It’s that time of the year again when I start to think about ordering coal for my lounge fireplace. Being old school I normally buy various sizes of coal plus some synthetic nuts.
This year I thought I might experiment with some smokeless fuel. Does anyone have any experience with Anthracite or Smokeless nuts/cobbles etc ? My coalman seems to have a varied selection.
ThanksÂ
I worked in the coal mining industry for a number of years where we got concessionary fuel as part of our wages.
I used Anthracite for a good number of yesrs.
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The stuff we used to get was very small nuggets, about the same size as a midget gem sweet.
It was more suited for closed, high draught / fan assisted boilers.
hi keat63 ,
which pit did you work at ???
any other ex- miners on here ???
This thread is a bit like being in a time-warp !Â
I didn’t realise people still had coal fires these days, and in my neck of the woods, I’ve not seen a traditional coal-man doing his rounds for years !
Perhaps I ought to get out more…
Yeh mate! get out more. We also have hot water, electricity and gas up north. My coal man sells everything for coal fires, log burners, must be lucrative as he runs about 5 or 6 coal lorries. At ÂŁ20 a bag not surprising. Nothing like a a nice warm coal fire on a cold evening watching the tv. Presume your sat around the radiators?
I’m only after some info on the performance of smokeless as against coal. Thanks keat63 for your reply.
I worked in engineering at NCB Shafton Workshops, just around the corner fom Grimethorpe
i worked underground at Parkmill (denby dale ) and Sharlston (wakefeild ) until finishing in 1993
Worked in testing at Bretby and used to visit Shafton a lot to look at the shearer overhauls and testing.
sorry for hijacking … by ex-miners
going back 25 - 35yrs , i did burn anthracite nuggets on my charnwood burner and had no issues , plenty of heat produced !
Hmm, you might consider avoiding Welsh Nuts.
My mate Pete has a “coal fire” and was not happy with the recommended fuels. So he asked the coalman for something hotter with less ash, and was given those nuts. The fire was superb, fantastic, with lots of heat, nothing like much ash falling through, and soon melted the cast iron grate.
Our own fireplace is fully occupied by the TV, and we have a couple of DVDs that play video of different types of fires burning with relevant sound effects. Strike a couple of matches for some aroma, and SWMBO is happy we have a fire again. Although nothing near as good as the real thing, this cheat is more effective than I thought it would be, and no ashes to clean and no drafts.
Have you considered coke? (No, not the fizzy drink or the white stuff morons shove up their noses!)
Thanks Richard
Will try one bag of Anthracite along with my usual and see what happens. Most of my friends love my fire when it’s burning bright and warm. The cleaning is soon done and the chimney is swept once a year. Have stopped sending a small boy up the chimney to clean as it’s a health and safety issue apparently!!! Cheers
3 x Mk 3 2L inc 1 Sport and Mk4 Icon
Off piste, but being a Yorkshireman too, my clogs are in for new irons fitting, ready for the impending harsh winter. My cap has finally given up the ghost due to being wrung continuously through my hands in deference to the higher ups in the social order. I’m actually looking for a replacement with the peak at the back to wear with the hood down, can’t seem to find one though? The peaks I’ve seen are all at the front  our household also enjoys hot water, gas and electricity. Even the toilet is inside the house these days, brilliant. Anyway, off out with the whippet shortly, just got the pigeons to feed.
Seriously though, we used to burn coke back in the 60’s but it was so difficult to light (and keep going) we had an electric fan across the front of the fire and a gas burner also until the coke managed to keep itself going. How ineffective was that? Happy days.
Barrie
I rebuilt the Anderson Strathclyde shearers, my father rebuilt the hydraulic haulage.
But that was more than 25 years ago now.
Me and my wife have just spent the day cutting and stacking half of the  firewood for the winter. We will do the other half tomorrow. 15m3 will do us the harshest of winters and heat the whole house.
No other fuel sources available here in central france…except off grid gas ( lpg) or oil, at around €2000 a charge to fill our gas tank.
So having bought 10m3 from our woodman, and cut the other 5m3 ourselves…feeling secure and a little smug as my fuel bill for the year is just over €400 !Â
We are actually looking forward to the autumn nights and lighting the woodburner for the first time…though by March / April we will be sick of the sight of firewood lol.
Spent last Sunday with chainsaw and log splitter, got plenty of wood ready for the winter, all acquired free. Helps when wife’s brother is a professional gardener who sometimes gets asked to trim branches
Get a proper stove and burn much less. A typical open fire is about 20% efficient.The log burner I have put in is 83% efficient. Much cheaper to run (and yes I’m a Yorkshireman)
Thanks Richardn
Don’t use the coal fire 24/7 more of a long weekend treat. Have central heating and a moveable fancy electric fire, but take your point about the log burner.
Brought up in a two up and down slum in the 50’s so coal and coke was the only form of heat. The house we live in had two coal fires, just use the one in the main lounge now.
Just like sitting in front of that blazing glow on a cold day. As I only light the fire from late Oct to March and only at weekends, the cost doesn’t really concern me.
Just wanted to know if smokeless was better or worse. Mixed opinions as I thought.
Hope you are enjoying your MK3 Sport…loved mine
What childhood memories I have from the late 40’s and 50’s sitting round the coal fire in the living room, scorched faces and hands and freezing backs, and that was with our coats on!