Burned $120 on cheap coal from a hardware store chain

I grabbed a bag of coal from a big box hardware place because it was cheap and close to my shop. Figured coal is coal, right? Wrong. That stuff was half rocks and dust, barely got hot enough to work a 1 inch round bar. I spent 3 hours fighting with the forge, adding more and more coal just to keep a glow. By the end I had a pile of clinker the size of my fist and zero usable steel. The whole bag was maybe good for 45 minutes of actual work. Next time I'm driving the extra 30 miles to the proper supplier. Has anyone else had luck with those charcoal briquette blends or is that a waste too?

2 comments

2 Comments

west.claire14d ago

Half rocks and dust" is wild lmao. I would have lost my mind if I paid 120 bucks for that. Like you're basically burning garbage at that point, not coal. That clinker pile sounds insane too, I've never seen one that big from a single session even with bad fuel. The fact you had to keep feeding it just to get a glow is a total joke. I swear some of those hardware stores just sell the sweepings off the floor. You definitely made the right call driving the extra miles next time, that 30 mile trip is gonna save you way more in the long run.

gavin8014d ago

Yeah but $120 for a bag of coal seems steep even for decent stuff, that's way overpriced.