I did some checking & came up with this.
Bituminous coal has an 85% efficiency rating and throws out 30,600,000 BTU's per ton.
Wood, depending on what type and the level of seasoning only puts out roughly half that many BTU's. A gallon of fuel oil puts out roughly 138,000-150,000 BTU's. No sense in mixing apples and oranges here...we need a lower form of measurement. Not quite fair to compare a gallon of oil to a TON of coal. Anyhow...Let's run some math.
30,600,000 / 2000 (lbs) = 15,300 BTU's for each pound of coal (14 cents if bought at new place or 18.725 cents if bought it 40 lbs. bags)
Current cost of oil is 2.90 per gallon (for 138K -150K BTU's)
So, let's compare oil...2.90/.14 cents = 20.71 (lbs. of coal able to be purchase for EACH gallon of oil)
20.71 x 15,300 = 316,863 BTU's per 2.90 vs 138-150K BTU's running oil
Roughly DOUBLE the amount of heat for the same cost...
I love the smell of soft coal smoke.
Love me or hate me.....I've kept the " Flame of Hope " lit & burning for MEC #501 since 1995. J. Smythe... Former Master Mechanic MEC #501 Project 1995-2000.