Is smokeless coal just crap?

[TheChosenTwo]

It’s the only kind of coal you can get now I believe, I know people will be aghast that I’m even admitted to using coal in my fire full stop but there we are.
However, it’s just absolutely shit and I can’t keep my fire lit! What’s the secret? The old coal was so easy, Chuck it on, firefighters, kindling, good to go. This stuff? Just will not stay fucking lit
Please help me, it’s driving me insane, I just want to lie on the sofa with the fire roaring and read!

Ive only ever used it as part of a multi fuel stove. Start with a bed of coal, kindling and firelighters, throw logs on until a well established fire then continually chuck coal and logs on from there on in

Smokeless fuel needs air from below to catch and keep going. You need to clean out the grate and ashpan before starting your fire. Smokeless fuel tends to get damp and then won't burn properly. Don't leave it in the sacks from the supplier. It gets sweaty in the bags. You need to put it in a bunker and let it dry out before burning it. It is strongly recommended that you do not mix it with wood. It's just not a good mix. Apart from not burning as efficiently as either would on their own, the mixture can trash the flue.

I use it in a multifuel stove no problem. I don’t use fire lighters.

Paper, kindling, wood, then add some coal.

It’s fine now, it just took an age to get going.
The fire is always cleaned out and swept between every use so no problems in that department.

Was the coal completely dry? I've bought coal before from petrol station forecourt that was damp (and some that was sodden) and have learnt my lesson.

We use a fire lighter and plenty of kindling sticks. Wait until the wood is well lit and building up heat, then add a few lumps of smokeless. Make sure you leave the stove door slightly ajar to boost airflow. Once it's going you can close it.

Smokeless isn't as good as it used to be. We used to be able to get the fire going like a blast furnace, but now it needs serious persuasion and a well seasoned log.

It felt cold and possibly damp, it wasn’t bought from a petrol station but in bags just like the stuff you get there. It’s all kept undercover where I go but I do think it’s slightly damp.
We don’t have a wood burner, it’s an open fire.

The smokeless stuff won’t work in an open fire. The real stuff melts multifuel burners though.

You can still get real coal but you have to buy a meaningful amount from a coal merchant. Small shop type cellars can only sell the crap stuff now.

We got 3 tons delivered a few months back and our merchant assures me we will be able to keep getting the stuff.

We keep it in the garage where it is dry and then I usually bring some into the sitting room to warm up for a day.

It is not as easy as ordinary house coal. We stopped buying it when we realised we were not in a smokeless zone.

@Asdf12345 dh was told today when he went to get the logs and coal by the log man that from the 1st feb it was banned to buy/sell coal other than smokeless (what’s the opposite called? Smokey?!) but maybe it’s because we are in a smokeless zone as @Melroses mentions? How do I find out if I’m in that?!
Anyway, after an hour or so it was fine, so it’s worked alright, just annoying that it takes more faffing than the old ‘Smokey’?! stuff.

There are a lot of different types of smokeless coal. As every fire and flue are different, you will need to try them until you find one you are happy with.
Just to really confuse the situation they all have different burning properties and some burn harsh and quick giving lots of heat, some burn longer and cooler, perfect for autumnal evenings. Some give out lots of ash and some less. They also come in different shapes and you need to find which suits your set up.
We loved pure heat but now burn fire gold. Home fire is pretty popular.
As others have said - it does need to be dry.

@TheChosenTwo The Govt website says to ask the local council www.gov.uk/smoke-control-area-rules

We use smokeless coal in an open fire and it’s absolutely fine. Never had any problems with it.

Yes thanks, I’ve sent the council an email to find out!

I use anthracite in my multifuel stove with logs and never had issues.

I only use firelighters when there is absolutely no draw, but living on the side of a mountain there us always a breeze!

I saw a newspaper article once about a guy who used coal in his stove and the stove exploded....can’t remember if it was a multi fuel or a log burner he had but the stove was a buckled mess.

@Asdf12345

The smokeless stuff won’t work in an open fire. The real stuff melts multifuel burners though.

You can still get real coal but you have to buy a meaningful amount from a coal merchant. Small shop type cellars can only sell the crap stuff now.

We got 3 tons delivered a few months back and our merchant assures me we will be able to keep getting the stuff.

Yiiiiiiikes, what do you mean ‘melts’ multifuel stoves? I use lots of real coal in mine - very very very difficult to keep this house warm when it’s below zero and real coal is the only affordable way. If it’s closer to + double digits outside logs are fine.

@TheChosenTwo

It’s banned for small quantities on collection, you can still have a coal merchant deliver.

www.gov.uk/government/news/government-takes-action-to-cut-pollution-from-household-burning

They claim loose deliveries in England will be out from 2023 though in the more peripheral areas it’s less ambitiously set.

I always struggled with the smokeless coal too, but didn't have a coal bunker or garage to store decent quantities of the real stuff from a merchant. I couldn't get it to light. If I ever finally did, it didn't produce any flame or much heat for that matter. Rubbish!
We've moved house now and have a gas outlet in the middle of our fireplace, so can't have any type of fire yet until we get that moved.

I use Taybright in a multi-fuel stove. Like others, I get the fire going with firelighters, kindling and a couple of small logs, and then, once it's all well alight, turn up the air flow and put the coal in. It soon catches, but ideally, to get it going you do need quite a bit of heat underneath it. The trouble with smokeless is it creates so much ash compared to just wood, but the advantage is a steady heat pushed out over a long period of time - you don't have to feed it nearly so often.

@Ylfa

www.swainsonandcowins.co.uk/blogs/news/170346823-should-you-use-household-coal-in-your-wood-burning-or-multi-fuel-stove

Read this. I can’t find the article about the Welsh guy who blew his front room up but the report at the time said the fire brigade said it was due to burning house coal rather than smokeless.

I get ovoids from a local supplier , you can pick it up or deliver and they are still selling premium coal

What part of UK are you in OP?

As far as I aware, the only difference between a wood burning and multi fuel stove is that the latter has a grate and a means of admitting air from underneath. There is usually some form of riddler provided too to keep the grate free of ash when burning coals

When the area that my grandfather lived became smokeless, 70-80 years ago, the council replaced all the open fires in their housing stock with glass fronted sealed fires so that smokeless coal would burn properly.