Anthracite Coal Sizes

Anthracite coal used for home heating purposes is uniformly sized to the following dimensions. The different sizes are used in different applications. The larger sizes consisting of stove, chestnut and pea are typically used in hand fired applications. Smaller sizes like rice, buckwheat and barley are typically used in automatic stokers where the coal is mechanically fed.

Coal Size Min Size in Inches Max Size in Inches Similar Sized Objects
Barley 3/32" 3/16" Coarse Sand
Rice 3/16" 5/16" Pencil Eraser
Buckwheat(Buck) 5/16" 9/16" Dime
Pea 9/16" 13/16" Quarter
Chestnut(Nut) 13/16" 1-5/8" Golf Ball+
Stove 1 5/8" 2 7/16" Baseball
Egg 2 7/16" 3 1/4" Softball
Range* 9/16" 1-5/8" Quarter to Baseball
*Range coal is a mixture of pea and nut, consult your coal dealer for this option.