What is Anthracite?
Also known as hard coal, anthracite is a rare form of coal that is shiny and hard in appearance. Composed of 92-98% carbon it burns with high heat and few pollutants and no smoke emissions. Anthracite is only found in the United States in the northeast Pennsylvania coal region. That means it’s a local resource produced by local people.
Heating with coal, really?
Yes, really. Because anthracite coal is clean burning, easy to use, and affordable it remains a common source of heat throughout the northeast United States. In fact, chances are someone in your neighborhood heats their home with anthracite.
Is anthracite dirty to use?
Unlike other forms of coal which are dusty, and emit smoke and soot, anthracite coal is clean burning and clean handling. It does not smudge and has minimal dust when properly prepared and treated. This is because anthracite is denser than other forms of coal and glass-like in appearance. Anthracite ash is also safe to handle and can be used as clean-fill or disposed of through normal refuse collection. In fact, many municipalities in Pennsylvania collect anthracite ash and use it on public roads during winter-time.
How do you use anthracite?
There are two types of anthracite units, hand-fired and stoker-fired. Hand-fired stoves operate like wood stoves and require more frequent tending than stoker driven units. Hand-fired units use larger sizes of coal and usually have burn times between 12-24 hours. Stoker units operate similarly to pellet stoves, and usually have hoppers that are filled every few days. Once the hopper is filled and ash removed, they operate automatically. Depending on weather conditions, they can operate as long as 7 days without tending.
What are the advantages of anthracite?
Anthracite has many advantages over other supplemental heating fuels. Because anthracite coal is so energy dense, it burns much longer than other solid fuels like firewood and wood pellets. It also requires less tending than other supplemental fuels. Wood pellets require over four times the volume of space and weigh 50% more compared to anthracite coal. That means in order to heat the same space, you need to move twice as much weight and four times as much material.
Anthracite also burns cleaner than firewood and wood pellets. Unlike wood, anthracite burns with no odor, smoke, and few particulate emissions. And it does not leave dangerous creosote deposits in your chimney. Long prized for its clean burning nature, anthracite is the original clean fuel. Your neighbors will thank you for choosing anthracite.
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