Burning coal

[LouNY]

Buying matchlight charcoal seems a little expensive when kindling is basically free. Perhaps your coal is harder to get started then ours was. Our coal was a soft subbituminous and lit off fairly easily.

It would be if you where lighting it off repeatedly, I have only lite mine once this year.
Unless something happens to were it goes out, I usually only lite it once or twice in a heating season.
If I was only using coal once in awhile I would just shovel or pour it on top of a hot wood fire.
And yes I am using hard coal, anthracite.

 

[Diggin It]

Doofy - I remember there was a place north of Anchorage - I think it was on the old Fairbanks Hwy. Years before we were there - the story goes - some hunters "accidentally" lit an exposed coal seam and it was still burning in '72 when I was hunting in that area. It must have been soft coal also - the smoke stunk real bad.

"Centralia is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from more than 1,000 residents in 1980 to 63 by 1990, to only seven in 2013, a result of the coal mine fire which has been burning beneath the borough since 1962."

Centralia, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Doofy - I remember there was a place north of Anchorage - I think it was on the old Fairbanks Hwy. Years before we were there - the story goes - some hunters "accidentally" lit an exposed coal seam and it was still burning in '72 when I was hunting in that area. It must have been soft coal also - the smoke stunk real bad. We would gather and use "beach coal" when we went spring clam digging down at Clam Gulch & Ninilchick. It burned but you did not want to stand in the smoke.

I was in Healy and there was a seam of coal burning there. The smoke was coming out of a cliff wall and you could see the coal seam.

I took a LOT of clams out of Clam Gulch, and clams and salmon out of Polly Creek too.

SR

 

[Doofy]

It would be if you where lighting it off repeatedly, I have only lite mine once this year.
Unless something happens to were it goes out, I usually only lite it once or twice in a heating season.
If I was only using coal once in awhile I would just shovel or pour it on top of a hot wood fire.
And yes I am using hard coal, anthracite.

That makes sense then. My friends used Usibelli coal from Healy and it was grey and dull looking. The coal from the Buffalo Mine near Sutton was black and shiny and burned well.

 

[HEC]

Buying matchlight charcoal seems a little expensive when kindling is basically free. Perhaps your coal is harder to get started then ours was. Our coal was a soft subbituminous and lit off fairly easily.

I only use a couple cup fulls to get mine started and boiler will usually keep going all winter . I use a small gas generator when we have a power outage .

 

[Doofy]

I only use a couple cup fulls to get mine started and boiler will usually keep going all winter . I use a small gas generator when we have a power outage .

I really miss coal. No good hardwoods to burn so a wood fire only lasts for a couple hours and is a constant struggle to keep stoked and going. A wood fire needs constant attention and heaven forbid, you need to be gone for a couple of days.

Heating oil is my main source with propane and wood as backup. Also, keep the 2,000 watt Honda generator gassed up, warm and ready. Life is Good!

 

[HEC]

I really miss coal. No good hardwoods to burn so a wood fire only lasts for a couple hours and is a constant struggle to keep stoked and going. A wood fire needs constant attention and heaven forbid, you need to be gone for a couple of days.

Heating oil is my main source with propane and wood as backup. Also, keep the 2,000 watt Honda generator gassed up, warm and ready. Life is Good!

As I was getting older the wood thing was just to much work for me to do anymore , and I never knew if I was even going to be able to get a load of log length delivered for various reasons here in my area as of late . With coal it's so much easier , 5 or 10 mins. once every day or two depending on how cold it is . I must admit I loved burning wood when I was able to do so . Yes you are right ( Life is Good )

 

[Doofy]

As I was getting older the wood thing was just to much work for me to do anymore , and I never knew if I was even going to be able to get a load of log length delivered for various reasons here in my area as of late . With coal it's so much easier , 5 or 10 mins. once every day or two depending on how cold it is . I must admit I loved burning wood when I was able to do so . Yes you are right ( Life is Good )

You are absolutely right about wood gathering or even purchasing being a royal pain. I am surrounded by easily obtained firewood and yet I can gather and process enough willow and spruce just cleaning up around the house. Been actively trying to become more "Firewise" by getting rid of brush and trees that are to close. If I didn't have such a cosy WoodStove, I would switch back to coal in a heartbeat.