Bit vs Anthracite

I haven’t tried bit coal, and I’m still fairly new to burning coal, other than soot why is anthracite better that bit coal?

Jjones6840 wrote: ↑

Sat. Dec. 01, 2018 5:15 pm

I haven’t tried bit coal, and I’m still fairly new to burning coal, other than soot why is anthracite better that bit coal?

Many more variable properties.

Ash fusion temperature...this can be troublesome
Percentage of volatiles...this can be troublesome
% of sulfur
% of pyrite (iron)
coke button measurement
sometimes lower BTU/lb

Just to cite a few...a good high quality bit coal can meet or even beat a good hard coal...but it is real uncommon to have access to such for the home heating markets of today.

Thank you.

I've never used it, but those who have tend to state that bit coal tosses up a violent rush of initial heat that can be very hard to keep under control. I believe this is due to its high volatile gas concentration. When asked if it was akin to burning wood on steroids, one member who has used bit coal in his stove stated that steroids do not adequately describe the blow torch heat given off early in the bituminous coal burn cycle, and he equated it to burning wood on amphetamines.

The reasons for me on why I burn anthracite vs bit;

1) Bit smells too strong
2) Bit puts out too much soot that then requires chimney cleaning and can even make the snow around your house orange.
3) generally a shorter between tending times (caused by a harder to regulate burn)

The advantage to Bit is cost. If I designed a house/coal burning system from the ground up, I'd use a remote to house Bit boiler setup.

I like burning bit myself.

The main thing i keep in mind when a fresh load is early in burn get flame then turn air down it can get hot fast. I dont open my ash door much ive found that the coal out gasses rapidly witch will cause a boom or roaring hot fire.

Bit: smoke. Anthracite: no smoke.

In a nutshell, anthracite is more forgiving when adding batches and has a much more stable burn along with a "flat" steady heat output.

The steady heat I do enjoy

Price isn't really a factor anymore I can buy Kentucky blue but for 250 a ton or have Lehigh delivered for 230.... I'll stick with anthracite!!!!

Sure wish I could get anthracite for that price around here, I have burned both for years and anthracite wins hands down, but it’s $280.00 and up vs $85-95 a ton for bit, so bit it is for me, but I’m not complaining at all.

Price is indeed a major driver. The price variance isn't quite as pronounced around here, but it is still huge.

I inquired by phone with DS Machine in regard to burning bit in my ComfortMax, and they said it would void the warranty.

My neighbors probably wouldn't be too happy if I was burning bit.

Jjones6840 wrote: ↑

Sat. Dec. 01, 2018 5:15 pm

I haven’t tried bit coal, and I’m still fairly new to burning coal, other than soot why is anthracite better that bit coal?

Justin - There are varying factors as to what, how and why you would determine to use "bit vs anthracite" (at least in my opinion).
I'll share my experience as someone who has in the past and will likely again in the future burn both types of coal in a very similar stove.

Bit - I live in KY and have access to some of, if not the best bit coal in the world for home heating purposes. Big lumps of eastern Ky bit are very easy to burn in our stoves. It heats well and is usually half the price if not sometimes even less than anthracite. But, if you don't live in KY, OH or WV it's not all that easy to get. It does tend to have most of the unpopular characteristics described in previous posts. It also has some positives other than just price (price is probably the biggest positive). It lights easy, it produces plenty of heat, shakes much easier than anthracite in our stoves and it burns basically just like wood in our stoves except hotter and longer. The learning curve to burning bit is minimal. Someone commented that bit is like "wood on steroids"... That's probably a legit comparison for good bit coal.
If you have an 8" flue pipe and burn the volitales off in a relatively hot fire in the early burn after reloading, the soot is a non issue and stinky black smoke goes away quickly (at least in my experience). The 8" flue pipe is the key to success. The soot only builds up to about an 1" thick or a little more in the flue pipe and that's it. With a couple of hot burns, my pipe and chimney essentially clean themselves. I haven't had to clean my chimney or flue pipe in two and a half years with a brush. Again, it's all about the 8" pipe. In my opinion, a 6" pipe should never be used for a bit coal setup. I'm sure there are guys that do it successfully but the potential for poor draft is greatly increased with 6".

Anthracite - I have experimented on several occasions over the last 4 years with anthracite. Until just recently, I had just about all but ruled that out as an option for me in this type of stove (hang on Lightning, I can see you squirming in your chair... I'll get there... lol).
As it comes from the manufacturer, our stoves are NOT designed to burn anthracite coal.
I read through several of Lightning's post on here and admired his success with some modifications to his Clayton stove (the Clayton stove is a step up from our HotBlast but very similar design) and how efficiently he burned anthracite. I then made similar modifications to my stove and had marginal success but after a couple of days of burning anthracite, I would struggle to clear ash, I'd all but lose the fire, get frustrated and throw some bit in there and be back to burning with little hassle...
With that said, I could certainly see the benefits of burning anthracite before the original equipment rocker style grates would clog up and piss me off... No smoke, no smell, no soot and the biggest benefit was the long EVEN burn times.
Last spring Lightning started a thread about a new method of what he a called the "riddling method" to clearing ash (search "riddling" and read the thread. It was incredibly helpful for me). I was intrigued!
I reread the entire thread a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a go... (I started a thread titled "Bye bye bit" if you care to read it)
I have been burning for a week now and I have to say, I AM A FAN!!!

Damn - this turned out to be a much longer post than I had originally intended...

So to summarize (in case anyone has read this far...), THERE IS NO DRAWBACK WITH BURNING ANTHRACITE if your stove will burn it. ...other than the cost! In my opinion, it's been worth the additional cost so far.