Seems like a good deal on coal....

Kat1170

TTTT wrote: »

I agree. I rented a cottage that had an Erin as sole source of heating. I left at Xmas the first year but by that time I had used over a tonne of coal and 4 m3 of firewood. I reckoned that I would have needed to use at least 3 tonnes of coal over the heating season.

Before I left I had started to insulate the attic because it was only €20 a roll for insulation and the coal was €18 a bag for good smokeless.

Any heat source will only work properly when used in conjunction with proper insulation. You could have the best stove ever but if all your heat is going straight out your roof/walls/windows/doors you're still going to be cold.

crabbypaddy

my3cents wrote: »

You are welcome to try some of your own calculations and see if you can work out how much coal mgn would need to use for his system to run efficiently.

How could anyone estimate without knowing the stove efficiency, floor area, detatched / semi detached, apartment, 2 storey, 3 storey, dormer, warm roof, cold roof, type of construction, air tightness, u value of windows, walls floors, roof, site exposure etc. etc. along with the target temperature, theres a massive difference between heating to 18 degrees or 23 degrees.

Best anyone could give is a guestimate per m2 based on a proper BER rating guidelines here and those are only a very rough estimate:
http://www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER/Your_Guide_to_Building_Energy_Rating.pdf

A 100m2 1960s BER E1 semi like I'm living in now for average occupancy is estimated at €2300 heating/hot water last year was €970 actual 160kw/m2 for fulltime occupancy as I work from home. I set thethermostat to 19C. If my wife was controlling the thermostat it would easily be €2000+ though!

Used to live in a 2005 BER C1 140m2 dormer on very exposed hilltop site with lots of insulation estimated above sometwhere between €1600 and €2200 (150ms semi - 200m2 detached) actual heating cost 2014 €964 - 101kwh/m2 (176kwh/m2 during the big freeze)

my3cents

crabbypaddy wrote: »

How could anyone estimate without knowing the stove efficiency, floor area, detatched / semi detached, apartment, 2 storey, 3 storey, dormer, warm roof, cold roof, type of construction, air tightness, u value of windows, walls floors, roof, site exposure etc. etc. along with the target temperature, theres a massive difference between heating to 18 degrees or 23 degrees.

Best anyone could give is a guestimate per m2 based on a proper BER rating guidelines here and those are only a very rough estimate:
http://www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER/Your_Guide_to_Building_Energy_Rating.pdf

A 100m2 1960s BER E1 semi like I'm living in now for average occupancy is estimated at €2300 heating/hot water last year was €970 actual 160kw/m2 for fulltime occupancy as I work from home. I set thethermostat to 19C. If my wife was controlling the thermostat it would easily be €2000+ though!

Used to live in a 2005 BER C1 140m2 dormer on very exposed hilltop site with lots of insulation estimated above sometwhere between €1600 and €2200 (150ms semi - 200m2 detached) actual heating cost 2014 €964 - 101kwh/m2 (176kwh/m2 during the big freeze)

I don't mind sticking my neck out and making "estimates" if it gets some debate going but you've just missed the point completely.

Just so you don't misunderstand me again my point is that there is a certain minimum amount of fuel a system will need to run. It doesn't matter how much insulation you have a luke warm radiator is a luke warn radiator in an insulated house just the same as it is in an uninsulated one.

Look at it in really simple terms if you turned on a 3kW electic heater you'd expect to get 3kW of heat and use 3kW of electric. The same goes for any heat system so if all your rads, the stove itself plus hot water need say 20kW and you are only burning fuel capable of producing 10kW then your not going to be happy with your heating system. Of course you are going to loose heat up the chimney so I'd knock at least 25% off the heat value of the coal but that still doesn't invalidate my point that there is a minimum calculable amount of fuel needed on the fire to get a system up and running.

Cantona's Collars

I was going to order a tonne of ovoids but the missus being sensible asked where I was going to store them this year seeing as I used the space where the last load of coal went.I can get them for €15 a bag locally and have access to free timber so I won't be buying in bulk this year.

Jamesb33

15 euro a bag sounds great to me.where is this please.

Cantona's Collars

Jamesb33 wrote: »

15 euro a bag sounds great to me.where is this please.

Old Dublin Road Coal Yard Enniscorthy.

https://www.facebook.com/Old-Dublin-Road-Coal-Yard-820099331349718/

reubenreuben

zerks wrote: »

I was going to order a tonne of ovoids but the missus being sensible asked where I was going to store them this year seeing as I used the space where the last load of coal went.I can get them for €15 a bag locally and have access to free timber so I won't be buying in bulk this year.

Good price for smokeless ovoids in the south. I wonder if they are same?. Are they all ovoids or a mix?

macjohn

For anyone who doesnt have the
(i) space
and/or
(ii) cash
to buy and store the full ton from coal warehouse/kosyking then this might be of interest:

http://www.topline.ie/plumbing-heating/cooling-heating/fuels?category=all-categories&brand=all-brands&Page=2&PriceHigh=2147483647&PriceLow=0&SortBy=1&q=&ProductsPerPage=9

Coalwarehouse works out around €13.68 per 40kg bag delivered (outside Dublin) (per ton delivered, min order 25 bags)

the supertherm (ovoids) from topline works out at €17.50 collected (per 4 bags collected, min 4 bags)

So (comparing min 4 bags with min 25 bags) it is around €3.82 per bag more expensive to buy and collect at topline but as I say might suit people that
- wouldn't use a full ton in a season
- dont have the storage space for a ton
- dont want/have €342 to spend

I used some supertherm last year and found it excellent

Tzardine

Just a quick update.

I started to burn the KosyKing ovoids today. Currently sitting in a lovely warm house.

Just as good as Ecobrite, I even think they might be burning a little longer. I would definitely recommend them.

Discodog

Tzardine wrote: »

Just a quick update.

I started to burn the KosyKing ovoids today. Currently sitting in a lovely warm house.

Just as good as Ecobrite, I even think they might be burning a little longer. I would definitely recommend them.

Thanks. I will be ordering mine soon. Funnily enough it's not just the price for me. It's the convenience of having a pallet near my back door so no umping coal I am really hoping that the delivery guy can get the pallet down my short downhill tarmac drive

Cantona's Collars

reubenreuben wrote: »

Good price for smokeless ovoids in the south. I wonder if they are same?. Are they all ovoids or a mix?

All ovoids.

Coal is a couple of Euro cheaper.

Discodog

reubenreuben wrote: »

Good price for smokeless ovoids in the south. I wonder if they are same?. Are they all ovoids or a mix?

Works out at 17.50 per bag & Martyns in Galway sell Ecobrite for 18. So not that much of a bargain especially if you have to collect.

mikeecho

Burning the Black Diamond.

Not massively impressed.
Lots of cinders the following morn.
Heat output seems fine though.

I suppose for the price it's good,

but I wonder would I have been better off with the slightly cheaper polish coal.

bigroad

Used the Ovoids last night and got good heat from them.Filled the stove about half full and when i came down this morning they were still glowing.
So for anyone that wants their stove to burn through the night ,these lads seem to be the job.

wait4me

bigroad wrote: »

Used the Ovoids last night ...

Whose ovoids? Kozy or coalwarehouse?

bigroad

Coalwarehouse.

reubenreuben

mikeecho wrote: »

Burning the Black Diamond.

Not massively impressed.
Lots of cinders the following morn.
Heat output seems fine though.

I suppose for the price it's good,

but I wonder would I have been better off with the slightly cheaper polish coal.

If its a stove you are using, ovoids are best

enricoh

mikeecho wrote: »

Burning the Black Diamond.

Not massively impressed.
Lots of cinders the following morn.
Heat output seems fine though.

I suppose for the price it's good,

but I wonder would I have been better off with the slightly cheaper polish coal.

Thanks for the post - i was thinking of getting a ton but i dont want stuff that leaves a grate full of cinders. I got bags locally last year for e13.50 n it was full of cinders. Any money I saved I spent on the chimney sweep as it filthied the chimney in record time. Not worth trying to save a few quid to risk a chimney fire in my opinion

mikeecho

mikeecho wrote: »

Burning the Black Diamond.

Not massively impressed.
Lots of cinders the following morn.
Heat output seems fine though.

I suppose for the price it's good,

but I wonder would I have been better off with the slightly cheaper polish coal.

reubenreuben wrote: »

If its a stove you are using, ovoids are best

It's an open fire that i'm using

vicwatson

mikeecho wrote: »

It's an open fire that i'm using

No ime the BD is much better than the polish, got 15 bags last year but changed to BD this year and happy I did, far better heat output with the BD

dav32cs

mikeecho wrote: »

Burning the Black Diamond.

Not massively impressed.
Lots of cinders the following morn.
Heat output seems fine though.

I suppose for the price it's good,

but I wonder would I have been better off with the slightly cheaper polish coal.

The first night I got them I had the same issue the next morning, lot of left over lumps and ash so was disappointing. Also seemed to be very smokey.

Hadn't cleared out the fire from the day or two before however, and with the local coal we had got used to lumping a lot on some times to get a big fire going to give out the heat.

Cleared out completely and set up small and let it burn into that. Only added bits on when required and after it was burning right into the orange for a while and not putting on any huge amount at once.

Gives out great heat,left very little for the next morning(raking down and opening damper before bed) and not as smokey as the first night.

Have continued this now a good few days and same result every time so now very happy with them. The rate of burning also seems very good - had the fire on one day from about 3pm and only went through two buckets(including setting the fire) until bedtime, bucket isn't that big either.

Not sure if the initial fire which left a lot of ash was due to not having it fully cleaned out to give it room or because lumping on too much at once. It seemed to struggle to burn through efficiently when topped up by a large amount - I think underneath was so full it had a good bit to do with this however.

I've read a post here with someone saying the BD are far better than the Polish which is why I went for them. There is noticeably larger lumps in good numbers mixed in with some smaller nuggets(which I mainly try to get to start the fire). The Polish coal we had gotten locally was only ever this smaller coal which give good heat but burned through quite quick so I presume CW would be the same. Happy went for the BD as these larger lumps really help extend the life and heat of the fire.

On my purchase experience, ordered a Wednesday around lunch time and was delivered Friday around 1 by East West couriers. They rang in the morning to confirm would be there and the driver rang about an hour ahead then. Worked out around €260 delivered or €10.30 per 40kg bag using the Revolut card. Think saved about €5 on price, not sure about on the rates for the card to CW and Liam Connolly if you had paid in euros.

We had been getting Polish Doubles for €15 locally, Black Diamond or equivalent is around €17-18 so saving between €6.70 to €7.70 a bag.

Roughly €168 or €193 saving overall depending on which figure you use so happy out.

insullation

My experience of the polish coal is that it is grand for the money but I would not rate it as good as the staffords I used to buy. I find it very dirty to burn but I can live with that.
Regarding ovoids I just cannot get the same heat out of them no matter where I buy them (north or south) and they take so long to get going.

Cantona's Collars

Discodog wrote: »

Works out at 17.50 per bag & Martyns in Galway sell Ecobrite for 18. So not that much of a bargain especially if you have to collect.

They were asking about where I get mine,in Old Dublin Rd. Coal Yard Enniscorthy it's €15 a 40kg bag,just got the local free paper in the door and they have an ad in that.

Gas €25 cylinder.

Coal €12

Doubles €14

Premium €15

40kg coal + 2 bags timber for €20

reubenreuben

zerks wrote: »

They were asking about where I get mine,in Old Dublin Rd. Coal Yard Enniscorthy it's €15 a 40kg bag,just got the local free paper in the door and they have an ad in that.

Gas €25 cylinder.

Coal €12

Doubles €14

Premium €15

40kg coal + 2 bags timber for €20

Its good they are competing and getting closer but will never be cheaper than north if exchange rate stays, due to the extra taxes on coal here.

my3cents

zerks wrote: »

They were asking about where I get mine,in Old Dublin Rd. Coal Yard Enniscorthy it's €15 a 40kg bag,just got the local free paper in the door and they have an ad in that.

Gas €25 cylinder.

Coal €12

Doubles €14

Premium €15

40kg coal + 2 bags timber for €20

How do you find the brand of coal they sell? Its a long time since we bought that brand but when we did we found it wasn't very good.

Rock Paper Scissors

I seen the drop in sterling today so I ordered a tonne of ovoids from coal warehouse.

I paid in sterling with my revolut card for both the coal (£235) and delivery (£42)

The coal worked out at EUR262 and the delivery EUR46 so the total came to EUR308 which represents outstanding value for a tonne of high quality ovoids.

Using my revolut card alone saved me EUR18 on the coal because if you pay for the coal in EUR it costs 280

Discodog

Rock Paper Scissors wrote: »

I seen the drop in sterling today so I ordered a tonne of ovoids from coal warehouse.

I paid in sterling with my revolut card for both the coal (£235) and delivery (£42)

The coal worked out at EUR262 and the delivery EUR46 so the total came to EUR308 which represents outstanding value for a tonne of high quality ovoids.

Using my revolut card alone saved me EUR18 on the coal because if you pay for the coal in EUR it costs 280

I always pay in Sterling for everything especially on Amazon.

Have they given you a definite delivery date ?

Kat1170

Finally got my coal last night having ordered it last Wed. 28 Sept. from Coal Warehouse.

Coal was according to Liam Connolly (Roadfreight) Ltd, to be delivered on
Fri. 30 Sept. but no show.

Got a call from a Deering transport Co. on Monday 3 Oct asking when I would like coal delivered ?? Ok, not quite as expected but Ok. Agreed on Tue 4th.

Tue 4th ..... No coal, ring them agree on Wed 5th.
Wed 5th .....No coal, ring them agree on Thurs 6th.
Thurs 6th coal finally arrives about 18.30.

Now I didn't mind the delay as I still haven't lit fire and probably won't untill early next month, BUT, if you say you are going to deliver on a certain day, then do so !!!

The real off putting part was I had to have somebody on standby to accept the delivery EVERY SINGLE DAY. If they had said we can't get to you until Thurs 6th, that would have been fine, hell, next week would have been acceptable. At least I wouldn't have felt quite so foolish explaining to friends/relatives why I was sorry to have wasted their time for 4 days in a row.

Coal looks fine, won't really know until I light it but seems nice sized pieces and little dust (Black Diamond)


Might be temped to go with KosyKing next time as ordering coal and transport from the same source does, in hind sight, mean if something doesn't work out, you only have to deal with one company.

bigroad

When the coal is transported south it goes into pallet network in Dublin.Then your county courier collects it there and so on .
The problem i would say would be with your local courier .
For me Connolly said it could be three working days so that was grand.
I ordered on a thursday and got a call from my local courier on the friday.
As i was here anyway i said there was no rush and deliver anytime they want.
So got it on the tuesday .

Cantona's Collars

my3cents wrote: »

How do you find the brand of coal they sell? Its a long time since we bought that brand but when we did we found it wasn't very good.

They changed brands because of quality issues,the ovoids I get are bagged in Waterford.

I have no room for a tonne of coal atm so buying a couple of bags as needed suits me.