Grain Bin for Coal Storage?

I did a quick search here, but didn't find any posts about them.
I've been thinking about looking into one similar to this:

Anyway, is there any reason that you shouldn't use a grain bin for your coal storage? I would want to get one large enough to hold 5-10 tons of rice coal.

It might be a bit of a challenge to get the coal into it.

In the past I have used gravity wagons. Reasonably affordable ones hold 5-8 tons, and they are easy to load and portable.

Mike

When it gets freezing cold, the coal might also freeze to the sides or get into lumps and not come out. Metal attracts moisture, and cold air will freeze it. You can't even insulate something that big.

A grain bin outside would require DRY coal,a pretty long auger to fill the bin & you would need to verify the weight per sq ft or weight per cu. in to see if the bin is tough enough for coal.You would need to spec a shut off valve mechanism for the bottom of the bin in case of the feed auger jamming or breaking.Other wise you would have to empty the bin to work on the auger.

The gravity feed wagon would be the ideal route to take--simplistic & real functional--NO complicated nonsense. No problem loading with a conveyer & let's face it, gravity is always available

I figured that with a bin like that I could get the coal in the summer when the temp isn't going to be a problem. Also, having it set up to allow drainage of moisture & hopefully be dry enough before cold weather. Do you think it would drain off enough that freezing wouldn't be a problem?
I thought that a gate/valve at the bottom of the bin would be standard equipment.
Looking at spec's for new grain bins, I did see that some bins are not heavy duty enough for the weight per cubic foot, but others are. Knowing the specs of a used bin might be a problem unless they have some sort of a tag or spec plate on them.

Ideally, I would like to set the bin where an auger would not be necessary to feed the stove. I want to have a chute from the bin to the stove hopper at a steep enough angle that the coal would self feed. The only auger that I planned on was for loading the bin.

I have also thought about a gravity wagon & have even been watching craigslist for one. So far, none have turned up. The other thing about a gravity wagon that I didn't like was the height off the ground. I'm afraid that it wouldn't work for the chute setup I described above.

My concern as far as draining would be---if she freezes up come cold weather----then ya got a problem--the gravity feed is high enough for 5 gal pails which is what people do around here.

If you can afford one, get one and put the rice coal in it. Do it early in the summer and
just make sure there is a way to drain for a few months. Should be fine. Not sure how
you will load it, but that's for later.

I would be concerned about the freezing. You'd have to make sure the delivered coal was dry or have a way to dry it before loading it into that bin. Another downside to any wet coal in that bin would be the corrosion of the bin.

I had a rice-berg last winter in my outdoor bin. My solution was to connect the blower side of my shop vac to the pipe and blow hot air into the bin for about 10 minutes. Doing that would thaw it enough to then swap the hose around and suck the rice coal into my barrel for the next couple days load. Two - three days later, repeat the process.

I have found that rice coal tends to hold its moisture. Even in the middle of a 6 gallon bucket of coal that has been sitting in the basement 5 feet from the stoker for three weeks. The top 2" of coal in the bucket was dry but below that was still wet enough to have it freeze if it was outside.

I got my coal supply earlier this year but I noticed when I was using the loader to fill the outside bin that as the bucket dug into the coal pile it was still very damp in that pile.

I bought Mikes GW and painted it up, filled it with 8 tons of nut and as FF says gravity now fixes everything. It's a breeze to fill my homer buckets. However, I needed a skid steer to fill it and it's in the tractor shed so it stays dry. That monster grain bin would be a bear to fill and knowing my luck would freeze as it outside. My set up requires I get it into homer buckets sooner or later so make it sooner. Buy a load of buckets at $2.50 each (65 buckets per ton), handfill them in the summer, pocket the extra money over that grain bin and go on a cruise with the savings. Just filling it makes me cringe.

well boys I have to disagree with you about the freezing thing as it would seem to me that the METAL gravity wagon would be just as prone to freeze as the grain bin maybe more as it doesnt have a nice roof over it. Course I would grant that it will roll considerably easier than a grain bin and probably easier to load also.....

PT, if your in love with the grain bin idea and can get one for $0 , Im sure you could work out the freezing thing pretty easily. Heater or vibrator, maybe air through the bin in summer to dry it out.... ect . I see lots of them on defunct farms that could be had for little to nothing, and man you could get a lot of coal in one

boy its snowin out, I got a date with some hot blue ladies

I never had freezing issues with the wagons as long as the coal was bought with enough lead time for it to dry. I used a ridge beam, some thin plywood and a tarp as a makeshift "roof" to protect the coal from the elements.

Mike

I loaded it with dry coal,sprayed it with oil as it was filled, and It has a roof to keep the water out so far the coal has flowed no problem but It hasn't been in the extended deep freeze yet!
As the others have said the coal needs to stay dry for the reasons already stated.
I know your trying not to use a auger to fill the stove but that may not be possible depending on the elevation of the stove to the ground,I think I could have raised the bin up 14+" and still been able to load it with a high lift coal truck.
Just for your info I paid $650.00 for my grain box without the running gear, it was in good shape without any rot just some surface rust. Keepaeyeonit

Here's what another member here has done:
Wasn't coal, but still informational.

COAL BIN Pics

Gents chech the post jim from Macungie .I saw his raised coal bin which is done in siding an has a metal roof .He has 1500 bucks in it .Push a switch an a auger fills his hopper in a few seconds .Critical is the pitch 45 degrees from outside bin through the foundation to stove .Its set at a height that his delivery coal dealer can fill with his hi lift truck .Holds 5 tons .Must see jack