Coal Bin Pictures and Designs

Charlie Z wrote:We built a coal blind this year. If we ever give up on coal, we can use it as a duck blind.

It'll hold 3.5 ton of nut or 3 hunters (and a labrador).

Heck, y'all should stay warm and dry in the house, just open the windows when they lock up

Seriously Charlie Z , very nice finish. May I ask what did you use? I'd guess weathered/used decking?

Charlie Z wrote:We built a coal blind this year. If we ever give up on coal, we can use it as a duck blind.

It'll hold 3.5 ton of nut or 3 hunters (and a labrador).

Nice Bin Charlie, I am going to build one outdoors in the summer. Any advice?

I re-used some old cedar decking from my mom's home. I wanted it to blend in and not cost much. We'll put a light cover over the opening once we burn the pile down a bit. It was the first project my 10yr old helped me with and we had a good time building it. The coalman came before we could get the cover on. It will be handy to have to protect the window when up - coal comes out the chute OK, but there are some fast moving strays. Because it was a learning exercise for the boy, we used only hand tools (except a drill).

It took about the same time to plan it as to build it. Originally, it was 8"-10" shorter and looked better, but I got greedy for 3.5 ton (a year's supply for us). Without coal in it, it really looks like a duck blind.

There is a sliding hatch on the right side (I should add another to the left, too). One key aspect not shown is the 'corridor' to the hatch inside that prevents sprawling coal when you lift the hatch. The corridor fills inside, and you shovel from there.

The verticals and floor joists are pressure treated 4x4, with 2x4s as diagonals and nailers to keep everything straight over time. The cedar boards are not too tightly placed (with deck screws) on the side or floor to allow draining and prevent rot. I think it's the right balance of heft, w/o going overboard. A plywood back would have been appropriate to keep everything square over time, but we had enough of the old cedar and just braced w/2x4s and planked it like the front.

Dimensions are 4x8 footprint, and the back is just under 4' high and the front is 40" or so. The frame is bolted with 5/16" carriage or lag bolts and we hacked all the rabbets and dados with handsaw and chisel.

It's convenient now to have the coal within 15' of the stove, just outside the back door.

- Charlie

Charlie Z wrote:I re-used some old cedar decking from my mom's home. I wanted it to blend in and not cost much. We'll put a light cover over the opening once we burn the pile down a bit. ...<8,,,8<...- Charlie

The top, while maybe not too light, would look really nice with cedar shingles that come close to matching the house. You could easily rig a counter weight similar to what DVC500_at_last did. You're close enough to the house for it to work. Just my $0.02 - it's a nice bin and one of those special projects you'll both talk about forever. First big project I did w/my son was a boy scout Klondike derby sledge. We even built the skis ourselves. He was tickled when it won the best sled award several years in a row. See - I'm still talking about it and that was 13 years ago

High winds on Monday blew the cover off of my outdoor coal bunker. Been there since summer and it was screwed on with screws and washers through the metal eyelets in the tarp. Guess I'm going to have to come up with a new idea. I'm not concerned with it getting wet but acorns and leaves getting in it are the problem. I can't put a roof on it because the plan is to have a dump truck back in and dump. Anyone have any ideas?

Do the tarp thing again but this time do so without any opening for wind to get in and lift/rip out. Meaning close the door... or additionally run some "furring" strips across the top to bolster the tarp like a batten in a big sail???

coalkirk wrote:High winds on Monday blew the cover off of my outdoor coal bunker. Been there since summer and it was screwed on with screws and washers through the metal eyelets in the tarp. Guess I'm going to have to come up with a new idea. I'm not concerned with it getting wet but acorns and leaves getting in it are the problem. I can't put a roof on it because the plan is to have a dump truck back in and dump. Anyone have any ideas?

Coalkirk, The only thing I can think of, if it were mine, is I would put up a Pole Building/Barn with 12ft walls. Pour a slab, and install a 10' x10' roll door for the dumptruck to get thru. Once inside, the dumptruck should have lots of overhead room to dump, if roof struts/girders are planned correctly.
The reason I suggest this, is Pole barns are REALLY cheap to build. Well, in this area they are. My brother just put in a 30' x 40' pole barn, with 3 oversize garage doors, 4 windows, and cupola, for $17,000.
I'll be using the same Pole Building company as he did, to build my "Coal Bin" . I just gotta find a job first.

coalkirk wrote:High winds on Monday blew the cover off of my outdoor coal bunker. Been there since summer and it was screwed on with screws and washers through the metal eyelets in the tarp. Guess I'm going to have to come up with a new idea. I'm not concerned with it getting wet but acorns and leaves getting in it are the problem. I can't put a roof on it because the plan is to have a dump truck back in and dump. Anyone have any ideas?

Hi coalkirk, Have you thought about making a light weight, 2 piece, removable roof frame? A left and right side with rafters and ridge frames. Screw the two paralel ridge frames together and the rafter tails to your walls. Make the rafters out of 3/4" spruce strapping and cover each side with "Boat Shrink Wrap".
The shrink wrap is stronger than a plastic tarp. It also will not flap in he wind. If you make the ridge frame about 4' higher than the walls, the snow, ice and water will slide off. I cover several 36' boats each year with light frames and shrink wrap and have had the wrap last over three years.
**Broken Link(s) Removed**RS

I use concrete blocks to weigh down my tarp. Along the edge and on the pile. The hollow core 4" wide ones work and aren't to heavy to move each time you need access. I use a leaf blower on the tarp before I fold it back. It helps keep the leaves out of the coal and blow them where you want them. The cheap blue tarps don't last very long but still are cost effective vs. the more expensive tarps.

My customers had a 45' swimming pool with an electric roll-up sliding cover. Push a button on their mansion and the cover opened or closed. It was "over-the-top".

You might consider boat canvas with heavyduty snaps every few feet.

here is my coal bin that was already with the house when I purchased it. The house is from the late 1800's to early 1900's. the original owners must of burnt coal or some one down the line. The owner before us certainly didnt. This coal bin can hold approx 15 ton from the measurements I took. As you can see there isnt any coal in it yet. Just old junk the previous owner left us. Although there is some coal and big chunks of coal all over the basement floor. Not sure what kind I never inspected it to closely.

Any one know how I could calculate how much coal this will hold ? I'll get some detailed measurements tomorrow in the day light. But the outside frame is 10' x 6'

Post a few measurements to help someone figure it out. Length, width, auger to top, and top to start of slant. Looks like you need to find a burner and get that baby filled. Nice bin!!!! Scott

It's about 40 cubic feet per ton, assuming that's about 3 feet deep and accounting for the sloped sides a very rough estimate is about 3 tons level with the top. If you have a 10*6 area you'll get another 1.5 ton per foot you go upwards.

If I had went through the trouble to build something like that the auger would be feeding something that went directly to stoker or what ever it is you have. For example I'd be pushing the coal into a PVC pipe on the end that fed the hopper inside the basement if that is what you have.