Coal prices

A._Badger

I perhaps haven't done my sums quite as carefully as I should have, but I'm switching back to wood for next winter, due to the excessive and opportunistic rises in solid fuel last year.

I'm sure it will be quite a bit cheaper to use but it needs to be ordered now and stored through the summer.

SEE

A._Badger wrote: »

I perhaps haven't done my sums quite as carefully as I should have, but I'm switching back to wood for next winter, due to the excessive and opportunistic rises in solid fuel last year.

I'm sure it will be quite a bit cheaper to use but it needs to be ordered now and stored through the summer.

I can't find cheap logs anywhere. Do you have any links? CPL are charging £79 for a bag which has risen £10 since October last year.

Frugaldom

SEE wrote: »

I know, its terrible. I feel quite poor this year because of the cost of fuel. I keep hoping the coal merchants will see sense before we all switch to gas, or other.

Switching to mains gas isn't an option for anyone around here and being in private rented housing severely restricts what can be done. I checked out http://www.logsuppliers.co.uk/ again but I'm sure that what I just got delivered this afternoon (logman arrived since last posting here) would fill one of those large sacks. I can make a £40 load last me for 2 months and the fire's been lit almost every night in an attempt to keep the electricity use down a little. If it helps any, I found my local log man advertising on eBay, just search for firewood or logs and it's surprising what you can turn up. We can also purchase a day permit to saw/collect from the forestry commission but you need the relevant chainsaw license, trailer, 4x4 or tractor to get the trailer there, manpower to move the stuff and then it still needs to be chopped and seasoned. £40 a load all split and seasoned suits me just fine. I never buy kindling, it's easily collected and dried locally and I cut & dry as much willow as the garden permits. I use an average of about £1 per day for fire fodder but I buy the cheap coal. Coalman reckons the price should be coming down soon, so I'll be clearing the garage to make space for a tonne or 2 when that happens.

SEE

nykmedia wrote: »

Switching to mains gas isn't an option for anyone around here and being in private rented housing severely restricts what can be done. I checked out http://www.logsuppliers.co.uk/ again but I'm sure that what I just got delivered this afternoon (logman arrived since last posting here) would fill one of those large sacks. I can make a £40 load last me for 2 months and the fire's been lit almost every night in an attempt to keep the electricity use down a little. If it helps any, I found my local log man advertising on eBay, just search for firewood or logs and it's surprising what you can turn up. We can also purchase a day permit to saw/collect from the forestry commission but you need the relevant chainsaw license, trailer, 4x4 or tractor to get the trailer there, manpower to move the stuff and then it still needs to be chopped and seasoned. £40 a load all split and seasoned suits me just fine. I never buy kindling, it's easily collected and dried locally and I cut & dry as much willow as the garden permits. I use an average of about £1 per day for fire fodder but I buy the cheap coal. Coalman reckons the price should be coming down soon, so I'll be clearing the garage to make space for a tonne or 2 when that happens.

When I burn logs they give very little heat and burn really quickly. I'll check out Ebay, thank you:T

A._Badger

SEE wrote: »

I can't find cheap logs anywhere. Do you have any links? CPL are charging £79 for a bag which has risen £10 since October last year.

A lot depends on where in the country you live. Here, in Kent and Sussex, wood is easy to come by (though not necessarily good wood) and I understand it's a bit cheaper than in some places where there is less forestry.

All the same, it's easy to beat the sort of prices firms like CPL charge. Try your local newspaper, eBay, Google and cards in shop windows. Keep an eye open when you drive around - vans have stickers on, people stick signs outside their houses.

The problem comes in finding wood that is suitable for use - especially if you have a stove. Ideally, they need wood with less than 20 per cent moisture and my experience has been that none of the suppliers I've used has been getting anywhere near that.

As a consequence, what I do is buy the bst I can and store it, sawn into logs, open to the air, but sheltered from overhead rain. You need a lot of storage space (I fill a large car port) but it works.

Hope that's some help.

pblackford

Hi,

The most economical way of buying coal/solid fuel is to buy in bulk in the summer months where the best dicounts are available. Your local approved merchant is usually the best place to try.

As the previous post said, it will depend on your location in the UK as to how much it'll cost, for example, domestic fuel in the Midlands and North of England is alot cheaper than in the South, this is purely down to haulage costs.

Just a quick note, with solid fuel, you do tend to "get what you pay for", in that I mean that a cheap smokeless fuel or budget house coal will not be as efficiant as English house coals (Dawmill/Thorseby) or manufactured smokeless fuels (Homefire/NewFlame etc). Your merchant will be able to advise you.

Also, its best to aviod buying coal from petrol station forecourts or DIY centers as they have a huge mark up and generally the fuel is not as good quality. Not all the time but most of the time.

I hope this helps.

A._Badger

You certainly do have to be very careful with filling station forecourt coal . The price does tend to be extremely high compared with the coal merchant delivered stuff.

However, summer discounts aren't so great, in my experience and the solid fuel distributors have disgracefully ripped-off consumers by inflating prices, not due to costs, but simply to opportunistically match the speculation-driven prices of gas and oil.

I'm not convinced that soild fuel prices are higher in the south because of the cost of trasportation - though I accept it is a factor. I'd bet a penny to a pound that the cost largely reflects what they think they can get away with!

Frugaldom

I spoke to our local coal merchant this week - cheapest coal here is still £11.50 per bag - and tried haggling discount for bulk. His first offer was £10 off if I bought it by the tonne (£11 per bag). His next offer was get an extra bag free with each tonne (Approx £10.95 per bag), but it's not all that much of a saving when you only use a tonne per year. I'll keep haggling - £220 per tonne sounds scandalous to me! :eek: I'll start at £165 per tonne and let you know what he says in a fortnight. :rotfl:

A._Badger

nykmedia wrote: »

I spoke to our local coal merchant this week - cheapest coal here is still £11.50 per bag - and tried haggling discount for bulk. His first offer was £10 off if I bought it by the tonne (£11 per bag). His next offer was get an extra bag free with each tonne (Approx £10.95 per bag), but it's not all that much of a saving when you only use a tonne per year. I'll keep haggling - £220 per tonne sounds scandalous to me! :eek: I'll start at £165 per tonne and let you know what he says in a fortnight. :rotfl:

That's very interesting, thank you for posting that. Maybe we should each post our local prices to get some sort of comparison?

Last year's summer price from my local merchant here in Kent, for one bag of 'Coal Group C' was £12.15.

This year it is a staggering £15.15.

There are tiny extra discounts offered for larger quantities, but nothing to get excited about.

The prices of manufactured smokeless fuels have gone up by similar amounts.

As I wrote yesterday - it's a rip-off.

Frugaldom

If it's any help, the £11.50 coal I buy is the lowest grade, cheapest available. Top grade is £15.50 per bag and the smokeless fuel starts from £16.50 per bag, but I'm burning an open fire, so no point spending more than I have to when I use mostly logs. I expect to spend around £1,700 this year on heat & electricity for a small house, which is ridiculous when that doesn't even include hot water on tap. (The fire has no back boiler.)

I realise that there are all sorts of costs involved in getting coal to us, including cost of running the lorries, staff wages, machinery, maintenance & various other overheads, and that all of these things all increase in price, but it does make me wonder where it will all end.