Best fuel for your stove??

demanufactured

Smokeless coal?
Peat briquette???
Wood??
Ordinary coal??

What do ye find best in terns of good heat and long lasting??

corkgsxr

wood. with maybe a tiny bit of coal

fiestaman

Mix a bag of smokless fuel like pearls with a bag of stafford red flame antracite. Put a nice bit on the fire and when it gets goin close down the dampers a bit. I can get 6-8 hrs out of a paint bucket 5ltrs amount. It will just sit there glowing with savage heat. Then when it starts to die down open dampers and burn wood for rest of night. Cant beat antracite for heat but you need something for a bed first but i find mixing better, handier than 2 buckets.

demanufactured

fiestaman wrote: »

Mix a bag of smokless fuel like pearls with a bag of stafford red flame antracite. Put a nice bit on the fire and when it gets goin close down the dampers a bit. I can get 6-8 hrs out of a paint bucket 5ltrs amount. It will just sit there glowing with savage heat. Then when it starts to die down open dampers and burn wood for rest of night. Cant beat antracite for heat but you need something for a bed first but i find mixing better, handier than 2 buckets.

I tried anthricite before and couldnt burn it at all , It just left unburnt coals on the grate!!
I started with briquettes and got it nice and red and threw on a few shovels of anthricite,Opened the air fully and half an hour later the stove was gone out!
What was i doing wrong??

Currently i burn Eco-Glo http://www.sligofuels.ie/products/

DoneDL

Be careful of using too much anthracite as the heat generated can damage the stove. Best to mix it 50/50 with normal coal. Slack and logs will also give good heat output.

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

Smokeless coal?
Peat briquette???
Wood??
Ordinary coal??

What do ye find best in terns of good heat and long lasting??

Briquettes and wood/logs in the Stovax stove..


My girlfriends mother and father tried this BnM Black Diamond ecoflame coal nuggets this evening in their open fire.

Sweet jesus..the heat of that coal is unreal.:eek::D

paddy147

DoneDL wrote: »

Be careful of using too much anthracite as the heat generated can damage the stove. Best to mix it 50/50 with normal coal. Slack and logs will also give good heat output.

Also Cracked chimney breasts and fire backs too.

demanufactured

Jaysus paddy those logs look very green....do you split them and let them season before burning??

NIMAN

I use a mix of premium coal and turf, and sometimes logs.

Thing I always wondered, sometimes I think I overload it. I put on a little too much coal and wood, and then it makes an almighty racket. The boiler sounds like it is going to explode and the heat would put you out of the room. Plus you get the odd creak and cracking noise off the stove and the chimney pipe.

Is this normal or dangerous?

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

Jaysus paddy those logs look very green....do you split them and let them season before burning??

They are from a freshly felled maple tree,so wont be used for some time to come.;)

The trees from last year is all fine now for the stove,split down the middle with an axe and a log splitter.:)

demanufactured

NIMAN wrote: »

I use a mix of premium coal and turf, and sometimes logs.

Thing I always wondered, sometimes I think I overload it. I put on a little too much coal and wood, and then it makes an almighty racket. The boiler sounds like it is going to explode and the heat would put you out of the room. Plus you get the odd creak and cracking noise off the stove and the chimney pipe.

Is this normal or dangerous?

Try not let it do that.....
When I first moved into my house it was my first experience with a stove....
I went down to the local garage and got a couple bags of normal polish and Texan coal.
Threw on a fire and left it burning with the air control wide open....went for a long sit on the toilet.as ya do....
Came back 20 mins later and the stove looked and sounded like it was ready to explode!!
The noise was actually like a steam train...
The fire was roaring up the steel flue and it was glowing red near the outlet....
The pump was on a manual switch at the time..(have a pipe stat on it now)....and the water was literally boiling in the stove...I turned on the pump and you could hear the hot water shooting into the pipework with bangs and clatters like a freight train going through the house.
It did settle down after a while but I wouldn't do it again.
I never burn ordinary house coal in the stove its way too dirty and flames up too much.

I told that story to a plumber friend of mine and he nearly fell over laughing.,.if it was let burn much longer it could have blown the fittings off the pipework behind the stove....

The post about anthracite has me thinking about trying it again.....I know it gives off savage heat bit it wouldn't sty lit for me last time

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

Try not let it do that.....
When I first moved into my house it was my first experience with a stove....
I went down to the local garage and got a couple bags of normal polish and Texan coal.
Threw on a fire and left it burning with the air control wide open....went for a long sit on the toilet.as ya do....
Came back 20 mins later and the stove looked and sounded like it was ready to explode!!
The noise was actually like a steam train...
The fire was roaring up the steel flue and it was glowing red near the outlet....
The pump was on a manual switch at the time..(have a pipe stat on it now)....and the water was literally boiling in the stove...I turned on the pump and you could hear the hot water shooting into the pipework with bangs and clatters like a freight train going through the house.
It did settle down after a while but I wouldn't do it again.
I never burn ordinary house coal in the stove its way too dirty and flames up too much.

I told that story to a plumber friend of mine and he nearly fell over laughing.,.if it was let burn much longer it could have blown the fittings off the pipework behind the stove....

The post about anthracite has me thinking about trying it again.....I know it gives off savage heat bit it wouldn't sty lit for me last time

Have you tried Bord na Mona (Black Diamond) CosyGlo Gems coal???


Some serious heat off it from an open fire,and the BnM website says its safe to use in a stove.


I havent tried it myself,but I might just get a bag and see if it gives as much heat in a stove as in an open fire.:)

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

Have you tried Bord na Mona (Black Diamond) CosyGlo Gems coal???


Some serious heat off it from an open fire,and the BnM website says its safe to use in a stove.


I havent tried it myself,but I might just get a bag and see if it gives as much heat in a stove as in an open fire.:)

Yes what I use now is similar to cosy glo... smokeless coal called eco glo
www.sligofuels.ie

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

Yes what I use now is similar to cosy glo... smokeless coal called eco glo
www.sligofuels.ie

How do you find it in the stove??

Does it give good heat and burn for a long time?

Much ash,much soot?


Thanks.:)

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

How do you find it in the stove??

Does it give good heat and burn for a long time?

Much ash,much soot?


Thanks.:)

No soot..its smokeless.
Great heat and long lasting...I still have embers in the morning.
Not a lot of ash...I can just light the stove without cleaning out the ash pan on some days.

There is another version of cosyglo made by arigna fuels... its for open fires though....
They make another coal called ecobrite for stoves.
U have seen "stove coal" by BnM (black diamond) in woodies and was tempted to try it...18 euro for 35kg bag though..not cheap.

Surfn

yous may laugh but ive been burning seasoned fir sticks in a clearview 750 boiler stove. no other fuel used in the stove. heats our bungalow which has 8 rads plus hot water cyclinder. the secret is dry seasoned sticks, but she is pretty hard on sticks i will say that

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

No soot..its smokeless.
Great heat and long lasting...I still have embers in the morning.
Not a lot of ash...I can just light the stove without cleaning out the ash pan on some days.

Thanks,I think I will try it so.

Thats the only bad thing about the briquettes from Estonia and also the BnM briquettes....lots of ash left over.

demanufactured

Surfn wrote: »

yous may laugh but ive been burning seasoned fir sticks in a clearview 750 boiler stove. no other fuel used in the stove. heats our bungalow which has 8 rads plus hot water cyclinder. the secret is dry seasoned sticks, but she is pretty hard on sticks i will say that

Sticks???
Do you mean logs??

NIMAN

Thanks for that reply demanufactured, it has certainly made me think about loading the stove up with a lot of coal. Probably just handfull or 2 at any one time from now on, with turf too.

Some of the replies on here mention "giving off savage heat", thats what I get but surely savage heat is not always safe or what you want?

demanufactured

I went down to my local coal man this morning and asked for a bag of anthracite....
He had to go out back to get it Haha...mustn't sell too much here.

So I had the stove going good and hot with the eco glo smokeless. .and threw on a few shovels of anthracite. .....
This is the result....
It looks like the anthracite and smokeless burn really well together.
Great heat from it so far.
I'll let you all know if it stays burning this well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojbZrZ4BzM

Surfn

demanufactured wrote: »

Sticks???
Do you mean logs??

roger

Moll'll fix it

fiestaman wrote: »

Mix a bag of smokless fuel like pearls with a bag of stafford red flame antracite. Put a nice bit on the fire and when it gets goin close down the dampers a bit. I can get 6-8 hrs out of a paint bucket 5ltrs amount. It will just sit there glowing with savage heat. Then when it starts to die down open dampers and burn wood for rest of night. Cant beat antracite for heat but you need something for a bed first but i find mixing better, handier than 2 buckets.

Hi. What kw stove do you have? I have a Stanley Oisin non-boiler stove, think it is about 6kw in a smallish enough room. Briquettes throw out hardly any heat and they are just about ok if the weather is mild. But if it is -0 outside, they are no good. Have been cautious about using coal since the last time I used it, the pipe going out the back turned red with the heat and the brick at the back of the stove cracked in two! Would the mixture of the smokeless and the anthracite be ok for my stove?

fiestaman

demanufactured wrote: »

I went down to my local coal man this morning and asked for a bag of anthracite....
He had to go out back to get it Haha...mustn't sell too much here.

So I had the stove going good and hot with the eco glo smokeless. .and threw on a few shovels of anthracite. .....
This is the result....
It looks like the anthracite and smokeless burn really well together.
Great heat from it so far.
I'll let you all know if it stays burning this well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojbZrZ4BzM

Id slow down the draught on that, i wouldnt let mine flame with antracite. It should sit there glowing.

fiestaman

Moll'll fix it wrote: »

Hi. What kw stove do you have? I have a Stanley Oisin non-boiler stove, think it is about 6kw in a smallish enough room. Briquettes throw out hardly any heat and they are just about ok if the weather is mild. But if it is -0 outside, they are no good. Have been cautious about using coal since the last time I used it, the pipe going out the back turned red with the heat and the brick at the back of the stove cracked in two! Would the mixture of the smokeless and the anthracite be ok for my stove?

I cant recommend anything for yours but sounds like you loaded it up with a lot of coal. I have an erin with back boiler 18kw, about 6 small shouvels built up gradually over say an hour and then when shes goin i close the damper on the front and the one at the back is open a small bit. Sits there with nice heat and can keep the pump pumping no problem for central heating(but im having problems with heating cylinder and rads together but thats another days work).

demanufactured

fiestaman wrote: »

Id slow down the draught on that, i wouldnt let mine flame with antracite. It should sit there glowing.

Thanks for the info...
The flames are actually from the other coal I have it mixed with.
If I close the draught any more than that it Alost looks as if it will go out after a while.

celiam

paddy147 wrote: »

Have you tried Bord na Mona (Black Diamond) CosyGlo Gems coal???


Some serious heat off it from an open fire,and the BnM website says its safe to use in a stove.


I havent tried it myself,but I might just get a bag and see if it gives as much heat in a stove as in an open fire.:)

How much for a 40kg bag. My brother uses doubles in his stove and finds it the best €12 for a 40kg bag in my local garage

paddy147

celiam wrote: »

How much for a 40kg bag. My brother uses doubles in his stove and finds it the best €12 for a 40kg bag in my local garage

The cheapest I can find the BnM/Black Diamond CosyGlo Gems 40kg bag is 19 euro in Eddies Fuel Depot in Dublin 13.

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

The cheapest I can find the BnM/Black Diamond CosyGlo Gems 40kg bag is 19 euro in Eddies Fuel Depot in Dublin 13.

That's expensive.

emg74

demanufactured wrote: »

No soot..its smokeless.
Great heat and long lasting...I still have embers in the morning.
Not a lot of ash...I can just light the stove without cleaning out the ash pan on some days.

There is another version of cosyglo made by arigna fuels... its for open fires though....
They make another coal called ecobrite for stoves.
U have seen "stove coal" by BnM (black diamond) in woodies and was tempted to try it...18 euro for 35kg bag though..not cheap.

If anyone is in a position to travel to Arigna, You can buy a tonne of "rejects / Seconds" for €300 cash & carry from them. 25 * 40kg bags so works out at €12 a bag. You don't have to buy a tonne, they sell single bags too. The day we were there, people were coming in and buying 3 or 4 bags and putting them in the boot.. They are probably dearer to buy single bags

The bags are a mix of Cosyglo & Ecobrite - We bought some a couple of months ago and are finding it good in the stove. Burns for hours and good heat. We are using it along with Timber & Turf.

The guy there explained that they just bag up everything that is left over from a run and sell them off as seconds through their own yard.

Most of the bags we have opened so far have been predominantly Ecobrite. We will definitely be buying again.

beertons

^ where's that?

emg74

Arigna Mines - http://www.arignafuels.ie/

Near enough to Carrick-On-Shannon

paddy147

emg74 wrote: »

If anyone is in a position to travel to Arigna, You can buy a tonne of "rejects / Seconds" for €300 cash & carry from them. 25 * 40kg bags so works out at €12 a bag. You don't have to buy a tonne, they sell single bags too. The day we were there, people were coming in and buying 3 or 4 bags and putting them in the boot.. They are probably dearer to buy single bags

The bags are a mix of Cosyglo & Ecobrite - We bought some a couple of months ago and are finding it good in the stove. Burns for hours and good heat. We are using it along with Timber & Turf.

The guy there explained that they just bag up everything that is left over from a run and sell them off as seconds through their own yard.

Most of the bags we have opened so far have been predominantly Ecobrite. We will definitely be buying again.

Yes,I will just burn a large hole in my wallet on fuel to travel from Dublin all the way to Carrick on Shannon,and haul back 1 ton of coal for such a small saving in the long run.....(if any with fuel and time spent)

emg74

I didn't expect anyone to travel from Dublin to Arigna, We are in a position to buy direct from the mines as it is just about 30minute drive from us. I was just offering this up as an option for anyone in a position to travel to arigna

paddy147

emg74 wrote: »

I didn't expect anyone to travel from Dublin to Arigna, We are in a position to buy direct from the mines as it is just about 30minute drive from us. I was just offering this up as an option for anyone in a position to travel to arigna

Well the best I can get here on the Northside of Dublin is 2 euro 99 per bale of BnM briquettes (no limit on amount purchased) and 19 euro for a 40 kilo bag of BnM Black Diamond EasyGlo Gems coal.

And thats after a good bit of looking around.


Thank god all my firewood is free.

paddy147

Bought 2 x 40kg bags of the BnM CosyGlo Gems today to try in the stove this evening.

Mixed in some of the coal with 3 briquettes.

Sweet Jesus the fire is much hotter tonight,than it was last night.:eek:

And the Gems seem to last quite a long time too.,with regards burning and heat.:D

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

Bought 2 x 40kg bags of the BnM CosyGlo Gems today to try in the stove this evening.

Mixed in some of the coal with 3 briquettes.

Sweet Jesus the fire is much hotter tonight,than it was last night.:eek:

And the Gems seem to last quite a long time too.,with regards burning and heat.:D

How long did u get out of a few shovels of cosyglo??

paddy147

About 2 hours (maybe longer) out of 5-6 pieces of CosyGlo on a bed of well burnt briquettes.

Even when the flames had died down,there was till some serious heat off it.

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

About 2 hours (maybe longer) out of 5-6 pieces of CosyGlo on a bed of well burnt briquettes.

Even when the flames had died down,there was till some serious heat off it.

5or 6 pieces jaysus lol.
I usually pile it into the stove...3 or 4 heaped shovels.

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

5or 6 pieces jaysus lol.
I usually pile it into the stove...3 or 4 heaped shovels.

yep 6 pieces of gems coal on a bed of hot ash/burnt briquettes and its a good 2 hours of heat.

the heat from the stove with the gems coal now added is really more noticible than just with the briquettes or logs.:D

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

yep 6 pieces of gems coal on a bed of hot ash/burnt briquettes and its a good 2 hours of heat.

the heat from the stove with the gems coal now added is really more noticible than just with the briquettes or logs.:D

It will burn cleaner too.

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

It will burn cleaner too.

You know what,.you are right there

The stove glass was alot cleaner when I came downstairs this morning.:)

demanufactured

paddy147 wrote: »

You know what,.you are right there

The stove glass was alot cleaner when I came downstairs this morning.:)

I usually give mine a good hot burn for 20 mins once a week with smokeless to clear the flue and burn away any deposits that build in the stove

paddy147

demanufactured wrote: »

I usually give mine a good hot burn for 20 mins once a week with smokeless to clear the flue and burn away any deposits that build in the stove

Well I have to say that Im a happy camper with the gems coal.

Oh and thanks for the advice too.:)

Sidd

How long should wood usually be left to dry ?

Also, I didn't think you could use coal in a stove like that? I thought for coal to burn properly it needed an air supply from below?

paddy147

Sidd wrote: »

How long should wood usually be left to dry ?

Also, I didn't think you could use coal in a stove like that? I thought for coal to burn properly it needed an air supply from below?

Stoves do have an adjustable air supply from below.You can however buy a fuel reducing kit for certain makes of stove.Stovax make them for the Riva inset multi fuel stoves.I have a Riva 566 MF stove uinstalled.

http://www.stovax.com/builtintothewallfires/builtinfires/built_in_wood__multi_fuel/riva_66_multi_fuel_fire.aspx




Freshly chopped up trees/logs should be seasoned for at least 1 year and have a moisture content of around/no more than 15-18% in order for them to burn nicely.

Sidd

Thanks, the air supply for mine is at the back, maybe was installed differently.

When you say "seasoned"' do you just mean dried out or do you do anything special? Any reason why you wouldn't want the moisture content lower?

bazmc35

Why is buying coal getting so complicated
http://s717.beta.photobucket.com/user/bazmc35/media/C55A1405-8682-41D7-BAA8-4A091FB02BD4-205-0000004036230AF8.jpg.html?sort=6&o=0
What is the best for a stove with back boiler

kam3qnwvebf4jh

I get my fire started with briquettes and then when it's lighting well I throw on a shovelful or two of what we call down here countrymix/superblend which is a mixture of anthracite n coal . I then shut off the secondary air flow from below and then then just top up with turf or wood . So u effectively have a bed of mix glowing red hot for 4-5 hours and the flame is provided by the turf/wood/briqs. I would then open up the secondary air flow after the mix has has died down to burn out the fire.
I would not burn this mix however unless it stated in your stoves manual that it was designed for it. V important to be able to close the secondary air control when burning this stuff as it will get too hot if u don't .

demanufactured

bazmc35 wrote: »

Why is buying coal getting so complicated
http://s717.beta.photobucket.com/user/bazmc35/media/C55A1405-8682-41D7-BAA8-4A091FB02BD4-205-0000004036230AF8.jpg.html?sort=6&o=0
What is the best for a stove with back boiler

Just ask them...
But is say any of the smokeless coals are the best , far more heat and longer burning....

Super therm
Phurmacite
And wildfire sound good lol

Actually they are all on this site...
Www.cplfuels.ie

noinc

If this happens to you it would be a good idea to turn on the hot taps for a while to let some of the boiler water get away, don't turn them on fully though just about quarter of capacity

Big Vern

Hi all,
I changed coal recently a Glo-Therm smokeless fuel from Coyle Coal. Someone told me it is very good and great heat.
I cant see much difference in what i was using, a mix of Stafford Fuels - Stove coal and smokeless coal.
Maybe a little more intense heat for a period but not a huge difference.

We do use kiln dried firewood as well.

But i did notice that there was a lot less ash left after using the Coyle coal rather than the other coal. Is this a good or bad thing? Im just worried that the ash etc i used to get is getting sticking to the chimney more or am i wrong. Im not really sure how all this works to be honest!!

Any advice appreciated.