Another reason I love coal!

[Dmriggs]

it is not odorless to me at all. To others it may be but the sulfur smell bothers me and it is always there for me. But if it does not bother you so for you it is not an issue obviously.

I have burned both bit and anthracite. With bit ( which has a high sulphur content) there def is a sulphury smell! With anthracite ( which is almost pure carbon), I could smell it burning but to me, not the smell of soft coal. We have three steam traction engines and burn ALOT of bit coal during the summer and I personally like a whiff once in a while. Anth, leaves a light brown to tan ash and very little in the flue. Bit leaves dark brown to black real fluffy soot which builds up fairly quick ( without a strong draft) and, will burn in the flue if ignited! Not as ferocious or hot as a creosote fire but, still enough to give you that moment of reflection! Lol
The power house I worked in, burned bit coal and it was always delivered wet for dust purposes and in the winter, diesel was used to keep dust down and to keep it from freezing to the sides of the trailer. Water was still used in conjunction which meant you may end up with a 20 ton chunk , laying on the grate which lead to the storage hopper 4 stories in the air. You always leave an area of live flame on the fuel bed when adding green coal! The gasses distilling off, will ignite explosively ( more than ), if it gets a shot of air and at ignition point. Blew the door open on a furnace I had with a loud bam!

 

[bholler]

have burned both bit and anthracite. With bit ( which has a high sulphur content) there def is a sulphury smell! With anthracite ( which is almost pure carbon), I could smell it burning but to me, not the smell of soft coal.

Yes bit absolutely smells allot worse. But we really don't get that here much for home heating. Actually allot of the industrial applications here use anthracite also be cause that is what we have.

 

[venator260]

Yes bit absolutely smells allot worse. But we really don't get that here much for home heating. Actually allot of the industrial applications here use anthracite also be cause that is what we have.

So, now that this thread has got me to paying attention... I did smell an off odor outside that must be my coal stove going. It's not sulfurous to my nose, but it was there. It was not as strong as wood smoke, but it was there. I like the smell of wood smoke better. So that got me thinking more. I just got a new batch of coal from a supplier that didn't douse their supply in diesel. Held a couple pieces right up to my face, and I didn't smell anything.

Interesting what we observe when we pay attention.

 

[Dmriggs]

it is not odorless to me at all. To others it may be but the sulfur smell bothers me and it is always there for me. But if it does not bother you so for you it is not an issue obviously.

I have burned both bit and anthracite. With bit ( which has a high sulphur content) there def is a sulphury smell! With anthracite ( which is almost pure carbon), I could smell it burning but to me, not the smell of soft coal. We have three steam traction engines and burn ALOT of bit coal during the summer and I personally like a whiff once in a while. Anth, leaves a light brown to tan ash and very little in the flue. Bit leaves dark brown to black real fluffy soot which builds up fairly quick ( without a strong draft) and, will burn in the flue if ignited! Not as ferocious or hot as a creosote fire but, still enough to give you that moment of reflection! Lol
The power house I worked in, burned bit coal and it was always delivered wet for dust purposes and in the winter, diesel was used to keep dust down and to keep it from freezing to the sides of the trailer. Water was still used in conjunction which meant you may end up with a 20 ton chunk , laying on the grate which lead to the storage hopper 4 stories in the air. You always leave an area of live flame on the fuel bed when adding green coal! The gasses distilling off, will ignite explosively ( more than ), if it gets a shot of air and at ignition point. Blew the door open on a furnace I had with a loud bam!

So, now that this thread has got me to paying attention... I did smell an off odor outside that must be my coal stove going. It's not sulfurous to my nose, but it was there. It was not as strong as wood smoke, but it was there. I like the smell of wood smoke better. So that got me thinking more. I just got a new batch of coal from a supplier that didn't douse their supply in diesel. Held a couple pieces right up to my face, and I didn't smell anything.

Interesting what we observe when we pay attention.

 

[Dmriggs]

Coal reacts slower than wood, even bituminous. So, you have to be cautious when loading up! You get too much too quick and then it finally takes off and it looks like you're ready to smelt iron! Difficult to put out also! Suffocating is about the only way in a hurry. A little at a time until its all going good and then start backing off on the air.
Coal takes more air so most stoves that will burn both wood and coal, will have some sort of restrictor plate for the primary air intake. This gets removed when burning coal. Let's say when burning ( anth) for sure.

 

[begreen]

For better combustion coal stoves generally supply air under the coal bed though a grate or shaker grate. Wood stoves usually supply the air to the base of the fire, but not under the wood or grate if there is one.

 

[bholler]

Yeah when i burnt coal in a furnace i had a few coal gas explosions. One that burnt me pretty bad. I should have known to stay clear of the door when i opened it but oh well

 

[bholler]

For better combustion coal stoves generally supply air under the coal bed though a grate or shaker grate. Wood stoves usually supply the air to the base of the fire, but not under the wood or grate if there is one.

Yeah that is why many combo units burn through wood like crazy

 

[drz1050]

In a cat wood stove you can get very long burns from the compressed wood logs from companies like Neil. They are palletized and take up half the space as wood. No bugs, clean, and pretty cost effective.

Very long burns, yes... cost effective compared to coal though? Not really... the cheapest I could find a pallet of envi-blocks in NY for was $250. NIELs were over 400. I can get a ton of coal for $200.

Per million BTUs, coal is half the cost. That's BIG over the course of a nasty winter. Even if you could get tons for the same price, coal is far cheaper, since it holds much more BTUs/ lb.

 

[venator260]

Yeah that is why many combo units burn through wood like crazy

I've heard this, but my stove tends to do ok, although I'm sure that I would be better served with a wood stove. I can get away with loading 3 times a day; 4 times if it's cold. Dry wood, as always, makes a huge difference. I can choke the air back a good ways and still get decent heat. I seem to need to load about as much as my dad does with his Alaska Kodiak, and he's burning more wood per load due to the larger firebox.

 

[Dmriggs]

Shaker grates for sure with anth. I always had unburned chunks that I had to get down through the grates. Awesome heat! You could get it going good, leave for work, come home 14 hours later and, it looked like you just stoked it up. Of course this was with the air almost closed off so it wouldn't burn out of control.

 

[bholler]

I've heard this, but my stove tends to do ok, although I'm sure that I would be better served with a wood stove. I can get away with loading 3 times a day; 4 times if it's cold. Dry wood, as always, makes a huge difference. I can choke the air back a good ways and still get decent heat. I seem to need to load about as much as my dad does with his Alaska Kodiak, and he's burning more wood per load due to the larger firebox.

Yeah some are pretty good.

 

[venator260]

Very long burns, yes... cost effective compared to coal though? Not really... the cheapest I could find a pallet of envi-blocks in NY for was $250. NIELs were over 400. I can get a ton of coal for $200.

Per million BTUs, that makes the compressed logs 2x more expensive. Even if you could get tons for the same price, coal is far cheaper, since it holds much more BTUs/ lb.

I think that many here would not burn wood if they had to buy it. I certainly wouldn't I enjoy all parts of the process. I would like to figure out the inputs in terms of fuel and time to get a cord of wood, and attempt to figure out how much per hour my labor is worth in terms of different fuels (electricity and coal are the only two alternatives I have at the present time). This would be difficult, as my dad and I also cut out any saleable logs as we're cutting firewood, so the time, effort, and fuel/equipment costs are put into both firewood and selling logs for lumber.

 

[drz1050]

I think that many here would not burn wood if they had to buy it. I certainly wouldn't I enjoy all parts of the process. I would like to figure out the inputs in terms of fuel and time to get a cord of wood, and attempt to figure out how much per hour my labor is worth in terms of different fuels (electricity and coal are the only two alternatives I have at the present time). This would be difficult, as my dad and I also cut out any saleable logs as we're cutting firewood, so the time, effort, and fuel/equipment costs are put into both firewood and selling logs for lumber.

You & I are in the same boat, sir... well, similar... I'm just a one man operation, and if I couldn't scrounge wood/ get log length delivered for ~100/ cord, I probably wouldn't burn much either. I'd still have a woodstove, but would use it mostly for ambiance instead of my primary heat source. I definitely wouldn't have invested in the Blaze King if I had to buy each cord split...

 

[venator260]

You & I are in the same boat, sir... well, similar... I'm just a one man operation, and if I couldn't scrounge wood/ get log length delivered for ~100/ cord, I probably wouldn't burn much either. I'd still have a woodstove, but would use it mostly for ambiance instead of my primary heat source. I definitely wouldn't have invested in the Blaze King if I had to buy each cord split...

I think that's about what the going rate around my area is as well. The best price I saw was $450.00 for a triaxle load, but you find the trucker. A guy up the road quoted my dad at $650.00 delivered. The loaded truck was sitting 2 miles up the road at the time. If I ever feel like I need help with the retrieval step in the firewood process, I'll just have to buy a load of paperwood off of a local logger. I'll have to ask around and see when the price is down at the mills, should be able to get a better deal that way. I'm sure that they would sell it to me for whatever they would get at the mill. If they're close, maybe less; it saves on trucking.

For this year and what looks like next year, my supply is pretty well secured, as there's quite a few ash trees left to be cut on the plot of land my house is on. And the worst price that I got for coal this year heating on the coldest day of the year would cost about $8.00 per day. Now I'm hoping that i can buy a ton for less than $250.00 for next year if I haul it. I'll have to call around.

 

[tarzan]

Well, I pay for my wood now. I have well over 20 wooded acres and was all set with a log splitter, tractor and 3 chainsaws of various sizes but messed my back up (ironicly considering the thread, in a coal mine) and still use wood to heat my home.

It's has costed me about $300 a winter so far, which is not bad considering what electric heat or propane would cost. No natural gas service here.

I have been lucky to get my firewood cut, split, and delivered at the price I have so far. May have to re examine after this deal plays out but it's hard to imagine not finding a way to heat with wood.

 

[drz1050]

What do you pay per cord? Up here the average seems to be around $240 for "seasoned" stuff split that day. There's one seller with stacked/ seasoned wood, but he gets ~800/ cord.

 

[tarzan]

What do you pay per cord? Up here the average seems to be around $240 for "seasoned" stuff split that day. There's one seller with stacked/ seasoned wood, but he gets ~800/ cord.

Me? The guy that brings my wood (and everyone else around here) charges by the truck load. It's funny that many adds and or sellers will describe the truck they haul wood in in great detail down to brand and whether it's gas or diesel.

Anyway, I pay $60 a short bed truck load. The guy allways brings a generous truck load since I've gotten to know him and he lives nearby, so not far to haul. It probably averages around $100 a cord?

Plus I've had some free help from family that have cut a few standing dead trees around here that needed to come down. Also a friend that thought he would get a wood stove had some four year old White Oak he gave me after he decided not to get the stove.

I never asked for free help but it was very nice to get plus the 4 year old Oak was great

There's no such thing as seasoned wood around here neither. Most sellers advertise it but I have yet to actualy see any. I'm 3 years ahead so no big deal.

 

[bholler]

How he is fitting over half a cord in a short truck box? I can only get a half cord in an 8' box.

 

[tarzan]

How he is fitting over half a cord in a short truck box? I can only get a half cord in an 8' box.

I'm not sure that he is. Lol it was just a guess. Hence the reason for the question mark after my statement.

My wood is stacked in about 20' to 25' long rows 6' to 7' high and tapering down (not squared) on the ends of the stacks. Like I said , everyone here sells by the truckload and before that I hauled in a tractor bucket so all I know is I burn about 5 of these rows a winter so I've never had any real reason to calculate cords.

A cord is 8x4x4 right? I would think you could hall more than a half a cord in an 8' bed. 8' long, 5'wide, and 2 1/2 high average on average? Minus wheel wells.

 

[bholler]

A cord is 8x4x4 right? I would think you could hall more than a half a cord in an 8' bed. 8' long, 5'wide, and 2 1/2 high average on average? Minus wheel wells.

Yes if you stacked it in neatly but i don't take the time for that

 

[tarzan]

Yes if you stacked it in neatly but i don't take the time for that

I always stacked neatly when I hauled wood to my Dad. I have an F-250 and he uses about 8 loads a year. There was always at least two of us though so it was easier and payed off to stack(less trips). I'm with you though, by yourself it is a pain and amounts to double work except the last row or two.

The guy that brings my wood does have a 1/2 ton short bed and doesn't stack but he only haules 4 miles to me and has built up wooden sides and back glass protection. The last time I was at his house he had an impressive mountain of split firewood. He uses an old case backhoe to scoop it up with the bucket and dumps it in the bed. I do get good loads from him despite the short bed.

 

[venator260]

Yes if you stacked it in neatly but i don't take the time for that

My dad and I had this discussion yesterday. This spring we cleaned up a log yard and used his f250 to haul the wood. We wanted to make each trip count so we stacked it on the bed with the center of the stacks as high as the cab. We figured that should have been about 3/4 of a cord. Bringing it back to coal, we figured that a ton of coal has the btus of two of those pickup loads. So the question from that is, is it more valuable to purchase a ton of coal at the going rate or for two guys to spend most of a Saturday of effort for a similar amount of heat. This ignores the efficientcies of each fuel. I assume that my stove burns coal more efficiently than wood.

Using this comparison and the current price of coal, the comparison would be then, is a free Saturday worth $150.00 plus fuel costs and wear and tear on a chainsaw, splitter, and pickup? This assumes that everything went right and we got two loads done and in the woodshed by the end of the day.

 

[bholler]

I usually find some where that was just timbered to go in and cut tops. Doing that with my f250 with a dump mechanism under the bed i can usually cut and haul 6 or so cords in a week end and then split and stack it in another 2 weekends. The dump bed really sped things up. Now I just have to get it back on the road by the time the weather breaks.

 

[tarzan]

My dad and I had this discussion yesterday. This spring we cleaned up a log yard and used his f250 to haul the wood. We wanted to make each trip count so we stacked it on the bed with the center of the stacks as high as the cab. We figured that should have been about 3/4 of a cord. Bringing it back to coal, we figured that a ton of coal has the btus of two of those pickup loads. So the question from that is, is it more valuable to purchase a ton of coal at the going rate or for two guys to spend most of a Saturday of effort for a similar amount of heat. This ignores the efficientcies of each fuel. I assume that my stove burns coal more efficiently than wood.

Using this comparison and the current price of coal, the comparison would be then, is a free Saturday worth $150.00 plus fuel costs and wear and tear on a chainsaw, splitter, and pickup? This assumes that everything went right and we got two loads done and in the woodshed by the end of the day.

My dad and I cut, split, hauled and stacked his wood every Labor Day weekend since I was just a pup. Things has changed since then. He got older, I got hurt, and now a heat pump takes care of the majority of his heating needs. He keeps a couple loads around and fires up the ol' Fisher replica on the coldest nights.

Some of my best memories are those Labor Day weekends so it would be absolutely worth it to me to be able to do it again.

And yes, that wood was cut green in August/September and burned that winter. There's no changing his ways!