What size area needed for bulk coal load?

Hello all..
I am thinking of getting a delivery of bulk coal, half a TT load..(11 tons I guess)...I have plenty of land, but most of it can't have a tractor trailer drive over it, so I am limited to a level 'turn around' spot of my driveway..it is about 16 ft wide, and 3 of the sides drop off sharply...I do not yet have a structure to hold the coal, so as a temp measure I planned an laying down tarps. And using pallets nailed together on 3 sides, with sheathing on it..

Does anybody know the approximate footprint needed for 11 tons?

As I have said, I'm limited to about 15 ft wide..with 4 ft high sides...don't know how deep the area needs to be...off course the pile in the middle can be piled much higher than 4 ft..

Opinions?
TY

Check out this topic, it should help. It will give you a rough estimate of how much space the coal will take up.

How big do you make a coal bin

You'll have to type it into the search bar. I'm not sure how to post a link directly to that topic, sorry. Good luck.

I've concluded that about 35 - 36 cubic feet of space per ton is sufficient for anthracite pea. It would be wise to leave some room for error.

I would guess that nut requires somewhat more space per ton, and rice requires somewhat less space per ton.

Can you wait till middle of summer to back a truck into your yard. the ground will be harder(hopefully) than in the spring time. It will save you time and back breaking energy to move the pile again,once and done. That way you will have some time to build your coal bin also.
The foot print for dumping a bulk load will be much larger since the load won't have sides to contain the load.
I believe member Yanche's avatar has a 10 ton load dumped in his driveway,that might give you a better picture of what your look for.(correct me if i'm wrong about the size of Yanche's coal load)

If it was piled (or poured out) into a conical heap, 23 tons of anthracite pea would fit into a cone that was 7 ft. high x 21 ft. in base diameter (10.5 ft. of base radius).

http://www.online-calculators.co.uk/volumetric/conevolume.php

The size of the pile is only part of the equation. Can your street and driveway handle a '70 truck & trailer? A triaxle dump isn't as bad, you still need to know what you are getting into. It might make sense to wait until July when the ground is firm and dump it on a tarp.

Lots of good input, guys..I'm pretty sure id be getting the triaxle...maybe I shouldn't do this after all...or maybe get bagged..but I was shocked to learn that that would add $60-$80/ton!....if I ended up having the load dumped deeper in the yard it would actually be more work for me because it would be further away from the garage where the boiler is...

Hmmm...maybe I'll take this year to get more gravel dumped in order to make the proposed area larger...damn tho! U guys have it made in NEPA! a tt load to RI would be a 50% plus savings!

I didn't measure my pile, but heres how 24 tons spread out when dumped....
What does a full T/L of bulk anthracite look like?

This is 24 tons of buckwheat dumped in a 17 foot wide x 25 foot long (inside) temporary bin. I have since removed about 8 tons, leveled the pile off, and removed the front stack of railroad ties, leaving about a 17' x 17' area.

Note that I had to stop traffic on my road to let the Tractor Trailer back down my drive. This was ok with me as I am a volunteer fireman and fire policeman, so I have experience (and safety equipment) with playing on the yellow line.

Note - do not attempt to take the tractor part of the truck off road unless on a prepared drive - paved or gravel. Normal lawns/fields will simply not support the weight of a truck and coal, unless really, really dry. On the first pass, one side of the rear duallies went on the lawn. Enough coal flowed around the rear wheels of the trailer to create enough resistance to spin the tires. This truck did not have a locking differential, so I had to shovel out the coal from in front of the tires and give him a gentle tug with my tractor to get the truck back on hard pavement.

A 1/2 truck load will cost as much in trucking as a full truck load.

When you are all said and done, you will realize how little markup the coal man is getting to pay for expensive equipment that delivers small loads.

um..yeah!..there is no way that trailer could manuver the bend in my driveway to place the coal where it needs to go...I've had rigs that size on my street before for me, but they always stayed in the street...

maybe I'll go the bagged route...but then I guess I'd have to rent a forklift for a half day or something for removing the pallets....

Or..I could just have the trailer ride over my leach field and see if the pipes below question the weight above!...right!!

Steam, Is that you in the yellow jacket???

stoker_RI wrote:Steam, Is that you in the yellow jacket???

Yep, took some time off of work to direct the delivery.

I saw a Amish store in Ohio get a TT load of bags & the truck had a fork lift attached to it that they lowered & used to unload, pretty neat setup it would stack the pallets two high.

samhill wrote:I saw a Amish store in Ohio get a TT load of bags & the truck had a fork lift attached to it that they lowered & used to unload, pretty neat setup it would stack the pallets two high.

Now THATS what I need!!

Those Moffet fork lifts are OK for lighter loads, and are versatile. I'm sure they will handle 2500 lb pallets. If it is a skid steer, make damned sure it is 2500 lb rated. That puts it in the 70 to 90 hp crowd. Little ones will 'blow a nut' trying to lift above capacity. You will get it off the trailer bed and proceed to do a face plant! Remember to buckle up before you start it......or get a bigger rig! If you need to construct an area dedicated to store your bulk coal supply, the waste blocks most concrete companies make are about $100 each here. 3' by 1.5'by 6' long. Double stack them or triple and you have a base to build a waterproof cover over also.