Coal ?

[The Grey Goose]

Currently using 25kg bags of Homefire large cobbles.

I notice a lot of people use the Excel brand which I haven't tried...    thoughts on best coal anybody?

[Mike Hurley]

If you type in solid fuel in the search bar there is loads of info.

[magnetman]

Excel is popular but it really stinks. Petcoke based product. 

 

The problem with smokeless fuels is the ingredients are widely variable by definition so you don't always get the same thing. 

 

Homefire is usually good but can be rubbish. 

 

Wood is best but not easy to keep in and difficult to acquire. 

 

I'll be burning hawthorn, oak, ash, oriental plane, spindleberry, horse chestnut, beech, crab apple and possibly some lime and a bit of maple this weekend. 

 

also have my eye on a bit of very mature buddleia. 

 

I think for coal the Oxbow Red has some good reviews. 

 

 

google defra smokeless fuels for the full list with ingredients. 

[booke23]

23 minutes ago, The Grey Goose said:

Currently using 25kg bags of Homefire large cobbles.

I notice a lot of people use the Excel brand which I haven't tried...    thoughts on best coal anybody?

 

Last winter I experimented with 11 different kinds of coals. I found Oxbow glow to be the best balance between cost and performance while Ecoal or homefire ovals were probably best but quite a bit more expensive. Only a couple of types were awful.

 

Of course everyone's stove setup is slightly different so what works well for me may not work well for you.

 

 

[PaulJ]

I like Excel and its my smokeless fuel of choice. Getting a bit dear now so gave Burnwell a try- its a couple of quid cheaper a 25kg sack and at least as good for heat, ash, staying in etc

[JoeC]

Last year I used Oxbow Newheat and liked it but where I am this year (I am a CC'er) they do not sell this type - mainly Excel. It burns OK but I think gives a lot of ash.

Which coal is best for your boat? There are too any variables from one boat to another so I would suggest buying different types and seeing which one you like most hoping that you can get a good supply of that one.

[dmr]

We have used Ecoal for a number of years now and for us its just about the best coal we have ever used, only downside is maybe a bit more ash. A couple of neighbours have tried it and it has not worked for them at all, so choice of coal really does appear to vary from stove to stove (and person to person).

Ecoal is at the more expensive end, but no more expensive than other good coals.

We get ours delivered free by Wickes and if you can get the trade discount is no more expensive than getting a bulk delivery by the big internet coal merchants. It also comes in 10kg bags which is a bonus as you get older.😀

[Guest]

On 01/12/2023 at 21:12, PaulJ said:

I like Excel and its my smokeless fuel of choice. Getting a bit dear now so gave Burnwell a try- its a couple of quid cheaper a 25kg sack and at least as good for heat, ash, staying in etc

 

We have used Burnwell last few years and are using it this. Very happy with it. Initially we bought it loose from a coal merchant but when he started letting us down on deliveries we switched to the pre packed stuff from MKM Building supplies.

 

Handily it's made from about four miles up the road at Redcar too. 

6 minutes ago, dmr said:

We have used Ecoal for a number of years now and for us its just about the best coal we have ever used, only downside is maybe a bit more ash. A couple of neighbours have tried it and it has not worked for them at all, so choice of coal really does appear to vary from stove to stove (and person to person).

Ecoal is at the more expensive end, but no more expensive than other good coals.

We get ours delivered free by Wickes and if you can get the trade discount is no more expensive than getting a bulk delivery by the big internet coal merchants. It also comes in 10kg bags which is a bonus as you get older.😀

 

I noticed our local ASDA has Ecoal in this year. £9 a bag but not sure how that compares.

 

https://groceries.asda.com/product/logs-winter-fuels/homefire-eco-friendly-smokeless-fuel/1000325879506

[magnetman]

£9 is a lot for a 10kg bag..

 

I tried Ecoal didn't really get on with it. If I have coal it is stored outside so gets a bit damp due to holes in the bags. I found it a bit sticky. 

Like it has some sort of oil on it. 

 

One fuel I have found is very nice for a mild fire in the absence of wood is Union lignite briquettes. Its low energy surface mined coal but this can be an advantage if you don't want the Boat to get too hot. 

Not sure if the Union briquettes are still available as it is sometimes classed as not smokeless authorised. 

[dmr]

28 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

I noticed our local ASDA has Ecoal in this year. £9 a bag but not sure how that compares.

 

https://groceries.asda.com/product/logs-winter-fuels/homefire-eco-friendly-smokeless-fuel/1000325879506

 

Thats an ok price for a bag in a supermarket, getting it from Wickes in multiples of 3 with the trade discount gets it down to £7.20 for 10kg, equivalent to £18 for 25kg.

The free delivery is a big bonus for me. We now have canalside land but previously they have delivered to the boat.

4 minutes ago, magnetman said:

£9 is a lot for a 10kg bag..

 

I tried Ecoal didn't really get on with it. If I have coal it is stored outside so gets a bit damp due to holes in the bags. I found it a bit sticky. 

Like it has some sort of oil on it. 

 

One fuel I have found is very nice for a mild fire in the absence of wood is Union lignite briquettes. Its low energy surface mined coal but this can be an advantage if you don't want the Boat to get too hot. 

Not sure if the Union briquettes are still available as it is sometimes classed as not smokeless authorised. 

 

I agree about the wet coal but I thought that all coal bags had holes in them to prevent them from bursting if handled roughly. A tarp over the coal pile works well as long as they are dry when they arrive.

[Rob-M]

I've found Excel burns best on our stove, fill it up with plenty of air and it heats up quickly then reduce the air and let it tick over all day.  It generally picks up quickly in the morning but if it dies down too much overnight a few bits of kindling gets it going again.  I don't find ash is too bad, tend to empty the ash pan every couple of days.

[Mike Tee]

We don’t burn much coal as our main stove is diesel, so I don’t mind buying from the more expensive end - Taybrite or Phurnacite are my favourites. I just wish, as I’ve been a pensioner for a good while, that they did it in 10kg bags!

[magnetman]

Someone I think it was @mrsmelly said recently that the Oxbow Red was available in 10kg bags. 

 

So far the only things I have seen in 10kg format are Brazier, Ecoal, Homefire, Newheat? and Blaze. 

There may be others. 

[bizzard]

10 sekg bags of Brazier at The Range and Wickes, 10kg bags of Blaze Homebase.  10kg Flame at Aldi.     To name a few.

[magnetman]

Coal boats could be filled with loose ovals and sell them individually. 

 

Black builders buckets are good for coal. Not sure why they are specifically aimed at black builders as this seems like racial profiling but a very handy thing to take coal from the delivery man..

I think a coal boat continuously cruising around selling by the kilo and stopping on demand could do a bit of business if it was reliable. 

[mrsmelly]

25 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Someone I think it was @mrsmelly said recently that the Oxbow Red was available in 10kg bags. 

 

So far the only things I have seen in 10kg format are Brazier, Ecoal, Homefire, Newheat? and Blaze. 

There may be others. 

Not me old sport. I am in the unlucky position of being stuck in a house, not the luxury of old when I lived on boats 

I suppose being honest though it is easier just switching the Worcester Bosch oil boiler on but apart from that I find no benefits whatsoever 

[magnetman]

Oh it was someone else. Sorry for the naming. I do feel for you while sitting in my luxury shedlike boat with the woodburner causing a tee shirt wearing outcome.

 

 

[junior]

I just wish I could buy house coal still for my open fire 😒

[magnetman]

1 minute ago, junior said:

I just wish I could buy house coal still for my open fire 😒

Did you not manage to get any from the Welsh suppliers ?

[junior]

Just now, magnetman said:

Did you not manage to get any from the Welsh suppliers ?

I'm in Germany at the moment. I still like to buy from the local coal boat (Halsall/Alton), so we're a bit limited to what they stock. House coal supplies ran out a long time ago.

Just ordered some Excel to keep us going over Dec/Jan, but I'm tempted to drive over to Wales and get a few bags of house coal trebles in for Christmas 🎄. 

[magnetman]

Yes that sounds sensible.

 

Not cheap at over £1 a kilo but there sellers from Ireland listing on ebay who will ship single bags of Columbian doubles.

 

 

[cheesegas]

Think it depends on the stove but I've tried a few brands and Excel is the best for me - low ash, stays in for a very long time, burns to completion if left to die out and is plenty hot.

 

Tried a few of the 10kg cheapies from Home Bargains etc, Brazier and Newheat I think, way more ash compared with Excel and needed a deep bed of the stuff or else it would go out.

[Francis Herne]

At the moment I have Excel and Newburn.

 

I haven't found anything better than Excel for staying in.

Stove loaded fully on a low burn (after getting it hot first) and it'll tick over for up to 24 hours, quite handy if I'm out for the day.

Very little ash and I don't often have to riddle it - enough falls through the grate on its own.

 

Newburn burns much hotter for a given volume but quicker, and tends to go out if left to smoulder. I keep a couple of bags for below-freezing weather because Lark has hopeless insulation and too many windows.

Getting my desired heat output in those conditions from Excel requires very inefficient air settings with a lot of heat being blasted out of the flue, or stacking the stove so full it tends to spill hot coals onto the hearth.

 

Supertherm and Briteflame were both hopeless - far too much ash, choked the grate without frequent riddling. I found the latter completely impossible to keep in for 7 hours overnight in my stove after a week of frustrated experimentation.

[rusty69]

Equal quantities of Burnwell and Newburn here. Both will stay in for 24 hours, but both produce much more ash than they did 3 years ago. 

[gatekrash]

11 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Equal quantities of Burnwell and Newburn here. Both will stay in for 24 hours, but both produce much more ash than they did 3 years ago. 

We've used Newburn at home for a few years, works really well on our stove which is fitted into a very large unlined stone chimbley and quite fussy about solid fuel.

 

I've noticed that this year's tonne of Newburn we've bought is different from last year, the briquettes are softer and aren't burning out fully to ash, plus they're needing a lot more depth to get the burn right.

 

I guess there are so many variables when they make this stuff that it's only to be expected that reach batch is slightly different.