How to get heat out of anthracite?

haussit

Hey all,

I've been burning anthracite in a rayburn nouvelle range, and it is certainly good at burning for a long time. But how do I get it to run nice and hot -- at the moment the firebox is full of the stuff, spinwheel at 3 turns, has been all day, and the oven is at 150C. What am I doing wrong?

Had much better luck with polish coal, with easiflame union nuggests and also with a mixture of wood blocks and peat briquettes. Easily got the oven up to 250 with those. But none of those things are as cheap or longburning as anthracite.

Is there any fuel I could mix in there (a wood block or two? some easiflame?) to give it some oomph?

Thanks a lot!

haussit

danjo

Start fire with coal. When coal is lighting up add anthracite. Leave spinwheel open until anthracite turns red and glowing. Then close off spinwheel and watch the temperature rise.

Anthracite generates a lot of heat, much hotter than coal, and can cause the top of your stove to warp. It also wears down the grate much quicker than coal.

haussit

Thanks, that's really helpful!

One more quick question -- does turning down the spinwheel actually cause the temperature to increase? I thought this had happened a few times, but that doesn't make sense to me -- shouldn't havng less oxygen flow cause a lower temperature?

haussit

danjo

Yes, turning down the spinwheel will cause the temperature to rise. I have no expertise on the physics/chemistry at play. It sounds counter intuitive but my better half discovered this after trying various options.
I think you may be correct about increased oxygen so I can only assume that it will cause the anthracite to burn away quickly and not give the benefit of prolonged glowing.
Maybe someone else can advise.

padraiggriffin

is it ok to burn anthracite in multi-fuel stoves ??. it says it is ok but i know burning polish coal (non smokeless coal) is bad for a stove as there is petroleum in it. am i wright in saying anthracite doesnt have petroleum in it, it is a smokeless coal ??

if it burns so hot that it warps stoves and wares stove parts out quicker it cant be great ???

does anyone know where to go for the best anthracite prices. i live in kerry, bulk is obviously cheaper so but where would be the best place to get it from ??

i was able to find find prices for about 520 euro (410£) per ton but thats for england i think.
maybe bags would be better ??

also is anthracite good value for money in terms of heating/cost ??

we just put in a stove to lower our gas prices. we used to spend about 2000 euro a year on gas for our heating and hot water.
would be hoping to lower that a lot however if the money we spend on fuel for the stove is near enough the money we save in gas then there wont have been much point to it.