No question about it,

Welsh Dry Steam.

I'll have one to if your buying. What I meant about wood was not green wood as this would clog the tubes with tar after a very short time. redundant railway sleepers split down to a suitable size would be ideal or old pallets, both of these the tar content would be minimal. Cord wood from a sawmill could be another choice but this would have to dry out and be stored for about six months.
Back to the charcoal, I would guess by looking at the photos it would take at least four hundredweight or more of coal to reach working pressure, to replace that with charcoal would be just as expensive.

I can't explain it any different, I'll let those concerned decide.

No question about it,

Welsh Dry Steam.

No question about it,

Welsh Dry Steam.

Does steam burn?

Foreign coal prices have risen drasticly since the demise of our industry,they have us by the nuts.

Ffos y fran opencast in Merthyr is the only true source of Welsh Dry Steam coal,but all coal leaves by rail link,to Aberthaw power staion ,but some for domestic is taken off at Barry,other than that Unity mine in the Neath Valley mines a Steam coal.

The replica of Trevithick's Penydarren locomotive of 1804 that is occasionally demonstarted in steam at the National Waterfront Museum at Swansea uses Ffos y Fran steam coal obtained via a local coal merchant who supplies it in 25kg plastic sacks. Sorry - no details of which coal merchant or what price.

To Thrutch. Looking at your running cost, for the size of engine you have they seem about right.
Have you considered the following: raise steam to full working pressure using only wood. When full pressure is reached and a thick fire bed established, then and only then start to add the expensive coal. Do not be tempted to mix the two as this will result in a messy fire.
I know this is not feasible for loco's or road engines as the action of the blast pipe jerks the fire around, but it should be OK on a stationary boiler. Another alternative, if there is a plentiful supply is to fire entirely on wood it'll keep you busy but far cheaper.
I have always considered raising steam by coal (especially these days) as a complete waste of money
Try it a couple of times, I would be pleased 🙂 or disappointed 😞 to hear the results.

To Thrutch. Looking at your running cost, for the size of engine you have they seem about right.
Have you considered the following: raise steam to full working pressure using only wood. When full pressure is reached and a thick fire bed established, then and only then start to add the expensive coal. Do not be tempted to mix the two as this will result in a messy fire.
I know this is not feasible for loco's or road engines as the action of the blast pipe jerks the fire around, but it should be OK on a stationary boiler. Another alternative, if there is a plentiful supply is to fire entirely on wood it'll keep you busy but far cheaper.
I have always considered raising steam by coal (especially these days) as a complete waste of money
Try it a couple of times, I would be pleased 🙂 or disappointed 😞 to hear the results.

The replica of Trevithick's Penydarren locomotive of 1804 that is occasionally demonstarted in steam at the National Waterfront Museum at Swansea has been run entirely on scrap wood on one or two days. This was only beacuse there was a great deal available free, and at that point the coal bunker was down to rubbishy broken-up and damp house coal from the bottom of the bunker. The loco has only one tube (its basically a Trevithick engine - i.e. Cornish boiler - with wheels bolted-on) and is thermally incredibly inefficient. Nevertheless, it steamed adequately though the fire needed frequent stoking and no real bed (as builds up with good coal) developed.

I did point out that this was not suitable for loco or road engines