Price of coal

spinningsheep

thats a great system i hear. How long does 50kg usually last? How often do you refuel it? My coal merchants has one in a portacabin, no white casing just the black inner parts and he says he keeps the thermostat down to nil & and it will idle away for 5 days sometimes, just with minimum de ashing and declinkering. Do you find it a pain or does it work out cheaper than gas?

SurferDan

Hi Spinningsheep

In the recent deep freeze we've been filling the boiler once a day with about 15kg of fuel.
However as you say as the weather gets warmer and particularly during the summer when it is only used for hot water one filling lasts for days.
We've actually gone away for a week and it was still lit when we got back!
Yes the declinkering can be messy but it is cheaper than gas for us.
I used to work in the coal industry (32 years) so I recieve a reduced (compared to when I was working) coal allowance.Therefore most years I don't have to buy any fuel at all. It's only because of the recent cold that we were on the verge of running out (due to the way the deliveries are scheduled) that we had to buy some fuel.
However we had 600kg delivered on Friday so we will be self sufficient for the next couple of months at least.

elektra-2007

Is anyone using a parkray cumbria?
im having terrible trouble with mine, its not yet 1yr old and the housing !!! put it in. ive had 3 new thermostats in the last few months as they just arnt working, they just spin on the dial and wont open up, asoon as the fire gets hot the clamp shut, but its not even hot enough to do my rads!!! So im burning fuel and sat here freezing. Or i can jam the flap open with a piece of coal and then its too hot!!
Any ideas anyone, am i doing somthing wrong???

alastairq

rejuvenated this thread.....I had a Parkray for many years....the thermostat was best ignored...and controlled by hand....make sure the linkage is connected properly?

Type of fuel used makes a big difference with these Parkrays.....we found it more economical to use anthracite rather than ordinary [soft] coal....anthracite burns very much hotter..more of a furnace than a fire.....but as a result, we used less of it overall.

The fire did need watching though...leave the draught open, go out, and on return would find the water in the hotwater tank bubbling away merrily, with steam coming from the overflow.

once a good fire going, open up doors to reduce draught.

For radiators, balancing is needed....we had our ''cross'' radiator in the bathroom..very snug, all the time.....[needed to be kept 'on' to aid circulation].....

do you have an electric CH pump?

Or are you relying on thermo-syphon to heat the rads?




Price of coal, peeps.....no more parkrays for me....but a cola fire[box]...

recently bought 20kg,pre-packed house coal, direct from merchant...£6.50.

[bunker full of logs..and only me at home for a lot of the time.]