# Coal as a Prep



## Prepadoodle

I'm wondering if any of you have coal stored for hard times? 

When I lived in NE PA, coal was easy to come by and you could get it delivered to your home for $60 a ton or so. Coal has a higher energy density that wood, stores easily, and doesn't take up much room. You can cook with it, heat your house with it, and give it to naughty children for Christmas.

Wood stoves aren't designed for the higher temperatures of a coal fire, and the same goes for most flues. There are stoves designed to accept both, but I wouldn't hesitate to burn small loads of coal in a regular wood stove if it came down to it. "Small" being the operative word here... you would have to start real small and see what happens.

Coal doesn't need to be chopped or split, but it's harder to get going than wood. It also burns longer, so it might be interesting to throw a few small chunks on a wood fire to help it last the night. Cooking over coal in a cast iron Hibachi would also be an option. If you're using it like that, a few tons of coal could last a very long time.

By the way, if you live in a coal area, you might be able to get all the coal you want free for the taking. Talk to your local plumbing and heating shops, they probably replace a coal furnace now and then and the homeowner probably has a few hundred pounds or more in their basement. Most of these will be more than happy to give it to you free just to get rid of the stuff.


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## 1skrewsloose

Good idea, we lived in a house many years ago that had a coal chute. Talk about the stone age!


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## Camel923

Lots of mines are closed or closing due to Obama's war on coal. You may have to do your own mining.


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## Chipper

With 40 acres of red and white oak fire wood plus plenty of pine. Wood will and has been the choice to heat this house since the early 70's. I remember the ole coal furnace in the basement. Still have the coal chute door on the side of my house. Guess some of us will be better off then others when we fall back to the stone age.


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## Auntie

Thank you for the reminder I need to get my bucket of coal. We place a couple of pieces in our wood burning stove on a cold night so the fire doesn't go out completely.


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## Slippy

GASP! Coal is bad, don't you people listen to his majesty?

(PS Chipper, try a little transmission fluid on those wood shakes, it'll brighten them up, hydrate and protect them as well as give them a new look!)


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## SOCOM42

I have about 3/4 of a ton left for my hand forge.
coke is better but no longer available around here.
As a kid my job was stoking the houses coal fired furnace.


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## Hawaii Volcano Squad

No natural coal in Hawaii that I know of, but we do have active Lava flows flowing into the ocean!


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## James m

My neighbors had a coal chute. I used to pick coal up off of the ground in a state park that was an artillery range, in the 90's.


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## tinkerhell

It is an interesting prep for someone with money and land, you could stockpile it and grow grass over it until you need it.


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## budgetprepp-n

After TSHTF any type of stored energy is going to be hard to come by. 
Propane, Gas, and maybe coal. Might be a good idea to get some while it is easy top come by.
And storage is no problem.


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## BlackDog

My stove burns wood or coal. I keep 1 ton of coal stored. I'd like to keep more but don't have the space. I keep extra firewood, too and burn the oldest first each year. Nice thing about coal is it never rots.


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## Auntie

Since I was reminded I called the gentleman I get my bucket of coal from and asked if I could get 3 buckets this year. He said sure I will need 18 jars of your canned fruits and jams. WTH? It was 3 for one last year  The price has gone up, I told him that was steep so he is settling for 10 jars of fruits and jams, 2 loaves of homemade bread, a bucket of spent grains and a dozen duck eggs. What the heck is going on ?


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## cdell

I've often thought about getting a couple tons of coal to stockpile just in case things went south in a hurry and I didn't have enough wood cut and dried to last a winter. I figure I could just fill an old grain bin and it could sit there forever until it's needed with no worries about rotting or going bad. Anyone that's burned it have any idea how much a person would need to keep warm for a winter?


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## SGT E

Fine Coal in larger piles will self combust! Before its mined it has no way to get air into it....so no problem unless you have a fire in the mines. When you get coal mixed with air in larger piles it will develop heat! The larger the blocks of coal though the less likely this is to happen by TOO much airflow...Stoker grade and smaller is some of the worst to burn. You dont want to re bury it in piles no matter what the size! Before I went to the Military I worked some of the mines in Ky....I've seen dozens of stockpiles of coal on fire...When we stockpiled we had a guy in a loader moving a lot of the coal to keep this from happening. If you keep it get the largest block you can and keep it in small piles...5 or 10 tons. You can get 30 tons of fine coal cheap(Quantity =CHEAP!) but you may be asking for problems down the road. And you don't want to be hand flipping 30 tons of coal once a month LOL!

Coal?s Spontaneous Combustion Problem | Sightline Daily


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## 8301

Just a thought, after researching the possibility of burning coal in a wood stove the answer is pretty much no, especially if you have a steel stove. Cast Iron stoves can probably handle the hotter burning coal but a steel stove may warp or burn through from the excessive heat.

I'm sure people here have gotten away with burning coal in their steel wood stoves but I think I'm going to pass. I don't want to risk cracking the firebrick or warping my steel stoves.


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## SOCOM42

foolami said:


> just a thought, after researching the possibility of burning coal in a wood stove the answer is pretty much no, especially if you have a steel stove. Cast iron stoves can probably handle the hotter burning coal but a steel stove may warp or burn through from the excessive heat.
> 
> I'm sure people here have gotten away with burning coal in their steel wood stoves but i think i'm going to pass. I don't want to risk cracking the firebrick or warping my steel stoves.


without seeing it, if you wood stove has fire brick installed, it is ready for coal.

Check with who made it.


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## budgetprepp-n

SOCOM42 said:


> without seeing it, if you wood stove has fire brick installed, it is ready for coal.
> 
> Check with who made it.


Nope,, blacksmiths use coal to weld. The sides aren't the problem. For a grate and stove cast iron must be used.
Coal will get so hot that steel won't take it. - I'm sure


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## sideKahr

I begged a big chunk of coal from a friend, and burned it in my fireplace as a curiosity. What a mess! The ash is very fine and floats everywhere. I pity my grandfather who had to use it every winter to heat his house.


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## Auntie

Thanks for the information, I have only used coal in my wood burning stove.


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## Smitty901

I would love to have a rail car load in a pile waiting for when it is needed. can't even buy it bulk anymore around here. thanks to Obama.


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## SOCOM42

Smitty901 said:


> I would love to have a rail car load in a pile waiting for when it is needed. can't even buy it bulk anymore around here. thanks to Obama.


Just part of his plan to destroy the country, F"N BASTARD!


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## SOCOM42

cdell said:


> I've often thought about getting a couple tons of coal to stockpile just in case things went south in a hurry and I didn't have enough wood cut and dried to last a winter. I figure I could just fill an old grain bin and it could sit there forever until it's needed with no worries about rotting or going bad. Anyone that's burned it have any idea how much a person would need to keep warm for a winter?


When I was a kid, we used two tons a year to heat a two decker.
furnace was in the cellar.
Was my job to keep it stoked in the winter.


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## SOCOM42

budgetprepp-n said:


> Nope,, blacksmiths use coal to weld. The sides aren't the problem. For a grate and stove cast iron must be used.
> Coal will get so hot that steel won't take it. - I'm sure


Let me put it this way, I have a wood stove 24"x24"x40" that has a firebrick floor in it, plus six inch high brick walls.
I CAN and HAVE burned coal in it, it is made for it.
Not the most efficient method though.
The stove is side draft not updraft which is the best.
In general, brick lined wood stoves are made to be dual fuel.
I had a coal stove in my shop, used it for about six years until it became more expensive than oil.

Final point, I have had a hand forge (aka blacksmiths) for over forty years, I used coke and borax for welding.
That coal temperature is regulated by the forced intake air.
I have in the past burned out cast grates in coal stoves. 
Today I use coal for forging only, most of my welding is electric, MIG or TIG.
Coke is no longer available.
Coke was used because it was cleaner and the methane was gone.

Just how much hands on coal burning experience do you have? I have over 60 years in many different application.
You have facts that are correct standing alone, but do not apply to all situations.


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## SOCOM42

sideKahr said:


> I begged a big chunk of coal from a friend, and burned it in my fireplace as a curiosity. What a mess! The ash is very fine and floats everywhere. I pity my grandfather who had to use it every winter to heat his house.


OMG, you picked the worst way to burn it.
Of course it is going to spew ash all over the place. It is called fly ash and it defies gravity!
My forge is outside for that reason, the shop would look like it was in a blizzard otherwise.


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## MisterMills357

Coal is dirty, filthy dirty; wood would be a better choice. If coal is mixed with wood, it makes a better fire and it is cleaner.
It is a good source of fuel and easy to get in some parts of the country, so it is a consideration. Because it does me a HOT fire.


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## Smitty901

The furnace I have is wood or coal. We have burned coal in it before local supply was shut down due to EPA.


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## BlackDog

cdell said:


> Anyone that's burned it have any idea how much a person would need to keep warm for a winter?


I was told by my coal supplier that one ton of coal is equivalent to 3 cords of wood.


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## SOCOM42

blackdog said:


> i was told by my coal supplier that one ton of coal is equivalent to 3 cords of wood.


when i burn wood, five cord per season, in the past two tons of coal. 
About 2-1/2-1 ratio here.
Close enough, lots of variables.


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## tinkerhell

Cost wise has got to be favorable for coal. A cord of hardwood split and delivered to my driveway is over $300 infact I think it is about $380.

Metallurgical coal in my home town sells for over $100 and thermal coal is cheaper.

I have a brick lined wood stove, is there a way to make a metal basket for coal burning? Something I could fill once per fire?


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## Leon

I don't see why not coal as a prep sounds like a solid enough idea. There was a guy Mark I talked with on youtube who had a coal/wood potbelly stove in his Irish house and he said he would load it before he went to bed with coal on top of a wood fire and it would keep the house warm till a little before morning.


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## Swedishsocialist

Coal is a great prep, you will have use for it either to barter or for heating. It has no "best before" date and there will always be a demand for it.


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## IprepUprep

I used to have a coal/wood boiler. Nice heat... Dirty mess... Hard work... You have to keep the ash bin CLEAN ... I used approx 2 to 3 ton per heating season... Heating season starts in late October, until the end of March, or Mid April. Yep, Six months... Coal is/was cheaper than wood where I'm at. Now? Everything seems to be expensive. I used to drive to the local mine, and get a half ton a week while it was nice outside. I would shovel it into my spare garage bay. (No coal chute in that house) Then, I would load up two 30 gallon totes with my utility wagon, and pull it into the basement. two totes would last a few days - depending on how cold it was outside, and... of course... how HOT do you want your house? eh..eh..eh.. Coal can really warm up a house. I burned Soft coal. (Bit) Hard coal was more expen$ive, its better tho. Burns cleaner, burns longer, doesn't stink, leaves less ash (no clinkers) and, its easier to shovel. Hard coal reminds me of a gas stove... You just want the blue flames dancing on top of the coals. Soft coal gives you that cherry red/orange glow... more smoke and bigger ash. Hard Coal vs Soft coal. Hard coal - anthracite is fantastic. Soft coal is cheap, hard work, and causes more black dusty dirt. (Hence spring cleaning) Both give nice heat - which is the goal... If I were to have a dual burning furnace again... I would spend the cash on Hard coal for long term storage. Don't forget - there are still "coal stoves" for cooking/heating available out there... You just have to search... If you had a coal stove/oven - in the basement - or in the kitchen for "Looks" it would still serve its purpose if "It" ever did hit the fan.... knowing that you have coal stashed in a well ventilated shed... or in your "coal house" in the basement. Kerosene stoves are out there too... kerosene stores for a LONG TIME... If you had drums for it, your local oil delivery company can just fill them up... I think any "fuel" that is able to be stored for long lengths of time is well worth it... Coal all be it - hard or soft... any wood, kerosene, diesel, you name it... store it up safely if you can. Keep on Keeping on.


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## SOCOM42

tinkerhell said:


> Cost wise has got to be favorable for coal. A cord of hardwood split and delivered to my driveway is over $300 infact I think it is about $380.
> 
> Metallurgical coal in my home town sells for over $100 and thermal coal is cheaper.
> 
> I have a brick lined wood stove, is there a way to make a metal basket for coal burning? Something I could fill once per fire?


I don't think it would work, coal needs a lot of air flowing through.
With a basket the air would just go around it.
Further, it would have to be made from cast or wrought iron, steel would burn out in a season or two.


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