anthracite coal not burning right

chefiam1 · Post by **chefiam1** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:05 pm

hello, just purchased some anthracite coal santa claus. and i started with match light briquets. the charcoal was red hot! added a little coal to it it did not pop crackle nothing.
it seems that what did burn of the coal was the sides. and it does not turn to ash?
it just seems to be half burned still a lighter weight of coal? the stove and piping are all clear.
i burned this type of coal for the past 5yrs no problem! is there such thing as bad , old coal? this is in a hitzer 50-93.
thanks, chef

Idlorah · Post by **Idlorah** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:12 pm

I always get a good wood fire going then I slowly start adding coal on top. This way has never failed me. I have tried many ways of lighting and that always works for me. In my stoker I have used charcoal soaked in diesel and Coal "mice" recently those were giving me a hard time so I split up some 2x4s and tried that so far that has been the best/fastest way for me to light it. Give wood a try i'm sure it will work. Take your time and don't rush you will get it.
Isaac

ShawnLiNy · Post by **ShawnLiNy** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:16 pm

No such thing as OLD coal ( 50 -100 years isn’t comparable to 100million ) , some veins vary in higher carbon and hardness ( you may need a few 5-6!small kindling)!get that roaring than start to add will full
Ash door air I’ve had stuff that just didn’t want to start but burned unbelievably .

ShawnLiNy · Post by **ShawnLiNy** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:19 pm

I haven’t gotten blasHk this season but overall I’d say it was the most consistent over 14 years all
With a decent burn

ShawnLiNy · Post by **ShawnLiNy** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:44 pm

Idlorah wrote: ↑
Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:12 pm
I always get a good wood fire going then I slowly start adding coal on top. This way has never failed me. I have tried many ways of lighting and that always works for me. In my stoker I have used charcoal soaked in diesel and Coal "mice" recently those were giving me a hard time so I split up some 2x4s and tried that so far that has been the best/fastest way for me to light it. Give wood a try i'm sure it will work. Take your time and don't rush you will get it.
Isaac

pallets are the best or old stockade fence ( the real crappy pallets behind TSC or harbor freight are garbage so it’s a perfect use , only painted ones are deposits)

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:46 pm

It's got to be roaring for added.coal to.pop.and crackle. I just threw 2 scoops on to a 550 degree fire and it sounded.like rice krispies on meth.

Idlorah · Post by **Idlorah** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 10:10 pm

waytomany?s wrote: ↑
Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:46 pm
It's got to be roaring for added.coal to.pop.and crackle. I just threw 2 scoops on to a 550 degree fire and it sounded.like rice krispies on meth.

ShawnLiNy · Post by **ShawnLiNy** » Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 10:26 pm

Cereal aisle is the wrong side of town !

davidmcbeth3 · Post by **davidmcbeth3** » Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 12:00 am

chefiam1 wrote: ↑
Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:05 pm
snip
i burned this type of coal for the past 5yrs no problem! is there such thing as bad , old coal? this is in a hitzer 50-93.
thanks, chef

Maybe too much draft, firebox not getting hot enough. Try again !

kcarr · Post by **kcarr** » Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 7:01 am

You probably got a bad batch of coal. I had the same thing happen...
I changed supplier and all is now fine.
Some of these coal dealers are scrambling to find lower price
and the result is very low quality anthracite.

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 7:46 am

kcarr wrote: ↑
Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 7:01 am
You probably got a bad batch of coal. I had the same thing happen...
I changed supplier and all is now fine.
Some of these coal dealers are scrambling to find lower price
and the result is very low quality anthracite.

Doubt it. Santa's elves check every piece of coal when they put it in the bag.

Spacecadet · Post by **Spacecadet** » Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 12:00 pm

All the bad kids are happy you took Santa’s coal !!! Lol.
I start my stoves with the charcoal. I use a full bag. 10lbs. Once the charcoal gets red I’ll start to add a layer of anthracite. I’ll watch it it will start to get red and I’ll add another layer. Then repeat a couple more times before I fill the hopper. The charcoal will burn down and settle so the firebox will need to have topped off before it’s ‘going normally’.

davidmcbeth3 · Post by **davidmcbeth3** » Sat. Jan. 07, 2023 2:59 pm

I start my coal fire using left-over cuttings from a wood flood install. Got 3 garbage cans full of 6-12 inch cuttings. It was a 2000 sqft carpet replacement project. Only took 2 months to complete. 40 sheets of plywood and 2500 sqft of 3/4" oak flooring. I use about 10-20 pieces (with 4 oz. of kerosene to get wood started). Figure I have enough wood flooring pcs until just before the Sun supernovas.

ShawnLiNy · Post by **ShawnLiNy** » Sun. Jan. 08, 2023 1:55 pm

chefiam1 wrote: ↑
Fri. Jan. 06, 2023 9:05 pm
hello, just purchased some anthracite coal santa claus. and i started with match light briquets. the charcoal was red hot! added a little coal to it it did not pop crackle nothing.
it seems that what did burn of the coal was the sides. and it does not turn to ash?
it just seems to be half burned still a lighter weight of coal? the stove and piping are all clear.
i burned this type of coal for the past 5yrs no problem! is there such thing as bad , old coal? this is in a hitzer 50-93.
thanks, chef

Any improvement with the suggestions ?

mpmann · Post by **mpmann** » Mon. Jan. 09, 2023 3:03 am

I have had similar issues. Did you get lit?
My Hitzer took a hot second but going fine.