Best fuel for getting the most heat from the fire?

DoYouEvenLift

Been wondering about this lately since the fire's used most nights. I use coal and wood, couldn't get turf this year, and seem to find wood doesn't give as good heat as the coal, especially not when the coal has burned in to that orange glow state, that seems to be when the fire's the hottest?


What's the most effective/efficient fuel to use for fires?

nullzero

Kittens

Banjo String

Coal.

I burn briquettes, turf, logs and coal, but without doubt it's coal that gets the living room heated up more than any of the others.

Proper coal though, big fcuk off lumps of stuff.

Sheep Lover

Victims

DainBramage

amputated limbs, failing that coal

DoYouEvenLift

Banjo String wrote: »

Coal.

I burn briquettes, turf, logs and coal, but without doubt it's coal that gets the living room heated up more than any of the others.

Proper coal though, big fcuk off lumps of stuff.

Yeah seems so. The sizes of the coal I get vary a lot in each bag, some are tiny and not worth using and others are almost the size of a small football. The glow of and heat from burned in coal is unreal

_Brian

In an open fire Polish coal wil produce the best heat.
If it's a cooker or stove you could try Anthracyte or Furnacyte, little more expensive than coal but more heat and if the draught is properly controlled then it lasts longer. You need to be careful though as they can produce enough heat to badly warp the castings in stoves.

Sir Osis of Liver.

Vodka.

Digital Solitude

Coal, covered with fine, damp slack. Burns hotter than coal and only needs to be redone every 6-8 hours if done right

OwaynOTT

Argentinian coal was all the rage there for a while, bleedin' hipsters coal.

DoYouEvenLift

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Coal, covered with fine, damp slack. Burns hotter than coal and only needs to be redone every 6-8 hours if done right

How does one do it right?


Also, I've really started trying to build the fires up using as few fire lighters as possible (yes, I know some people can do it all without them), not sure why but it feels better doing this, it's like being bear grylls in your living room. Starting with real dry small bits of wood then getting it going enough to put some logs on and then coal on top and then once that burns in I only add on coal

Ghost Train

Quark-gluon soup

_Brian

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

Yeah seems so. The sizes of the coal I get vary a lot in each bag, some are tiny and not worth using and others are almost the size of a small football. The glow of and heat from burned in coal is unreal

This purely a cost thing.
To seperate each grade out the coal needs to be handled through a screener, more passes is more cost.
What your buying just has slack screened out in one pass and then bagged.

wendell borton

Methane

Mesrine65

Thermite-TH3

Riamfada

Uranium

DoYouEvenLift

Puns/desperate attempts at humour for 'thanks' are always expected on AH but the ones ITT are dreadful. Disappointed in you AH!

OwaynOTT

Give a man the best heating fuel and he's warm for a few hours. Set a man on fire and he's roasting for the rest of his life.

Mint Aero

I burn penguins on my fire to cook whale.

The Backwards Man

Anyone who puts dirty foreign coal in their fire deserves to be fcuked down the nearest shaft. We have the cleanest, warmest, cheapest, healthiest, most environmentally friendly way of heating our homes right under our feet.

If schools spent more time taking kids to the bog to save turf and less time teaching redundant things such as algebra and art, the country would be in a much better place.

allthedoyles

A dash of sugar in a shot of poitin .normally sets off the sparks for us

oppenheimer1

Anthracite coal is the most energy dense solid fuel and burns the hottest AFAIK.

You'll be changing the grate fairly frequently with it though

DoYouEvenLift

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Anyone who puts dirty foreign coal in their fire deserves to be fcuked down the nearest shaft. We have the cleanest, warmest, cheapest, healthiest, most environmentally friendly way of heating our homes right under our feet.

If schools spent more time taking kids to the bog to save turf and less time teaching redundant things such as algebra and art, the country would be in a much better place.

Too bad turf is weather dependent

Digital Solitude

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

How does one do it right?

I'm ****e at lighting the fire, but when it works, use a good few kindlers, and a small block of firelighter. When they catch, add 3-4 pieces of turf, and when they've burned a little, add coal as usual. As soon as you've added the coal, cover it with your slack, need 5-8 shovels of it usually.

Then close the fire up, and bam. Hours of heat, very little coal used

Adamantium

The Homeless.

mass_debater

Fifties, great heat off them

Rabbo

When I was a kid, I used to think that polish coal meant the coal had been polished which somehow improved it's performance

NachoBusiness

Halogen heater keeping me toasty.

I had a 3000w one that was expensive to run and yet put out little heat but then bought one which was only 1000w and it heats the room more. Sometimes the design of something is just as important as it's advertised output. I think peoople assume that the higher kw, the warmer it will keep their room which is not necessarily the case.

I can't light a fire to save my life

I buy a fire pack, then top it up with coal, and even at that it ends up failing miserably.

I'd love to be able to have a big fire on the go all day but doesn't happen.

telecaster

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

What's the most effective/efficient fuel to use for fires?

http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Statistics_Publications/Fuel_Cost_Comparison/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparisons.pdf

It's all there.

Cantona's Collars

Deleted User wrote: »

I can't light a fire to save my life

I buy a fire pack, then top it up with coal, and even at that it ends up failing miserably.

I'd love to be able to have a big fire on the go all day but doesn't happen.

Are you related to my missus,she'd put the fires of hell out.

sligojoek

Tyres and pallets

Littlekittylou

Central Heating FTW.

harry Bailey esq

Good polish coal is best,those anthracite nuggets that bord na mona sell in 20kg bags is absolutely sh1te,in terms of both heat output and cost

darkpagandeath

Try this combination.

Hydrogen
Helium
Oxygen
Carbon
Nitrogen
Silicon
Magnesium
Neon
Iron
Sulfur

You will need to compress it with a very strong gravitational field.

TheMilkyPirate

Deleted User wrote: »

I can't light a fire to save my life

I buy a fire pack, then top it up with coal, and even at that it ends up failing miserably.

I'd love to be able to have a big fire on the go all day but doesn't happen.

If your having trouble just put a good bit of kindling on top of the grate then throw a bucket of coal over it. Put a big firelighter under the grate and light it. You'll have a great fire in about 5 minutes, It's foolproof.

It's criminal overuse of firelighters but they are cheap as chips anyway.

beertons

Flags are usually good.

Aidric

Lynx Africa

harry Bailey esq

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can't light a fire to save my life

I buy a fire pack, then top it up with coal, and even at that it ends up failing miserably.

I'd love to be able to have a big fire on the go all day but doesn't happen.

A decent fire wont get going properly unless there is a decent flow of air coming up from underneath,give the hearth and grate a good clean,have another crack at it and you'll be soon toasting your toes


Ps:I'm not suggesting for a second you keep a dirty house,im sure your gaf is lovely whoops

Chucken

I fear the wrath of our resident turf expert so I'm going to say turf.

Greenmachine

Some Quality polish coal is your man.

JJJJNR

NachoBusiness wrote: »

Halogen heater keeping me toasty.

I had a 3000w one that was expensive to run and yet put out little heat but then bought one which was only 1000w and it heats the room more. Sometimes the design of something is just as important as it's advertised output. I think peoople assume that the higher kw, the warmer it will keep their room which is not necessarily the case.

Thanks for sharing.

dxhound2005

This all reminds me of that bit in a Father Ted episode when Fr Purcell ” the most boring priest in the world” was telling Fr Jack about how ….


“…we run the gas off the electricity and the electricity off the gas and we save 200 a year! But then a few weeks later – God, I’ll never forget it, now – we got a new boiler.
Ted : ” All right, Fathers?”
Jack ” – HELP ME! ”
Fr Purcell “Hello, Ted.- I was telling Father Jack about the thing there last year.”
Ted “- How did you fare with yours? ”
Fr Purcell “- I don’t know Because you know, they have no morals and no respect for human life. But what they do have, and no one can deny this, they have the finest collection of boilers in the world.
And I include Canada in that.”

BD45

Coal gives the most heat. I love the smell of a turf fire but find it doesn't give a lot of heat.

harry Bailey esq

harry Bailey esq wrote: »

A decent fire wont get going properly unless there is a decent flow of air coming up from underneath,give the hearth and grate a good clean,have another crack at it and you'll be soon toasting your toes


Ps:I'm not suggesting for a second you keep a dirty house,im sure your gaf is lovely whoops

My hearth is spotless I'll have you know :P

I'll try building one today and let ye know how I get on. I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats!

Menas

I have one of those pesky gas fires. Keep meaning to get it replaced with a multi fuel burning stove but everytime I get the money together for it I seem to spend it on holidays or some other essential.
Am jealous reading thru this thread. I could kill for that smell of burning turf!

amber69

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Try this combination.

Hydrogen
Helium
Oxygen
Carbon
Nitrogen
Silicon
Magnesium
Neon
Iron
Sulfur

You will need to compress it with a very strong gravitational field.

Where might I get one of these fields and are they sold by the yard or acre. Think I can get the rest in aldi

Murt10

I remember years ago a consignment of green coal came in.

Hottest stuff ever. Burnt the hell out of the fireplace and grate.

skooterblue2

The fuel is only a small part of the problem..... a garage onto the house is a big heat waster. Double glazing windows, insulating the roof attic and walls all helps. I think a Stanley were great stove in comparison to open fires (70% loss up the flue). Electric bar heaters are a dead loss in terms of retaining heat, storage heaters fare better.

Coal and anthricate are great fuels along with Irish Ash. Dead losses are turf and paper brickettes

ted1

The sheet here http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Statistics_Publications/Fuel_Cost_Comparison/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparisons.pdf

Has all the info on the energy content of fueks used in domestic fires

Desolation Of Smug

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Anyone who puts dirty foreign coal in their fire deserves to be fcuked down the nearest shaft. We have the cleanest, warmest, cheapest, healthiest, most environmentally friendly way of heating our homes right under our feet.

.

You're reduced to burning the floorboards like me, right?