# Coal won't light



## uncorked (9 Jan 2008)

I got ten bags of coal delivered before Christmas, it's smokeless and this is the second batch of this coal that I have bought from this company.  My problem is that the coal is taking forever to light, sometimes it takes 5 or 6 attempts to get it going and even when it does eventually get going (if I last that long)  there isn't great heat and no great flames, it might be giving out some heat by the time I'm ready to go to bed.

I had no problems with the previous batch of coal i had got.  I rang the company this evening and they said that they had no other complaints, therefore they were not going to do anything. Eventually she said she would give me 1 bag of polish coal and that i should use this to start the fire.  But she made me feel I was over reacting at the fact that I had coal that doesn't light!  Bottom line they would take no responsibility because coal is a natural product and they had no other complaints.

Any suggestions?


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## Carpenter (9 Jan 2008)

Do you live an area where smokey coal is banned?  I haven't much experience of smokeless coal myself but I do understand it is difficult to light and it wouldn't have the same calorific value as regular smokey coal.  Perhaps you could try "blending" it with other fuels (as suggested) like smokey coal, briquettes or timber to see if this improves matters.


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## Jack The Lad (9 Jan 2008)

How do you light your fire, uncorked?

If you just place a burning fire lighter on the grate and pour coal over it, it's going to take forever to light. Carpenters on the right track, you need some other fuels to get it going...

At the risk of sounding like a ninny - here's how I do it... clean out the dust etc from the previous fire - this ensures a good draught beneath the grate. Then I light a firelighter, then place some kindling (broken small sticks) on top, let it burn for a minute until flames are good, then place a small amount of coal on and around the fire. Five minutes later, I pile some more coal on, and there you go.


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## uncorked (9 Jan 2008)

Yes I live in a smokeless area, looks like I am going to have to blend, i just don't have the room to store another ten bags of polish coal, but it looks like it's my only solution.  

I've been lighting my open fire for the last ten years, and for the most part without a problem, with smokeless coal, so i know my technique isn't the problem.  Jack the Lad, I do it more or less the same way with some scruched up newspaper.


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## Carpenter (9 Jan 2008)

You don't need to store another ten bags of smokey coal- if you blend a small amount of this with the bulk of the remain fuel being smokeless this should help matters.


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## uncorked (9 Jan 2008)

Thanks Carpenter, i'll try that, I suppose I'll use the smokey to get it started and then when it's going throw in the rubbish coal.


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## Birroc (9 Jan 2008)

uncorked said:


> Yes I live in a smokeless area, looks like I am going to have to blend, i just don't have the room to store another ten bags of polish coal, but it looks like it's my only solution.
> 
> I've been lighting my open fire for the last ten years, and for the most part without a problem, with smokeless coal, so i know my technique isn't the problem. Jack the Lad, I do it more or less the same way with some scruched up newspaper.


 
Try lighting it with briquettes or some small pieces of wood (I find rotten branches from an ash tree are excellent and dont spark). You can buy those bags of 'kippins' (chopped pieces of wood) from petrol stations these days. It is crap fire fuel though.


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## z109 (9 Jan 2008)

Birroc said:


> Try lighting it with briquettes or some small pieces of wood (I find rotten branches from an ash tree are excellent and dont spark). You can buy those bags of 'kippins' (chopped pieces of wood) from petrol stations these days. It is crap fire fuel though.


Ash burns well whether green or rotten.

If you can get your hands on some OSB (oriented strand board) offcuts or indeed any decking or building site offcuts, they burn like stink and are hot quickly, so should be able to get your coal going.

PS I've found it impossible to get fire started from newspaper recently - I only buy the IT on a saturday, but it doesn't burn well now it's recycled/coloured (not sure which it is).


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## zag (9 Jan 2008)

My tried and trusted way to set and light the fire is to fill the grate with scrunched newspaper (scrunched correctly so that enough air can get in to help it burn correctly), then a lattice of sticks (whatever piece of untreated wooden furniture has outlived its usefullness in the last year) on top, then two briquettes split in two set leaning against each other, then a smattering of coal around the whole thing.  Apply match, stand back, wait, add more coal in 5-15 minutes and bobs yer uncle.

I've just seen yoganmahews post - I also only normally use the Saturday Irish Times and don't have any problems.  It's all to do with the scrunch you see - maybe you've changed scrunching method recently.  I did find that the magazine bit was hopeless, as were most non-broadsheets.  I can't think why other than that there was something related to the size of the sheet and the amount of air circulating . . .  These now get reserved in a big pile for mushing up and turning into paper briquettes every winter.


z


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## zag (9 Jan 2008)

Like yoganmahew I also occasionally use building site offcuts, but normally only untreated timber as I don't want to risk getting anything toxic released into my living room when I light my fire.  Be carefull of using treated wood for domestic fires.

I also use any and all scrap garden wood following our annual attack during the summer.  It kills me to see neighbours cutting down trees and paying someone to take away the resulting fuel.  A couple of months/years stacked in the garage and it's normally dry enough to burn easily.

z


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## z109 (9 Jan 2008)

Yeah, zag, I should have pointed out that I use a stove (so toxic fumes are not a problem).


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## ryan-neil (10 Jan 2008)

*Re: Coal won't light - Firelighters and Peat are the Solution*

Hi,

To get it going quite quick i do the following.

Three briquettes in the firer place on the side, a strip of Tesco value fire lighter between each, light, give a minute to get going, cover with smokeless coal, even when the smokeless was that wet that the bag had to be kept in plastic box it still lit to a belting fire within 20mins, fire lighters get peat going and your sorted from there.


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## Carpenter (10 Jan 2008)

Waste timber from sites is what I use and as long as it's dry and free from mortar it burns well, especially ply, mdf and softwood.  You'd be shocked at what is landfilled!


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## ajapale (10 Jan 2008)

hi uncorked,

Did you buy the coal from a coal merchant, shop/forecourt or perhaps from a door to door bellman?

You could consider taking the matter up with the supplier as the coal in question might be part of a substandard batch.

Who is the importer/packer? It should state this on the bottom of the bags.

aj


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## Carpenter (10 Jan 2008)

ajapale said:


> hi uncorked,
> 
> You could consider taking the matter up with the supplier as the coal in question might be part of a substandard batch.
> 
> aj


 
Back to the coalface, so to speak? Sorry....


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## Gautama (10 Jan 2008)

Where do you store your bags of coal?
It may sound trivial, but it ain't. Room temperature coal lights much faster than coal stored outdoor. If you have a utility room or garage, it's worthwhile having a bucket of coal in here that you top up and use every day.

Or maybe you got a bad batch of coal? When it burns out, is there much burn coals or does it burn completely? Or is there that terrible chalk like matter?




yoganmahew said:


> Ash burns well whether green or rotten.


 
Ash has this reputation but I don't agree. Green ash burns better than other green woods, but fully any seasoned wood is the best.
Six to nine months is ideal. If it get's too dry it can burn away in a flash.

Many places sell wood but it tends to be too green and smokes a lot. If you notice condensation inside the bag, forget it.



yoganmahew said:


> PS I've found it impossible to get fire started from newspaper recently - I only buy the IT on a saturday, but it doesn't burn well now it's recycled/coloured (not sure which it is).


 
Newspaper stinks when it burns and creates so many ashes. A brand firelighter can't be beaten, covered with a tee-pee of twigs/branches/sticks.


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## ney001 (10 Jan 2008)

We have had some rubbish coal lately as well.  Our perfected method is a firelog - one seems to be overkill though so we just split one log into three pieces, one piece lighting for approx 5 minutes with split briquette on each side - then throw on some coal - jobs oxo


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## Pique318 (10 Jan 2008)

You should place the firelighter on a bed of coal too, build a 'wall' of coal around it, kindling on top and more coal on top of that.

Let it light for 5-10 mins and add fuel as necessary.

Get this guy in if all else fails:
[broken link removed]


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## uncorked (10 Jan 2008)

Ajapale, I bought the coal from a coal merchant, i don't have the bags as the coal was put into a bunker.  Gautama, while the coal is stored in a bunker, I normally keep a bucket of coal in the house, but obviously there are times when the fire is lit using coal straight from the bunker.

No the coal doesn't burn completely, it leaves grey, ashey coal.

Thanks for all the suggestions, i know the problem is definetly the coal itself, rather than they way I'm storing the coal or lighting the fire because this is the only factor that has changed.


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## uncorked (10 Jan 2008)

*Proof is in the pudding*

Latest Update, I got home from work this evening and I started lighting the fire with the crap coal and same old story, difficult to light, I went out to get more coal only to realise (fair play) the polish coal was delivered - 3 bags much to my amazement, after I had been promised 1 bag.

I started with a few lumps of the polish coal and  built it up and we've had a blazing fire all evening.  So there is no doubt, what I got was definetly inferior coal.  Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, I feel vindicated in my fire lighting capabilities


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## ajapale (10 Jan 2008)

*Re: Proof is in the pudding*



uncorked said:


> Yes I live in a smokeless area.......





uncorked said:


> . the polish coal was delivered - 3 bags much to my amazement......



You should note that under the terms of the Clean Air Act the "marketing, sale and distribution of Bituminous (Polish) coal" is banned. So who ever delivered the coal has broken the law. However, in contrast to the situation in the UK, the burning of Bituminous (Polish) coal is not banned in Ireland. - So you can relax in front of your Real Fire!


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## Conshine (14 Jan 2008)

zag said:


> These now get reserved in a big pile for mushing up and turning into paper briquettes every winter.


 
Zag - I would be interested in finding out how you do this. I have mountains of cardboard and paper that I could put to good use here.


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