# Where can I get lumps of coal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708 "2005-12-22T00:19:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/1 "2005-12-22T00:19:55Z")
Lets say someone deserves a stocking full of coal for Christmas. Where can I get coal? Charcoal briquettes aren’t quite right. I want real, mined-from-the-ground coal. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/2 "2005-12-22T01:07:36Z")
Where do you live? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/3 "2005-12-22T01:19:21Z")
A quick look in the great Boston Yellow Pages found three places under Coal - Retail. Take a look in your phone book, many folks still heat with coal. There will be some place that sells 100 lbs bags. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/4 "2005-12-22T01:21:04Z")
**Una** could probably hook you up. = ) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/5 "2005-12-22T02:10:14Z")
I read somewhere that while coal was not fun, or colorful, and it utterly failed to taste great - it was a necessity. It was the purely utilitarian gift. A modern equivalent would be underwear. (which may be easier to find) ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/6 "2005-12-22T02:36:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > A quick look in the great Boston Yellow Pages found three places under Coal - Retail. Take a look in your phone book, many folks still heat with coal. There will be some place that sells 100 lbs bags. That’s my problem, then. I’m in Florida, nobody heats anything down here. There are no coal retailers around here. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/7 "2005-12-22T02:48:28Z")
Any coal fired power plants down there? You can often find coal lying along the railroad tracks leading to such facilities. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/8 "2005-12-22T03:31:12Z")
Florida industrial plants used 574,000 short tons of coal in 2004. There have got to be a few lumps to spare. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/9 "2005-12-22T04:11:10Z")
**Zyada** says that joke-type gift stores (The ones that sell posters and cheap jewelery and so on) often have bags of coal this time of year. If so, they probably sell it by the stockingful instead of hundred-pound bags. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/10 "2005-12-22T04:11:36Z")
Wouldn’t a Spencer’s type place, or somewhere that sells gag gifts, have coal now? It’s probably way overpriced and come in some dopey packaging, but if you’re adamant about getting coal, maybe that’s an option? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/11 "2005-12-22T04:13:48Z")
rjk owes me a coke. Get it? [Coke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke_%28fuel%29)? ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/12 "2005-12-22T04:27:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Florida industrial plants used 574,000 short tons of coal in 2004 [hijack] Not as much as you might think. This would keep two average size (500 Mw) units going for a year. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/13 "2005-12-22T04:37:25Z")
Units of what? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/14 "2005-12-22T04:58:06Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I read somewhere that while coal was not fun, or colorful, and it utterly failed to taste great - it was a necessity. It was the purely utilitarian gift. > > A modern equivalent would be underwear. (which may be easier to find) Well thank you for sucking the whimsy and fun out of giving someone a filthy hunk of coal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/15 "2005-12-22T09:18:31Z")
You could just get an irregular chunk of rock and paint it black; hold it above a candle flame afterwards (though not so close as to burn the paintwork) to make it sooty. If there’s any likelihood that the recipient will actually try to burn the faux coal, then it might not be such a good idea, as some kinds of rock can explode when heated. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/16 "2005-12-22T09:31:20Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Any coal fired power plants down there? You can often find coal lying along the railroad tracks leading to such facilities. This reminds me of a man who came up with a novel method of heating his house during the age of steam trains. He lived by a railroad track and he used to stack up some large tin cans on his fence. Passing drivers and firemen couldn’t resist the target and used the nearest source of handy thrown missiles. Our hero then went out in the evening and picked up a couple of buckets of grade A steam coal from his garden. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/17 "2005-12-22T15:53:34Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > A quick look in the great Boston Yellow Pages found three places under Coal - Retail. Take a look in your phone book, many folks still heat with coal. There will be some place that sells 100 lbs bags. I seem to recall that since about the 50’s, you can’t buy coal for home heating in the US. On the other hand, you can find coal along the rail road tracks nearly anywhere, not just leading to power plants. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/18 "2005-12-22T16:26:05Z")
> [@Bewildebeest](#): > > I seem to recall that since about the 50’s, you can’t buy coal for home heating in the US. Definately not true, as we heated our house with coal through the 70’s and 80’s. There are three places close to me here in Boston that sell coal for residential heating today. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/19 "2005-12-22T16:37:33Z")
You could get [coal candy](http://www.hammondscandies.com/item458339.ctlg). You can find it in lots of stores this time of year. Bonus is it turns your teeth black! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708/20 "2005-12-22T16:41:04Z")
[Googled “blacksmith coal florida”](http://www.fholder.com/Blacksmithing/coal.htm) Specifically: Southeastern Coal, Pocahontas Number Three, Williston, Florida Call Al Pendray after 7:00 PM TEL: (904) 528-6124. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-lumps-of-coal/336708.md?page=2)