How Big Do You Make a Coal Bin?

Ggans, try to find grain bags if you want to bag your own coal. Breweries and feed stores have lots of them. They're a heavy woven plastic, usually 70-80lb when full of grain. I've filled them full of coal and not had one break.

48" x 48" x 48"=110592 cubic inches divide that by 12 cubed(1728)=64 cubic feet
coal is 50 pounds/cubic feet , so (50 pounds/cubic feet) x (64 cubic feet)= 3200 pounds
minus the volume of 11 2x4's=150 pounds, so 3200-150=3050 pounds if filled completely.
I put the 2x4's on the inside of the bin and the bin looses 150 pounds as compared to
putting the sheathing on the inside, the bin looses 700 pounds. A difference of 500 pounds..
This bin cost $65.00 , home depot , 3 sheets 1/2" usb, I did put a top and door on it, (11) 2x4's, 3" screws and 2" screws.
The coal was free for the loading, 2 loads = 2 tons, so I built 2 of these, one for home and
one for shop, no more carrying one building to another,

The easy way to do math for those like me who never got into mathimagican school .. 4'x4'x4' = 64 divide by 40 = 1.6 ton or 3200 #

For pea I've simplified it down to 1.3 cubic yards = 1 ton

I am thinking about switching from bagged rice coal to bulk to save money. Rather than a bin, is there a reason not to simply pile the coal on the ground outside, and cover with a tarp??

The short answer is: yes. However it would be more intelligent to get it up off the ground and water or ice in the winter. You can do it anyway you want, but a little time spent constructing a frame and sides with a floor would sure help with storage, cleaning up, etc. Bare ground is a PITA to clean up. Obviously 4' dimensions for plywood, Advantec and 1/2" is OK, but 5/8" is better. The question is: How much do you use or need on hand? Mid winter delivery is not much fun, if even available. The simple box 4 by 8 by 4'tall (with a center wall for support) would hold 4*8*4 or 128 cubic feet, +/- divided by 43 cu.ft/ton or 2.97 tons in a perfect world. Safely, 2.5 tons. If you budget would allow it, a hinged roof that was waterproof would eliminate any wet coal issues, leaves, pine needles, etc. Do not forget that for this bin to last, you should use screws and or bolts along with nails to secure the floor, sides, ends top.......

When wet coal freezes in the winter, its like digging thru concrete to break it up.. You'll wanna keep it as dry as possible.

paulm wrote:I am thinking about switching from bagged rice coal to bulk to save money. Rather than a bin, is there a reason not to simply pile the coal on the ground outside, and cover with a tarp??

You can do that but I would suggest putting a tarp under as well as over it, especially if it's for a stoker. You don't even really need it over the coal except to keep the rain and snow off it so it doesn't freeze together.

thanks for you valuable replies and suggestions. I will plan to build a solid bin that will last for years. I looked for ready made coal bunkers to buy rather than build - but, interestingly, it looks as though they are commonly for sale in the UK, but not in the USA . For this year, I may go with bagged until I have time to build a good setup for bulk.

Just got done it will hold 25 ton

I started my Coal bin this weekend. I am going to start small this year since it is my first year. I went with 3x8x3 in the basement. This should get me a ton and a half on the first delivery, I will follow up with 1 ton orders after that. The closest supplier to me is about 7 miles away and they are in my area 3 days a week. I guess their primary customer are pizza places so they don't have much of a delivery fee. If we like the results I made the bin available to be doubled in size, a little lumber and my framing nailer can get it done in about 2 hours.

Filled the new bin the other day 23.9 tons of calvin lennigs finest. The bin was full to the top. Calvin told me he is selling coal faster than he can make it. Better call before you go. By my calculations the coal weighed 46.68lbs/Cubic ft. It was $150/ton picked up.

Phil May wrote:Filled the new bin the other day 23.9 tons of calvin lennigs finest. The bin was full to the top. Calvin told me he is selling coal faster than he can make it. Better call before you go. By my calculations the coal weighed 46.68lbs/Cubic ft. It was $150/ton picked up.

WOW! NICE!

Phil, How do you fill a 24 ton vertical coal bin???

-Don

With a 8" grain auger. By the way don't try to feed it to fast. I wont tell you how I know this. I was a little disappointed the bin is 1024cuft I thought the coal would be over 50lb/cuft. 23.9 tons filled it completely full

What does a 5 gallon plastic pail full of your coal weigh?