My Winter Coal Burning Formula for 2014 (Blaschak)

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 7:53 am

Here is the initial "coal burned per day" formula (good only or my homes characteristics) that I've settled upon for 2014, using Blaschak pea in my S130 Coal Gun:

Coal burned for the day = HDD's x 1.47 + 4 lbs.

Where:
HDD's = Heating Degree Days (base 65) = 65 minus the days mean temperature
And 4 lbs. = coal used for the homes average daily DHW needs instead of home heating

Example for a daily (24 hour) mean temp of 20 degrees:
(65-20) x 1.47 +4 = 70.2 lbs. of coal

For comparison purposes, my formula used for all of last year (UAE Harmony pea) was:
Coal burned for the day = HDD's x 1.34 + 3.65

My coal consumption will be way up this winter.

Post by **Lightning** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 7:58 am

Um, why would your coal consumption be way up? Are you expecting a colder than normal winter?

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:00 am

Lightning wrote:Um, why would your coal consumption be way up? Are you expecting a colder than normal winter?

I should have clarified that on an HDD basis Blaschak is delivering close to 10% less BTU's per pound than Harmony did. If this winter is like last winter I will burn 10% more coal this winter than last.

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:03 am

im assuming ur not getting the "heat" from this yrs coal as you did last tear??

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:04 am

Rigar wrote:im assuming ur not getting the "heat" from this yrs coal as you did last tear??

Correct!

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:07 am

lol....i don't know how you beat me to that-...must ha ve took a couple minutes to post!

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:10 am

not to change the topic of this thread....but are you happy with ash content/amnt of this years coal compared to last?
see any difference?

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:11 am

The summer difference was even more dramatic. I burned about 16 lbs. of Blaschak per day this summer (for DHW and to keep the fire alive), vs. about 13.5 lbs, of Harmony per day last summer.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:12 am

Rigar wrote:not to change the topic of this thread....but are you happy with ash content/amnt of this years coal compared to last?
see any difference?

Ash is way up for Blaschak vs. Harmony. I haven't quantified it yet, but it is quite noticeable. I'll also be doing a lot more ash removal this winter.

Post by **Lightning** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:14 am

Could there be other variables in play? More hot water consumption? Or possible heat transfer inhibited by fly ash?

Post by **dcrane** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:17 am

though I like Blaschak coal... since we have the luxury around here of having a chemist/engineer (aka=Larry) around here... im going to try Harmony since im clearly going to have to pay a premium either way

thanks for the heads up bro...

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:20 am

Lightning wrote:Could there be other variables in play? More hot water consumption? Or possible heat transfer inhibited by fly ash?

I don't think so. Gave it the same annual cleaning. The Coal Guns don't actually accumulate much ash over the course of a year. Also, my burn rate for Blaschak this season seems like it will be the mirror image of my burn rate for Blaschak 2 seasons ago.

Perhaps this is because I'm burning the exact same Blaschak as for 2 seasons ago. I do still have a different batch of Blaschak in the bin, but I'm working down my last super-sack of Blaschak first (so I can finally free up the garage for my car). Last season, despite still having the old Blaschak around, I switched to UAE Harmony as soon as it went int the bin, and I stayed with it until it was gone because it was amazing.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:21 am

dcrane wrote:though I like Blaschak coal... since we have the luxury around here of having a chemist/engineer (aka=Larry) around here... im going to try Harmony since im clearly going to have to pay a premium either way
thanks for the heads up bro...

I thought it didn't exist anymore.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:24 am

very interesting comparison, thanks for the info. the harmony coal you are comparing, that was from the previous ownership, correct? I wonder if the characteristics changed at all since it re-opened.

I guess my general question would be are they stuck with the burn characteristics of the coal as it comes out of the ground or can that be changed with how it is processed at the breaker (for example adding 'bone')?

there aren't many dealers around here so I have only burned blaschak rice and have been happy enough to keep using it. when I used the hand fired I had a few options and the blaschak nut burned the best of what I had to choose from.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 8:25 am

titleist1 wrote:very interesting comparison, thanks for the info. the harmony coal you are comparing, that was from the previous ownership, correct? I wonder if the characteristics changed at all since it re-opened.

I guess my general question would be are they stuck with the burn characteristics of the coal as it comes out of the ground or can that be changed with how it is processed at the breaker (for example adding 'bone')?

there aren't many dealers around here so I have only burned blaschak rice and have been happy enough to keep using it. when I used the hand fired I had a few options and the blaschak nut burned the best of what I had to choose from.

Yes, it was real Harmony. The mine is now closed. The current folks occupying the same location are actually (to my understanding) getting their coal from elsewhere.