Should I Go With Bagged Coal or Build a Bin?

Rookie here,

I'm debating as to whether I should:

1. build a bin and save some money per/ton by having a bulk load dumped. I could build a bin in my garage (not ideal), put one outside my garage (looks bad/cold/would need to keep the weather out), or build a bin in my basement and cut a hole in my house for a chute.

2. Have a 3 tons worth of bagged coal shipped and dropped off. (If I can figure out who ships it)

3. Rent a truck/trailer and goo pick up bags of coal myself.

I'm located in Telford, PA (25 miles North of Philly). Do you guys have any wisdom to pass along to me?

wes

No brainer build a bin. Save $$$$$$$

I also live in Telford.
Been buying bagged coal.

Thinking of building a bin also. Unfortunately I have to locate a bin in the back yard
and would have to wheelbarrow coal to it.

I think there is a regulation against placing accessory use items in the front yard.
Placing a bin along my sidewalk would be ideal.

if you want to buy coal by the bag, it's better if you use electric heat, you'll end up saving next to nothing.
Buying coal by the bags, is similar to buying bread or milk from a convenience store instead of buying from supermarket.

If building a coal bin is a hassle, invest in some plastic barrels, one barrel should last about a week.

Of course if you have my patience, and some room, here is the way to go:
Coal Bin to Hopper Auger

Bin hands down, bags are a pain(no offense to anyone who uses them), but if you have to handle it to unload it, then put it in the stove, then take the ashes out, you might as well burn wood, well not really but you get my drift. I knocked a hole in my basement and poured a concrete chute. There are alot of good ideas out there. I seen someone on here used 8inch PVC through the basement wall.
I get my bulk coal oiled so no dust through the season, just another thought.
Have a great day, Eric

Once you go BIN, you'd never go bag.

Are there coal bin building plans available to download? I'm not handy, so pictures help, but not a whole lot.

I'm considering the 8" pipe into the basement idea, however my coal stove requires Nut size coal. Is an 8" pipe large enough for a chute or will it get clogged up? Do I need something larger? I might be able to figure out a way to pull some siding off a part of the house, make a hole, insert pipe for delivery, and then replace the siding once I've filled the bin. Is this a ridiculous idea?

Would the "delivery guy" just dump the coal in a pile on my driveway and leave me to shovel it into the chute/down into the bin? Or is there a way of building a chute that he could back his truck up to and unload right into my basement chute?

Man, I'm a rookie.

I don't remember seeing any specific plans that anyone posted, just lots and lots and lots of pics.

If the 8" has enough pitch to it the coal should slide down. Not a crazy idea that you presented. Stuff the pipe with some insulation prior to covering it back up with the siding.

If your coal guy has a real coal truck it will have a chute on it and if your fill pipe is accessible to him you wouldn't have to shovel any. If your guy only has a dump truck, then you will be shoveling.

GeorgiePorgie wrote:if you want to buy coal by the bag, it's better if you use electric heat, you'll end up saving next to nothing.

wouldn't that depend a lot on:
a)how much your electricity is
b)how much your bagged coal is
c)is bulk even available

Where I live using the NEPA chart,
for 1,000,000btu
electricity would be $44
my bagged coal is $14.32

It's great that your electricity is so cheap,
but we don't all have that luxury.
We don't all have access to bulk coal either.

Chuck, those were my sentiments as well. Electric heat is OUTRAGEOUS, and I figure that even paying extra for the bagged coal and a higher delivery charge would still leave me quite a bit ahead....although I don't know the numbers just yet.

As for the bin...does anyone have any plans for say a 3 ton size bin?

Wess,
A bin with interior dimensions of 4x4x8 holds 128 cubic ft. I think it is 40-43 cuft per ton so a bin of that size would hold 3 tons. Look in the coal bin pics section page 40 at teleman001 post. That is the pipe I was talking about he even built a little funnel, so the coal truck back up and dumps it in. This is just one idea, there are lots of good ones out there. It is a little tough to give plans as every situation is differant.
Have a great day, Eric

What is a fair price for bagged Nut size anthracite per ton? -vs- bulk Nut size anthracite?

Wess,

Give Lutz's Coal in Schwenksville a call @ 610-584-2858. I think that they may be the closest to you. They sell it in bulk, bulk delivered, 50 or 100 lb bags. I get it delivered at home since we within 5 miles of them. My outdoor bin holds @ 6 ton of rice and the basement bin holds 6+ ton of pea. I usually pick up 100 lb bags for the bin at work. I did get it bulk myself once. Too much shoveling for me so I just get the bags. Last year I think the 100 lb bags of rice was $ 12.00/bag

My shop bin holds 1 1/2 ton of rice. It measures 4' x 4' x 4' I just used 4x4 posts nailed to 2x4's that were tapconned into the cement floor. 2 of the walls were the existing corner walls.

Edit: Here's the pics of my outdoor rice bin: COAL BIN Pics

Rick

I haven't bought coal in a few years but with delivery I paid 190.00 a ton. Loose was about 140.00 a ton. I bought 22 tons of bagged coal. I have a 10 year supply. I figured it would cost me about 1k to build a bin big enough to hold a truck load of loose. In the end I decided it was easier to store and stack bagged coal and there wasn't really much of a price difference after I built a big ugly bin that would start roting from day one. I don't have a chute so I would be humping loose coal which is no fun when the coal gets wet and freezes. It's whatever you prefer and for me bagged was just a lot easier to handle.

We built a bin, copied from this one:
COAL BIN Pics

Scroll down a bit to the post and pictures from PATRICK. The bin is working out well, and we've got about 4 ton of rice in it. It's located in our side yard, about 20 feet away from our basement door. We also keep one of those metal washtubs in the basement next to the stove filled with coal. Here in the Poconos, we've found it much less expensive to get a coal delivery rather than buying it bagged.