Price of a bag of coal?

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  • The problem is there's so many types of coal. We have found coke costs less per bag than what we use but it's not as efficient, anthracite and the big oval shaped coals (don't know what they're called) mixed together one burns very slowly whilst the other gives out good heat,, We have experimented over the years with all different types and found this the best economically for use on our fire which is a parkray stove (closed fire). Its very expensive though compared to what relatives pay for Gas and even Electric heating :mad:

    Be very wary about burning wood or logs because my friend used to do this all the time and one day his chimney set alight because apparantly the wood causes tar deposits in the chimney which becomes very flammable with build up the fire brigade warned him.
  • JMartin
    JMartin Posts: 134 Forumite
    The best mix for us at the moment is anthracite and wood - anthracite doesn't light on it's own (even with a full box of firelighters) but once it's going it gives really good heat and burns for around 5 hours without top up (this is on a Charnwood multifuel stove with the air half open). A tiny amount keeps the fire lit all night when dampened.

    CPL are a complete rip off. It's worth the effort to find a local independant coal merchant. Ask around your neighbours or get on the phone and try a few of the cheapest out.
  • hi jamartin,
    How often are you lighting your fire? mine stays in for months.
    every few month i allow it to go out to give it a good clean out though.
    To light it I usually screw newspaper tightly on the bottom, a layer of wood sticks, and a layer of the large rugby ball shaped coals it lights every time as this coal lights really easily. I then keep it topped up only twice a day once a.m once bedtime,,keep it on setting 0 with no vent ever open and I get bouncing hot radiators and piping hot water.
    I think our fire is similar to yours.
    I know some types of coal is more expensive however it works out more economical as we use less of this than we would Coke, and Coke not very good performer on our fire at all.


    On a different note,,we are now paying the price for years of cheap coal imports and our pits closing down and the whole economy is the same,..Great Britain has done herself no favours by allowing this to happen, same with everything else, consumers want cheaper things, imports and our country starts failing, factories closing, people lose their jobs, homes and now recession. Very sad.
  • Icequeen, that fire setting sounds like our fire although i have no idea on what settings it should be set too lol so thanks for that, shall follow that setting as a guide and see how it goes :)
  • No problem,,anothet tip we only rattle the fire once a day also and remove ashes,,if the ash tray gets too full it can restrict the air circulating underneath so needs to be emptied regular too.
  • JMartin
    JMartin Posts: 134 Forumite
    Hi Icequeen,

    We let it go out every morning only because the house isn't cold in the morning...yet. We only got the stove in May so this will most likely change when the bad weather comes.

    What is the name of that fuel you use? Sounds infinately better than doubles or anthracite. To be honest we thought anthracite was the rugby ball shaped coal.

    The setting at the side which it says is for radiator heat is always at 0 and the air flow lever at the top is half open - the one that keeps the doors clean. My husband is very particular about keeping the glass clean!!!!

    We're very happy with our stove as it's a vast improvement on the open fire. The savings on our electricity bills are massive from not having to have the emmersion heater on to get hot water for a bath :) Knowing how to make the most of it is good though and we can only gain this knowledge from people like you who have experience...so thanks :)
  • Hi again JMartin,
    Anthracite coal is the shiny coloured irregular shaped coal, we mix this 50-50 with homefire ovals. We have tried probably all types and this is the best ever for heat, performance and economy.

    Google Image Result for http--www.johndruryandson.co.uk-sitebuildercontent-sitebuilderpictures-coal16.jpg

    OUr fire is exactly the same as this; Parkray Fire Range Solid and Multifuel central heating appliances and inset fire collection. The Cumbria

    Wow,,you are lighting it every morning! Try putting a little coal on it at bedtime to keep it ticking over during the night and then first thing in the morning too. In our experience this is more economical,,saving on firelighters/wood for lighting daily plus we found that when our fire is first lit it burns coal faster,,so in doing this daily wont be as economical in the long run. We've had our fire for several years since moving into our presesnt home,,they sure take some getting used to however after a year of either sweating or freezing during winter and lots of experiments. Also the constant clearing the fire out to re-light daily makes such a lot of dust/mess/hardwork. Another thing we found when lighting the fire have the doors open a tiny bit (a centimetre maximum) as this will draw the smoke straight up the chimney instead of getting the glass all sooty everytime,,and once the fire is going just close them our coalman told us this!. I like my glass clean too,,but remember to make sure the doors are cold when doing so,,or it may crack and as my friend discovered it was very expensive and inconvenient to replace.

    Hope I've helped,,I really do know how difficult they are getting used to but brilliant once this is achihieved :beer:
  • Oh the URLs havn't shown up :(
  • We moved into a house with open fires this year, so this is our first winter with the fires.

    I've been looking around and have only managed to find coal for £19 per 50kg bag. Having read this thread, this seems quite expensive. I've tried Coals2U, which someone else on here recommended, but they're like £11.98 per 25kg.

    I'm in West Sussex - recommendations anyone?
  • A._Badger
    A._Badger Posts: 5,848
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    Forumite
    We moved into a house with open fires this year, so this is our first winter with the fires.

    I've been looking around and have only managed to find coal for £19 per 50kg bag. Having read this thread, this seems quite expensive. I've tried Coals2U, which someone else on here recommended, but they're like £11.98 per 25kg.

    I'm in West Sussex - recommendations anyone?

    Defnitely! If you have the space outside, buy a coal bunker and order your fuel loose, not pre-packed. Search (Yell or Google) for local coal merchants and see what they will charge you for 50kg open sacks, delivered. I believe Corralls is the main coal merchant for your area, but there are probably also cheaper, smaller firms.

    Whatever you do, don't buy pre-packed coal from garages. It is almost always complete rip-off.

    Hope that helps.
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