My thoughts on the different types of coal I used this winter.

[Dave_P]

Back in the autumn a short cold snap caused me to pick up a bag of Taybrite on my way home from work. It was ok and stayed in pretty well. Average heat output but the big downer was the amount of ash it produced. Masses of it. Price was medium, I'd say. 7/10 coz I'm generous.

 

Then I got a delivery of 10 bags of Supertherm from coalboat Roach. I've quite liked this stuff in the past but I have to agree with the recent long running thread on this. It's not what it used to be. Leaves some suspicious looking residues and also creates a lot more ash than I'd like. Overall it's very similar to Taybrite in my opinion but slightly cheaper. 7/10.

 

I then got through 3 bags of an un-named 'smokeless fuel' bought locally and a definite improvement over the previous two fuels. Burns longer and hotter with less ash but a bit pricier. 8/10.

 

Then I tried 1 small 10kg bag of 'Brazier' bought from Home Bargains. It was suprisingly good and cheap. Similar burning characteristics to supertherm but less ash and cheaper. If I didn't have to transport it myself, I'd consider using it regulary. A good back up when the coal boat isn't due for a while. 8/10.

 

I then bought 5 bags of Homefire Ovals. Expensive at around £12 a bag but by gawd is it worth it! Stays in almost endlessly and gives a lovely constant heat. Medium ash content. I found I was getting through around two thirds of the amount of coal using this compared to other brands. 9.5/10.

 

I then gave Stoveglow a try, buying 5 bags. This was noticeably cheaper than Taybrite / Supertherm. Tends to burn quite hot and fast so needs careful control of the air-vent to keep in well. Lowest ash so far. A great fuel at the price. Heats up quick so a good choice for spring/ autumn when you might not want to keep your stove on 24/7. 9/10.

 

Recently, I've also been burning compressed fire-logs from Home Bargains which they were selling for £2.49 for a pack of 6. They burn hot and don't last ages but are handy for an evening fire at this time of year. Suprisingly hard to light properly though, I tend to mix with a few bits of Stoveglow.

 

 

Last winter (2012/2013) I was mostly burning a fab fuel called Long Beach. I've only ever seen it for sale in one place and this is what I found out about it:

"As its name suggests, this is a by-product of the petrol refining industry. Most of the

fuel is imported into this country from the United States. Long Beach Nuts and

Lumps are authorised for use in smoke control areas because they are low in

sulphur. Other Pet

Cokes are not authorised.

The product burns very hot and is often sold as a blend with other fuels to enhance the

burning characteristics. However, because of the heat and the low ash content of the

product, it can cause damage to appliances if the concentration of petroleum coke to

other fuels is too high."

Well, I didn't generally blend it and I simply kept the air supply very low and I found it brilliant. Almost no ash at all and with careful control can be kept in for a long time. If any one knows of a supplier near Birmingham, let me know! It was very cheap too. 10/10.

 

 

I hope some of this was useful. I may continue to experiment next year.

 

 

 

[b0atman]

Greenie for that wish you had put prices though .

Home bargains fire logs at 99p are brilliant and can be cut down best way for quick heat and getting fire going

[Dave_P]

Greenie for that wish you had put prices though .

Home bargains fire logs at 99p are brilliant and can be cut down best way for quick heat and getting fire going

Prices vary from place to place but, from memory:

 

Taybrite: £10.50 - 25kg

Supertherm: £9.50 - 25 kg

Unbranded: £9.00 - 20kg

Brazier: £3.99 0 10 kg.

Homefire: £12.25 - 25 kg.

Stoveglow: £9.00 - 25 kg.

Compressed logs: £2.50 for 6.

Long Beach: £8.50 - 25 kg.

(Don't quote me on those prices though and bear in mind that some were bought as part of a bulk order with other boaters, while others weren't)

 

 

The packs of 6 compressed logs are similar to the individual fire logs but work out at less than half the price, they've stopped doing them for this year though.

[b0atman]

just going off track Beau was that Busters old boat if it was hows your leg

[StarUKKiwi]

We have found that Excel the best from Nb Alton £8.50 for 20kg - we did try anthracite as well but find that worked better when mixed.

[peterboat]

Of no help to the OP but long beach is available in Rotherham It does burn HOT!!

 

Peter

[Dave_P]

just going off track Beau was that Busters old boat if it was hows your leg

I never met the previous owner. The broker said he was living in Spain? It's a 55' clipper class from Calcutt if that helps?

 

I'm aware of another 'Beau'. I last passed her on the T&M as memory serves.

 

p.s. My boat's original name was Beaunne Idyll...

We have found that Excel the best from Nb Alton £8.50 for 20kg - we did try anthracite as well but find that worked better when mixed.

What was good about excel? Does it auto-calculate its own costs?

Of no help to the OP but long beach is available in Rotherham It does burn HOT!!

 

Peter

I got mine from Huddersfield. An importer in Yorkshire maybe? I wouldn't try it on an open fire. On my Squirrel it was fine for heat, provided I kept the vents nearly closed.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Dave_P

[b0atman]

Excel believe Norbury junction may stock it

[comfortably numb]

This having been my first winter I had read all the previous threads. Exel seemed to come out well and a local merchant was selling the 20kg bags of it, the smaller size appealed to be as less strain on my ageing back. I was very pleased with it, burnt well, lasted well, and very little ash. Then, after a couple of months a boater next to me complained to the marina about what my smoke was doing to his boat and asked to be moved.

 

I was told that the Exel I was buying was not 'official Exel' The bricks were the same shape but apparently they couldn't/wouldn't produce a certificate when asked. So the marina banned me from using it as it wasn't on their 'approved' list !

 

The only others I've tried are

 

Taybrite 6/10 - hot enough but didn't last as well, and left a lot of residue (clinker??).

Supertherm 7/10 - pretty good on all counts but produces a vast amount of ash.

 

I'd give Exel 9/10 and I've since found a supplier of the 'offical' Exel in the 25kg bags so I'm now using that.

[Dave_P]

This having been my first winter I had read all the previous threads. Exel seemed to come out well and a local merchant was selling the 20kg bags of it, the smaller size appealed to be as less strain on my ageing back. I was very pleased with it, burnt well, lasted well, and very little ash. Then, after a couple of months a boater next to me complained to the marina about what my smoke was doing to his boat and asked to be moved.

 

I was told that the Exel I was buying was not 'official Exel' The bricks were the same shape but apparently they couldn't/wouldn't produce a certificate when asked. So the marina banned me from using it as it wasn't on their 'approved' list !

 

The only others I've tried are

 

Taybrite 6/10 - hot enough but didn't last as well, and left a lot of residue (clinker??).

Supertherm 7/10 - pretty good on all counts but produces a vast amount of ash.

 

I'd give Exel 9/10 and I've since found a supplier of the 'offical' Exel in the 25kg bags so I'm now using that.

Did you speak to the seller of the fake excel? Or report them to trading standards?

[comfortably numb]

No Dave. They got round the legalities by putting it in those orange sacks and not marking on them what coal it was supposed to be. Being new to boat owning I didn't really take any notice and took their word that it was Exel. I had no complaints about it and would have continued using it had it not been for the marina staff objecting.

 

At £9 for a 20kg bag it was no cheaper than other coals but they were the nearest supplier so was convenient for me. Apparently the marina had in the past asked this merchant to supply Exel but they couldn't.provide certificated evidence that it was genuine. The marina only sell Supertherm and Taybrite. The nearest merchant selling genuine Exel is quite a distance away so I've been using Supertherm from the marina for convenience.

[Dave_P]

No Dave. They got round the legalities by putting it in those orange sacks and not marking on them what coal it was supposed to be. Being new to boat owning I didn't really take any notice and took their word that it was Exel. I had no complaints about it and would have continued using it had it not been for the marina staff objecting.

 

At £9 for a 20kg bag it was no cheaper than other coals but they were the nearest supplier so was convenient for me. Apparently the marina had in the past asked this merchant to supply Exel but they couldn't.provide certificated evidence that it was genuine. The marina only sell Supertherm and Taybrite. The nearest merchant selling genuine Exel is quite a distance away so I've been using Supertherm from the marina for convenience.

Naughty boys!

[Shropshirecoal]

This having been my first winter I had read all the previous threads. Exel seemed to come out well and a local merchant was selling the 20kg bags of it, the smaller size appealed to be as less strain on my ageing back. I was very pleased with it, burnt well, lasted well, and very little ash. Then, after a couple of months a boater next to me complained to the marina about what my smoke was doing to his boat and asked to be moved.

 

I was told that the Exel I was buying was not 'official Exel' The bricks were the same shape but apparently they couldn't/wouldn't produce a certificate when asked. So the marina banned me from using it as it wasn't on their 'approved' list !

 

The only others I've tried are

 

Taybrite 6/10 - hot enough but didn't last as well, and left a lot of residue (clinker??).

Supertherm 7/10 - pretty good on all counts but produces a vast amount of ash.

 

I'd give Exel 9/10 and I've since found a supplier of the 'offical' Exel in the 25kg bags so I'm now using that.

Excel is manufactured by Oxbow, they also manufacture a very similar fuel that is identical to look at called glow. Glow is much cheaper and is made from a poor quality and very dirty (very high sulphur) petroleum coke.

 

Many merchants sell this glow as exel as its almost impossible to tell the difference without chemical analysis.

 

I can confirm that pure petroleum coke products such as calco and long beach lump nuts are extremely hot, but would not advise it being used on anything other than an open fire.

[junior]

So we've got non-Excel being sold as Excel? Sounds like we need Starry on the case!

 

In all seriousness, that's 2 different brands I've heard about in a couple of months not selling us what we think we are getting. Assuming this discrepancy is occurring at the manufacturer, are the coal merchants/boats/wholsesalers aware of what is going on and in turn letting the customers aware?

 

Are we to assume that the whole buisness is a bit dodgy in terms of what we think is in the bag actually not being what we get?

[comfortably numb]

Interesting insight there Shropshirecoal. So even if it is in properly marked branded bags it still means it could be dodgy.

 

Our marina staff talked about the merchant not being able to provide a certificate. Would it make any difference if the supplier was asked to produce certificated evidence that their stuff is genuine? Presumably that wouldn't guarantee anything though because you wouldn't know whether it related to the actual bags you were buying.

[Mickj]

Hobo where are you moored?

[comfortably numb]

Hobo where are you moored?

 

Kings Bromley Marina.

 

The coal merchant I was getting my 'Exel' from was at Muckley Corner I can't think of their name but they are on the A461 just off the A5 island.

[Mickj]

did you moor at atherstone for a while?

[comfortably numb]

Yep at Baddesley. Are you still there? I'll send you a PM (private message) to save boring this lot with our catching up, LOL

[HappyBunny]

I got some excellent stuff called Winterblaze from Gary Slater (coal and diesel boat on the GU) was £9 for 25kg ... or maybe even £8.50 ..... and is good slow burner with very little ash and stays in for hours and hours... went out to play one saturday morning about 10am and got home sunday eve about 7pm and it was still ticking over nicely .... thoroughly recommend it

[Alan de Enfield]

For the last few months we have been using smokeless from the local village shop - it was £8.50 but has recently gone up to £9.00 for 25kgs.

 

It is 'fantastic' stuff, loads of heat - in fact I do struggle to keep the boat below 25^oC - keeps in for 12 hours + without 'banking up' a ridiculous amount, and only have to empty the ash pan after 3 days usage (24/7)

 

I asked the shopkeeper to find out what it was as the bag is unmarked, but having no response I called the manufacturer / supplier today to find its a product called "Stoveflame"

 

It turns out he is delivering to Kings Marina (Newark) virtually every week.

They deliver countrywide at the same price. (Stoveflame @ £8.25 /25kgs Excel @ £9.75 /25 kgs)

 

Click the link

 

http://www.nationalcoal.co.uk/buy-coal-from-national-coal/coal/stoveflame

[Starcoaster]

That Winterblaze is a non-smokeless- I spotted it on Calisto and asked Mark about it.

 

I do wonder that given this info on fake Excel, the Stoveglow issue and how many of us have commented at various times how one brand of coal can sometimes seem to vary considerably from winter to winter or even bag to bag, how common is this passing-off, or fake named brands, and what body, if any, regulates it?

[Grace and Favour]

For the last few months we have been using smokeless from the local village shop - it was £8.50 but has recently gone up to £9.00 for 25kgs.

 

It is 'fantastic' stuff, loads of heat - in fact I do struggle to keep the boat below 25^oC - keeps in for 12 hours + without 'banking up' a ridiculous amount, and only have to empty the ash pan after 3 days usage (24/7)

 

I asked the shopkeeper to find out what it was as the bag is unmarked, but having no response I called the manufacturer / supplier today to find its a product called "Stoveflame"

 

It turns out he is delivering to Kings Marina (Newark) virtually every week.

They deliver countrywide at the same price. (Stoveflame @ £8.25 /25kgs Excel @ £9.75 /25 kgs)

 

Click the link

 

http://www.nationalcoal.co.uk/buy-coal-from-national-coal/coal/stoveflame

I've used this supplier, and Stoveflame - and agree, it's damn good value for money

[bizzard]

And if you're suffering from stinky steaming smokey nuts its quite possible that they've been stored for a long period in staithes out in the pouring rain before bagging up still all soaking wet . If nice and dry nuts are generally more of a dark grey rather than jet black which usually means they're damp.

Edited March 26, 2014 by bizzard

[nb Innisfree]

Having experimented with most smokeless fuels we found Excel to be the slowest burning and easiest to control at very low stove setting but burns dirty. Anthracite the hottest and cleanest burning but difficult to control at low stove setting. Mixing the two at a ratio to suit the season gave us the best results overall (if they are available when you need them)