Oil - Smokeless Coals - Reviewing the Situation

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Oil or Coal?

and a further look at 

Formed Smokeless Coals

Coal is not the best heating value just now, simply because the bottom has fallen out of oil prices, and this makes oil the cheapest heating method for a short space of time.

Oil Best heating Value Just Now.

Those with oil fired heating should top up their tanks now - that is if you have the cash, as the low price will not last too much longer. At the current price oil a a very good deal for home heating. I filled my tank for the 1st time in almost 5 years. The price was €477 for a 1000 liters, that's about half of what it cost at the highest point.

Back to Coal.

For those who do not have oil heating, and cannot afford any fancy geothermal heating etc. and especially for those who have to rely on solid fuel, coal is the next best on the value scale.

As regular readers will know, I have long been a fan of Calco Mix, a blend of petro-coke and lignite, along with some other types of coal. Two of my fairly recent deliveries of Calco came with some FREE extras - in the form of rocks, stones and pieces of concrete. I was not the only one who got these free extras. My most recent delivery of Calco was a big improvement but not totally free of stones and other bits.

The Calco with stones mix, with the dangers of exploding stones - put me to looking at the formed coals more closely and my supplier suggested Hi-Glo. In December I did a short review of Hi-Glo, that is the one on the right in the photo below.

Left Cozy-Glo by Bord na Mona - Eco-Brite center - and far right Hi-Glo

Hi-Glo Smokeless Formed Coal.

I have used over 10 by 40kg bags of Hi-Glo coal to date, here are my further observation about this fuel.

The fuel is very smelly when burned. It is fair to say it stinks. You can smell this coal a kilometer away from the house. Once you get to know the smell, you can tell who is using it, and where it is being used. Hopefully the manufacturers can do something with formula to reduce the pong in time.

The coal does not leave cinders as such, just the odd bit of un-burnt coal and a fairly fine ash.

The winning points of this fuel are:

(1) the high heat output,
(2) the clean burn - except for the smell, and
(3) the best point is the long burn it gives. I have not had to relight my stove in over 2 weeks. The fuel can be made to stay glowing hot for up to 11 hours.

If the smell could be improved, this would be a very fine quality coal indeed.



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Solid Fuel Prices, Coal, Smokeless Coal

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Solid Fuel 

Prices

I have promised to bring to attention the best fuel prices in Ireland as I become aware of them. I recently came across a dealer in Newcastlewest County Limerick that offers reasonable prices, and delivers free of charge.

The business is named, appropriately enough for the times we live in, “Recession Fuels”. The man to talk to is Stephen Carey. Recession fuels carry a wide range of solid fuels and also can supply Kerosene in 20 litre lots - this can be a great help to get people by when they cannot afford a large delivery. 

Recession Fuels will deliver free of charge in a wide circle around Newcastlewest. For larger deliveries like a ton or maybe a half ton, they will deliver to most of county Limerick and into County Kerry. You can ring and arrange delivery beforehand.

Some Prices:

Smokeless Coal Lignite €13.50 per 40Kg bag or €335 per ton.

Cozylite smokeless nuggets €15.00 per 40Kg bag, ring for ton price.

Polish coal in quantity starts from €12.80 per 40Kg bag.

English Coal from €11.90 per 40Kg bag

Recession Fuels Newcastlewest Co. Limerick can be contacted at 069-78561Stephen Carey will make you a deal.

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Sustainable Teeth and Dentists Prices

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Extraction or Extortion

People are Avoiding the Dentist due to the Cost

Recent articles in several newspapers are saying that fewer and fewer people are going regularly to the dentist. Some dentists are finding it tough going with reduced customers.

To be perfectly honest, I have been avoiding the dentists also and for the same reason - they are too expensive in Ireland.

Ireland Spain comparison

In, according to an Internet price guide,  Seville Bami Dental clinic offer fillings from €45, and in Madrid Smilelife Clinic offer fillings from €50.

A Waterford dental clinic, one of the cheaper in Ireland, charges €70 for a simple filling, while a Galway clinic is looking for a whacking great €130 for a filling.

Irish Dental Prices 70% to 160% dearer than Spain

The cheaper Irish price is 70% dearer than the cheapest Spanish price - while the dearest Irish price is over 160% dearer than the dearer Spanish price

How Irish Dentists can bring in customers

Dear Irish dentists please cop yourselves on, by simply charging Spanish prices, you will increase your customer base substantially, and at the same time you will be performing a service to the nation, and earning lots of brownie points too.


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Review Smokeless Coals Calco Hi-Lite Cosyglo

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Price v/s Quality

Smokeless Coals
Please NOTE I have an
Addendum on CALCO-MIX
http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.ie/2015/12/an-update-on-calco-mix-it-has-come-to.html  
Recently Sept - Dec 2015 Calco-Mix has, in some instances,
been found to have a high level of stones in it.

With the heavy Irish government double taxation on heating oil bringing the price to €900 per 1000L fill, coal has emerged as an economic alternative for domestic heating.

Yea -Yea - I know a sustainable energy blog promoting coal!! With fuel poverty soaring towards 50% in Ireland, I have had a complete change of mind and heart. I now am inclined to say let the fat cats, the rich, and the grossly overpaid Irish parliament - complete with their over-the-top expense drawings -  worry about the carbon credits. When many in the country either cut their food or cut their heat to survive.

If you should find yourself in the position where it is a question of either EAT or HEAT, I would bet most of you would not give a fig what form of fuel provided you with heat, once you could afford it.


I am 100% coal this winter.

I have to date this winter not used one drop of heating oil in my home. Why would I? I don't like being ripped off. Instead, I have used almost 100% smokeless coals in my experimental fireplace which has a Firebird back boiler and a firefront door fitted.

This post is an attempt at reviewing the results of the different coals I have tried. Essentially I have used three types of smokeless coal:

1. Calco Smokeless Coal.

 Calco Smokeless PetCoke and Union Nugget mix
The Lignite briquittes are not in fact Unio - see below

I have written about Calco smokeless mix a couple of times before. There is some controversy out there regarding the use of Calco. Some stove manufacturers will not guarantee their appliances if Calco is burned, as they claim it will damage grates and baffles. I have used Calco in my firefront fireplace consistently for nearly four months, so far there is no detectable damage whatsoever.  I am very happy with several facets of Calco:

The pros;
(a) Calco gives excellent heat output.
(b) It has very low ash compared to other coals.
(c) It can easily burn over-night for up to nine hours.
(d) It is tops in respect of value for money.

The cons;
(a) It can burn too hot if you do not control the burn rate.
(b) It smells worse than other coals.

Update:  

The lignite nuggets are not Union, they are nuggets from Rheinbraun. This is the 2'' lignite briquette of REKORD produced by Vattenfall Europe Mining. They are clearly and easly to detect by its size (2'' REKORD instead of 3.5'' Union) and the letter L, standing for Lusatian REKORD briquettes. (Thank you Alexander Spaak of Vattenfall Mining for the heads-up)

2. Hi-Lite or "Glovoids" "EcoBrite" nuggets.

"Hi-Lite", "EcoBrite" or "GloVoids" formed nuggets

I have long maintained that Cosyglo Gems is one of the best quality smokeless coals to use in a stove or fireplace. Price is the problem. My local dealer Econ Fuels in Tralee introduced me to Hi-lite ovals, also known as "Glovoids", and as far as I know these ovals are from Arigna Mines and most probably the original name is EcoBrites from Arigna Mines. Hi-Lite, or EcoBrite has a very similar burn characteristic to CosyGlo and I would consider it as good. It is some 15+% cheaper than CosyGlo.

3. CosyGlo made by Arigna Mines.

Sold by BNM Cosyglo on the left, Glovoid or EcoBright on the right

CosyGlo is a very good quality smokeless coal and burns very well indeed in stoves without undue danger of overheating. What I have against CosyGlo is the price. The price tends to be bumped up because of the way it is sold. Bord na Mona (BnM) only sell it direct to customers at the top price. The bellmen, or door to door fuel salesmen, that BnM wholesale to, tend to add on a good whack to the price - in some cases asking as much as €20 for a 40Kg bag.

The end result is a that good coal becomes too expensive!! This does not serve the public well, and especially the 30+% of the Irish public who find themselves in fuel poverty. BnM IMHO need a better business strategy, given they are a semi-state body supposed to be serving the public.

PRICES IN ASCENDING ORDER

All the prices are general small quantity including delivery prices, and are correct at 13th February 2012.  For ease of comparison I have quoted for a 40Kg size bag. The high-lite smokeless ovoids actually come in either 25Kg or 50Kg bags. The prices of Calco and Hi-Lite are based on my local dealers Econ Fuels price which, for reasonable quantities, and in the local area, includes delivery.  The price of CosyGlo varies but €18 is about average. In most cases, ton or 1000Kg lots are a bit cheaper, and there are some special offers to be had occasionally.

Calco Mix is €14 a 40Kg bag

Hi-Lite Glovoids is €15.98 for the equivalent 40Kg

CosyGlo is €18 a 40Kg bag



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