Bagged Coal Underweight

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gweedow
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Post by gweedow » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 9:13 am

I hate to kick a not so dead subject in the butt. BUT, bringing up the under weighted bags of(nut coal in my case), subject again. I did see a post similar to this one in this forum. So, for at least 5 years of buying bagged anthracite on and off, (some times loose in my truck). I thought I would weigh my just purchased 50 bags of 40 lb nut coal from Lowe,s. 6.49 a bag, but I used my lowe's card and get 5percent off. Not great but O.K. I guess. I live way over in Southwestern Pa. Expensive anyway you buy the stuff. Any way,, I weighed at lest 4 to 5 bags and each one was 35 lbs. only. Now take into 50 bags and loose 5 lbs. from those bags and you come away with 250 lbs. gone. Ouch. About 6 bags and a little more I could of used to run the furnace for at least 4 days. I guess I'll take my truck 23 miles from me and get It in bulk. Two large bucket fulls and back to get weighed and I'll pay the correct price when it is under or over a little. Even at 250 dollars a ton,if weight is under few dollars less. It beats 50 bags. For sure now that I'm loosing around 6 bags. Yes I realize bagged coal is more then loose bulk coal, but now that really matters with the wrong weight. These bags are labeled, (Miners Choice, and has Trevorton Pa. 17881.) I'll see if I can find a email or address and write.

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 9:29 am

Did you test the scale? Bathroom scales are notoriously inaccurate.... You need something you know weighs 40 pounds.

Not completely accurate either but 5 gallons of water should be just under 42 pounds.

Make sure you are doing the same thing, e.g. if you are holding the bag and then subtracting your weight you need something that weighs the total weight to test it. If you and the bag weigh 200 pounds you need something known to weigh 200 pounds to test it, then something 160 pounds...

 
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Post by franco b » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 10:44 am

The mayor is right. I have been amazed how inaccurate scales can be. 5 pounds off is a lot, so I would suspect the scale.

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 12:38 pm

The only proper way to do that and be accurate about it would be to weigh it on a certified scale for trade. We looked at purchasing one a few years ago for the crowd that comes with only a few 5 gallon buckets to fill but the high price tag scared me off.

The truck scale reads in 20 pound increments, so for 2-3 buckets we just end up estimating them.


 
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 12:48 pm

I would look for a local shipping scale. If you confirm that the bags are significantly under weight with a certified scale, contact the company and see what they say.

If they blow you off, contact your local weights and measures dept. In my area the county handles all of that stuff, and they do not take it lightly.

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 3:30 pm

CoalJockey wrote:
Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 12:38 pm
The only proper way to do that and be accurate about it would be to weigh it on a certified scale for trade.
As long as you are testing it and accounting for different variables it should be accurate. On of the things you are going to want to make sure is you are applying the pressure the same. e.g. put a cinder block on it and small piece of plywood so you have larger platform. Take your 5 gallons of water and put them on the platform, see if the weight increases 42 pounds, repeat that a couple times. If you keep getting the same results you know you can accurately weigh something that weighs around 40 pounds.

I'd be careful with this if you were going to weigh many bags, retest again occasionally.

 
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 3:38 pm

I use a luggage scale. I can't say that I've measured it for accuracy, but it seems pretty close to me. A five gallon bucket of coal shows right around 40 pounds. I've also measured the Miners Choice, some were a hair under, some were a hair over.

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 3:48 pm

Lightning wrote:
Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 3:38 pm
A five gallon bucket of coal shows right around 40 pounds.
Just so we are clear here you cannot rely on volume alone other than very rough estimate, the rice will weigh less than nut and coal from different sources will have their own variance.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 4:19 pm

My bathroom scale shows 40lbs per 5 gall. pail give or take a couple lbs here & there. I just make sure it's set on zero before weighing. That's with BLASHAK nut & stove bagged. Thank God we're not doin perfection here. :)

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 4:31 pm

freetown fred wrote:
Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 4:19 pm
My bathroom scale shows 40lbs per 5 gall. pail give or take a couple lbs here & there. I just make sure it's set on zero before weighing. That's with BLASHAK nut & stove bagged. Thank God we're not doin perfection here. :)
If you have 5 pounds missing in a 40 pound bag and everyone of them is like that it is 250 pounds per ton missing, it's a lot....4 ton of coal and you have half a ton missing. I wouldn't expect it's going to be absolutely perfect but it can't be off that much.

 
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Post by coalkirk » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 5:03 pm

Take an unopened bag you’ve weighed on your scale to your local vets office. Most have a digital scale to weigh dogs that are pretty accurate. Hard to believe they are actually 5 lbs light.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 5:08 pm

If I had 5 lbs missing in some 40 lb. bags, they 'd be loaded up in the back o0f my truck & we'd be headed to the supplier I been using for 10 yrs & he WOULD make it right. One of the advantages of having a supplier close by & sticking with him. My BLASCHAK bags have always been within a 1 or 2 lb over or under. Aside from my 3 ton bulk I tend to pick up 80 or so bagged around Feb. Just an old farmers style. Outstanding idea Terry.

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 5:56 pm

Richard S. wrote:
Mon. Dec. 11, 2017 3:30 pm
As long as you are testing it and accounting for different variables it should be accurate. On of the things you are going to want to make sure is you are applying the pressure the same. e.g. put a cinder block on it and small piece of plywood so you have larger platform. Take your 5 gallons of water and put them on the platform, see if the weight increases 42 pounds, repeat that a couple times. If you keep getting the same results you know you can accurately weigh something that weighs around 40 pounds.

I'd be careful with this if you were going to weigh many bags, retest again occasionally.
Absolutely agreed Richard. All scales will need to be adjusted over time to compensate for wear, and I should have included that proper maintenance by trained individuals is a must.

Thanks for pointing that out.

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