Gravity Feed From a Coal Bin

Terry,

I think I found a video for you that may help.........

That is very similar to my coal moving idea. Can't wait to try it.

Barker, if you are going to built a vacuum coal moving system, you might want to look at a stand alone vacuum motor. I have one that was being thrown out where I used to work. It was used to move material (plastic pellets) from the gaylords to hopper on the injection molding press. It will suck up 2B stone, running on my dust collection system I have in my shop. Plus you can get one that would fit your needs.
If you do not have a couple shop-vacs laying around it might be the way to go.
Dan.

Thanks for all of the help! I will definitely look for a stand alone motor as my shop vac is too small (1.5HP) and I haven't purchased one yet for this setup. I did a quick search on Ebay but didn't find anything yet. Maybe I can buy a shop vac from Craigslist today. Found a 6HP model for reasonable money, but the seller was waiting to hear back from someone else....

Barker, here's a few vacuum motors.
Peripheral discharge.
http://www.zoro.com/i/G0553183/?category=4728
Tangential discharge.
http://www.zoro.com/i/G1649952/?category=4728
With the tangential discharge you can vent the air back out of the house, if you wish to. Both would require air filters before them to prevent fines from entering the blower assembly.
Good luck.
Dan.

Thanks for the help! I ended up buying the shop vac from Craigslist, and completed my air system today after a couple hours testing. I just wanted to make sure the vac I bought (4.5 HP) would be powerful enough to handle my needs. Turns out, I would be good even with four more feet of lift. I can fill my barrel (70 lbs or so) in about 30 seconds, so I can still fill my 300 lb hopper in less than five minutes.

Once I get my outside bin built, I'll post more pics. Might be a couple weeks yet because I am waiting for a guy building a garage so I can buy a yard of concrete out of his truck... will save me about $100 or so.

Do you guys use oiled coal through your air systems? I can get it for about $15 more per ton. $60 per year would save a lot of dust and fear of a coal-berg in my bin....

I installed my KA-6 with DHW and oil backup in 2008. I am pretty sure it has already paid for itself, as I burn about 5 tons/yr heating 2700 sqft and providing hot water for about half of the year.

Thanks again,

James

For those worried that this wouldn't have enough redneck engineering, I am using duct tape to seal the pvc in lieu of glue. I want to be able to disassemble in case I need to work on it.

Hope to get concrete pad poured and complete bin next weekend. I had to light my boiler on Saturday, so it is just in time.

James

barkerjmgmail wrote:For those worried that this wouldn't have enough redneck engineering, I am using duct tape to seal the pvc in lieu of glue. I want to be able to disassemble in case I need to work on it.

I like the use of the duct tape!!

The strap you have tied around the barrel is a nice touch too!!

I noticed with mine you want to make sure any possible air leaks in the fittings are sealed up or the performance of the suction suffers a lot. The flange on the bottom of my barrel was the toughest to get a good seal.

Yeah, I tried Gorilla Glue first, and created enough suction to break the bond, sucking the flange inside the barrel. Now it is held by silicone and 1/4-20 bolts. I am going to build a dust trap tonight to save my shop vac filter. I would buy a commercial version if I could find one ~20 bucks, but the one I found is over $60. I think if I use the five gallon bucket with an inch of water in it and leave the inlet from my barrel about three inches above the water, it will work well. the dust should be blown into the water, where it can't be picked up by vac hose at top of bucket.

If anyone has had luck building a DIY version of the Dust Deputy, I'm all ears

James

And here is a economical plug n play solution:Mini 2-Stage Cyclone Separator