Outside Coal Bin and Wet Coal, What Is the Consequence?

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 9:15 am

Out of fear that wet coal will freeze in my outside coal bin I've always stipulated that my coal deliveries be made only after several dry days, to assure receiving fully dry coal. But dry coal is dusty coal. My bin has 3 compartments, each with top fill and bottom discharge. Should I be concerned of wet coal freezing and causing a nightmare of delivery from my bin, or should I be thinking otherwise?

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 9:24 am

Water does freeze and gravity makes excess water move down...Is there an outlet for the excess water at the bottom?

Are you anticipating a delivery, or just curious?

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 9:34 am

McGiever wrote:Water does freeze and gravity makes excess water move down...Is there an outlet for the excess water at the bottom?

Are you anticipating a delivery, or just curious?

No outlet for the water. Just thinking ahead to about late May or early June when I will get my next delivery.

Post by **Rob R.** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 9:36 am

Larry, if you are getting your deliveries in the summer I don't think freezing would be an issue - especially with pea coal. Regardless of if the coal is delivered wet or dry, it will probably create dust when you add it to the hopper.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 9:52 am

Are you unloading the bin by hand, auger or air? Are there vents at the top of the bin to allow airflow over the summer?

Not sure how well pea dries out over time compared to the rice I burn which will hold moisture in the middle of the pile for weeks & months. I got 7 ton under roof in October that I transfer to the outdoor bin. Even with the amount of time passed since Oct. I noticed when filling the bin last week as I got into the 7 ton pile with the loader it was noticeably damp (not 'wet', just damp). It rained the day I picked up the 7 ton so it was wet when it went under roof.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 10:09 am

titleist1 wrote:Are you unloading the bin by hand, auger or air? Are there vents at the top of the bin to allow airflow over the summer?

Not sure how well pea dries out over time compared to the rice I burn which will hold moisture in the middle of the pile for weeks & months. I got 7 ton under roof in October that I transfer to the outdoor bin. Even with the amount of time passed since Oct. I noticed when filling the bin last week as I got into the 7 ton pile with the loader it was noticeably damp (not 'wet', just damp). It rained the day I picked up the 7 ton so it was wet when it went under roof.

Coal is shoveled out. Each of the three compartments holds about 2.125 tons. Minimal venting for air flow.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 10:36 am

You have more 'forgiveness' regarding freezing since you are shoveling. Just for fun, put some wet pea coal in a 5 gallon bucket (or go big with a plastic 30 gallon trash can) and put it outside check it after a few days to see if it is still wet in the middle. An unscientific test to see if the pea has enough airspace to dry out well enough to not worry about freezing.

SWPaDon · Post by **SWPaDon** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 10:50 am

I picked up a load of coal in my pickup. The coal was wet from the 1/2 inch of snow we had gotten that morning. That night the temps dropped to about 10 degrees, and I hadn't unloaded the coal because it was so late when I got home.

I will never, ever as long as I live pull a stunt like that again. Ain't no fun using a pick and mattock to dig the frozen coal out of a truck bed.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 10:56 am

Did that last year with 1 ton of rice on the trailer - a real Homer Simpson moment. I moved the trailer & coal-berg into the sunlight and over the course of many days the top inch or two would melt, I would scrape it off and get it into buckets that I stacked in the basement. Hated going back to teh buckets, even for that one ton & similarly swore I would never, ever repeat that again!!

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 10:59 am

I think I'll just continue to ask for "dry coal only" delivery.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sun. Jan. 10, 2016 12:09 pm

lsayre wrote:I think I'll just continue to ask for "dry coal only" delivery.

If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

n0useforaname · Post by **n0useforaname** » Tue. Jan. 12, 2016 9:55 am

I have an outside bin, and it holds 3.5 tons... I get pea hard coal, and it's ALWAYS delivered damp/wet and I ALWAYS get it in Jan/Feb each year... Yes it can freeze, but you take a small stick and poke it, and it just falls like crazy.. it doesn't freeze solid by any means. Never even looked at it as being an issue.