anthracite burn stages

 
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Post by gardener » Tue. Oct. 06, 2020 3:14 pm

I was burning some coal in my miniature potbelly stove, let the fire burn out.
Some time later my wife pointed out that there was some coal in there that was not black, I assumed she meant grayish from the ash, but it is reddish. Although I have seen the red before, I don't know what it is, never considered it.

In the leftover pile the top is still shiny black, mostly red in the middle and all gray at the bottom on the grate.
Here is two sides of a piece I pulled out, it was on end, so it sort of has a mix of all three colors.
So what is the reddish stuff?
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Post by franco b » Tue. Oct. 06, 2020 3:16 pm

Red indicates the presence of iron.

 
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Post by McGiever » Fri. Oct. 09, 2020 8:11 am

Let me guess...Tractor Supply coal???

 
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Post by Hoytman » Fri. Oct. 09, 2020 10:49 am

McGiever wrote:
Fri. Oct. 09, 2020 8:11 am
Let me guess...Tractor Supply coal???
I burned about 10 bags of TSC nut coal last year and other than not being washed very well, my only complaint, it burned nicely. Actually, blue flames lasted much longer before settling to a nice red glow. Not sure what that means? More gas in it maybe...idk. If that's the case maybe there's more heat in it also? I don't know. Blashak blues didn't seem to last as long. Never seen much difference in the ash volume, maybe a little difference in color.

 
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Post by gardener » Tue. Oct. 13, 2020 12:43 pm

McGiever wrote:
Fri. Oct. 09, 2020 8:11 am
Let me guess...Tractor Supply coal???
Yep, we have a guy that takes orders for coal and he gets a truckload shipment at a time, but I only started burning coal so I will stick with TSC until I have an idea of how much I will end up using in a typical season.


Why does the iron in the coal oxidize, but not the interior sides of the stove?

 
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Post by McGiever » Tue. Oct. 13, 2020 10:00 pm

gardener wrote:
Tue. Oct. 13, 2020 12:43 pm
Why does the iron in the coal oxidize, but not the interior sides of the stove?
The coal is wetter than the interior sides of the stove...

 
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Post by gardener » Fri. Jan. 15, 2021 9:06 am

McGiever wrote:
Tue. Oct. 13, 2020 10:00 pm
The coal is wetter than the interior sides of the stove...
The TSC nut that I am burning, whenever I refresh the fire, the layer of coals I pour on crackle for about a minute.
It does not look or feel wet, so I suppose the moisture is nestled within the coals.

Do other brands of coal have as much moisture?
or is the TSC bagged nut been sitting out on pallets in the rain the reason for the crackling?


 
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Post by lsayre » Fri. Jan. 15, 2021 9:19 am

Most anthracite inherently has between about 4% and 6% internal water, even when it outwardly appears to be absolutely bone dry. In addition there are also roughly about 3.5% to 5.5% volatiles (flammable liquid and/or gaseous hydrocarbons that are other than pure coal stuff). And lastly, ash can range from about 8% to 16% of the weight of anthracite.

 
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Post by Holdencoal » Fri. Jan. 15, 2021 10:00 am

I think this is really interesting. I have a few 40 gallons totes of TSC, and a few bags of Agel and peoples coal, from my neighbors. It all burns pretty much the same except for the after results of color as seen on the unburnt coal.

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Post by gardener » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 8:59 am

excellent lineup,
is there any BTUs left in the white rock?
or is it just ash that hasn't been broken up yet?

 
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Post by fig » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 11:13 am

That’s the kind of rocks I get with Tsc coal. My stove was getting choked down with them after 6 bags. I blamed the coal then I changed my tending methods. I’m now on my 12th bag and it’s choked down again. I’ll have to shut down and shovel out the rocks. Probably tomorrow. 15 more bags to go. Hopefully another tending change will get me through the end of it. I guess it’s worth the effort considering what I paid. $5 a bag.

My ash pile has several different shades in it. This tsc is red. The bituminous is grey. The wood I was burning was red oak and it’s ash was red too but a different shade. Then there’s grey from the maple pine and mulberry. I can’t remember what color the blashak was. I’ll be finding out in 15 bags

 
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Post by warminmn » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 11:56 am

TSC really varies (nut size). Some makes lots of ash and some doesnt. Some has rocks and some doesnt. I think ive had all the different styles. Im burning what I bought a couple weeks ago before I go back to Blaschak. This pallet the bags vary as they always do but overall the size is all over the place from rice to stove sized, its dirty, lots of wood, but it is burning quite well so I could care less. It is coal they bagged this year as its the new style bags.

Its wet but thats what my stove is for, to sit hods by to dry it first.

Im seeing roughly the same amount of ash as my blaschak on hand and is burning about the same volume per day which I cant always say. I weigh nothing, just eyeball it. Your results will vary, trust me, lol

I do agree with hoytman there are more blues in it, many more, not sure if that matters for burning but it would be prettier with a clean glass door to watch it dance.

 
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Post by fig » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 12:04 pm

Yeh those blues really rage in the secondary system on this Clayton. It does burn good. Just doesn’t burn down good in my stoves. Probably something I’m doing.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 1:17 pm

Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr--NOT doing!! LOL

 
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Post by Holdencoal » Tue. Jan. 19, 2021 1:30 pm

Fig, stick to burning one fuel for awhile, if you can. See how it works and feel it out.


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