Anthracite coal AO, AM, AS: in 25 kg bags, big bags and bulk

AO (25-50 mm) or AM (13-25 mm). Nut burns longer and lets air through the bed better; small packs more tightly and gives a more even heat in a small firebox. If the boiler is loaded once every 10-12 hours, take AO; if the firebox is small and loaded more often, take AM.

AS (6-13 mm) is the standard fraction for auger and retort burners; some models also accept AM (13-25 mm). The maximum lump size is given in the boiler's data sheet. A larger fraction jams the auger, while fines (up to 6 mm) cake and put the burner out.

Because it contains almost no volatile matter, which is what produces a flame. Light it on a bed of firewood or long-flame coal, add anthracite in a layer of 15-20 cm and give it maximum draught until it glows. Do not close the damper completely: on weak draught anthracite smoulders and can release carbon monoxide.

The ash content of graded anthracite is 10-15%, so a 25 kg bag leaves 2.5-4 kg of ash. It produces almost no soot or smoke and does not soil your hands, so the boiler room needs cleaning less often than with bituminous coal. Fines and dust in graded coal make up to 10% of the weight.

Anthracite is black with a metallic sheen, heavy, rings when struck, leaves no mark on your palm and is hard to break. Bituminous coal is matte, layered, lighter and soils your hands. When burning, anthracite gives no smoke or flame, while bituminous coal burns with a long flame. A detailed description of all grades is in the guides.

Check three things. Lighting: without a bed of hot firewood or DG and without strong draught, anthracite will not catch, and that is normal. Rock: grey, brown or matte lumps that are not black when broken and remain almost whole after burning are not coal but rock, and graded anthracite should contain no more than a few percent of it. Fines: if a third of the bag is dust, air cannot pass through the bed and the fire dies. Our coal is graded, screened and comes with a test report for each batch; if in doubt, order a trial bag and check it before buying a tonne.

Anthracite is not as sensitive to rain as pellets or briquettes: it does not go soft and does not lose calorific value from moisture. But wet coal is harder to light, and in winter water in the bags freezes and sticks the lumps together. Ideally store it under a canopy or in a shed with bags on a pallet; bulk coal on a hard surface, not in a puddle. It keeps for years without losses.

There are 40 bags of 25 kg in a tonne. Multiply the bag price by 40 to get the price per tonne in bags: a bag at 350 UAH is 14,000 UAH per tonne. Compare this with the bulk price in the table above: the difference is the cost of packaging and the pallet. The "Bag → price per tonne" converter below works both ways for any bag weight.

Yes. We send a 25 kg trial bag of any grade (AO, AM or AS, please specify in the comment) by Nova Poshta, with payment on receipt. For an automatic boiler this is the best way to make sure the AS fraction passes through the auger without jamming before you buy a big bag.

We do not take prepayment: you pay the driver on receipt or by cash on delivery, and companies pay by bank transfer with VAT under a contract. Weigh the bags in front of the driver: a check weighing is part of our delivery terms. Bulk loads and big bags are weighed at dispatch, and the delivery note shows the actual weight. If anything is short, we will make up the weight or refund the difference.