Coal prices

A question about : Coal prices

I know, i know. Burning coal is a big no-no today in this environmentally friendly world we now live so at the risk of incurring some wrath, i'd like to know how much coal is per 50kg? I Live in Kent.. The best prices i found so far are Ј55.50 for 3cwt (50kg) delivered! Bloody expensive isn't it? Is that the going rate now?:confused:

Best answers:

• It had better not have gone up to Ј55 for 50kg! I bought mine at the summer prices (only a small discount) and paid Ј12.15 for 50kg! I was warned it was going up after, but not by that much (also in Kent, by the way).
  An online check suggests CPL is charging Ј16.75 for standard housecoal, so whoever is trying to charge you Ј55 needs locking up!
• I think the OP said Ј55.50 for 3cwt (i.e. a cwt = 55kg so 3 x 55kg)
• Mines just gone up from Ј15.50 for a 50kg bag to Ј18 a bag.
  We're using approx a bag a week plus wood but we scavenge the wood.
• That'll teach me to read and post when I'm not wearing my glasses! Mind you, even re-reading the post, I'm confused by what he's saying.
  Either way Ј18.50 per 50kg bag (and he does mention 50kg, so I assume he means that size bag, as it's what open sacks contain these days) is excessive. That CPL price is online (website easy to find via Google) and includes delivery, but a local coal merchant should be able to beat it.
• Ah! Glad we sorted that out. It's certainly worth Googling (or using yell.com) to find a few local coal merchants and seeing if they can better that price. Good luck!
• We are paying Ј12 per bag for smokeless briquettes here in the N.E.
• Ј6.00 per 25kg bag (thats buying 1 metric ton, 40 bags, and then sharing it out amongst relatives who also burn coal).
  Thats in East Dorset.
• Ј15.50 for smokeless eggs here.
• Oh help - this is completely new to me. DH & I moved into this property this summer- it has gas central heating, but the living room is always quite chilly. We have an open fireplace which we were hoping we could use to help keep the living room warmer. There is a iron grate thing (yes, my technical terms) that I understand we can use to put either coal or wood in. So... here's the stupid questions:
  - which is less expensive?
  - are we allowed to burn either? (laws being what they are)
  - how do you know where to get the stuff to burn - wood/coal - and how to know what you're getting is a good price?
  - can we use the smokeless fuels in it that we saw at B&Q ? is that economical?
  - where in heaven's name do you store yours if you use it?? (we have toddlers in the house and obviously don't want them trying to eat coal)
  any opinions, suggestions, and such would be appreciated.
• The very first thing you must do is make sure the fireplace and chimney are safe to use. This, fortunately, is easily done. Look in your Yellow Pages and find a local chimney sweep. He will make sure the chimney is clean and sound. If you're lucky and find a friendly one, he will also take you through the basics of fire lighting.
  The next thing to do is make sure you have the right equipment. As you have young children, you will need a properly secured fireguard, which you can buy from a local ironmonger or hardware shop or, if need be, a Homebase or B&Q. Children and fire are a bad combination, so always make sure the fire is properly guarded and never leave them alone in a room with a fire.
  Now you need the basic equipment - a shovel to put the coal on, a brush to sweep the hearth, a poker to stir the fire, a coal scuttle to hold the coal and something to empty the hot ashes into for disposal. Again, you need an ironmonger, though you can also get these things from the major DIY stores.
  Once you've assembled all this (it's not as bad as it seems!) and your chimney is safe, it's time to get cracking on the fire.
  Call your local council and ask environmental services whether you are in a 'smoke control area' (though the sweep will have known and been able to tell you). If you are, you can only use smokeless solid fuel. If you aren't, you can use wood or ordinary housecoal.
  Wood is an option but unless you have ready access and somewhere to store it, I'd stick with soild fuel - at least to start with.
  Coal or smokeless fuel are best bought from a local coal merchant, because garages, DIY stores etc tend to be overpriced. To start with, you can buy a sack or two and store the fuel outside (keep the rain off it). Later, if you decide you want a fire regularly, you might want to buy a coal bunker and have it delivered loose, but sacks are ok to start with.
  Lighting a fire is quite simple, but a bit of a knack. Everyone has their own method, but the basic way is to scrunch up newspaper into the grate, add a few sticks of kindling wood (you can buy this in all sorts of places) and add a few, small, pieces of coal. Light the paper and as the wood catches, then the coal, you can start adding further pieces of coal until you get the size of fire you want.
  Hey Presto! You're back in the 19th cenury - and it's a much more comforting place to be!
  Hope that helps. If you need any more advice, please ask - I'm bound to have forgotten something..
• House Coal here gone up from Ј8.25 to Ј9.50 a month a go and just rang and now Ј12 for small low grade house coal and the best house coal is now Ј14 up from Ј12.50 last month and I think Ј10.50 last year!!!!
• Just paid Ј52.50 delivered (5 x Ј10.50) to fill a 5cwt coal bunker and I live in southwest Scotland. Also, if it helps, I found an offer for seasoned fire logs at https://www.logsuppliers.co.uk/ They are offering free delivery, reduced price and free bags of kindling with certain orders until Tuesday.
• West Mids and quoting from bills in front of me from this year
  June 12.85
  July 12.85
  August 13.85
  September 17.00
  Its still on Ј17 for 50kg, but coal man has said it will go up again. CPL are charging Ј20 At this rate it will compare to gas and electric. I'm really worried about people on low incomes this year. I think we are going to see a lot of deaths due to cold.
  How much is unemployment benefit, Ј55 a week? How the hell are they going to eat and stay warm, unemployment is rising. Strike action should be called, have the British lost their backbones?
• I've never tried these, but they work out at Ј12 for 50kg
  Sadly, the Ј48 delivery charge kills it for me.
  https://eco-logs.co.uk/buy%20now.htm
• Hi See, what fuel is that price for
• The price of coal is outrageous and if it doesn't come down soon we've decided to stick with oil which at present we only use as a back-up. We pay Ј16 here in Coleraine (N Ireland) delivered and at present use 2 bags per week. And we still need to use our oil occasionally too.
  Our coal has been of inferior quality recently, which doesn't help. And it isn't just my husbad and myself who have to pay this. My mother is 90 years of age and lives alone; she has no other sources of heating than coal (well, she has an electric fire but doesn't want sky-high electricity bills so doesn't use it much). I know the government is giving pensioners a higher fuel payment this year, but I can't understand why the price of coal hasn't come down now that the price of oil has fallen. We were told it had to go up because of transport costs, so how come it hasn't come down now?:confused:
• Interesting comment, Dawni. I'm burning coal and also using oil-fired central heating. Mostly, I use use coal in the evening and let the CH tick over for the rest of the day, keeping the chill off.
  Just today, I realised how quickly I'm getting through coal and began to wonder if, since the latest rises, it might to be better to make more use of oil - especially since oil has come down in price.
  I've said here before that I'm quite convinced the price rise for coal was entirely opportunistic - the handful of large companies that control UK coal supplies saw an opportunity to raise the price, to match oil and gas price rises, and did so. Like you, I wonder if it will come down again, but I'm not holding my breath.