How Much Coal Could You Store in a 35 Gal Trash Can
- michaelanthony
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according to wiki coal weighs approx 80 lbs/ cu ft.ad356 wrote:i have my option between bulk delivery and bagged. how many trash cans would it take to store 3 tons? I believe that's the smallest weight I can have delivered
there is 7.48 gallons in a cu ft. so......35gallon / 7.48=approx 4.68 cu ft x 80 lbs = 375 lbs. approx. 6000lbs/375 lbs.= 16 trash cans....
Going by memory (which I admit is dangerous) from posts on here I believe a 5 gallon pail will hold about 40lb, so a 35 gallon trash can may hold about 280 lbs.
So you would need in the neighborhood of 22 cans to hold 3 ton. That's allotta cans!!! If you get metal cans they will corrode from the damp coal so make sure you get poly trash cans.
It would take much less space to have 3 pallets of bagged delivered (some pallets are actually 2400 lbs rather than 2000 lbs.). Each pallet taking up about a 4' x 4' footprint.
So you would need in the neighborhood of 22 cans to hold 3 ton. That's allotta cans!!! If you get metal cans they will corrode from the damp coal so make sure you get poly trash cans.
It would take much less space to have 3 pallets of bagged delivered (some pallets are actually 2400 lbs rather than 2000 lbs.). Each pallet taking up about a 4' x 4' footprint.
- warminmn
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If you go that route, consider used plastic 50 gallon barrels. Cut them in half and store them on top of each other, just 2 high. This way you don't have to reach to the bottom of a tall barrel or can to get pails full. You can find them free at factories if you search. I did this with soft coal I bought, and had a garbage can too. I liked the half barrels better.
perhaps I can get them from work. I work in a milk plant and we have sometimes as many as 30 empty chemical barrels laying around. I do not know if they get a deposit on them, if they were willing to let me have them I would gladly pay the deposit. of course I work for corperate idiots so they might not allow me to have them. I will have to ask, but if they are ok with it I would have as many as I could possibly use. also my daily driver is a 1996 camaro Z28 and its a hatchback so I probably could fit them in the back of the car, one at a time of course.
- Richard S.
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Check craigslist or ebay for the blue 55 gallon drums. They use them for syrup, juice concentrate etc and they will be available for sale. Going to smell like bad wine if you get one. You can find them for $15 or $20 used like that. About 5 barrels per ton.ad356 wrote:i have my option between bulk delivery and bagged. how many trash cans would it take to store 3 tons? I believe that's the smallest weight I can have delivered
You can just put it on the ground if that is option. Just make sure you cover it to keep it dry, water is not a huge issue except for the freezing.
Unless the difference in $$ is too great an obstacle, I still think for your first year bagged is a better way to go until two things happen.
First, you see how you like burning coal and second your spouse (having experienced the warmth coal provides) comes around to approving a more efficient / convenient bulk storage solution.
First, you see how you like burning coal and second your spouse (having experienced the warmth coal provides) comes around to approving a more efficient / convenient bulk storage solution.
i havent had to sell my wife on the idea of coal, she complained bitterly about the house being so cold last winter. she would set the thermostat at 67 and would be lucky if it was 62. not only that be she is well aware of the price on the 7 tons of pellets we had to buy. still bagged might not be a bad idea. personally I want to be off as cheap as possible. im sick of the $1800 pellet bill. I want to heat the house for $1,000 or almost 1/2 as much
- freetown fred
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"A" where ya getting your coal?
- Doby
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9-35 gal trash cans hold 1 ton of rice, 5-55 gal drums hold 1 ton of rice,,,,,,,,,,,,, I just did it a month ago cause that how I store my coal,,,,,,,,, the rubbermaid 35 gal cans with lids have lasted 12 years and counting and there outside
- Doby
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Oh yea another tid bit,,,,,,,,,,, 82 5 gal buckets hold approx 1.5 ton , yep I do this to, sound crazy? Over the years of drywalling and painting I have free and easy access to the buckets, they stack 4 high very well and I fill my hopper by dumping the coal in from a bucket so sooner or later no matter how I store the coal it gets into a bucket so why not store it in them
- warminmn
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- Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt
That sounds like a neat idea (the buckets) Ive read of others doing this and anyone with the space and buckets would be a great way to do it. Makes winter even more simple.Doby wrote:Oh yea another tid bit,,,,,,,,,,, 82 5 gal buckets hold approx 1.5 ton , yep I do this to, sound crazy? Over the years of drywalling and painting I have free and easy access to the buckets, they stack 4 high very well and I fill my hopper by dumping the coal in from a bucket so sooner or later no matter how I store the coal it gets into a bucket so why not store it in them