Coal Hauling No-No's

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Kungur
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Post by Kungur » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 6:33 pm

So Saturday I went and picked up 1 ton of caol got it home and sent it down then chute to the basement bin. No problem.
I decided to go back today after work but when I called the guy said they are running out so I run down and get only 1/2 ton. He has a lot of Amish customers and we came to a mutual agreement that I would not take any more than that. No problem.(He said the mines are down because of the weather but he is expecting 60 tons later in the week).
So I take my 1/2 ton and got back to work and get home about 4 1/2 hours later. Di you know that coal sticks like snot to the bed of a pick-up after sitting for that long in this temp??
Well I am planning on a bulk delivery of 10-15 tons this Spring or early Summer. 5 in the basement and 10 in a "holding area" outside.
No more Cold Weather pickups for this Coal Guy!

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 6:40 pm

Mix rock salt in with the coal, it won't freeze together. I should have done it because I had 1.5 ton of coal frozen together into a giant block in the truck. I opened the tailgate and the coal stayed where it was. I used warm water to thaw it out one section at a time, shoveled some out, moved onto the next little section. :mad:

 
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tsb
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Post by tsb » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 8:56 pm

Here's the deal on hauling coal.
Go on a Saturday in late July or early August.
Get up early. Have a truck big enough to haul
a seasons supply. When you get home in the
afternoon, dial up the Phillies on the radio and
shovel. Have a few beers, listen to the game.
Take breaks when you get tired. Did I mention beer ?
When your done......your done.
Get it right next year !

TSB


 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 10:11 pm

Most coal trucks have stainless steel liners for a variety of reasons including the freezing. As long as its clean and only milddly wet (not puddling) you can usually just slam the floor with a steel shovel and it will all just fall off. :D

The big problem is the top layer which can get really thick especially on the back. The wind hits it and freezes it up quick. I once too a 5 ton load out to lopez which is about the coldest spot in Pennsylvania and about an hour from the breaker. I opend the back gate and about 1.5 tons came out. There was about a 3 foot tunnel from the front to the back

 
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cArNaGe
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Post by cArNaGe » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 10:32 pm

So if I go to Hudson Thursday, I may have a problem getting it off?

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 10:42 pm

Kungur wrote:So Saturday I went and picked up 1 ton of caol got it home and sent it down then chute to the basement bin. No problem.
I decided to go back today after work but when I called the guy said they are running out so I run down and get only 1/2 ton. He has a lot of Amish customers and we came to a mutual agreement that I would not take any more than that. No problem.(He said the mines are down because of the weather but he is expecting 60 tons later in the week).
So I take my 1/2 ton and got back to work and get home about 4 1/2 hours later. Di you know that coal sticks like snot to the bed of a pick-up after sitting for that long in this temp??
Well I am planning on a bulk delivery of 10-15 tons this Spring or early Summer. 5 in the basement and 10 in a "holding area" outside.
No more Cold Weather pickups for this Coal Guy!
The mines are not Sut down the temps in a deep mine stays the same all year long 52 to 54 F Now Some of the coal breaker that Process the coal will be down do to freezing Up and Parts breaking They use alot of water in Processing the
coal. I know of two that where down this Past week do to Freezing up and One for broken Machinery .
But There is 25 Plus more up and Running .


 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 11:07 pm

cArNaGe wrote:So if I go to Hudson Thursday, I may have a problem getting it off?
Put a tarp over it and make sure it's coming off the stockpile. ;) I know "wind chill" is an effect on the skin but it most certainly will cause things to freeze faster too. Typically the front of the truck might have a few inches of crust abut the back end where most of the air would hit would be frozen down feet..

 
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cArNaGe
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Post by cArNaGe » Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 11:15 pm

Its going to be on my trailer. Maybe I'll have to back the trailer in the shop for a few hours.

 
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OldAA130
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Post by OldAA130 » Tue. Jan. 20, 2009 9:26 pm

When you buy in bulk make sure you know what you are getting. I thought I would get into the hedging game this past summer. Talked to many guys who pointed me to their favorite supplier... I called and scheduled the delivery. Pricing was 158 delivered bulk vs 200 pick up a ton at a time. 25 tons later I'm sick about the big pile of crap in my back yard. Way too many fines. Some buckets are 25% fines.

Lucky enough, I've got a dad who's now burning hard coal in a Alaska stoker and a neighbor who has a outdoor wood/coal stove that he's pondering burning coal in. I'll be two years getting rid of this pile (5 yrs if I burn it all). Won't make that mistake again! Next time I'm coming here to check with the experts.

 
mwcougar
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Post by mwcougar » Tue. Jan. 20, 2009 10:39 pm

old AA where did you get your coal from?

sorry to here about the fines problem

I have recieved 3 triaxles so far. 2 from south pocket and one from harmony.

may end up with 4-5 buckets of fines. I just mix them in the hopper

just finished bucketing the last of a 4.2 ton load of hudson. had about a 2 buckets of fines with that (5 gallon bucket)

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