Coal Bin Pictures and Designs
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- Member
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- Joined: Sun. Sep. 11, 2011 1:51 pm
- Location: Oneonta NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S260
I'm looking at ordering an auger for my coal bin this week. I'm thinking of a 4" grain auger slid inside a 5" PVC chase in case of a jam I could slide it out to free it up. I'm thinking of putting a barrel above the end with a hole in it to feed like suggested. Any hints or suggestions for a guy trying this? Thanks
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- Member
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Fri. Jun. 18, 2010 8:57 am
- Location: Finger Lakes Region, NYS
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: Oil- Off line
Chevymatt, Augers work much more efficiently with matched tube and flighting (spiral part). Too much gap and the product can just roll around the flighting and never get to where you want it. Augers that wear internally must have flightings replaced occasionally or they can jam up inside. Lived on a grain farm all my life. Ever seen a 300 hp 4 wheel drive tractor chained to auger flighting with auger tube chained to a 30 inch maple- and the tractor just dug 4 deep holes without moving the flighting? Yeah....... that kind of stuck. New system 70 chain never broke but it did get longer. Next auger please! You MIGHT get away with a short auger with little incline for a time but EXPECT it to be a problem. Just saying.chevymatt wrote:I'm looking at ordering an auger for my coal bin this week. I'm thinking of a 4" grain auger slid inside a 5" PVC chase in case of a jam I could slide it out to free it up. I'm thinking of putting a barrel above the end with a hole in it to feed like suggested. Any hints or suggestions for a guy trying this? Thanks
I'm trying the suction route....... that ain't working well either but I ain't done trying!
- coalkirk
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- Joined: Wed. May. 17, 2006 8:12 pm
- Location: Forest Hill MD
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1981 EFM DF520 retired
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507 on standby
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal
I've used a 4" grain auger in my bin at a 45 degree angle for 3 years moving rice coal to the hopper with no problem. Biggest potential problem I've seen is foreign objects or a stray large piece of coal. I've been able to remove all such stuff when loading the bin. Works great. I assume at some point I might have to replace the flighting. Compared to the amount of use these things are designed for to the light use it gets in my coal bin, maybe not. It only runs about 30 seconds to load 250 lbs a couple times a week.
Finished the 2" pvc pipe run today from the outside bin to the inside barrel for the coal vac system. I used 4" as a sleeve for the 2" to go through the wall of the bin. I figured if the vac system doesn't work out I can always get an auger in there. Took a long time for me to get the 45*'s lined up properly and glued - running inside the basement and then back outside again measuring, marking, cutting, adjusting turns, etc, etc. poured a couple 5 gallon buckets I had from last year in there and the trial run was successful. Added a single scoop from the loader and it worked pretty well. I then loaded up the bin with about 1-1/2 tons so far, looks like it could hold another 600 - 900 lbs.
I ended up using tyvek (doubled up) on the inclined plywood to give it a slippery surface so the coal slides down to the intake pipe easily. I should have put plywood on the long sides as well sloped toward the middle, but I got tired of building the thing and wanted to see it in action! That will be next years improvement to slope the remaining sides. I need to find an aluminum brake so I can cover the fascia boards. I'll probably wait until I build the shed over the coal bunker and bend that aluminum all at the same time.
The 2" pipe does get bogged down with coal sometimes but if I bump it with my hand a little it frees it up and it starts flowing again. I do worry about the rice coal in the outdoor bin freezing in the winter. That stuff stays wet - the three 5-gal buckets that had been sitting in the bilco door stairwell since last March had not dried out yet, I think they were wet enough to freeze.
I ended up using tyvek (doubled up) on the inclined plywood to give it a slippery surface so the coal slides down to the intake pipe easily. I should have put plywood on the long sides as well sloped toward the middle, but I got tired of building the thing and wanted to see it in action! That will be next years improvement to slope the remaining sides. I need to find an aluminum brake so I can cover the fascia boards. I'll probably wait until I build the shed over the coal bunker and bend that aluminum all at the same time.
The 2" pipe does get bogged down with coal sometimes but if I bump it with my hand a little it frees it up and it starts flowing again. I do worry about the rice coal in the outdoor bin freezing in the winter. That stuff stays wet - the three 5-gal buckets that had been sitting in the bilco door stairwell since last March had not dried out yet, I think they were wet enough to freeze.
- anthony7812
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- Location: Colley,Pennsylvania
- Stoker Coal Boiler: VanWert VA 400
- Coal Size/Type: Buck/Anthracite
hey that looks pretty nice their titleist. Hope the cold doesnt freeze up your wet coal, ever think about those gutter heaters? Maybe you could rig up a setup with one of those heaters around or near the pvc pipe. Just a thought, may not work or be feasible but it would be inexpensive to try if you need.
- Wiz
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- Location: Tannersville Pa
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker Ka 6
- Coal Size/Type: Casey Junk Coal :(
Looks good titleist.. I would suggest using 2 shop vacs, it'll resolve suction issue. When I used 1 vac it would loose pick up and get partially block, had to tap feed pipe. Now using 2 vacs and all issues gone, filling 5 gal bucket in 20 secs with 9 ton sitting on feed pipe.
I will try the second shop vac connection if the single doesn't work well enough and the coal doesn't freeze. Since my pipe run is slightly downhill from the bottom of the outside bin to the top of the inside barrel I don't have the "head" issue to overcome when lifting the coal from the basement floor level so I am hoping the single vac will work over the long term. What are the hp ratings of the vac's you are using? I have a 6.0 peak hp vac on there now.
I don't want to go through the effort of tapping another hole in the top of my barrel for the second vac if the coal is going to freeze up in the outside bin making my vac system useless. The barrel I am using does not have a removable lid and has 15 gal capacity so I can't reach from the bottom port to the top in order to thread the fittings. I need somebody with orangutan arms to reach in there for me!
I added a couple vents in the ends of the bin so air could flow across the top of the coal. This was more to keep the moisture from the coal pile condensing on the underside of the roof and rotting it out than to dry the coal out, but it may help do that also.
I don't want to go through the effort of tapping another hole in the top of my barrel for the second vac if the coal is going to freeze up in the outside bin making my vac system useless. The barrel I am using does not have a removable lid and has 15 gal capacity so I can't reach from the bottom port to the top in order to thread the fittings. I need somebody with orangutan arms to reach in there for me!
I added a couple vents in the ends of the bin so air could flow across the top of the coal. This was more to keep the moisture from the coal pile condensing on the underside of the roof and rotting it out than to dry the coal out, but it may help do that also.
- Frackstoker
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- Joined: Wed. Oct. 15, 2008 2:28 am
- Location: Lebanon County
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90
- Coal Size/Type: Rice - Blaschak
- Other Heating: New Yorker Oil Boiler
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- Joined: Thu. Feb. 21, 2013 6:33 pm
- Location: Toledo,Oh
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
Thanks,last winter was my first year on 100% coal! I have burnt soft coal with wood for several years until my outdoor wood boiler sprung a leak. It's the best money ever spent converting to anthracite.
- GoodProphets
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- Joined: Sat. Jan. 07, 2012 9:14 pm
- Location: Lanc Co PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
- Coal Size/Type: Anthra Rice
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Well xmas came early for me
Finally got our old shower and oil tank ripped out and had my coal bin built.
It is 8x8x4ft high.
My guess is that it will hold 6 tons no problem but may be able to hold 7 tons with a lil topping off.
Here is some pics.
Whole frame is 2x6s except for the base is 2x4s
We couldnt get the 4x8 sheets of 3/4 plywood down there, so we had to cut in half to 4x4 sheets.
Overall I still do not think there will be any problems,,,, crossing my fingers!
Finally got our old shower and oil tank ripped out and had my coal bin built.
It is 8x8x4ft high.
My guess is that it will hold 6 tons no problem but may be able to hold 7 tons with a lil topping off.
Here is some pics.
Whole frame is 2x6s except for the base is 2x4s
We couldnt get the 4x8 sheets of 3/4 plywood down there, so we had to cut in half to 4x4 sheets.
Overall I still do not think there will be any problems,,,, crossing my fingers!