How do you calculate moisture-corrected tonnage?

Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross tonnage, then multiply by uptime and first-pass yield. With 18 tons/cycle x 240 cycles x 90% x 96% you get 3,732.48 net dry-corrected tons from a 4,320-ton gross figure.

What is the difference between wet weight and dry-corrected weight?

Wet weight is what the truck scale reads with free and bound moisture still in the material; dry-corrected weight removes that water plus any out-of-spec rejects, so it reflects tonnage you can actually sell to a dry specification.

What is a good first-pass moisture-spec yield?

For washed aggregate and dried sand, 95-98% first-pass yield is healthy. The default 96% leaves a 155.52-ton yield loss on this run, which is typical; consistently below 92% usually points to dryer temperature swings or screen blinding.

Why is my corrected tonnage lower than the scale ticket?

Because the scale weighs water. Free surface moisture of 5-8% on washed sand alone can put hundreds of tons of water on a monthly ticket that never ships as product, plus uptime and yield losses on top.

How does uptime affect moisture correction?

Uptime scales gross tonnage before yield. Here 90% uptime costs 432 tons against the 4,320-ton gross. Every point of dryer or screen downtime directly removes saleable dry tons, so chasing uptime is often cheaper than adding capacity.

Moisture correction vs shrinkage allowance?

Moisture correction removes water and rejects to find net dry tons today; a shrinkage allowance is a forward planning buffer for expected losses across handling and storage. Use correction for reconciliation, shrinkage for forecasting.

Bulk Solids, Mining, Aggregates & Material Processing calculator

Moisture Correction Calculator

Moisture correction translates the wet, as-received tonnage moving across a processing line into the dry-equivalent saleable tons a plant can actually book. Quarry superintendents, sand-and-gravel plant managers, and frac-sand or mineral processors use it because moisture inflates apparent weight at the scale house while reducing real product yield once material is dried to spec. Getting this number right protects margins, keeps shipment certificates honest, and exposes how much capacity is lost to wet feed and out-of-spec rework. It is the difference between selling tons and selling water.

What this calculator does

Estimate moisture correction for moisture correction for bulk solids, mining, aggregates, and material processing using plant-floor material, production, quality, capacity, or cost inputs.
a plant team is reviewing moisture correction for bulk solids, mining, aggregates, and material processing and needs a clear moisture correction for production, quality, capacity, maintenance, purchasing, or costing decisions
It computes net dry-corrected saleable tonnage by multiplying per-cycle output and available cycles by uptime and first-pass moisture-spec yield.

Formula used

Gross moisture correction = moisture correction output per cycle × available moisture correction cycles
Moisture Correction = gross capacity × uptime × yield

Inputs explained

Dry-weight tonnage per drying or screening cycle:
Available drying or correction cycles in the period:
Dryer or processing line uptime:
First-pass moisture-spec yield:

How to use the result

Use it when planning monthly dry-tonnage output, reconciling wet scale weights against dry product, or sizing dryer capacity against a sales commitment.
It assumes constant per-cycle output and a fixed moisture reduction; highly variable incoming moisture, such as after a rain event, will swing real results well outside this single-point estimate.

Common questions

How do you calculate moisture-corrected tonnage? Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross tonnage, then multiply by uptime and first-pass yield. With 18 tons/cycle x 240 cycles x 90% x 96% you get 3,732.48 net dry-corrected tons from a 4,320-ton gross figure.
What is the difference between wet weight and dry-corrected weight? Wet weight is what the truck scale reads with free and bound moisture still in the material; dry-corrected weight removes that water plus any out-of-spec rejects, so it reflects tonnage you can actually sell to a dry specification.
What is a good first-pass moisture-spec yield? For washed aggregate and dried sand, 95-98% first-pass yield is healthy. The default 96% leaves a 155.52-ton yield loss on this run, which is typical; consistently below 92% usually points to dryer temperature swings or screen blinding.
Why is my corrected tonnage lower than the scale ticket? Because the scale weighs water. Free surface moisture of 5-8% on washed sand alone can put hundreds of tons of water on a monthly ticket that never ships as product, plus uptime and yield losses on top.
How does uptime affect moisture correction? Uptime scales gross tonnage before yield. Here 90% uptime costs 432 tons against the 4,320-ton gross. Every point of dryer or screen downtime directly removes saleable dry tons, so chasing uptime is often cheaper than adding capacity.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.