What Do You Use For Anti Skid and How Do You Spread & Store it?

[bdhsfz6]

I looked at drop spreaders like that this fall, and they were surprisingly expensive. I opted to add a deflector cone to my existing 3 point broadcast spreader.
If I were just doing my driveway, I would be satisfied with a commercial walk behind broadcast spreader.

All that said, if money were no object I would be running a 4-5' drop spreader similar to what the OP is looking at.

I've been using a modified ag broadcast spreader for many years. It works well with ash but I don't burn coal anymore and need something that will handle heavier material.

I also need a way to load it. The hopper on these drop spreaders tilt and let you back into a pile to load. No need to even get out of the cab.

Yeah, they're pricey, but it may be worth the $$ for the convenience.

 

[Rustyiron]

Out of curiosity, why did you quit coal?
Another question is what did you last pay a ton for coal in NEPA?
I've been heating with wood (wood gasification boiler with radiant heat) for the past 15 years and am wondering about the time when I find it difficult to make the 6-7 cords a year?

 

[RjCorazza]

I've been using a modified ag broadcast spreader for many years. It works well with ash but I don't burn coal anymore and need something that will handle heavier material.

View attachment 2773530

I also need a way to load it. The hopper on these drop spreaders tilt and let you back into a pile to load. No need to even get out of the cab.

Yeah, they're pricey, but it may be worth the $$ for the convenience.

I looked at the fel mounted hydraulic spreaders that also tilted for loading, and yes, I agree that is a back saving feature!
My climate doesn't really require sanding, as the primary objective is to salt on occasion so packed snow and ice will melt off. The current 3 point spreader handles salt fine. Will sand be a problem ?

 

[bdhsfz6]

Out of curiosity, why did you quit coal?
Another question is what did you last pay a ton for coal in NEPA?
I've been heating with wood (wood gasification boiler with radiant heat) for the past 15 years and am wondering about the time when I find it difficult to make the 6-7 cords a year?

I hear you. I heated with wood until I exhausted the supply on my woodlot. Rather than buy cord wood, I switched to coal in 1989 and used it until last year. This year, Anthracite rice coal went up to $379 / ton while fuel oil dropped to $3.03 / gal. The calculated savings was only around $200 using coal, not enough to justify the work required to maintain the coal stove.

I keep the stove ready to go if prices or conditions change. The only down side is, I no longer have ash to spread on my 1.25 mile private road.

 

[Rustyiron]

I just came across this on C/L

I don't think that I'd use it often enough to justify the purchase along with the hassle of keeping the salt sand on hand and loading it with a shovel although 1 tub full would be more than enough for an extremely icy season. It's a "UTV" sized spreader.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I looked at the fel mounted hydraulic spreaders that also tilted for loading, and yes, I agree that is a back saving feature!
My climate doesn't really require sanding, as the primary objective is to salt on occasion so packed snow and ice will melt off. The current 3 point spreader handles salt fine. Will sand be a problem ?

The ag spreader I have would handle sand but it needs to be shoveled into the hopper. Not a task I'm looking forward to at my age. I store the lighter weight ash in 30 gal cans, which can be dumped into the hopper.

 

[Rustyiron]

This makes me wonder if you could find someone else who has coal ash with no use for it?
I don't know what it's like to "gather" and transport thinking it might be as dusty as wood ash or maybe it's like coarse sand that I think I remember from way back when I walked to elementary school. The town used it. (I think)

 

[bdhsfz6]

This makes me wonder if you could find someone else who has coal ash with no use for it?
I don't know what it's like to "gather" and transport thinking it might be as dusty as wood ash or maybe it's like coarse sand that I think I remember from way back when I walked to elementary school. The town used it. (I think)

The Anthracite rice coal we get around here leaves this ash:

It's a mix of fly ash, cinders and a few clinkers. It's lightweight and works very well as anti skid. The fly ash is considered to be toxic if inhaled though, and masks are required when handling. The air filters in the tractor cab take care of it when spreading.

Transporting and storing it are the biggest problems. I'm not sure about trying to "import" it from other sources.

 

[DougPA]

The Anthracite rice coal we get around here leaves this ash:

View attachment 2773623

It's a mix of fly ash, cinders and a few clinkers. It's lightweight and works very well as anti skid. The fly ash is considered to be toxic if inhaled though, and masks are required when handling. The air filters in the tractor cab take care of it when spreading.

Transporting and storing it are the biggest problems. I'm not sure about trying to "import" it from other sources.

I am enjoying this thread. I am still using coal ash here in north central PA. I have been watching the coal prices rise every year and have still been burning coal because i need the ash for my long steep driveway as well. Storage is key. I went and took some off a friend and it was frozen solid. I keep my ash in 55 gal barrels. Most are cut in half for easier handling with a plywood laying on top to keep water out. This works for me but if I had a way to store bulk anti skid material I would probably be able to switch from using coal. I believe it is regulations that are driving the price of coal up.

 

[Rustyiron]

Hopefully many regulations will be going away soon!