What Is the the Red Paint or Dye on Older Coal for?

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djackman
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Post by djackman » Sat. Mar. 01, 2008 11:59 pm

Found what might be red-painted coal in this weekend's haul from my friend's coal "mine"

Thought it was rust at first but definitly some kind of orange/red coating.

The range of coal in this bin is interesting, everything from nut down to rice mixed together like it was delivered that way.

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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Sun. Mar. 02, 2008 12:06 am

djackman wrote:
The range of coal in this bin is interesting, everything from nut down to rice mixed together like it was delivered that way.
The paint, dye or whatever it is was used by coal companies to identify their product. I believe the red was used by Reading, Blue was used by Blue Coal and there was others.

Nut and pea is commonly mixed which is called "range", most of my customers that ever tried it stuck with it. I even had customers that would get like 4 ton of nut/range and a ton of rice on the side. They'd use the rice for dampening the fire overnight, with all the controls and how well a modern stove works this really isn't needed now but the range could certainly be useful.


 
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acesover
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Post by acesover » Sun. Mar. 02, 2008 6:32 am

I use 75% pea 25% nut, a little cold in the morning use more nut....works great.

 
djackman
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Post by djackman » Sun. Mar. 02, 2008 1:24 pm

Interestingly it has the softest ash I've seen (in a whole month of burning coal...) , no clinkers or hard chunks. Almost a pure grey ash , like wood stove ash.

It doesn't crackle like Blaschak when loading in but it lights right off.

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