which is better? Anthracite or home fire ovals

pearson27

hi all

which do you prefer

i usually use homefire but saw Anthracite the other day and never used it before

might switch

wrightk

anthracite certainly has a higher calorific content that homefire. it can be trickier to light as it is not a manufactured briquette it is a naturally mined product therefore the quality can vary from bag to bag. plenty of kindling and loads of air will get it going.
if you have a top vent above the door might be worth keeping that one open too. it will keep in longer than homefire once youve got it going and youll find you have to reload less.
with regards to ash youll have lots of clinker in your ash pan that will need removing reguarly as opposed to the fine fluffy ash that you get with homefire.

try a bag and give it a go! let us know how you get on

suki1964

Can't beat anthracite for the heat that belts out for hours and its keeping in properties

I use ovals and anthracite. The ovals I use to get the fire going. Once I've a good burn and they are just covering in ash I chuck on a good layer of anthracite and that's it for the day I do sometimes find the room gets too warm though, the other day my sitting room was at 28 with all the doors leading off it open

It is harder to get started which is why I start with the ovals but once going its hassle free

It's the only stuff my coal man himself burns

A._Badger

suki1964 wrote: »

Can't beat anthracite for the heat that belts out for hours and its keeping in properties

I use ovals and anthracite. The ovals I use to get the fire going. Once I've a good burn and they are just covering in ash I chuck on a good layer of anthracite and that's it for the day I do sometimes find the room gets too warm though, the other day my sitting room was at 28 with all the doors leading off it open

It is harder to get started which is why I start with the ovals but once going its hassle free

It's the only stuff my coal man himself burns

That sounds like a god idea, Suki. I might well try it myself. Thank you.

pearson27

how easy is it to light with out other coals/ovals

suki1964

pearson27 wrote: »

how easy is it to light with out other coals/ovals

With a good lump of fire lighter and a good stack of bone dry kindling, a good air flow and a good pull, no so hard

With everything it's practice. It's about learning about your stove and learning what works best yourselves

ktee_uk

Have been using barn and kiln dried woodso far.
Have bought myfirst bag of homefire ovals today so will let you know how i get on

http://tinypic.com/m/i1bur5/2

A._Badger

suki1964 wrote: »

With a good lump of fire lighter and a good stack of bone dry kindling, a good air flow and a good pull, no so hard

With everything it's practice. It's about learning about your stove and learning what works best yourselves

Thanks for your earlier comment about adding anthracite once you have a fire going, Suki. I bought a bag yesterday (terrible price - £13.40 for 25kg) and you're right: it solves the lighting problem and definitely gives out more heat than the Newflame that I'm using.

All I have to do now is find a more sensibly priced source of it for next year!

wrightk

wow! we get 40kg for that here. where abouts are you?

A._Badger

wrightk wrote: »

wow! we get 40kg for that here. where abouts are you?

Kent. Admittedly that was from a retailer, but the price from the one coal merchant left in business that serves my area isn't a lot better. The cheapest price (and this is for 40 bag orders of 50kg open sacks) is £23 each which is utterly ridiculous.

Where are you?

suki1964

A._Badger wrote: »

Thanks for your earlier comment about adding anthracite once you have a fire going, Suki. I bought a bag yesterday (terrible price - £13.40 for 25kg) and you're right: it solves the lighting problem and definitely gives out more heat than the Newflame that I'm using.

All I have to do now is find a more sensibly priced source of it for next year!

OMG that's seriously expensive. We pay £18 for 50kg dilivered. £17 for the ovals