FROZEN MANURE ON BUCKETS

[patti24]

My location is listed under my name.

Bismarck, North Dakota.

Yeah, it gets cold here too. It was -2F this morning when I went to work. Didn't know we were competing on that one.

Pretty simple. Muck out the stall, drive the backhoe over to the "pile" and dump it. Then you don't have to worry about it freezing.

No can do…because I’m not mucking out stalls! Even though they CAN go in and out at will, they are crazy Canadian horses (that’s the breed), and they prefer to stay outside 24/7- blizzards, ice storms, Rainstorms…you name it!
So, the manure I’m picking up is just around the area where they eat (and around the paddock if I’m feeling ambitious.
1) So it takes many, many days/sometimes weeks to fill the loader bucket in the backhoe.
2) It doesn’t like the cold much so I try to wait until I have a ‘warm’ day.
3)the manure pile is at the back of my property- through the pasture and two gates. A flood washed away all my topsoil & left behind INCHES of clay, so now water just sits on top and you can imagine what a muck-hole it’s become.
So I prefer to drive the backhoe back & forth over it as much as possible- not only does it exacerbate the problem…but if the temperature happens to drop real fast, and stay there…well I’m sure you know…you frozen ruts as big as Texas and as deep as the Grand Canyon!! Not the ideal ground to have for horse hooves/tendons/ligaments (or this human’s hooves/tendons and ligaments either)!!
Inevitably, at some point they fill up with water (because the clay won’t drain of course) which then freezes - which makes it even MORE treacherous! (And my cursing even WORSE when info over on my ankle AND then slip on ice to boot!!
So…
I DID find a snowblower forum that happened to have a thread about this exact thing, and there was a lot of good input and recommendations for products that these Snow-Removal guys use on their buckets. One product that they talked about is only applied once, at the beginning of the season, and nothing will stick. They’re talking snow & ice mostly, so manure might require a couple applications throughout the winter- but it’d be worth it. Some are roll-on, some are spray, some are 2 part - but basically it’s a Teflon coating I believe. Going to give some a try anyways and see what happens. If it doesn’t work on the loader bucket I can always use it on the blower!! I’d LOVE to it have to deal with snow/ice jams in the chute…and if I can park it in my shop without 40 tons of snow on it to melt and make a mess…I’d be a happy camper!!

 

[patti24]

Ah well holy crap (no pun intended) that makes a lot more sense now!

Nicccccce! lol

 

[patti24]

I worked for a gravel company and about half of the dump trucks had the stuff lining their boxes. Those drivers spent a lot less time shoveling out spoils/waste/dirt excavated for construction sites than the rest of us. (Nothing like dumping out 24 yards of waste material and checking the boxes and finding 8 yards still in them.) I'm not sure how well it would work of frozen HS though, I think it would help some.

Thanks for your input!!! I think some of these guys thought I was exaggerating when I said it’s like concrete!
(Or that they think I’m an idiot because I don’t dump it right away!! But there ARE a number of reasons WHY that doesn’t happen as I just explained to Slowpoke Slim!!
I was just telling him about a Snow blower forum I came across that was discussing this very topic (so I’m not alone in my craziness!)
There was a good discussion and recommendations about products the snow removal guys use on their blades, buckets & chutes. There’s a roll on kind, a spray kind, and a 2 part product, but basically it’s a Teflon coating that they apply once at the beginning of the season.
Might require a few more for manure, but it’s easy, not very expensive, and worth a shot! If it doesn’t work, I can always use it on my blower. I’d love to not have to clean snow/ice jams out of the chute…and it would make it nicer to park in my shop without having 40 tons of snow melting! patti

 

[patti24]

^^^^^^
It may not work, but is worth a try. It's made to help snow slide off plows.

Found some other products on a snowblower forum I happened to come across that had a thread about this very topic! There’s roll-on, sprays, 2 part products etc, but basically it’s Teflon that they apply once, at the beginning of the season. It stood I’ve & snow from sticking to their blades, buckets & chutes. Manure might require a few applications, but I’m going to give it a shot and see how it works! Can always use it on my blower…no more cleaning snow/ice jams out of the chute, and less snow to melt inside my shop!! BONUS!!!