine is bone-dry..

All the moisture gets in the shipment after it leaves the bagging plant.. a trip on a flat bed truck at 70-80mph, in driving rain will soak everything, and sitting outside doesn't help either.. aparently the plastic 'wrap' is not very good at sealing out rain/moisture.

I've seen some pretty wet bags of coal,, and it's pretty amazing after I've seen how dry the coal is when it went into the bag..

Greg L.

This is my first year burning coal. I'm using Reading, and it's pretty damp, but that hasn't been a problem for me. I store it in the cellar so it isn't frozen. I only use a bag or less a day, so by evening, the heat from the furnace behind the hopper has dried everything out.

I just purchased my second pallet of Blaschak coal. The first was very wet down to the last bag, the second one seems to be dry with no moisture in the bags. They both were wrapped in plastic, the only difference I noticed was were the dealer stored them. First pallet was outside in their yard while the second one was inside their loading dock. The week before I bought the first pallet we had a huge amount of rain in the Poconos.

There's your sign--you'd think with the money most of these dealers are making--they could at least put up a lean-to

I haven't taken any bags of Blaschak rice for a while, but when I did they were always wet, even when they came from a dealer who stored them indoors.

Mike

Yes we are haveing the same problem never had this happen before and its really not burning all that good.

Mine is very wet this year too. Water weights 8lbs per gallon, so if you make a bag absorb 1/2 gallon thats 4lbs.

So 60 bags per pallet would equal 240lbs of water. I guess I should dry a bag completely and weight it before suggest its being done on purpose.

The meat packers have been doing this for years.

Bk

The coal is bagged dry. I'm confident you are getting your money's worth. If you think otherwise, dry a bag worth of coal and put it on a calibrated scale/balance; post back with the results.

Every pallet of bagged coal that I have bought in the winter has been very wet, regardless of brand. I keep a few weeks worth of coal inside, open the bags to let them air dry, and sometimes "stage" a couple hundred pounds in a tote next to the drain. Next year you can bet that I will have my coal ready before the snow flies.

-Rob

Rob,
I don't understand why wet coal would bother an EFM user. I open the bags and dump into the 55 gallon drum and let the water go out the hole in the bottom into a bucket Sometimes, cleaning out a bin, there is snow mixed in. All goes into the barrel and the water comes out the hole in the bottom

Scott, I was concerned that the coal would bridge if it was too wet (or in frozen chunks). I have a hole in my drum also, but no water has made it through as of yet.

-Rob

I've dumped 3- 5gallon pails so far this winter. I want it wet. It keeps the dust to a minimum.

I've been burning Blaschak for 3 years now. 4 pallets a year. When handleing the bags right from the dealer with plastic shrink wrap the bags have been dry. After I was storeing them stacked out in the open water did get in for sure. I keep them covered now so usually no problem with wet coal for me.
But so far this season I've been burning 24/7 since October and Blaschak has been great. No complaints. The box seems to be glowing all red so I can't see any large build ups of clinkers,unburnt stuff.

yea,that Blaschak is terrible stuff--I wouldn't buy it

I've been burning Blaschak rice, bagged, and haven't had any problems. I store it in my unheated garage and occasionally have chunks but hasn't been a problem.