Smokeless coal v normal coal

I read over the weekend that smokeless coal burns hotter and longer than ‘normal’ household coal. So when I went out to get a few more bags I thought I’d try a bag of smokless to mix with the household stuff in the stove.
I was surprised that it was the same (high) price as household. If it’s better but the same price why don’t we use smokless all the time?

no idea but have tried both and from our experience ‘smokeless’ burns hotter and longer.

You might find that if you bought by the 1/2 ton normal coal would be cheaper though. We’re looking to get a big coal store built for next year so we can buy in bulk as it starts getting significantly cheaper than buying 25kg bags, even when ordering 20 at a time…

Normal coal smells more too, especially the morning after

From my experience, “smokeless” coal is so-named because it doesn’t **** burn. 🙁

( the draw on our fire isn’t very good, and I can’t get smokeless to stay lit in it)

How much do folk pay for smokeless? I think we are paying £5 per 25kg bag.

We bought a bunker a few weeks back that takes half a tonne so will probably buy bulk… which we last probably a couple of winters !

Our smokeless also last for ages, we only put about 10 brickettes on over about a 10 hour period and 1 log per hour and it keeps going burning really hot!

How much do folk pay for smokeless? I think we are paying £5 per 25kg bag.

Well I just had to pay £9.00 which compared to £5.00/bag is taking the pish…… that being the case I’ll buy somwhere else.

Sainsbury sell it for £5 a bag and the local garage for £6.

GrahamS – Try starting the fire with a TigerTim fire log. Basically works like a slow burning fire lighter. So much easier than faffing with paper and kindling. 1 match and a few pieces of coal on top.

Sainsbury sell it for £5 a bag and the local garage for £6.

Is that a 25kg bag??? proper cheap if it is.

10KG I think

i’d be very surprised if you can get smokeless for less than about £8.50 a 25kg bag. If you can, please let me know where from! Locally our sainsburys / garage forecourts do 10kg / 12.5 kg bags for about £5/£6 a bag and the coal merchsnt charges £10 for 25kg bags of furnacite…

Phew…. not too bad then.

GrahamS – Try starting the fire with a TigerTim fire log. Basically works like a slow burning fire lighter. So much easier than faffing with paper and kindling. 1 match and a few pieces of coal on top.

I can get it lit okay. The trouble is that even when I get it good and raging with plenty of fuel, it will still go out completely minutes later without constant attention. I think it is more of a decorative fire than a practical one. It’s sort of a big metal bowl thing that hangs down from the chimney. The draw is rubbish on it. Covering the front grille with a paper, to narrow the intake and improve the draw, usually gets it going again. But it goes out when the paper is removed.

We’re getting it swept this week to see if that helps. If not I might give in a buy a more practical wood stove.

If not I might give in a buy a more practical wood stove.

Having put a stove in earlier this year I now dislike my remaining open fires as they’re so inefficient – I’d very much like to fit more stoves but £££££££ 🙁

Our house has a solid fuel back boiler as our only form of heating / hotwater and we now use smokeless coal exclusively.

Intially we had a 50/50 mix of smokeless and house coal as thats what the people that moved out left us. We have tried the following:

House Coal / Cheap Coal / B and Q / Petrol Station Coal on its own:
Cheaper for coal with a like for like quantity than smokeless (direct from the coal merchant), burns colder and quicker so overall more expensive. Generates a lot of dust in the house, generates a lot of ash, leaves deposits all over the boiler. Can be trouble to keep it lit overnight. Can be lit directly and easily with fire lighters.

50 / 50 mix of smokeless and house coal.
All the down sides of house coal on its own with the exception that it stays lit longer. Slightly warmer fire but not as much as you would expect.

Smokeless coal on its own:
Costs me £15.50 for 50kg delivered, gives out a fierce heat and will stay lit for a good 12 hours. Less ash as it burns “cleaner” and overall less mess in the house. Very hard to light, you need to make a fire with kindling to get the fire and chimney warm and then slowly add the coal. (Also you can use whatever sprays you have in the shed for the bikes and cars if your desperate. Clutch cleaner is v.good). Overall cheaper. Ash pan needs emptied twice a day, sometimes three times if your going mad with the burning of the coal.

If its a decorative little fire then I would burn the cheap stuff, its not important really how much heat you get as it will heat the room anyway. If its to do proper heating or hotwater then its worth sticking with the smokeless coal, once you get used to lighting it the difference is night and day.

Costs me £15.50 for 50kg delivered

where from? local or national firm? Thats a couple of ££ less than what we’re paying currently (like you we have a back-boiler doing our hot water and central heating).

The main diffrence between the two is that smokeless is basically a processed and compressed coal dust. This processing drives off the majority of the methane, sulphur and tar content thus beinf a cleaner product.

woffle – Fegusson Coal – http://www.fergussoncoal.co.uk/

They are cheap, customer service on the phone can be iffy. The drivers are really sound tho.

I find that although smokeless fuel burns for ever it gives little heat and is very pricey.20kg bags of “newflame” are £7.50 from the coal merchant

I found Smokeless coal to be expensive and giving off far less heat and using just as much. Easier to keep burning overnight though as it’s not giving out the heat more needed to be loaded on.

This is to heat the whole house and hot water from a stove.

Grade A coal from the coal merchant and when I have time and the storage space properly seasoned wood is the best.

I have had differing qualities of Grade A coal from different suppliers so I’m paying a bit more but happier with the coal quality I get.

My latest batch of smokless cost me £75 for 250kg delivered.

Find smokeless hard to light too – we’re using coal merchant coal – had a big load delievered.

As above though, have foud performance of fire disappointing – hardly chucks any heat out (burns OK though) and when left, it never burns through the last lot so leaves a rack full of half burnt clinker. It is a bedroom fireplace though.

Want to get a woodburner but put off by quoted installation cost (£2,000+!!!!) plus all the H&S gumph that now seems to go with it. But the front room is very cold (radiators give out as much heat as an unlit candle).

We find we use just as much smokeless but seem to get less heat in our stove.

In a stove it is hard to get the damping right so that smokeless stays hot enough to keep alight through the night.

We get good quality housecoal (Yorkshire doubles) delivered for £8.50 per 50Kg and that works the best mixed with wood.