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Coke Supplies in Australia ???


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Been ages since I was active on this page but now I'm back with a password reset.

My Problem is the supply and price of Coke.

My regular supplier is unable to provide it anytime in the future and the cost has just doubled in price to $1200.00 / tonne.

My question is, where are others in Australia purchasing their Coke and at what price.

I have considered making a retort but that would not provide sufficient charcoal for my use, as the scale would be too small for my situation.

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I understand and agree with your point Thomas,

I don’t know diddly about Australia or what fuel sources are available there, 

but that doesn’t mean that coal isn’t worth looking into right? 

if coal is available and if it cost less which it always does then why not look into it as a alternative fuel source? that’s all I’m sayin

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FYI, Australia produces about 90% of the amount of coal, annually, that the US does.  Much of it is exported to Asia.  Both the US and Australia each produce about 6% of the world's coal production (China produces 50%).

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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It takes considerably more than a ton of coal to make a ton of coke after the volatiles, water, phenols, etc. are pyrolized out. While there is energy in the volatiles it doesn't contribute much to a forge fire, the carbon is the main energy donator. A ton of coke is nearly pure carbon so contains more net energy.

So, you should expect coke to cost more per ton than coal, it costs more to make and has a higher energy density.

Frosty The Lucky.

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You'd probably be able to bargain for a discount on 8 tons too but if you don't have room. . . A person would have to go through coal mighty fast to need that much at a time. It might be worth building a bunker to consolidate it. How many yards is a ton of coal?

Frosty The Lucky.

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Frosty, broken bituminous coal is 53.35 cubic feet/ton.  So, a bunker 5'x5' would hold one ton of coal stacked 1.4' deep.

I agree that you'd have to do a LOT of forging to go through that much coal.  But, on the other hand, it doesn't go bad if it is out of the weather.  There are times when we buy a lifetime supply of something.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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That got me thinking George so I just Googled the dimensions of an 8 yard Dumpster 6' x 6' x 7'. A few drain holes and you'd have your lifetime supply storage. Used ones come up for sale pretty frequently, some construction companies buy rather than rent. It's just a thought but for some reason I have storing 8 yards of coal stuck in my head.

Four 55gl drums hold 1 yard. And thinking about filling, moving, storing, etc., 32, 55gl. drums :o full of coal, sure got that 8 yards thing out of my head!

Frosty The Lucky.

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On 7/10/2022 at 2:23 PM, ThomasPowers said:

remember when SOFA built their coal shed; seems like the EPA had a *LOT* of restrictions on coal piled outside and the "runoff"; but almost nothing on coal in an enclosed building; so...

Do you know if there was a ton limitation?

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If I recall the outside coal bin at ESSA will hold 2 tons of coal. However it's on a concrete slab under the roofed over south side of the building. Made out of dry stacked concrete blocks in front with a slanted plywood cover. As the coal is used a course of blocks are removed to make it easier to get to the remaining coal. It is in the background of this picture of the rotted out coal forges Hofi style stacks that Debi replaced.

20170403_124315.thumb.jpg.7d700dd23692de1691311f5090144634.jpg

Edited by Irondragon ForgeClay Works
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  • 1 month later...

Hi Chrispy,

Coke options, I can see for you are;

http://www.artistblacksmithsa.org.au/live/membership/

The Melbourne guys used to sell to members;  https://www.abavic.org.au/?Membership

Or the current source in Aus is Shere Carbon.

I'm steering towards homemade charcoal and waste vegetable oil, personally...

regs,

AndrewOC

Edited by Mod34
Commercial link removed per TOS and replaced with business name.
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Andrew. I am a member of ABASA and have been in contact with ABAVIC 

  I’m searching for a better deal than what we are all currently paying. It’s jumped from $600 / tonne to $1350 / tonne and we are in dire need for lots more. 
I have just found a reliable source that is offering $700 / tonne in large quantities of 50 tonne lots. 
im working on the logistics of freighting it from the east coast to the south coast of SA. 
Semi tippers and a dog  are capable of shifting up to 30 tonne and are expensive. And there are problems with storing 30 tonne on site. 
I’m working on it and will share the info with the other Artist Blacksmith associations. 
 

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