"Big Vein" Coal From Georges Creek Field - MD

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LDPosse
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Post by LDPosse » Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 1:55 pm

Since I'm trying out several different coals, I figured I could take some video so folks could see the stuff burning for themselves.

Anyway, this is coal I got from Cobra Mining in Barton, MD, about 12 miles south of Frostburg, MD. The coal I got was their "Lump" size, which varies in size from a little smaller than nut, and some pieces around 5-6". The price was $85/ton.

Here's a quick video of the coal burning in my DS1500 :

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Last edited by LDPosse on Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 3:37 pm

Looks real good LD :) What kinda money ya talkin?

 
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LDPosse
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Post by LDPosse » Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 4:10 pm

Updated the original post with the price. $85/ton.


 
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Berlin
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Post by Berlin » Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 4:34 pm

looks like some good stuff. Eastern coals like those in parts of Maryland typically have a high ash fusion temp and won't clinker easily. The problem with most eastern coals - especially low/mid volitile eastern coals is that they tend to have a high coke button and a high propensity toward agglomerating. This is when the coal melts together during burning and creates a mat of coke that is difficult to break up- coals that do this are no good for hand-firing, they'll make the occasional soot problem seem like a dream.

 
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LDPosse
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Post by LDPosse » Sun. Jan. 13, 2013 5:14 pm

Berlin wrote:looks like some good stuff. Eastern coals like those in parts of Maryland typically have a high ash fusion temp and won't clinker easily. The problem with most eastern coals - especially low/mid volitile eastern coals is that they tend to have a high coke button and a high propensity toward agglomerating. This is when the coal melts together during burning and creates a mat of coke that is difficult to break up- coals that do this are no good for hand-firing, they'll make the occasional soot problem seem like a dream.
This Big Vein coal definitely swells more than the stuff I got up at Valier's, but not as bad as the stuff I got from Country Coal at Somerset. I threw 2 big chunks of the stuff from country coal in the stove, they expanded so much that I had coal falling out of the loading door when I opened the stove. The stuff from country coal put out good heat but it was very crumbly, and their ROM looked to have lots of fines in it.

It seemed that both of these coals broke apart fairly easy though after a 12 hour burn. I was somewhat concerned about how much the coal swells, in regards to how much force that puts against the inside of the stove, and if it could damage anything. I had seen this on Norfolk Southern's website when searching for "Coke Button"
Norfolk Southern Website wrote:
Coke button (See FSI) — A button-shaped piece of coke resulting from a standard laboratory test that indicates the coking or free-swelling characteristics of coal. A coke button is usually expressed in numbers from one to nine. This represents the size of the coke as compared to a standard. The more a coal swells and cokes, the higher the number assigned to it.

Expansion/contraction — As coal is coked, it contracts and expands to a certain degree. The pressure exerted on oven walls due to expansion may be great enough to cause damage to the walls. The expansion/contraction properties can be determined in laboratory tests.

Free swelling index (FSI) — A measure of the tendency of a coal to swell when heated under controlled conditions. It is used as an indication of the caking characteristics of coal when burned as a fuel. It is not recommended for determining the expansion properties of coals in a coke oven.

 
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Nov. 19, 2018 11:38 pm

Still $85.00/ton...


Cobra Mining, located at 18918 Barton

Water Tank Road, Barton, MD, has House Coal

available for sale: (Bituminous Coal) Big

Vein, Run of Mine (Bakertown), or Stoker

Coal - $85 per ton. Pick up or delivery*.

(*Delivery fee based on distance.) Hours of

operation: Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.,

Occasional Saturday 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Contact Vic at 301-697-3862 before coming

to check availability of coal! Contact

Michele at 301-463-3335 for directions or

to obtain more information about delivery!


 
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Post by LDPosse » Fri. Jan. 11, 2019 10:40 pm

I took a trip to Deep Creek Lake in August of 2017 for a work function, and picked up 2 tons of “Little Inch” house coal while I was in the area. I purchased from Tri-Star mining in Barton, MD, they are basically on the other side of Barton, on the next ridge over. Last I had checked, Cobra was out of little inch coal.

I had intended to use the coal in my small blacksmith forge, but it is deteriorating from sitting outdoors. I’m going to haul it up to the house and finish off the season with it.
9B7D6F20-6A3C-43D8-9455-789C9445D9BA.jpeg
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corey
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Post by corey » Sat. Jan. 12, 2019 1:53 am

LDPosse wrote:
Fri. Jan. 11, 2019 10:40 pm
I took a trip to Deep Creek Lake in August of 2017 for a work function, and picked up 2 tons of “Little Inch” house coal while I was in the area. I purchased from Tri-Star mining in Barton, MD, they are basically on the other side of Barton, on the next ridge over. Last I had checked, Cobra was out of little inch coal.

I had intended to use the coal in my small blacksmith forge, but it is deteriorating from sitting outdoors. I’m going to haul it up to the house and finish off the season with it.

9B7D6F20-6A3C-43D8-9455-789C9445D9BA.jpeg
Good to hear your still firing bit.

 
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Post by LDPosse » Tue. Aug. 06, 2019 9:21 pm

corey wrote:
Sat. Jan. 12, 2019 1:53 am
Good to hear your still firing bit.
I still have about half of that load of bit left, bit it is stored outside and starting to crumble away a bit. I’m planning to finish it up this winter. I’d like to get another load of that crazy coal from Valier’s coal yard.

 
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Post by PFrank » Sun. Nov. 03, 2019 4:55 am

Coke Button size chart.

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