How Big Do You Make a Coal Bin?

A bin 4 X 4 X 4 will hold 2 tons of nut...............

The bigger the better in my opinion (for anthracite only)

Factors to consider: Worst case usage, safety stock, availability of coal in your size, ease of access to bin, cost/desired purchase $ amount, volume discounts available, drainage, available storage space, costs of storage, risks of storage, auger feed, hopper feed, or hand fired, delivery method (dumped, chute fed, trimmer fed, shoveled into bin)

If you are using bit coal, don't make a bin or pile greater than 10 feet tall. Spontaneous combustion is a problem with bit.

Obviously, the bigger the better. I'd size it for more than a seasons worth or if you are having it delivered in bulk the size needed for a delivery load. Upper limit would be tri-axle dump or tractor trailer 20-29 tons. More important I would have a way to partition it. Sooner or later you will have more that one type of coal, size, quality, age, etc. and it's nice to have a way to keep them separate.

The two bins are a good idea. They should be emptied and cleaned of fines periodically, as the fines build up. It is not a good idea to keep filling a coal bin without removing the fines on occasion.

coaledsweat wrote:The two bins are a good idea. They should be emptied and cleaned of fines periodically, as the fines build up. It is not a good idea to keep filling a coal bin without removing the fines on occasion.

Can you elaborate on why?

Thanks

It is a fire hazard if I'm not mistaken.

I've had a heck of a time getting a coal fire to start in a hand fire, it's hard to imagine this stuff as a fire hazard. It's like a pile of magnesium would be a fire hazard. I'm not saying it's not I just can't imagine how it would lite.

It's not a fire hazard that I'm aware of but it certainly isn't something you want to do. You might get "puff" from whatever is in the air if you throw a shovel full on lit stove. If you continually put one load on top of another every time you do this fines are created, these tend to gravitate to the bottom and after a few years you'll have a very large amount of them. This will make the coal there all but useless unless you screen it.

If you're going to have coal left every year the best practice is to alternate what side of the bin you empty out each year, shovel all the coal out of one side then alternate to the other side the next year. this will insure you don't get this build up.

While on the topic the same is true at the breaker, if you're getting your own coal and they are loading it right from the bin where it comes out of the sizing plant you don't want them digging into the middle of the pile. Especially for nut or pea. This is going to vary by breaker, but if its large one that has very large piles what happens is all those fines, smaller pieces and flat pieces stay in the middle of the pile. The larger, rounder more desirable coal rolls off the top of the pile to the edge.

You'll notice this yourself even in your own delivery if you take the time to examine it. This applies mostly to nut and pea but you don't want to get this build up in any size.

Before last year, I bought my coal in Middletown. He had concrete bunkers for each size and would load you with a tractor that had a bucket. If the bucket was on the ground when he picked up the coal you would get a LOT of fines (and he wants to get rid of it). Where I go now, he has a silo and chute with a screen. It removes the fines while loading and you get the chunks. This makes me happy.

Most breakers utilize a screen for at least nut and pea however this becomes an issue in the colder weather. It's all but impossible to keep them open, you can pretty much keep the water going but the the coal loaded into the hopper freezes and you can't get it out. Generally if you get a get coal delivery guy that has good communication with the loader guy (i.e. gives him an expensive bottle whiskey every Christmas ) its not problem as he'll save the good coal up from the edge for you when its really cold.

well I think alot , maybe to much. at the front of the house I have a basement window 32" x 18". there is a wheelchair ramp the goes over it. you still have access to the window though , at an angle , plus the ramp is high there to get in. would the guy delerving the coal be able to get it in. he can back right up to it. here we go. lol I was think of building a coal bin there. of course I can't get in the basement to get. the ceiling from floor to bottom of joists is about 7'. rare for a 1862 house. so I build a bin 4w x 8l x6'h. heres the cool part. lol I cut a hole in the floor , between the joists and about 2' long then put 2-2x4's I make a trap door with a hole in it to lift it up. the rug by the front door would cover the door. when you lift the door out , I would have a micro switch to turn a 4' floresent light beteewn the joists above the bin. then I buy the biggest shop vac I can get. sears has a 20 gal. I open the door , suck up a bunch of coal to fill the vac. take the lid off and push it over to the stove and scoop it out. as the pile gets lower I just add an extension pipe. am I crazy. your thoughts please . thank you , ken. oh yea , why I want to do get away from bagged coal. it's costing me $100 more a ton to get it bagged. this time I got 3 1/2 tons. that would be a $350 saving. also all the bags in the living room sucks. lol

ken wrote:i make a trap door with a hole in it to lift it up. the rug by the front door would cover the door. when you lift the door out , I would have a micro switch to turn a 4' floresent light beteewn the joists above the bin. then I buy the biggest shop vac I can get. sears has a 20 gal. I open the door , suck up a bunch of coal to fill the vac. take the lid off and push it over to the stove and scoop it out.

I gotta say your thinking outside of the box

I'd try the shop vac out with the maximum number of hose extensions and make sure it will lift the coal the distance you will need it to.
A really neat idea, hope it works.

Greg L

Very good idea. The only problem I see is that dust from the coal will clog up the filter, once you loose suction, there goes the idea. I have on old Craftsman shop vac, probably a 30 gallon, "Permatex" green tank, like the Sears garbage cans used to be, that's the problem I have with it. when I vacuum the floor in the cellar, or use it to collect sawdust, the filter clogs up fast. Noisy as all hell too! I bought the optional filter for my 5 gal. Shop Vac that fits in the mouth of the container, lots more surface area to the filter, it works much better in high dust conditions.

ken wrote: you still have access to the window though , at an angle , plus the ramp is high there to get in. would the guy delerving the coal be able to get it in. he can back right up to it.

Post a picture an I'll tell you. With regular coal truck, an assortment of chutes and competent coalman you can almost get it anywhere but it gets tough on corners. It's not necesasarily the corner itself but the coal loses momentum when it hits the corner and generally you won't have much pitch on chute to begin with so it gets stuck. I've even shot coal in the opposite direction it was coming off the truck but the circumstances allowed it.

A regular coal truck under most circumstances can go over a 180 degree arc from where the back chute is. Sounds impossible but you can do it.