Anthracite newby coal quality ?
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- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Ds machine energy max 160
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- Coal Size/Type: Blaschak nut
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I started burning coal this year inside . Installed a ds stove energymax 160 this summer . When I purchased the Stove. I got 2 pallets of blaschack bagged nut . I burnt some of it. seems ok not what I expected from ash results and sizing . Today I got a ton of bulk reading nut and it seems very shiny more uniformed in size . The blascheck burns good heats fine I wanted to try something else maybe better quality . Hopefully I didn’t waste my money this stuff is like black gold anymore !
What can anyone tell me about visual quality aspects of the coal looking at it , seems more harder than the blaschack .
With the Santa bags I felt like I got a lot of black coal coming through the grates into the ashpan.
I expect with the Santa bags I was calculating on burning mild temps
My usage was around .9-1lb hour . So I’d assume I’d burn 2.5 tons maybe 3 depending on winter temps .
I’m heating 2300 sq/ft from the basement , works very well so far.
What can anyone tell me about visual quality . I wanted to try some pea coal. But I was scared to pull the trigger when nut was working well .
What can anyone tell me about visual quality aspects of the coal looking at it , seems more harder than the blaschack .
With the Santa bags I felt like I got a lot of black coal coming through the grates into the ashpan.
I expect with the Santa bags I was calculating on burning mild temps
My usage was around .9-1lb hour . So I’d assume I’d burn 2.5 tons maybe 3 depending on winter temps .
I’m heating 2300 sq/ft from the basement , works very well so far.
What can anyone tell me about visual quality . I wanted to try some pea coal. But I was scared to pull the trigger when nut was working well .
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- Sunny Boy
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The 6 tons of Blaschak bagged nut that I got back in October is exactly like what you're describing the Reading as - black, shiny, and very uniform in size.
Don't know of any Reading dealers around here, but I've always been very pleased with Blaschak compared to other brands I've tried.
Has the Reading been oiled ? Some companies use water, some a form of oil to keep dust down. I still have oil stains on a bare wood floor from some Tractor Supply Kimmels bags that leaked. Both make the coal look shiny. The wet coal dries out within hours after removing from the bag, the oiled coal does not.
Paul
Don't know of any Reading dealers around here, but I've always been very pleased with Blaschak compared to other brands I've tried.
Has the Reading been oiled ? Some companies use water, some a form of oil to keep dust down. I still have oil stains on a bare wood floor from some Tractor Supply Kimmels bags that leaked. Both make the coal look shiny. The wet coal dries out within hours after removing from the bag, the oiled coal does not.
Paul
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Sunny Boy wrote: ↑Fri. Dec. 09, 2022 12:31 pmThe 6 tons of Blaschak bagged nut that I got back in October is exactly like what you're describing the Reading as - black, shiny, and very uniform in size.
Don't know of any Reading dealers around here, but I've always been very pleased with Blaschak compared to other brands I've tried.
Has the Reading been oiled ? Some companies use water, some a form of oil to keep dust down. I still have oil stains on a bare wood floor from some Tractor Supply Kimmels bags that leaked. Both make the coal look shiny. The wet coal dries out within hours after removing from the bag, the oiled coal does not.
Paul
It may have Ben oiled at some point lightly , maybe that is the difference ? I haven’t burnt any reading yet as I just got it today
- Rob R.
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In my experience you can’t tell much about how the coal will burn unless there is something obviously wrong, like the coal is full of fines or debris.
The best burning nut coal I ever had was some of the worst looking.
The best burning nut coal I ever had was some of the worst looking.
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That sounds about the normal . The worst looking is usually the best !
- freetown fred
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BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I dated a girl like that.zachary193 wrote: ↑Fri. Dec. 09, 2022 5:07 pmThat sounds about the normal . The worst looking is usually the best !
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we won't tell her you said that.zachary193 wrote: ↑Sat. Dec. 10, 2022 6:13 amWe got a saying here “ somerset county is known for its red barns and big a@$ women (good cooks) , it’s true I married one
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Anyways back to business , loaded 20ish lbs of Reading this morning . Takeaways
1. Much easier (faster to get a blue flame )
Less fear of sonic booms
2 . faster temp rebound
We’ll see how the ash turns out
Here in the land of somerset county, temps are in the 30s -40s . So mild weather !
1. Much easier (faster to get a blue flame )
Less fear of sonic booms
2 . faster temp rebound
We’ll see how the ash turns out
Here in the land of somerset county, temps are in the 30s -40s . So mild weather !
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- davidmcbeth3
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Coal quality question ? Oh my. .45 cal better than 9mm !
I ran Santa coal, Reading, Lehigh, and Tractor Trailer supply. My "rating": Lehigh, Reading, Santa, TRS.
I've had clinkers with Santa coal .. but was first 2 seasons burning and I think I over ran the stove. Running with Santa coal now due to cost increases and availability of supplier to "lock in price" in July w/ delayed delivery in late Sept. No clinkers yet but it has not been run too hot yet. We'll see.
Lehigh I was v. pleased with but not pleased with the cost (due to # of suppliers and shipping cost of the bagged product v. coal cost except for this year, which was both-Lehigh went nuts this year).
A plus with Santa is the bag. My Reading comes in 50 lb bags v. 40 lb Santa bags...getting old sucks
I ran Santa coal, Reading, Lehigh, and Tractor Trailer supply. My "rating": Lehigh, Reading, Santa, TRS.
I've had clinkers with Santa coal .. but was first 2 seasons burning and I think I over ran the stove. Running with Santa coal now due to cost increases and availability of supplier to "lock in price" in July w/ delayed delivery in late Sept. No clinkers yet but it has not been run too hot yet. We'll see.
Lehigh I was v. pleased with but not pleased with the cost (due to # of suppliers and shipping cost of the bagged product v. coal cost except for this year, which was both-Lehigh went nuts this year).
A plus with Santa is the bag. My Reading comes in 50 lb bags v. 40 lb Santa bags...getting old sucks
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This is strange. I just put my WESO stove back in service this year and even though my house has a coal bin, I thought I'd start with bagged to do some experimentation. I found the bagged Reading nut coal to be covered in fines and small pieces and there was also a lot of pieces of wood that looked like roots. I did not find the size to be consistent. This product was definitely not washed. I went to a local place in Pottstown who sells coal. The last time I went he no longer had nut coal from Reading. He said Reading shut down. I don't know if he meant the mining or just the bagging. The guy told me the nut he had this time was from Centralia Coal. He did not know if the have a mine or merely broker coal from other sources. The new coal came in unmarked woven plastic bags. It was washed and possibly lightly oiled. The size was more consistent than Reading and there were very few fines in the bags. I went back the other day and bought two bags of Stove coal. The stove and rice they have are still from Reading. The stove coal was really loaded down with fines and small pieces. No way this stuff was washed. While there were some larger pieces, it appeared to be more nut size than stove size and lots of sub-nut size. I'd be very hesitant to but Reading Anthracite again.
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I'm new this season to coal stoves, got a Chubby. Started with a full ton of Lehigh, then split a pallet of Blauschak with a buddy. I can easily get a 12 hour burn from Lehigh. But it's $600/ton in the greater Boston area. Blauschak was ($480/ton), found it to create a bit more ash, and on most days I only seem to get 10-11 hours per burn. I had a few bags of Lehigh buried under the Blauschak, so now that I'm back burning that, I can confirm it definitely burns longer. I found Rausch Creek for $536/ton, may try that next. I can also get Reading at $490/ton.
- davidmcbeth3
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I prefer Lehigh to other mines (incl. :Santa Claus aka Blauschak, what I'm burning this season ; Reading ; and TSC coal) but its rare for me to get it as I am too cheap to pay with the one supplier that has it around me just due to delivery charges that I think are excessive). Reading I liked, burned for 5 seasons .. would have this year but for $$$/Santa Claus coal was $50/ton cheaper).DirtyJack wrote: ↑Thu. Mar. 09, 2023 9:56 amI'm new this season to coal stoves, got a Chubby. Started with a full ton of Lehigh, then split a pallet of Blauschak with a buddy. I can easily get a 12 hour burn from Lehigh. But it's $600/ton in the greater Boston area. Blauschak was ($480/ton), found it to create a bit more ash, and on most days I only seem to get 10-11 hours per burn. I had a few bags of Lehigh buried under the Blauschak, so now that I'm back burning that, I can confirm it definitely burns longer. I found Rausch Creek for $536/ton, may try that next. I can also get Reading at $490/ton.
I did look around for ya..but suppliers I have used are out of coal now. Never heard of Rausch Creek coal. I'll burn anything really...my Hitzer stove eats it all.
There was notice on the forum that Lehigh jumped its prices up more than others.
We should open a mine in Rob's backyard.