Coal dust

rockchick113

We have an open fire,over time I saved all the coal dust from the bottom of the coal buckets/ bunker and I have 3 buckets if coal dust.
As anyone any idea on what to do with it,with the price of coal I don't just want to throw it.

whitewing

Be very careful, according to wikipedia it could spontaneously combust (although you did say you had it in buckets, which I guess may be better but don't base the safety of your family on my comments)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_dust

muckybutt

If its dry DO NOT throw it on the fire !

Coal dust like that will flash over - call it a mini explosion - I kid you not.

Easiest thing would be to wet it, then compress it into small nuggets, and I mean really compress it. Then let them dry out, when they are fully dried out pop a few at a time onto the fire.

Other than that the safest thing to do would be dispose of it.

rockchick113

muckybutt wrote: »

If its dry DO NOT throw it on the fire !

Coal dust like that will flash over - call it a mini explosion - I kid you not.

Easiest thing would be to wet it, then compress it into small nuggets, and I mean really compress it. Then let them dry out, when they are fully dried out pop a few at a time onto the fire.

Other than that the safest thing to do would be dispose of it.

I was only daft enough to put coal dust on the fire once,thinking I could use it to bank it up,but now some 20 years later I just think there must be a way to use it,like you say small nuggets but it was finding a way to compress it that it would bind together.

ariba10

Mix it with some Portland Cement (About 1 of Cement to 10 coal dust) add water to make a stiff paste.

Then form into balls a little smaller than a tennis ball.

Put them somewhere to dry.

Ready to burn Briquetts.