Help a Girl Make Shoveling Coal Easier!!

helkat22 wrote:What's the benefit of keeping more "under cover"?
My bin handles 2T, which is what I have delivered when I am getting low.
I don't plan on making my storage bigger as this will be the last winter I spend in this house.
If I cut the bottom off the door as Richard suggested, won't I just have freezing cold air constantly pouring into my basement as whistlenut mentioned? I can't have that..
Am I missing something? Sometimes I am horrible at trying to picture things!!

Thanks again !
Helga

I like having more than a couple months worth of coal on hand to give wiggle room for storms and such. If expanded out to say 3 tons you could still take 2 ton deliveries every couple months, but also keep a ton for the 2 week winter storm that comes through every couple winters.

My emergency coal for when I have the flu or whatever is in bags which may be an easier way to keep a couple weeks worth of coal in case you schedule a delivery, but get a blizzard instead.

Of course being through some 20 odd natural disasters has likely warped my thoughts on the subject!

SD

Sounds logical.
I think what I'll do is start stockpiling bagged coal in the basement that is only used for "emergencies".
Maybe I'll keep a ton or so in the basement at a time.

I really appreciate all your suggestions on my bin! I am going to print everything out and read through it to see what would be best

Thanks so much!!
Helga

Great idea having some bagged coal on hand for emergencies!

Though I use a stoker now, I kept my hand fed and I have about 500 lbs of bagged nut on hand in case we get a prolonged power outage. (plus whatever I can scrounge from where the nut coal pile was outside!) I expect that 500lbs to last 5 days or so and could either get some more nut or hopefully our power would be back by then.

Any access hole made into the bottom of the bin will be hard to seal. Coal will just fall into the way of just simply putting something over it. Remove top boards until you are at coal level, then take coal off the top, from inside.. As the coal level descends, pull a board off the top for better access till you get to the floor level. It will mean lifting the coal from up higher instead of down lower, but I don't see a way around the sealing issue.... yet

You may want to use a pointed shovel when digging coal off the top..
I like the wheel barrow idea to move it to the other side of the basement.. Or make a platform, like say 2 feet wide by 3 feet long on casters to roll the buckets across the basement floor.. Like these,

http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Swivel-Casters-D ... 525&sr=1-4

Lightening...I am confused by what you're suggesting. Unless I'm reading it incorrectly, it sounds like what I am already doing. When the coal bin is full all the retaining boards need to be in place and the level of coal is above them. Even when I can remove one or two, the level of coal is above my head which makes it impossible to shovel from inside. As the level drops, I take boards out as able. But only being about 5'3", I need to have at least the top 2-3 boards out before I can shovel from inside the house.

What am I missing about your suggestion?

Thanks,
Helga

helkat22 wrote:What am I missing about your suggestion?

No, I didn't think 2 tons would be that deep in your bin..
Sorry that ain't gonna work then..

Yeah...unfortunately, 2T completely fills the bin

A wooden tunnel in the bottom board as explained earlier will be the easiest way to improve what you have,coal will not fall thru into the way of the door,air will not leak in except what gets past the door. You will take coal from the bottom,it will continue to fall down to the tunnel till its low,at that point you can remove the boards to shovel.No need to cut the door !!!!!!!!!

If by cutting the bottom of the door you are worried about a cold draft, you could make a light weight box of rigid insulation to cover the opening between uses.

The tunnel/doghouse thing is your best solution. Make sure it is wide enough that you don't snag your shovel and the depth should be at least the height and perhaps a little more.

helkat22 wrote: If I cut the bottom off the door as Richard suggested, won't I just have freezing cold air constantly pouring into my basement as whistlenut mentioned?

The coal will block the hole to some degree and that door doesn't exactly look air tight to begin with. Ideally you'd insulate and seal up the outside part but if you're moving next year that would be a waste.

You don't have to cut the door but you'd need to build a doghouse to prevent it from spilling past the door so you can still close it.

Here's some food for thought on how to keep the coal behind your existing hinged door and never have to go outside to get coal in buckets:
COAL BIN Pics

yep, excellent idea if you were starting from scratch.

it's also a perfect example of what others have been trying to depict and explain about a "tunnel"

IIRC though she already has 2 T in the containment and limited space between the containment and the door. another consideration is that she is only going to be there the rest of this heat season so the least amount of work is desirable.

with some work she could build a descending slot of 2x4 's in the jamb of the containment, cut an opening in the wall of the containment in line with the 2x4's to drive a shelf of ply wood into the coal pile thru, then cut out the lowest board in the containment an have about as good as can presently be had.

jm2cw,

steve

McGiever wrote:Here's some food for thought on how to keep the coal behind your existing hinged door and never have to go outside to get coal in buckets:

That's a good picture there, you don't necessarily need to angle it like that. Just screw a 2X8 to the bottom slat so it's like a shelf inside the bin.

Simply cut a hole in the bottom board & fasten a tunnel/dogbox to the inside of the board with the hole,simple,cheap,easy,quick,repeat these 4 words as often as needed.