How did coal holes work?

How did coal holes work?

They are sometimes found outside houses that existed during the period when coal was widely used for domestic heating from the early 19th century to the middle 20th century. The coal hole allowed the easy delivery of coal, generally in sacks and often from horse-drawn carts, to the house’s coal bunker.

What is a coal cover?

Coalhole covers can be found outside front doors, pavements and front paths. Known in the trade as ‘Coal Plates’ – These ornate cast-iron discs, usually 12inch in diameter, enabled the coalman to deliver coal into a house’s coal cellar through a chute, without needing to enter the house.

Is coal a tar?

What is coal tar? Coal tar is derived from coal. It is a byproduct of the production of coke, a solid fuel that contains mostly carbon, and coal gas. Coal tar is used primarily for the production of refined chemicals and coal-tar products, such as creosote and coal-tar pitch.

Can coal be burned cleanly?

Coal cleaning by ‘washing’ has been standard practice in developed countries for some time. It reduces emissions of ash and sulfur dioxide when the coal is burned. Electrostatic precipitators and fabric filters can remove 99% of the fly ash from the flue gases – these technologies are in widespread use.

How big is a coal hole in the pavement?

Coal was tipped from the sack through a coal hole in the pavement or steps. The coal hole was closed by a cast-iron cover. They are not manholes: their size (usually around 30–36 centimetres in diameter) is deliberately too small for a person to pass through.

Why do we need to extract coal from the ground?

Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and, since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production.

Where can you find coal holes in London?

The Georgian streets of London’s Spitalfields retain a good number of historic coal-hole covers. There are also some examples there of what look like modern versions.

Which is the best cover for a coal hole?

Most coal-hole covers are circular, one advantage of a circular cover being that it cannot fall through its own hole. Most sit in an outer iron ring, of which many of those made by Hayward Brothers bear the words ‘This ring to be fixed with Portland cement ’.