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

[bdhsfz6]

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.

I used to take my dump trailer over to one of the coal dealers south of Scranton to get a better price. I parked it in the barn and used it as a coal bin over the winter. I only bought 5 tons at a time though, and most of the coal breakers now have a 10 ton minimum. The cost of gas and my time, ate into the $$ savings though.

I stored the ash in 30 gal cans, which were fairly easy to load into the spreader. I thought about using 55 gallon drums but the weight would have been too difficult to manage. How do you spread the ash, and if you use a spreader, how do you load it?

 

[RjCorazza]

Many years ago I recall short metal barrels beside the roads filled with ash here in Maryland. Haven't seen one in a very long time, but a few years ago I tried to source it here.... Non existent.

Funny how a tractor forum thread can put one on a trip down memory lane. Parents were from the Hazleton area, and as kids we always went fossil hunting on the strip mines of the area while visiting relatives. Good times!

 

[bdhsfz6]

Many years ago I recall short metal barrels beside the roads filled with ash here in Maryland. Haven't seen one in a very long time, but a few years ago I tried to source it here.... Non existent.

Funny how a tractor forum thread can put one on a trip down memory lane. Parents were from the Hazleton area, and as kids we always went fossil hunting on the strip mines of the area while visiting relatives. Good times!

I also remember those short barrels. My grandfather burned coal when I was a kid and he had several around the property. They had lids to keep the ash dry. It was my father's job to shovel ash from the furnace and keep them full.

We burned 18 tons a winter back then and the leftover ash was put in larger galvanized barrels. The town had a truck that came around and collected it. It took two men to dump them into the back of the truck. I think the town then used it to spread on roads.

Memory lane indeed!

 

[dj1701]

I have been burning coal since 2009. I get it delivered in bulk from the guy at the bottom of the hill. I usually get around 5 ton. He just backs into the barn and dumps it for me. Since I live so close, he just brings it up with his big Farmall.

I use the coal ash for the walkways and driveway area where we park. I keep a galvanized trash can with a scoop on the front porch. That stuff is great for traction, the only downside is I have to hose it off the stairs in the spring.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I have been burning coal since 2009. I get it delivered in bulk from the guy at the bottom of the hill. I usually get around 5 ton. He just backs into the barn and dumps it for me. Since I live so close, he just brings it up with his big Farmall.

I use the coal ash for the walkways and driveway area where we park. I keep a galvanized trash can with a scoop on the front porch. That stuff is great for traction, the only downside is I have to hose it off the stairs in the spring.

I buy from a dealer less than a mile away. He delivers free since I'm so close. He offloads it into my 12K dump trailer / coal bin.

Some years, especially those like this one, I would burn more than the 5 ton I got delivered. When I ran out, I would take the tractor over to the dealer and buy a FEL bucket full. Sometimes had to do it twice.

Ahhh, the things I'm going to miss by switching back to oil heat.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I don't spread anything. If the yard get too slippery I hook onto my diamond tooth harrows and run them over the ice. The ice shavings refreeze onto the ice and the driveway is no longer slippery. I repeat as necessary. I do have the advantage of a flat driveway.

 

[dj1701]

I buy from a dealer less than a mile away. He delivers free since I'm so close. He offloads it into my 12K dump trailer / coal bin.

Some years, especially those like this one, I would burn more than the 5 ton I got delivered. When I ran out, I would take the tractor over to the dealer and buy a FEL bucket full. Sometimes had to do it twice.

Ahhh, the things I'm going to miss by switching back to oil heat.

I have found the bulk is a better option because it gets a chance to dry out and will flow more consistently and give a better fire. Many times, that bagged stuff is too wet and won't fully drop in front of the pusher block. I'm running a Harmon DVC-500 and know it like the back of me hand. LOL

Dave

 

[bdhsfz6]

I have found the bulk is a better option because it gets a chance to dry out and will flow more consistently and give a better fire. Many times, that bagged stuff is too wet and won't fully drop in front of the pusher block. I'm running a Harmon DVC-500 and know it like the back of me hand. LOL

Dave

I don't buy bagged coal, I take the dry stuff off the top of the pile with the FEL bucket at the dealer. It's still a bit damp but not wet like a bulk delivery. I dump it in the trailer and it can dry a few days before I burn it.

I have a Harman Magnum Stoker which handles wet coal very well. Never was a problem.

 

[LouNY]

I use my coal ashs also for driveway grit, I don't generate enough to do all the driveway most years so I have a salted sand pile. This is also my last year of burning coal

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 ?

Most 3 point spreaders will have issues with sand. If you use dry sand such as the play sand from box stores and don't fill the hopper it will work.
If you are using salted sand which has picked up moisture it will cake and bridge in the hopper.
I have an actual sander that I use and a large sand pile. I hadn't had to sand much the last few years and I neglected to prep my sand pile and sander this fall so the rain has leached the salt out of the outer layer of sand and it has froze a foot or further into the pile. So this winter I've been scrapping at the face of it with the loader bucket and salting the face, actually used an 80# bag of calcium flake to try and pull some of the frost out and put a new tarp on it just the other day.

Most years; piled up and tarped ready to be used. Screwed up this year and didn't get it ready

Sander mounted on a trailer to use behind the tractor

 

[bdhsfz6]

I use my coal ashs also for driveway grit, I don't generate enough to do all the driveway most years so I have a salted sand pile. This is also my last year of burning coal


Most 3 point spreaders will have issues with sand. If you use dry sand such as the play sand from box stores and don't fill the hopper it will work.
If you are using salted sand which has picked up moisture it will cake and bridge in the hopper.
I have an actual sander that I use and a large sand pile. I hadn't had to sand much the last few years and I neglected to prep my sand pile and sander this fall so the rain has leached the salt out of the outer layer of sand and it has froze a foot or further into the pile. So this winter I've been scrapping at the face of it with the loader bucket and salting the face, actually used an 80# bag of calcium flake to try and pull some of the frost out and put a new tarp on it just the other day.

Most years; piled up and tarped ready to be used. Screwed up this year and didn't get it ready
View attachment 2796550View attachment 2796551

Sander mounted on a trailer to use behind the tractor
View attachment 2796552

Yeah, even though this is the heart of Anthracite country, many around here are giving up burning coal. The price has crept up to the point where there isn't enough savings to justify the effort required.

Clogging is definitely a problem with those cone ag spreaders. I had to cut larger openings in the hopper and put in more aggressive agitator paddles to break up ash clumps.

I talked to the dealer yesterday about this FEL spreader from Blue Diamond:

HD Material Spreader Attachment | Blue Diamond

A multi-use tool from Blue Diamond Attachments, this HD Material Spreader can be utilized on Skid Steer Loaders to spread material in an even pattern up to 30'.

www.skidsteersolutions.com

The manufacturer says it will spread anything that will pass through the screen. I'd like something that would also work on a 3pt hitch though. That way, I wouldn't have to remove the plow to put the spreader on.