Likely Delivery Shortage

 
Nicodemus
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Post by Nicodemus » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 3:31 pm

Lightning wrote:Yeah, I agree but it just seems your full coal bucket is lite to me. Have you always used this delivery guy?
I have been picking it up myself for years, this is the first time I had it delivered.


 
Nicodemus
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Post by Nicodemus » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 3:35 pm

Anybody have any suggestions on a known weight item roughly 30 to 40 lbs I can put on this scale for verification since everyone is pointing to the scale as being inaccurate.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 3:41 pm

Use a milk jug, measure 4 gallons of water into your bucket.

4 x 8.36 pounds is 33.44 pounds.

Including the bucket you should see pretty dam close to 35.5 pounds.

 
Nicodemus
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Post by Nicodemus » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 3:56 pm

Lightning wrote:Use a milk jug, measure 4 gallons of water into your bucket.

4 x 8.36 pounds is 33.44 pounds.

Including the bucket you should see pretty dam close to 35.5 pounds.
I just did this, I got 35.2 pounds total, deducting 2 pounds for the bucket and it weighed the water at 33.2 pounds. I also weighed 2 35lb dumb bells and they both weighed in a 35.2. so I would say its pretty accurate.

 
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Post by StokerDon » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 4:07 pm

I've weighed a lot of 5.0/4.5 gallon buckets of coal over the past few years. The 5 gallon buckets I could squeeze 40 or 41 pounds into at most. The 4.5 gallon buckets always came out to 33 to 35 pounds. If you counted the buckets correctly, your total should be pretty close to the Net load weight.

Hopefully your coal supplier has a good explanation.

-Don

 
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 5:11 pm

Who knows what the capacity of a 4.5 gallon pail is? My 5 gallon plastic pails will hold about 5.65 gallons of water if filled to the brim.

Water at room temperature weighs 8.33 to 8.34 lbs. per gallon.

 
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 5:23 pm

That's why I told him to use a milk jug to measure the water to verify accuracy of the scale.


 
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Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 5:25 pm

Nicodemus, did you get a weigh slip with your delivery?

 
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Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 5:47 pm

This I can tell you. Not all coal dealers are honest as they could be. Some are only as honest as they need to be and some, are more honest than they should be.

I used to buy coal from an Amish guy a while ago. He weighed it out on a grain scale in front of you. Every time I picked up a ton there was a little bag that had a small amount of coal in it, I was pretty sure it was 2000 pounds. His son would throw the bags into the truck and arrange them nicely. He would ask $217 for the ton. If I tried to give his son the $3 left after he made change, he would be insulted. He said. " I asked for $217 for 2000 pounds. Not more."

He turned the operation over to his son a couple years later. The operation had grown to include a bagging scale that spit out 50 pound bags. After picking up several tons, my curiosity
got the better of me and I weighed a bag. It weighed 49 pounds. In fact every bag I weighed was the same 49 pounds. It turned out that I was shorted 40 pounds every ton I got. I did the quick math and figured that the young man was able to scratch a 1000 pounds out of every truck load. I didn't really mind as he still loaded the bags in my truck nicely and was very interesting to talk to.

A couple years later the operation was sold to a Mennenite and there was a new operator at the place. He just took payment and I had to load the bags myself. When I got home I started weighing the bags and they only weighed 42 pounds each. He obviously had changed the scale settings to benefit himself.

The last I heard, the guy doesn't do very much business at all. The original guy and his son have returned from Kentucky and started their own operation again and I heard they are just as honest as before. I used to really look forward to talking with them.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 6:01 pm

Next time use 55 gallon drums maybe? :)

Both scales are calibrated, his is more than likely certified by the state. He is going to be within 20# of the 10,000. Yours, not so much at 40# a bucket.

 
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 6:03 pm

You very well could be short 500 pounds. It'll be interesting to see what the dealer says about it. I think he'll punch holes in your method of measuring it before admitting it was his error, intentional or not.

But if he's smart, he'll take your word for it and give ya half a ton. I certainly wouldn't want anyone spreading the word that I short deliveries if I were a coal dealer.

 
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Post by warminmn » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 6:11 pm

I realize you may not want to do what I'd do, but I'd give the dealer the benefit of the doubt and not confront him as it could have been an honest mistake somehow. Nobody likes to be called a liar and there is always a chance your weighing was wrong or maybe his scale was off without his knowledge. Move on and get a new dealer next year.

 
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Post by Pacowy » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 6:57 pm

I agree with Scott that some of it could be water, but 500 lb is still an awful lot.

It doesn't seem like a working scale was actually used. The odds that a loader would happen to scoop exactly 10000 lb seem pretty remote. Maybe the slip was made out with the known tare weight and some other method, such as number of scoops or depth of coal in bed/trailer, was used to approximate 5 tons. Maybe they aren't as familiar as the Mayor with the way rice is less dense than larger sizes, so a larger physical volume is needed for the same weight. Without accusing them of anything, you might consider having a conversation with them about that.

Mike

 
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Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 7:18 pm

Might be nice if we knew where he lived and what guy he bought from.

 
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StokerDon
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Post by StokerDon » Thu. Sep. 08, 2016 7:36 pm

Scottscoaled wrote:Might be nice if we knew where he lived and what guy he bought from.
That would be nice to know!

-Don


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