Topic: Economy of fuel (coal)

[tonybloke]

I've copied this from an old book 'enquire within', I've left out the bit about servants,. masters etc.
This WORKS!!!
Before lighting the fire in the morning, thoroughly clean out the grate; lay a piece of cardboard, cut to the form and size of the grate, at the bottom; pile up fresh coal, nearly as high as the level of the top bar; the pieces should be about the size of small potatoes or walnuts, but this is not absolutely necessary; the larger lumps should be laid in front, the smaller ones behind; then put a liberal supply of paper, or shavings, and sticks on the top, and cover the whole with yesterdays cinders, adding a very little coal.
Thus, it will be seen, the fire is to be lighted at the top. The results will be not only satisfactory, but astonishing.
The fire lights up at once, without further trouble the centre of the fuel soon catches, and the interior strata of coal ignite. The fire spreads downwards, and the smoke is forced to pass through the upper layers of burning coal; the consequence is, there is perfect combustion, the great volume of gas and smoke usually sent off from fires, and which consists of the most combustible part of coal, being thoroughly consumed, and yielding heat.
A fire so made will go on burning for six, eight or even ten hours, without poking, without adding fresh coal, or any attention whatever. There is little or no smoke, and the fire gives out a pleasant and uniform glow. One fair trail of this system will satisfy everybody. It will sometimes be necessary to loosen, or stir lightly the upper part of the fire, if it begins to cake; but the lower part must not be touched, otherwise it will burn away too soon.
Try it if you got an open fire, or roomheater.
tony ;)

[telboy]

I'm gonna try this Tony.

[tonybloke]

go for it Telboy, I've converted a few folk to this method, they all have at least HALVED their yearly coal usage!! ;)

[Levi]

Yeh, cheers, its always a bit of a will it won't it go for my fire building.   :-[

[telboy]

I'll try it tomorrow night. I usually start with a coal base & burn logs(free).
This year, I'm investing in a log burner. Initial investigations have sorted the make/installation ideas. Didn't realise before now how efficient log burners are & how clean.
Have a supply of coal to get through first so I'll report back!

[telboy]

Tony,
Set the fire & lit it @6pm. Went to bed @ 12.30 & it still had a happy glow. Something in this methinks!
Tonight I'm gonna set a 'normal' fire & see what happens.
I'll report back again.

[tonybloke]

My mate steve gets up to 12 hrs from one fill!! he was so impressed, he cut a sheet of tin to fit the grate, thereby stopping any ingress of air from below.
 I find it strange that this sort of knowledge has been hidden / lost??
 ;)

[Baccy Man]

Tonight I'm gonna set a 'normal' fire & see what happens.

What is the method for a 'normal' fire? i've always used the method outlined in the original post & thought it was the normal way to do it when burning coal.

[davyw1]

Paper on the botom then sticks and the coal on top i think. Its that long since my fire was out i have forgot
I am dead lucky as i have said i just go down the beach and shovel coal dust or DUFF as we call it mix it with the coal so it double the amount i have baught. I put a shovel full on last thing at night and the next morning give it a rake and its afire again.

[attachment=1]

Can you people that get coal also get Duff from your coal merchant from which you can make Duff balls

[saddad]

always called "slack" when I was a lad...  :-\

[davyw1]

SLAG was the term we used but that PC grigade no longer allows it LOL

[littlebabybird]

we always called it slag as well,
what did you call tiny tinder?

lbb

[terrier]

we always called it slag as well,
what did you call tiny tinder?

lbb

Cinders or coke.
I always light the fire from the top,although the heat travels up, the combustible material is underneath, less heat underneath, so the fire lasts longer. The only difference is I use fire lghters, they generate more heat than paper snakes. The times they are a'changin  ;D

Once I've got a good hot firebed going, it's easy to just add sc rap wood to maintain the heat without using expensive coal.

[gardentg44]

[always called "slack" when I was a lad...  :-\]

We always called it "slack" as well saddad

what i do is get the slack from the coal yard,

either free or cheap depending whose there.

mix it ,4 shovels to half of cement

lay it in some old plastic gutter till set,

cut into bricketts with an old saw

in keeps the fire in the GH burning all night ;D ;D

[davyw1]

Have you never tried plant pot trays and also mixing it with walpaper paste.

[gardentg44]

[Have you never tried plant pot trays and also mixing it with walpaper paste.

]

no but sounds a bit cheaper ,may give it a go ;)

[flossy]

   Used to light coal fires daily at the age of twelve  --    rolled up and twisted newspaper,

   kindling,  [small strips of wood ],  then coal - and hope we didn't catch the chimney.     ;D

  

  

[davyw1]

Another method is to wrap the dust up in news paper and let it soak in water till it soaked thro then put them on the fire, the papar being wet does not burn and bakes the dust hard.

[Hyacinth]

  Used to light coal fires daily at the age of twelve  --    rolled up and twisted newspaper,

   kindling,  [small strips of wood ],  then coal - and hope we didn't catch the chimney.     ;D

    

SNAP Floss! Elfin Safety'd never believe what we did back then ...matches, fire, home alone!!.. :o Mind you, I HATED it when the chimney 'caught' - rushing upstairs & feeling the chimney breast in the bedroom get hotter and hotter :o

And we called it 'slack'.

Shame I can't think of anyone now who has a coal fire I can pass this tip on to - sounds a good one 8)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I remember thinking chimney fires were a dreadful anticlimax when I was little. Lots of thick smoke coming out of the top, a fire engine standing by, and no flames! No drama! Not so pleasant when it happens to you though.