At least we can do bridge elevator. Build 1x1 hatch, every floor one bridge, lock some dwarves just next to levers, open second from bottom, then the first from bottom and immidately second from bottom. With a bit of luck your stuff is one level higher. And you can then transport it horizonraly with water.
No, it evaporates water.
When my first bin quits, I'm going to do some more conclusive tests on fires, by filling my pit with each of the following materials, first by themselves and then in a bin:
Logs.
Wooden blocks.
Charcoal.
Lignite.
Lignite blocks. (outside the bin only, since I already know what it does in the bin)
Coke.
Green glass blocks. (as a control)
I'll also put a hatch in the bottom of the pit first. Then I'll drop the flaming stuff down a z-level, pile more stuff on the hatch, and drop it in to confirm that dropping in another piece of coal should be enough to keep a fire going.
Maybe I'll try booze in an iron barrel, too, or experiment with some more inventive ways to try to put water on it and see if there are some ways to put out fires that work better than others (i.e. at all, in the case of burning coal in a bin), or a significant difference between flaming items inside and out of a bin.
And I definitely want to see someone catapult lignite past a heat bin to see if it catches fire.