Pro tip: I always thought cheap coal was fine until I tried that stuff from Tractor Supply

I been using whatever bagged coal I could find for years, figured it all burns the same right? Last month I grabbed a 40 pound bag of the anthracite from Tractor Supply in Peoria, and man, it threw way more heat and barely smoked. Lesson learned, the grade really matters for forge work. Anyone else notice a big difference between coal sources?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_michael8d ago

I grabbed a 40 pound bag of anthracite from Tractor Supply in Decatur a few years back for my forge, and it was like night and day from the cheap stuff I had been burning. That low-grade bituminous coal I used to get from the hardware store would smoke like crazy and leave this hard clinker in the fire pot that was a pain to clean out. The anthracite just sat there glowing hot and clean, no fuss at all. But then I tried a different brand from a farm supply place in Springfield, and it had all these chunks of slate and rock mixed in, made a mess of things. So it ain't just about the coal type, the seller matters too I guess. You really gotta pay attention to where that bag comes from.

noahclark8d ago

@the_michael reminds me of the time I bought a bag of charcoal labeled "lump" that was mostly dust.