TSC 2017-2018

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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 5:11 am

captcaper wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 5:04 am
Bulk is a pia for sure.. with only 4 ton is it worth it? been there done it. I love the bags.. for storage,ease of handling,cleanliness.
That is not always the case, bags for us is a royal PIA! Bulk is about as easy as it gets for us, put it in the bin, put it in the fire, done! No going to business place, hauling pallets of coal home, unloading and stacking bags, cutting open bags filling hods, putting coal in fire, disposing of bags.

Plus with a TT load you don’t have to worry about heating your house for years. Up here a TT load last two winters for two houses. It’s a no brainer, but I guess if your not even burning 2 ton a year, you gotta bite the bulletin and the ridiculous cost of bagged coal.


 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 6:20 am

hank2 wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 12:35 am


IMO, this years TS is some strange stuff. I got 25 bags off the same pallet. The coal is very light and flaky, even the stove size pieces. Sure looks like semi-ant to me. Half the bags of nut have a whole lot of fines, a little nut, a lot of pea and rice and more fines. The other half of the bags are the same coal, stove and nut sized and not excessive fines. Unlike other semi-ant I have burned, this weird stuff takes a lot of air to burn. Empties my hopper in one 12 hr. session at mild to moderate burn. About twice the consumption I am used to. I won't be getting any more.
I recall several people outside of Pa. reporting that they have seen Lehigh at TS, in the past.
Hank, was yours marked "Reading" on the bags? They must've come from the same supplier as the ones I purchased last year. We were never so lucky as to have Lehigh coal at our TS in this state.

 
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captcaper
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Post by captcaper » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 2:21 pm

hotblast1357 wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 5:11 am
That is not always the case, bags for us is a royal PIA! Bulk is about as easy as it gets for us, put it in the bin, put it in the fire, done! No going to business place, hauling pallets of coal home, unloading and stacking bags, cutting open bags filling hods, putting coal in fire, disposing of bags.

Plus with a TT load you don’t have to worry about heating your house for years. Up here a TT load last two winters for two houses. It’s a no brainer, but I guess if your not even burning 2 ton a year, you gotta bite the bulletin and the ridiculous cost of bagged coal.
I had a coal bin I built outside the house and used back in 1982. Never had an inside one.. With that said these bags are much easier cleaner then the 6 ton I used to have brought to the bin. No matter what you say you have to get it into the stove somehow..work know matter what you do. I like the clean contained bags now.
A simple wheel barrow works wonders bringing in the bags from right outside my door.. wouldn't want un bagged coal next to my house.
Hauling two pallets at once for 15 min ride is nothing. 3 trips during the week is simple. Unloading takes about 15 min a pallet off my F350. Bags are clean and easy to bring inside and store. Cutting the bag with a utility knife takes a second to do. Got a lined barrel next to the pre dry totes. I put them in a huge tote on each side of the stove to pre dry and take the coal out of it. Simple and works for me vs the coal bin I use to have.
Up here we don't save much buying bulk of only 6 ton. The main reason I burn coal is not to save money but to know I have heat for the winter and not relying on the Arabs or other factors in this un steady world.

 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 3:14 pm

We have a bin that holds about 50 tons outside. I have a 8 ton bin in my boiler building.

Up here, buying a TT load saves me 122 dollars per ton. No brainer for ME.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 3:58 pm

Yeah that's huge! I hope at some point I can do a full TT load.

I burned some of the TSC coal. Both the Kimmels and Miners Choice, nut size. I thought they both burned well, some sizing was inconsistent, some was okay. No rocks or mad clinkers. I'd give it a C+ to a B-. Had a pretty fire. I've had worse.

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 7:53 pm

Everyone has to do what works best for their budget, capabilities and setup. For me bags would make no sense. Besides the significant extra cost, you have to constantly handle the coal. With my inside bin I now handle the coal once only to load the bin and that's it. I've planned and worked to make my use of coal feasible as I get older. I sure as hell don't want to be humping bags all the time. If I lived so far away from access to bulk coal and had to rely on bags. it's likely I wouldn't be burning coal much longer. Also it seems if you are paying 300 a ton for coal, more conventional heat sources such as oil, gas and electric would be just as cost effective.

 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 9:31 pm

coalkirk wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 7:53 pm
Also it seems if you are paying 300 a ton for coal, more conventional heat sources such as oil, gas and electric would be just as cost effective.
Bingo. You got that right CK. Coal was financially beneficial a few years back, when oil was doubled what it is now. These past couple warm winters, for me burning coal was just to gain experience with the "new" stove (100 yr old G111), and add a tad more warmth to the forced hot air system, that didn't have to work as hard, (heating only the up stairs.)
And I envy you for your ability to buy coal cheaper than up here, and have the storage area for bulk bins. Handling it less is a definite plus. (But even bags are better than wood.) ;)


 
hank2
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Post by hank2 » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 10:29 pm

joeq wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 6:20 am
Hank, was yours marked "Reading" on the bags? They must've come from the same supplier as the ones I purchased last year. We were never so lucky as to have Lehigh coal at our TS in this state.
No, no markings of source on the TS "Premium" coal. I think that TS's home office location may be on there. I didn't buy any bagged coal for several years prior to the TS. I read several posts about the poor quality of processing on the "Miner's Choice" branded stuff, in the past. I think that was determined by other posters to be supplied by Reading, via pallet invoices.

 
hank2
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Post by hank2 » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 11:02 pm

Regarding semi-anthracite coal classification, from an ancient Encyclopedia Britannica article.

"The definition of anthracite as coal having a fuel ratio above ten is not the same as that for class Ai, which was evidently intended for anthracite when adopted by the twelfth international geological congress in 1913. There the lower limit was 12. Consequently it may be stated that the designation used in the United States is somewhat broader than that of class Ai. That Congress also designated a class A2 which was evidently intended to constitute semi-anthracite. Its fuel ratio ran between 7 and 12 whereas the United States geological survey's practice is to limit semi-anthracite by the ratios 5 and 10. In coal trade the word anthracite has had a broad meaning, those producing and selling what is known as semi-anthracite objecting to the use of any qualifying term in describing their product. Consequently coal with a fuel ratio as low as five, or even slightly less, is sometimes quoted as anthracite.

 
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Post by joeq » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 11:21 pm

Interesting reading Hank. Thanks for educating us/me, that aren't so edjewmakated. I'm gunna have to break out my Funk and Wagnalls to do a little more research. :D

 
hank2
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Post by hank2 » Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 11:23 pm

joeq wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 11:21 pm
Interesting reading Hank. Thanks for educating us/me, that aren't so edjewmakated. I'm gunna have to break out my Funk and Wagnalls to do a little more research. :D
Are those two guys still around?!

 
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Post by captcaper » Fri. Nov. 17, 2017 4:58 am

coalkirk wrote:
Thu. Nov. 16, 2017 7:53 pm
Everyone has to do what works best for their budget, capabilities and setup. For me bags would make no sense. Besides the significant extra cost, you have to constantly handle the coal. With my inside bin I now handle the coal once only to load the bin and that's it. I've planned and worked to make my use of coal feasible as I get older. I sure as hell don't want to be humping bags all the time. If I lived so far away from access to bulk coal and had to rely on bags. it's likely I wouldn't be burning coal much longer. Also it seems if you are paying 300 a ton for coal, more conventional heat sources such as oil, gas and electric would be just as cost effective.
I'm paying $275 per ton.. and the money doesn't enter into this for me. I have lot's of money to burn. Oil can drop to $1.00 a gallon I wouldn't buy it. Again It's the comfort of having all my winter heat sitting at my door step and not worrying about fuel shortage or rationing ever taking place. I do live very much in the woods and could burn wood all winter but It's the last resort.
I envy you guys that have the room to store 6 ton or more in your basement and not have it get dirty being it's so far away from your living area or not used at all for much. I use all of my 25 x 40 ft basement for fine upholstery work.. with fine fabrics.. can't have black dust running free. The rest is our laundry area.

 
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captcaper
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Post by captcaper » Fri. Nov. 17, 2017 5:02 am

captcaper wrote:
Fri. Nov. 17, 2017 4:58 am
I'm paying $275 per ton.. and the money doesn't enter into this for me. I have lot's of money to burn. Oil can drop to $1.00 a gallon I wouldn't buy it. Again It's the comfort of having all my winter heat sitting at my door step and not worrying about fuel shortage or rationing ever taking place. I do live very much in the woods and could burn wood all winter but It's the last resort.
In any event I have a neighbor who's retarded and helps me once a week. I give him $5 to fill up the totes which last a week. trashes the bags and puts them out for pickup. We have it down to a science. Clean and comfortable.
I envy you guys that have the room to store 6 ton or more in your basement and not have it get dirty being it's so far away from your living area or not used at all for much. I use all of my 25 x 40 ft basement for fine upholstery work.. with fine fabrics.. can't have black dust running free. The rest is our laundry area.

 
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Post by coalkirk » Fri. Nov. 17, 2017 7:32 am

Captcaper - I fully understand that comfort feeling of having all your winters heat at your doorstep. I feel the same way when my bin is full. It's very satisfying. I don't have any free range black dust though. The coal is wet when its loaded into the bin and there is no handling of the coal after that point. My auger from the EFM is at the bottom of the bin and turns very slowly pulling coal up into the burn pot. No dust from ash either. I pull the ash pan out of the boiler and put a plastic trash bag over it and carry it outside. The whole operation now is probably cleaner than tending a stove in your family room.

By the way since you said you have lots of money to burn, I could use about 200K to pay off my mortgage. ;)

 
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captcaper
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Post by captcaper » Fri. Nov. 17, 2017 11:43 am

Get in line with everyone who wants money for good causes..Ha. How big is your bin? holds all the coal you need for the winter?


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