# Anyone Use Coal...



## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

...for heating your home?

The folks we get our hay from also sell coal. They get it by the tractor-trailer load a few times a year. They heat 3 homes and their greenhouse with coal. Called today to pick up hay and had an interesting conversation. It seems they can't get coal in bulk anywhere. Now keep in mind, we have, within 100 miles of us, the largest anthracite coal vein in the US. In fact, it's found _only_ in northeastern Pennsylvania in a swath that stretches from Dauphin County through Schuylkill and Carbon counties, ending near the Scranton area. 
I did a little digging and found out that over half of the 6 billion tons mined each year are being exported to Asian countries creating a shortage here. Our friends did find some coal; bagged and at twice the price they normally pay. They are going tomorrow with their 8 ton truck and 10 ton trailer to get enough to see them through the winter.

According to the Reading Eagle, a local newspaper, the shortage is expected to last 5-8 years.

If you burn coal, get ready for much higher prices.


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## jungatheart (Feb 2, 2010)

I lived down wind and below a neighbor that burned coal. I'm sure my lungs are permanently damaged as a result. I'm no liberal but that stuff is nasty without some kind of filtration.


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## 1969cj-5 (Sep 14, 2011)

Just had a coal burning fireplace given to me by some folks remodling their home. It is going to be for the greenhouse when I finish getting it closed in. I am going to need to find where to buy coal in bulk now, and this news is not good...


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

UncleJoe said:


> ...for heating your home?
> 
> The folks we get our hay from also sell coal. They get it by the tractor-trailer load a few times a year. They heat 3 homes and their greenhouse with coal. Called today to pick up hay and had an interesting conversation. It seems they can't get coal in bulk anywhere. Now keep in mind, we have, within 100 miles of us, the largest anthracite coal vein in the US. In fact, it's found _only_ in northeastern Pennsylvania in a swath that stretches from Dauphin County through Schuylkill and Carbon counties, ending near the Scranton area.
> I did a little digging and found out that over half of the 6 billion tons mined each year are being exported to Asian countries creating a shortage here. Our friends did find some coal; bagged and at twice the price they normally pay. They are going tomorrow with their 8 ton truck and 10 ton trailer to get enough to see them through the winter.
> ...


Uncle Joe, How much is a ton of coal now? Being a model railroader, I'm familiar with Anthricite, it is the cleanest burning and was the only type the Phoebe Line would burn.

Bituminous coal is whats being mined in W.V. & Eastern Ky. Most of it is being shipped to China for steel production. I am thinking of lining my wood burner with some fire brick and using coal to suppliment the wood. It would enable the stove to burn hotter and longer and may not need stoking late night. The stove pipes would need cleaning more frequently.

I had a thread a couple of years ago on here that delt with free coal, I find it washed up along the shores of Lake Erie from the old steamers that plied the Great Lakes. There is still quite a bit of it around. I would imagine that people who live near old mines can find a free supply of it also.

My next thought is that we have pretty much perfected clean burning coal for industry, I don't care what Obama and the tree huggers say. I do think though that we should impose an environmental tax on China for not using bag houses and scrubbers and sending all of their air polution over here.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

sailaway said:


> Uncle Joe, How much is a ton of coal now?


Around $220 a ton in bulk.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I have an outdoor wood burner that is my sole heat source for our house. It is equipped with shaker grates and I can burn coal. I typically don't though because we have plenty of wood here for the cutting. There is a freight rail line that runs past here about a mile from the farm. After some coal cars derailed a couple years ago we went and got a couple buckets' worth to try in the stove. It did make the wood last longer but it ended up with lots of rocks in it from the ground during the accident. Even though we were careful not to get any more gravel than necessary it still buggered up my shaker grates. I've never bought coal.


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