Coal Bin to Hopper Auger

kas · Post by **kas** » Sun. Aug. 17, 2008 8:13 pm

what is available for augers to transport coal, I am looking at flex auger has anyone any experience with using the flex auger to move buckwheat coal from the bin to the hopper on the boiler I need to about 10 feet at about 45 degrees. open to any ideas you might have.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Sun. Aug. 17, 2008 10:11 pm

Just go to an agricultural supply and buy 3" flex auger that will fit inside 4" PVC electrical conduit. I have a set up that came with the Eshland I'm installing in the house, it was in the bottom of the coal bin and lifted the buck wheat or pea coal to a height of 6' so it could fill the hopper on top of the boiler. I will post some pics of the auger when I get a chance.

Best of luck with your science project.

jrn8265 · Post by **jrn8265** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 6:56 am

Does this work with rice? thanks

Post by **Richard S.** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 7:23 am

We used a grain auger for a specific delivery to a factory at one time that they provided. It worked but the one issue was that it didn't have enough power to move the coal all at once. If the hopper for the auger was completely full it would overload its capacity to move the coal. The truck was backed up to the auger hopper and we dumped it right in so it was just a matter of "dribbling" instead of trying to move as much coal as we could. Actually it probably would have worked fine except it was designed to run really fast. There was no setting to lower the gear ratio...

The augers on the boilers like the Van Werts and EFM's have a pretty small diameter plus they are geared really low. So low you could snap the worm if there wasn't a shear pin to break in the case of a jam. That or the transmission whichever was weaker.

kas · Post by **kas** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 7:41 am

i would really like to see your auger pics
i was looking at a flexauger model 75 with a .5 hp drive unit by the time I buy the boot, auger, pipe , control unit and motor/drive unit equals about 1400 bucks. and if I knew it would work I wouldnt have a problem with that..... I really would like to know it will work before I comit the money and design a coal bin around it.

thanks

huntabsarokee · Post by **huntabsarokee** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 8:56 am

I have been looking around for an auger/screw also. If you look many farms have them laying around and not in use. A good place is an old farm auction. Recently there was one for sale on Craigslist Lehigh Valley PA. A 14footer. They have been selling for between $100-$200 an are anywhere from 8ft to 14ft in length. I just talked to a farmer and they used theirs to unload grain from the trailer into the barn/silo. My only fear is that they will run too fast for coal. For the price I am willing to give it a try. Too bad my coal bin is already full. Not sure if I could stuff the auger down to the bottom of the bin.

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 9:13 am

I wouldn't worry about the corrosion too much if the auger is in good shape. A lot of grain manufactured for dairy cows has a lot of minerals added to it, as well as some salt. The grain itself can be pretty corrosive over time, most grain augers were made with this in mind.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 9:15 am

My set up has a Dayton 1/2 HP gear motor turning at 30 rpm. If the set up you buy is too fast you can always replace the gear motor. All the fancy stuff that comes with the flex auger can be replaced by the electrical CPVC, there is one end fitting that captures the opposite end of the auger from the gear motor and centers it in the pipe, I believe this is the only other item you would have to purchase from the agriculture supply house.

liltractornut72 · Post by **liltractornut72** » Mon. Aug. 18, 2008 9:10 pm

As soon as I get back to work from my vacation I will be finishing a project with a flex auger.We are installing a new K6 Keystoker to a existing oil boiler.We are using flex auger to go from the coal bin to the boiler.The coal bin is a old pit in his garage.I'm waiting for time to hook mine up at home.I will post pictures when finished.

beatle78 · Post by **beatle78** » Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 1:47 pm

revive the thread...

Matthaus & liltractornut72,

Got any pics of your flex augers?

jhish · Post by **jhish** » Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 6:19 pm

I used a 6" x 11' commercial grain auger. I have it running at 20 RPM with 1500+ in/lbs. of torque. I used a 1/2 hp, capacitive start, 1800 RPM motor on a 86.5:1 ratio gear drive. The tube is solid coal. I did have a 1140 RPM, .25 hp motor on, but that stalled once in a while. The torque and speed produced with the smaller motor was 13 RPM and 1212 in/lbs. This will give you a good idea of the power required to move pea coal at a 45 degree angle in a full 6" rigid screw.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 7:50 pm

Nicely engineered install jhish!

You must have a cheap supply of Class D Div III instrumentation, and gear boxes as well.

One note to folks about augers the open center 5" helix used on the AA style boilers can be adapted to other installations and takes less power to turn by a factor of 3 or 4. You can buy helix and make your own fairly easily, just have to be handy with welding and fabrication of metal.

http://www.washburncompany.com/Auger_flighting.htm

Will get some pics of the flex auger I have shortly.

Yanche · Post by **Yanche** » Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 10:29 pm

Here's another company that manufactures helicoid flighting:

http://www.augersunlimited.com/Flighting.htm

Located in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 10:48 pm

Yanche wrote:Here's another company that manufactures helicoid flighting: http://www.augersunlimited.com/Flighting.htm Located in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Thanks Yanche, keep forgetting about those guys, need to buy from them soon to repair a couple AA augers.

jhish · Post by **jhish** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2009 7:13 pm

Nicely engineered install jhish! You must have a cheap supply of Class D Div III instrumentation, and gear boxes as well.

The screw was $425 I bought in Lancaster PA from EM Herr. The was 1/2 hp motor was $100 from Automationdirect.com. The reducer I got from a local farmers market for $75 and the sprocket/chain setup I got from Grainger for approx. $50. All the components were new except for the reducer. As far as the level probes go, I got those from work while tearing down some industrial Dust Collectors. I can tell you they are made by Dynatrol, I just don't know the cost. Any metal fab and welding I did myself.