Chutes

I'll be building a bin soon in the basement and have a some of those old tip in basement windows that are in the right position for a chute.

What material do you use for your chute? I was think that a 18"-20" PVC pipe opened up length wise might be slick with some sort of tailgate mount... Any ideas?

I use aluminum or stainless, about $400 for a 8 foot length of chute for the aluminum ones last time I priced them. The aluminum ones I buy will last for about 20 years though Providing the customers doesn't try and help me by smashing it with a shovel or hoe. Quick tip for anyone reading this, don't touch the Coalman's chutes, they are expensive and once you get a dent in them they will have a hole in them shortly where the dent is even if you pound the dent out. After that they are useless, obstructions such as patches can make the difference between the coal going down the chute and it not going down the chute. Besides that the hole will just continue to grow...

If you can get your hands on a few scraps of old aluminum siding your in business. You'll have to make something to support it because it obviously won't support the weight. If you're using rice coal the pipe idea might not work, the rice needs a pretty good pitch and it has a tendency to stick to plastic if it's wet or damp.

If you're getting it delivered all you need is the window.

Hey Coalman, Im kind of in the same boat as Charlie, in your experience how will a chute made of plywood work. Im not talking OSB but decent flooring grade plywood? Jim

For longevity? For you it will last forever, coal won't slide on wood though, you need to line it with either plastic or metal. rough guess is more than a 45 degree angle for rice to go down bare wood.

I've got some 12" PVC schedule 80 pipe I just scrapped. If I cut it lengthwise would it be suitable? I'm sure the coal would slide, but is it wide enough to be practical? What is the width of a standard coal chute?

coaledsweat wrote:I've got some 12" PVC schedule 80 pipe I just scrapped.

Hey Ian, how much of that scrap do you have? I need a 10' piece to make my ash conveyer system, I sure envy your scrap pile! Of course I would never have any room at the house with all the new projects I could start.

By the way I have an alumnium shute that has a steel frame for support. Like Richard said, with a little welding one could make a nifty one out of some scrap aluminium and some angle iron. Although it would seem that the pvc would be slick enough.

Maybe we could make a trade, I'll build you one for some PVC?

It is begining to look like everything here is scrap LOL. Unfortunatly they are 4' sections so I would have to lap them or make something to tie them together. I'm just wondering if it's wide enough @ 12" or should I just do something else. It may be too narrow, the coalman should know if I'm wasting my time. The other thing is they are schedule 80 and not real light either.

Might have a 20' piece of PVC in 8" schedule 40 if that works for you.
The pipe salesman was here this morning and I asked him to find me a 24" piece of scrap. He said he would look around the yard.

coaledsweat wrote: What is the width of a standard coal chute?

You can get then any width you want, they don't have a chute store. The ones I have are just the width of ciderblock. 12 inches should be plenty for something you are only going to use occasionally. Another thing many people have used in the past is terra cotta pipe. Usually just going through the wall as opposed to a window.