Price of a bag of coal?

jonewer

A._Badger wrote: »

Out of interest, what sort of stove do you have and how often do you need to sweep your chimney? I found (in previous houses) with a Little Wenlock and then a Yeoman County, the chimney needed sweeping every 2-3 months when I burned coal.

How do you know that your chimney needs a sweep?

jonewer

782sirbrian wrote: »

My advice ring round and check prices even if slightly out of your area.

Yes, I agree. As grahamc2003's find shows, he got significantly cheaper prices just by googling but my google search didnt throw up his supplier despite the fact that I live only a few miles to the left of him!

So if googling - google the neighbouring towns too!

[Deleted User]

jonewer wrote: »

How do you know that your chimney needs a sweep?

Usually when the living room fills up with smoke. *rolleyes icon*

jonewer

Deleted_User wrote: »

Usually when the living room fills up with smoke. *rolleyes icon*

Srsly? My sarcasm detector is kaput.

A._Badger

jonewer wrote: »

Srsly? My sarcasm detector is kaput.

Actually, that is exactly how I found out! I started getting smoke coming out of the stove when I opened the door - clearly it wasn't escaping fast enough up the pipe. I used a small brush to clean the passageways in the stove but it happened again within a week or so, at which point I removed the inspection plate from the main upright - revealing a thick layer of soot.

The sweep removed a lot of soot when he visited and gradually a pattern of all too regular visits became established. Leaving aside the risk of a fire, the cost of sweeping was offsetting any savings over using smokeless, so I switched.

wosters

highrisklowreturn wrote: »

Doesn't homefire cost a fortune? Saw it in B/Q for something ridiculous today for a 10kg bag.

It was in our B&Q today for 8.00 for 10kg and it was on offer at 3 for 2 so 30kg worked out at 16.00. I usually buy Taybrite but bought some Homefire smokeless today to try.....

782sirbrian

wosters wrote: »

It was in our B&Q today for 8.00 for 10kg and it was on offer at 3 for 2 so 30kg worked out at 16.00. I usually buy Taybrite but bought some Homefire smokeless today to try.....

Homefire 25kg £10.56 at Wesley Nicholls in Sheffield
Longleys at Wath on Dearne 20kg £7.90

Brian

DGJaibee

consultant31 wrote: »

Not likely! I use a Tippy bin and find they last about 3 years as they eventually burn through It is great though and does the job it's intended for.

We looked at the Tippy ash can because they are great for emptying ash from a hot fire. Thought they were too expensive and found this the Manor Galvanised Ash carrier £31.00 available online from Barnitts home and garden (sorry new user and not allowed to put the real link in) much cheaper and they were a good company to deal with. Been using it for over a year now and can't imagine how we coped without it.

Coal prices - currently still paying £16.00 per 50kg for Taybrite/Surefire here in South West Scotland but price rise due any moment. We find that it is the best fuel for our Stratford eco boiler - good steady heat and stays in well all night.

pblackford

jonewer wrote: »

How do you know that your chimney needs a sweep?

Your chimney should be swept at least once a year, more so if you are using house coal on a stove.

You should also use a certified sweep as they will give you a certificate necessary for house insurance purposes. Should you have a chimney fire the chances are your insurace company will ask you for this certificate, if you don't have one or is out of date then there could be problems.

pblackford

As for the prices of fuels; you should always use your local approved merchant where possible, they will be cheaper than garden centres (B&Q etc) and especially cheaper than petrol station forecourts.
As someone correctly says on this thread: "you get what you pay for", that is very true when it comes to solid fuel. Try to stick to fuels such as Homefire, Room Heat, Newflame, Maxibrite, Phurnacite, Taybrite or Multiheat. I know that some fuels are only available in certain parts of the country. It is very important to burn the correct fuel for your fire, eg no housecoal on enclosed appliences.
Prices are set to shoot up again this winter due to a number of factors, personally I don't agree with the amount the prices are going up but unfortunatly its not down to me! The prices of diesel and haulage is one of the biggest contirbuters to the increases, but that is the same with everything else.