Coal...how much !!!!

[Chloe]

Ensure after you use the coal you clean your chimney, we had the same problem till we cleaned ours. We are paying £6.40 for 20kg bag and it burns well.

 

I still think it's good value for money but no form of heating is particularly cheap. I'm paying about £8/25kg for large lump anthracite and £10.30 for Taybrite. Gas comes in at £26/13kg bottle and a friend's Webasto eats that stuff. The Rayburn is using about two bags of anthracite and half a bag of Taybrite and some kindling at the moment, but I'm doing a lot of cooking for Christmas and am at home all day. Normally she burns about a bag and half at week. Because I do most of my cooking on the Rayburn I use less than two bottles of gas a year and I spend very little on electricity (£15 since May) as it heats all my water too.

 

There are still deep mines in Britain - Daw Mill near Coventry is the largest, I think. They supply mostly to power stations as far as I know.

 

edited because when I said Webasto I meant Alde. Derrrr.....

[bizzard]

When firing up my scale 3.1/2''gauge model steam loco which i built many moons ago,this was the procedure.---Pop the battery powered forced draft blower on the chimney.Pop some small methylated spirit soaked sticks into the firebox,chuck a lighted match in,wait a little until taken hold,then turn on the battery blower, then with a squeezed up teaspoon which was my firing shovel bung in a layer of small charcoal,let that take hold and then start building the fire up with Anthracite broken up to the size of a large baked bean.The boiler would be making steam by now and as soon as the pressure gauge reached 20lb p.s.i'' take off the artificial blower and turn on the loco's own steam blower,this would bring the pressure up quickly to its working pressure of 90-to-100 LB p.s.i'' .This steam raising performance would only take about 15 minutes.And then off i'd go like a scalded cat,Chuff-chuff,choo-choo,chuff-chuff,atchooo!

[14skipper]

£12.59 supertherm 25kg in the south west

 

14skipper

[soldthehouse]

It's much higher than Fenland prices. We bought 500 litres for the Rayburn 2 weeks ago, price was £296 or thereabouts but that included a discount because other customers in the area were getting deliveries from the same tanker on the same day. I have just checked on the internet and today's price would be £305.87p - but again you might get a discount for the reasons just mentioned.

That's from Boiler Juice - do they cover the North?

Yes Ive fallen foul of the direct debit system. I pay a fixed amount every month and had accumulated a positive balance so had no choice but to order from the supplier who had my money, At the time it was about 304 with boilerjuice but my hands were tied. Needless to say Ive cancelled the direct debit, cant believe I fell for it after a lifetime of preaching about such pitfalls!!!Seems all the kerosene for domestic use is supplied by DCC even the company Ive just bought from [butler fuels] has been or is in the process of being absorbed by them. I think iyts in front of the monopoly bods so they must have a fair grip on the market

I will have to plead infirmity as I,m under the quack at the moment

[i love my narrowboat]

Blimey, and there was me thinking that £11 for a 25kg bag was the top of the price structure!

 

 

We pay £8.90 for 25kg stoveglow at the local garden centre in Billing,,,,GREAT STUFF, fire going 24/7 and a bag lasts 4 days with the fire on all the time. we have an ecofan which sends the hot air down to the bedroom, we have a 60' boat , so i think we are doing ok for that price .

[nina]

Husband recently brought home a 5.00 bag of compressed logs made from sawdust/wood pulp. (I think). They are very dense but light. At first, I thought he'd made a mistake and that they'd burn too fast but they are brilliant at getting the fire going quickly from being very low (first thing in the morning) and they burn very hot, (creating instant heat). They warm the boat up so quickly that we've found we can reduce our coal usage by half. We now burn these logs during the evening to warm up the boat, then put the coal on at night to keep the fire going, bring it back to life in the morning with the logs, etc, etc.

I don't know where he got them from but I think they're on sale at most marina's. We're into our second week and the best thing is that they produce so much instant warmth very quickly. They also burn for quite a while although not quite as long as coal but we're using a lot less coal and the logs last a while.

 

Just asked my husband........4.95 a 25 kilo bag from a local garden centre.

Edited December 19, 2011 by nina

[David Mack]

Yes Ive fallen foul of the direct debit system. I pay a fixed amount every month and had accumulated a positive balance so had no choice but to order from the supplier who had my money, At the time it was about 304 with boilerjuice but my hands were tied. Needless to say Ive cancelled the direct debit, cant believe I fell for it after a lifetime of preaching about such pitfalls!!!Seems all the kerosene for domestic use is supplied by DCC even the company Ive just bought from [butler fuels] has been or is in the process of being absorbed by them. I think iyts in front of the monopoly bods so they must have a fair grip on the market

I will have to plead infirmity as I,m under the quack at the moment

 

Boilerjuice.com is owned by Welsummer and Heatingoil.co.uk by GB Oils - they have recently been forced to add this info to their websites. When you get a price from either, they are not trawling the whole market, just the local dealers who are part of the same group.

 

Our local independent oil dealer sold out some years ago to another small local concern, who in turn sold out recently to GB Oils, although they are still trading under their local name. The original owners family have now set up again as independent suppliers, and some of the staff have gone back to the new company.

 

I have given my support to the new concern. If anyone in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire area wants oil I suggest Craggs Energy are worth a call.

 

I haven't asked them whether they deliver to boats, but you never know!

 

David

[dor]

£10.80 for 25Kg from a nursery near Nantwich which is usually a pound or so cheaper than the waterside places, and 50p or so dearer than the coal boat.

 

I bought some from the coal yard at Calverley last year. Thought it was pretty cheap until I realised it was in 20Kg bags - watch out for that!

 

Just a quick addition to this:

 

Nantwich Canal Centre is currently selling Excel for £10.50, which is probably one of the cheaper suppliers in the area, especially waterside.

[Laurie Booth]

Husband recently brought home a 5.00 bag of compressed logs made from sawdust/wood pulp. (I think). They are very dense but light. At first, I thought he'd made a mistake and that they'd burn too fast but they are brilliant at getting the fire going quickly from being very low (first thing in the morning) and they burn very hot, (creating instant heat). They warm the boat up so quickly that we've found we can reduce our coal usage by half. We now burn these logs during the evening to warm up the boat, then put the coal on at night to keep the fire going, bring it back to life in the morning with the logs, etc, etc.

I don't know where he got them from but I think they're on sale at most marina's. We're into our second week and the best thing is that they produce so much instant warmth very quickly. They also burn for quite a while although not quite as long as coal but we're using a lot less coal and the logs last a while.

 

Just asked my husband........4.95 a 25 kilo bag from a local garden centre.

Are you sure it is 25 kilo and not 10 kilo?

[GSer]

Just had a ring around my local suppliers and the best I could get for Taybrite was 44p per kilo in 20 kilo bags.

[Pentargon]

Well that was an "interesting" 60mins @7.30 an hour reading the price of coal. Kilos, Euros, tonnes, tons, bags, £s. even a few halfbags of synthetic wood slipped in under the bar when no-one was looking. This is the old petrol station pricing argument all over again except instead of cars and petrol it's canalboats and coal and the bottom line is ... ? EMPTOR CAVEAT

[soldthehouse]

Well that was an "interesting" 60mins @7.30 an hour reading the price of coal. Kilos, Euros, tonnes, tons, bags, £s. even a few halfbags of synthetic wood slipped in under the bar when no-one was looking. This is the old petrol station pricing argument all over again except instead of cars and petrol it's canalboats and coal and the bottom line is ... ? EMPTOR CAVEAT

And how would the buyer be aware if he or she didnt have notes to compare? rather odd comment let the buyer beware, its only a discussion on varying fuel prices and gives some insight to the less knowledgable or newbie wanting to avoid the pitfalls of being overcharged :D

[dor]

and the bottom line is ... ? EMPTOR CAVEAT

 

So is that "buyer beware" or "beware buyer"?

[PiRSqwared]

So is that "buyer beware" or "beware buyer"?

 

Buyer beware. The order of words is of little significance in Latin.

[jenlyn]

Buyer beware. The order of words is of little significance in Latin.

is it significant to use latin on this forum? i ask myself (its a coal thread) innit?

[PiRSqwared]

is it significant to use latin on this forum? i ask myself (its a coal thread) innit?

 

Dunno...I'm a mathematician, not a philosopher!!!

[jenlyn]

Dunno...I'm a mathematician, not a philosopher!!!

well, at least you could tell us in figures what we are spending, (helpful) If however i asked coalboat for "carbo", they would no doubt respond in one of two ways : a. try and sell me charcoal, or b, look at me strangely and tell me to .... off

[Victor Vectis]

Well that was an "interesting" 60mins @7.30 an hour reading the price of coal. Kilos, Euros, tonnes, tons, bags, £s. even a few halfbags of synthetic wood slipped in under the bar when no-one was looking.

 

Don't forget the model engineering too. Well done Bizzard!

 

I'll be playing with, sorry running my 5" gauge 'Rail Motor' tomorrow, all being well.

 

Even more I know the Birmingham Model Engineers track is by the Stratford at Illshaw Heath and the Kinver Society's isn't far from the S&W but are there any other tracks near canals?

 

SAM

Ryde

IOW

[onionbargee]

At our local builders yard you can buy a pallet of logs cut to fit a small wood burner for £144 = 1 Tonne

 

House coal = £8.50 Smoke less = £10.50

 

It seems to me that the logs work out really cheap if you’ve got the room to store them, and they seem to burn so much cleaner than coal, and smell much nicer!

I suppose if you live aboard you’re a bit limited as to choice of outlets, unless of course you can arrange transport and therefore have more choice of suppliers.

 

I don’t know what the law is on resourcing your own wood, but with the cost of heating spiralling

I’d be very tempted to carry a chain saw with me if i lived aboard.

 

A pedant replies....

 

Logs are never measured by weight, as it's variable with the water content, usually sold by the cu meter if split, plus the fact that the heat output of coal is 40% more than hardwood.

[onionbargee]

[Grace and Favour]

I've been trying to find a table of heat output/value of different coals/cokes'

 

Does anyone know of one, please?

[bizzard]

Don't forget the model engineering too. Well done Bizzard!

 

I'll be playing with, sorry running my 5" gauge 'Rail Motor' tomorrow, all being well.

 

Even more I know the Birmingham Model Engineers track is by the Stratford at Illshaw Heath and the Kinver Society's isn't far from the S&W but are there any other tracks near canals?

 

SAM

Ryde

IOW

Your 5'' gauge Railmotor as you probably know is based on the SR C-14 class that shunted at Redbridge sleeper depot Southampton.

I once visited the Birmingham M.E's track along with Alec Farmer the model boiler expert who was Reeves' resident boiler expert,we had met up to discuss a certain construction problem about a particular boiler type.

Our nearest track is at Sawbridgeworth but not very near the river. The engine that i constructed and used is now in a museum.

Have fun tomorrow with the Rail-motor. Bizzard

[alan_fincher]

I've been trying to find a table of heat output/value of different coals/cokes'

 

Does anyone know of one, please?

This site shows caloric values of most of the solid fuels they do, IIRC.....

 

"Coals2U" Linky

 

Obviously they are not all there, but if you (say) wanted to compare the heat you get from a fixed amount of Taybrite to (say) anthracite it does help.

 

No doubt other sites are more comprehensive, but this is the one I've noted in the past.

[Grace and Favour]

This site shows caloric values of most of the solid fuels they do, IIRC.....

 

"Coals2U" Linky

 

Obviously they are not all there, but if you (say) wanted to compare the heat you get from a fixed amount of Taybrite to (say) anthracite it does help.

 

No doubt other sites are more comprehensive, but this is the one I've noted in the past.

 

Thanks Alan

[jonathanA]

I guess there's always going to be a premium for the 'convenience' of a plastic bag of coal.

 

My coalman delivers good yorkshire coal (nice big lumps)for £16/50Kg also briquette things which I use on the boat for the same price - they seem to burn well, leaving only a fine ash in the morso.

 

I have to put it in my own plastic bags to take to the boat...

 

'good yotkshire' not two words normally heard coming from a lancastrian - well it is Christmas :-)