Caught a bad batch of coal last week - cost me a full day of work

Picked up 50 pounds from a new supplier outside of Pittsburgh and it was nothing but clinkers and sulfur. My forge wouldn't hold heat over 1800 degrees no matter how hard I cranked the blower. Had to scrap three blade blanks I was working on for a commission. Anyone else ever get burned by a bad coal supplier?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_patel841mo ago

...and that's exactly why I stopped buying from anyone who can't tell you what seam the coal comes from. That sulfur smell is a dead giveaway, but the clinkers are what really ruin your day. Did you reach out to the supplier and ask for a refund, or did you just eat the loss and move on? I'm curious if they stood behind their product or gave you the runaround.

anthony_jackson1mo ago

Man, I feel you on that. I bought a ton of nut coal from a guy last winter who swore it was Reading anthracite, but it smelled like burnt matches and left a solid brick of clinker in my stove after one burn. I did call him up and he actually refunded half after I sent him a video of the clinker, but he acted like I was being picky. Still ate the rest of the loss since I didn't want to ship a pallet of bad coal back.

robinson.matthew1mo ago

Doesn't that just sum up how everything is going these days though? You either get a half-hearted sorry or you're the one stuck doing all the legwork to prove your own problem exists... feels like nobody wants to own their mistakes anymore.