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Post by unclelevi on Jul 27, 2008 17:46:59 GMT -5
I thought I read somewhere that blacksmith coal is available from South Dakota. Does anyone know if this is true or if I can get it from Minnesota? Right now (I live in N.D.) the closest I can find coal is Utah or Wisconsin and the shipping triples the price. Thanks for the info if you can help. Levi
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Post by beaudro on Jul 27, 2008 19:24:40 GMT -5
I get mine from either powder river coal in wyoming, or right here in oklahoma. I get the wyoming coal right here at the power plant where i work. Wyoming coal doesn't have the sulfur in it that I want, I can't get it to coke as good . Oklahoma cost me about 15 bucks for a truck load, Can you find a power plant near you thats burning coal? Back when I couldn't get coal I would make charcoal, it worked out pretty good.
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Post by metalbender on Dec 4, 2008 8:27:00 GMT -5
erm bea, sulfur in coal is bad. REAL bad if your trying to forge weld or harden carbon steels as it tends to migrate and contaminates. I suspect your either burning anthracite or are at the opposite end of the scale and burning something close to lignite since a power plant will use any of the three types, both of those two are a PITA to coke for entirely different reasons. what you fellers mmight want to do is talk to your local ABANA chapters, local farrier's, or amish if there are any out your way, and ask around for bituminous ie soft coal. oh and erm hi all long time no see, ill catch up in a bit with yall
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Post by beaudro on Dec 4, 2008 12:07:09 GMT -5
no sir , we cannot run a power plant with high emissions. All power plants either burning coal or natural gas have CEMS , we are regulated to the point we have CEMS.. continuous emissions monitoring.. We cannot burn our own coal here in Oklahoma because of the sulfur content. This is why we have to buy from Wyoming, it contains less sulfur. All power plants are restricted to nox emissions, if we burn the high sulfur coal we shut down for the rest of the year. This has never happened to any plant i've worked in for 25 years. All power plants cannot burn just any coal , a coal fired boiler is designed to burn a specific type, Since the 1970's most are built to run a low sulfur coal. I give away much of my coal to ABANA members in my area, they have been glad to get it.
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Post by metalbender on Dec 4, 2008 12:57:26 GMT -5
then yer plants definitely not burning "blacksmiths" coal ie bituminous, your burning anthracite, the good news? burns HOT and CLEAN but like ya said a real pain to coke... got any farriers out there? or amish? Mennonite etc? if you do ask them they might know.. ask around for bituminous ie "soft coal" brother, its dirtier and smellier but domes and ducksnests nicely and makes coking alot easier as well as generating a nice reducing fire for forge welding. just make sure what they sell you isnt tinted slightly brownish, thats lignite and is all but worthless for smithing....if ya cant find anyone give me a hollar and Ill get on the horn and see who I can scare up.
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