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I Forge Iron

What kind of coal is this and will it coke?


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BTU/lb    11,000

Blacksmithing coal is high 13,000 or 14,000 BTU

 

Ash    11.00%

That is the stuff left over in the ash dump

 

This is a sample analysis for good blacksmithing coal

Seam : Pocahontas No. 3,
Type : Low Volitile Bituminous (lvb)
State: WV
Ash : 7.44%
Sulfur: 0.64%
BTU :14542
Volitile : 15.70%
Carbon: 92.42%
Reflectance: 1.85

Pocahontas No. 3 in Virginia has 15,006 BTU. AND another Pocahontas in West Virginia is 13,953. Not all Pocahontas coal is the same. . .. 

 

You can see 4% less ash and 3,500 more BTUs per pound. That is more heat per pound.

Do not go only by the numbers, you must also understand what the numbers mean.

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Poco's one of the best and folks have used a lot worse; easier to use poorer coal if you haven't beeen exposed to the really good stuff.

 

There is actually a test for coking, the coke button value IIRC.  Asking smiths local to the mine might produce answers that are useful; that looks like a largescale operation that might not be interested in small sales; *but* if you woo them as an incipient smith you might be able to arrange a lunchtime buy of small amounts.  Generally we suggest you try a 5 gallon bucketful to see if it will work for you before picking up a ton---know one smith who ended up using some "coal like rock" for his gravel driveway as it was too nasty to smith with and he had a couple of tons...

 

OTOH smiths have actually worked with peat in coaless, treeless areas

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