Charcoal / Lump storage

[flip]

I did a quick count last night and it turns out I've got six and a half bags of coal in the kitchen right now. I've only got one wife but she trumps all when it comes to storage space in there.

Here's the quandary though; I live in an apartment building and have little to no basement/attic storage. This leaves the porch which is open to the weather and gets plenty of rain, the backyard (also open to weather), or my trunk.

What do you all use to store your goods in?

 

[richtee]

Get a plastic storage bin. Home depot or wherever. They work well.

 

[xtexan]

What Richtee said... and if you really want to get fancy HD and Lowes has a "special" storage bin for coal

 

[bbq bubba]

 

[flip]

Does it have to be an air-tight lid, or so long as it closes? I'm just wondering if I should worry about condensation affecting the quality of the coal.

Keep in mind that I live in New England and moisture, be it humidity in the summer or rain and snow in the winter, is a year round problem.

 

[richtee]

Best you can hope for is to keep it no more moist than the air. Condensation will occur any time the inside temp is less than the outside. Perhaps set it on some standoffs and put a couple small holes in the bottom to equalize temp/humidity. I live in MI and have never had charcoal too damp to burn just from the air.

 

[flip]

Sweet. Backyard storage in bins it is!

The only problem will be clearing all the snow off 'em when it comes time to grab another bag!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[zapper]

Yep, large plastic container with tight fitting lid. I know a few folks that use large plastic garbage cans to keep pet food and grains in. I suppose that with a large enough container you could keep the charcoal in its original bags or you could use a large storage tub and then have smaller singal use tubs inside of that. I have never had charcoal around long enough to really go bad from absorbing moisture out of the air (Direct rain is another matter though) If you think that you have a problem, maybe wrap the bags of charcoal with a plastic garbage bag for extra precaution before you put them inside of the larger plastic tub or can.

 

[flip]

Thanks. I'm going to stop by HD and Wally World on the way home from work today to see what I can come up with on the cheap.