May 23, 201115 yr I have a chance to buy 1000 pounds of Sewell Seam Coal. So I was curious if anyone had experience and or opinions on this coal for smithing.
May 23, 201115 yr Where are you located? What is the cost per ton? Blueprint BP0051 Good Coal has good information about coal.Blueprint BP0131 Coal, Coke, and Rocks is another information resource Sewell Seam Coal is usually highly thought of in the blacksmithing community. The samples I have seen are in the high 14,000 and 15,000 BTU range, but that can vary with the location of the mine. You may want to take a 5 gallon bucket home and try it out. Just because it is called Sewell Coal, does not always make it Sewell Coal. 1000 pounds is about 2-1/2 55 gallon drums.BP0131 This is what is considered good coal for blacksmithing, it is low ash, low sulfur, high BTU coal of a usable size for the forge. The numbers suggested for good coal are less than 7% ash, less than 1% sulfur and above 14,000 Calorific Value in BTU's. These are not hard numbers but guidelines.
May 23, 201115 yr I prefer it, my sample was <0.75% S and very hot, also cokes up fast. cost a bit more than the poco but worth it to me, as my shop is surrounded by houses.
May 24, 201115 yr Author I am in Richmond, VA but am traveling through Sewell Seam country in June. The cost per ton is $200. I have some Pokey 3 right now that clinkers like crazy!
May 24, 201115 yr Author I prefer it, my sample was <0.75% S and very hot, also cokes up fast. cost a bit more than the poco but worth it to me, as my shop is surrounded by houses. Yeah the guy selling it to me works in the industry and says it tests at 3 to 4% ash. So does that mean less of those rotten ole heat sinking clinkers? By the way anyone ever find any gold in them thar coals?
May 24, 201115 yr it tests at 3 to 4% ash. That means that you get 3 to 4 pounds of ash for each 100 pounds of coal burned. Clinker is ash plus rocks, dirt, impurities, scale, and all manner of other things that do not burn.
May 24, 201115 yr Author I hate clinkers! Is there any use for them? I thought about putting them all in a barrels and in ten years paving my driveway with them. ha ha
June 5, 201115 yr Save them and if you set up a table at a show somewhere, market them to kids as "dragon boogers." It may be a little more money toward your next coal purchase. It doesn't really work with my own kids anymore. They've learned me over the years.
June 27, 201114 yr Author Save them and if you set up a table at a show somewhere, market them to kids as "dragon boogers." It may be a little more money toward your next coal purchase. It doesn't really work with my own kids anymore. They've learned me over the years. That is too funny. I'll try it.
June 27, 201114 yr Author mine was from W.Va close to Glenn's back yard I just got home last night with my Sewll Seam Coal. I have yet to burn any but when I do I'll post how I liked it. I got mine near Rainelle, WV and ended up with 1770 pounds of coal in my 1995 Toyota DLX 22re and surprisingly the little blue 'yota got me down the mountain and back to Richmond with ease. (I did add 12 pounds of air to the rear tires though). The wierd thing is that you can only get coal in the fall there and one guy I met at a gas station said he works in a coal mine and he is not even allowed to buy any yet I passed hundreds of rail cars loaded with coal going somewhere. Its a good thing the fellow I bought mine from had saved some extra. So what's up with the whole "you can't buy coal in WV" thing.
June 28, 201114 yr I hate clinkers! Is there any use for them? I thought about putting them all in a barrels and in ten years paving my driveway with them. ha ha In my admittedly limited experience, I have found no equal to clinker when it comes to filling potholes in gravel roads.
June 28, 201114 yr The floor of my shop is paved with a combination of clinker and Levi Garrett juice. Similar to asphalt, except it is flame retardant.
June 28, 201114 yr Author So here is what I found out about coal in WV. Almost all of the unmined coal in WV is pre-sold under contract. None of the mines tht I found sell to the public. Wholesalers will sell in the Fall for home heating but along about March they run out and cannot get any until the following Autumn. So in the Fall maybe I'll go back and stock up on a couple of tons.
June 30, 201114 yr Author Had to build a coal bin for this load of coal. I still have to put the lid on the bin but I want to make the hinges in my forge.
July 1, 201114 yr Author Ran the little rivet forge yesterday and began making the hinges for my new coal bin and some other stuff. I ran the forge for about 3 hours and ended up with two quarter-sized clinkers and a little clinker deposited on the tuyere. This Sewell seam coal is way better than the Pokey 6. I LOVE THIS COAL! In the Fall I am planning to go back and get some more.
July 5, 201114 yr Sometimes you can find a a place where a tragic industrial accident can occur with a load of coal being dumped in your truck after a loss of brown pop---usually at lunch or late in the day---hot days seem to work better than cold ones. Leastways that was what I was told by an old timer who continued to source his coal from a mine even after all of it was pre-sold to a company in Belgium...
July 9, 201114 yr Author Sometimes you can find a a place where a tragic industrial accident can occur with a load of coal being dumped in your truck after a loss of brown pop---usually at lunch or late in the day---hot days seem to work better than cold ones. Leastways that was what I was told by an old timer who continued to source his coal from a mine even after all of it was pre-sold to a company in Belgium... Ha ha, that's classic right there. So I should bring cold soda on a hot day or hot coffee on a cold one.
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