Author Topic: Heart of Coal  (Read 25936 times)

dmp

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Heart of Coal
« on: May 11, 2008, 11:07:47 PM »
I'm here in the eastern part of Pennsylvania.  I heat my home with anthracite I pick-up at mines about 50 miles from
my house.  I get 2 ton loads on my Toyota dump truck with a 4cyl., ...so I get passed on hills, whatever.

I enjoy it all!!!

The scenery is great.  The trip isn't long, not much gas.  They load your truck up, no effort on my part, and you
hand them cash.  Smiles all around.

Smiles?,...SATISFACTION.  I'm proud to hand my money to these Americans.

They spend it HERE, my neighborhood.  Sure, some at Wal-Mart.  Nothing wrong with that, at ALL!
Most with the people around the area.  ...even if it's Pennsylvania Power n' Light.

More of my money stays close to here, not to those who HATE America. NO THANKS, I'll pay here for MY heat!!!

What's it cost me?  $130.00 a ton At the mine.  That's equivalent to 188gals. no. 2 heating oil or diesel.

I quote..."DO THE MATH"

Stan

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2008, 01:59:27 AM »
Around here, we have some very big coal mines, most of the product goes to China.  All of the pensioners in the "Elk Valley" consisting of Elkford and Sparwood get all the coal they want free, delivered to their door.  Story is the practice started when every pensioner was an ex miner or parent of a miner, and it just kind of continued to this day.  Only place in the country I figure that still has lots of coal furnaces going strong.  Probably dirty but I wonder if it is much worse than oil dug out of the tar sands, then refined, then trucked all over the country.  Better on the ducks too.   ;D  (Canadian joke)
Stan

Jim Mc

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2008, 03:30:31 AM »
Do the math?  Been doing it for it for years, as someone once said...

I'd burn coal for heat, too,  if Indiana coal was a better fuel. (No anthracite here)

« Last Edit: May 12, 2008, 01:18:51 PM by Jim Mc »

rcavictim

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2008, 08:39:29 AM »
I've heard that burning midnight oil can sometimes help with fuel costs.   :D
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atimperson

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2008, 03:30:26 PM »
Don't know where they are buying wood at but would like to sell them some. Mine cost me around 20.00 per cord ,that's figuring my labor at $15.00 an hour.

Tim

Stan

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2008, 03:52:48 PM »
I"ve stopped using wood several years ago when I finally got rid of the rusty pumpkin (my 74 dodge crew cab).  It finally rusted so badly the rear suspension "hang point" rusted out and the right rear corner dropped a few inches  :o

After calculating the price of keeping a truck solely to gather wood,  :o  I decided to migrate to wood pellets.   They are totally carbon neutral, (yes they are!) completely non polluting (0%  pyroligneous acid producing = zero smoke) and work out to around 1/2 the cost of wood, when I counted in the maintaining a vehicle solely to do the collecting.  Not to mention the 15 - 20 ardurous weekends working with a chain saw in the bush to get the stuff, then another equal amount of time splitting it.  Now there's some merit in the value of the exercise in all of this work, but I've other ways to lose weight.  ::)  Downhill skiing uses 580 calories per hour.  ;D

Don't even get me started on how polluting natural gas is!   >:(  I consider the use of natural gas to be one of the most harmful substances known for production of energy, yes right up there with coal.  It is constantly being promoted as a clean fuel which is something akin to the "Big Lie" syndrome.  (If you say it enough, and loudly enough, people will begin to believe even the most astounding lies)   If anyone is interested I'll reiterate my experience with natural gas scrubbing plants near Dawson Creek again as proof.

Stan

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2008, 03:59:17 PM »
Don't know where they are buying wood at but would like to sell them some. Mine cost me around 20.00 per cord ,that's figuring my labor at $15.00 an hour.

Tim

Hmmm. I have to wonder what kind of superman you are that can cut and split an entire cord of wood in 80 minutes, AND where you live that $15/hour buys you more than slow starvation.

But I'd be happy to buy all the firewood you can provide for $100/cord. (even $150!) Typical price around here these days is about $300/cord. (includes local delivery)

Steve

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vt woodchuck

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2008, 05:28:45 PM »
Jim Mc;
I found your cost comparison table very interesting and helpful. Is this something you worked up, or is this table put out by a Govt. agency, or university. If not by you, where can it found and how often is it up-dated. Thanks
mike
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jimmer

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2008, 05:49:02 PM »
Here in NW Pennsylvania I buy a tri-axel load of hardwood logs for $550.00 each year.

That keeps 2 inside woodstoves and a outside hot tub stove (365 days a year) going.

No gas related cost because I use a crosscut saw for cutting and a maul for splitting.

Keeps me in shape too!

Jimmer

dmp

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2008, 10:03:48 PM »
Do the math?  Been doing it for it for years, as someone once said...

I'd burn coal for heat, too,  if Indiana coal was a better fuel. (No anthracite here)




Jim

Those prices look right.  You've done the math.

Go onto the Anthracite Coal Forum.  Transportation's the bugger.  Maybe you'll find others to go in
with you on a trailer load of about 25 tons.  Divy it up.  Run the numbers. Try for a back haul for the
trucker so he doesn't ride empty back to PA.

I'm retired, seems semi, from the coal & oil business.  Still get called to help people with their heating.
It's neat.  I can pick and choose now. 

The moderator may choose to move this thread to Marketplace, but I've keept my contacts, made a
few more, since then.  If you want a stoker, I'll get you one.  I'm not an altruist.  I will make a profit.

Heating is not a means to make a political statement with me.  I'm cheap, and I want to be warm.
However, there's a truly grand source of heat right under my feet.  Plentiful, cheap and American!

I've never learned, or cared much, to use icons in posts.  If there's gloat, put it here.


David


Jim Mc

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2008, 11:29:21 PM »
Jim Mc;
I found your cost comparison table very interesting and helpful. Is this something you worked up, or is this table put out by a Govt. agency, or university. If not by you, where can it found and how often is it up-dated. Thanks
mike

These are my numbers.  They're based on what I'm seeing in central Indiana now, except for the coal number, where I used dmp's cost.

Jim Mc

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2008, 01:02:47 AM »
...I decided to migrate to wood pellets.   They are totally carbon neutral, (yes they are!) completely non polluting (0%  pyroligneous acid producing = zero smoke) and work out to around 1/2 the cost of wood, when I counted in the maintaining a vehicle solely to do the collecting....

Not sure exactly what they sell for, but assuming it's in the neighborhood of $210/ton, I added them to the mix:


Stan

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2008, 01:42:18 AM »
I've paid $195 for the past 3 years for a ton of pellets.  Not sure what they will be next fall, what with the price of diesel the truckers will be sure to add on a fuel surcharge.  However, for sheer ease of getting them here, a flatdeck backs up to my carport and it takes 2 guys less than 30 min to hand throw them down and stack them on an extra pallet I have.  That's 3 tons which is what I burn per year.  Next year they are going to bring a small fork lift and cut that down to 10 minutes, or so they say.
Stan

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2008, 01:44:21 AM »
I gotta jump on the wood band wagon.  A cord of hardwood in these parts (4' W X 4' H X 8' L) runs $160.00 (based on a 10 cord delivery @ $1600.00).  Supplemented w/oil hot water and backup heat, we keep a draughty old farm house warm all winter long.  Pricey yes, but no coal is available in these parts, natural gas is, in my opinion, the crack cocaine of heating fuels, so therefore not an option, and electric heat.....well I work for the bast@rds.  I don't have to buy their product too!  I have thought about a corn stove and a pellet stove but by the time you calculate the cost of replacing appliances, it does'nt seem to make finacial sense
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Doug

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Re: Heart of Coal
« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2008, 01:46:42 AM »
No coal up here......

My dad used to deliverb bages of coal as a teen.
Most old homes here have a coal door.
Coal can still be found laying on old rail ways lines around town.
Father inlaw used to unload the coal cars and bomb them if it was forzen in the coal sheds.....

We used a lot of coal here to feed the furnaces in the worlds largest smelter ( plura 3 runing durring the coal years ).

And only one kind of coal came in from the US or out west metalergical anthrisite coal. The good clean stuff and it was used to heat homes too.
This practice only realy died out when the Natural gas came in and the Oxygen enrcihment furnaces eleimintaed it.

Still find coal laying around near where the coal sheds were at the Mond.....
Stupid head brother inlaw burned the bottom out of his wood stove one year when I showed him wherer to get it lol.

Coals is not a dirty word if its used right and its high quality fuel.
Doug
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