Best ways to wash a pile of gravel?

I have a pile of leftover driveway gravel (about a pickup bed full) that I'm planning on recycling for french drain filler, but it's very dirty and full of sediment. I spent most of the afternoon trying to spray it clean with a garden hose, but I wasted a massive amount of water, and I didn't get very far.

I eventually began raking out about a third of a wheelbarrow load at a time and washing just that, which seemed to go faster than trying to tackle large amounts at once, but it's still going to take a while at this rate.

I think the best solution would be to build a washing frame out of 2x4s and some fine wire mesh to hold the gravel while allowing the sediment to be flushed out through the bottom, but I'm not really dealing with such a large pile that it warrants taking the time to make a trip to the store, buy a roll of mesh, and build the frame.

I've also read where some people used composter drums or concrete mixers to roll and wash their gravel, but neiter of those are at my disposal.

Anybody know of faster way of getting it done?

Reply to
ShadowTek
Loading thread data ...

planning on recycling

Rake it out on a solid surface, let it dry, and hit it with a leaf blower? The fines should take flight before the gravel chunks do. It'll take a little practice, like blowing leaves out of garden without blowing out the mulch.

But a screen box and a wheelbarrow is the traditional way to do it. Hardware cloth is what you are looking for- you may not even need a frame, just a wheelbarrow. Bend it over the top, and hold in place with bungee cords. Put a shovel on, shake, and then scrape the 'clean' gravel off the other side. Once barrow is full of fines, take it out back and dump it. If you can get the pile dry, you don't need to use water- it'll separate clean enough.

Or just give it away on CL or freecycle, and have a short load of washed gravel delivered. It ain't expensive. All depends on what your time is worth.

Reply to
aemeijers

You're plan to clean the gravel of stuck-on dirt. Then bury it.

Am I missing something?

Reply to
HeyBub

I'll be wrapping the gravel in fabric, so it'll hopefully stay clean/unclogged for a respectable length of time.

Reply to
ShadowTek

i would just buy new gravel.

the cost in work and time to clean the old gravel likely makes it a looser.

I tried that for my driveway many years ago.

Wasted endless hours:(

Reply to
hallerb

planning on recycling

spread it out on the driveway and buy a load of new clean gravel.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Apparently you have never made a French drain?

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Go ahead and build a screen. I made one, and it has come in handy on lots of occasions. If you're going to spend the time to dig a French drain, do it RIGHT the first time, and use clean gravel. If you're concerned about getting the dirt out of it, it must be pretty dirty. Don't settle for 50% runoff or a clogged French drain.

Steve

Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Learn how to care for a friend.

formatting link

Reply to
Steve B

Your are correct. I hate all things French.

In fact, right after the first Gulf War, I found myself in line at the market when a gong went off.

"Congratulations!" said the clerkette, "you've just won a free loaf of Randall's famous French Bread!"

"I don't like the French," I said. May I have a loaf of San Francisco Sourdough bread instead?"

"Er, no. I don't have any sourdough bread."

"Mexican cornbread, Greek Pita Loaf?"

"I've got this French bread right here," the clerkette said.

Fearing this episode would turn into a poor imitation of the Monty Python Cheese Shop skit, I asked of the six or so people behind me: "Anyone want a free loaf of perfidious French bread?" One chap meekly raised his hand.

"Give it to that guy" I instructed the clerk.

She set the bread aside, took a breath, and got back on message. "Would you prefer paper or plastic?" she asked.

"I don't care," I said. "I'm bisacksual."

She lost it.

Reply to
HeyBub

Mr. French was a New Englander. [which may be just as distasteful to you, but I just had to say it.]

-snip-

That may be the worst pun I have ever heard. [which makes it the best pun I have ever heard]

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Now that's the best groaner I've heard for years...

Joe

Reply to
Joe

Right.

Robert Timothy French was from New York. The company he founded makes MUSTARD. Be that as it my, he should have changed his name to "Huguenot."

Reply to
HeyBub

Mustard guys were from NY-- drain guy was from Massachusetts.

In 2003 they put out a news release telling folks they were not French by nationality.

formatting link
Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

get a shopping cart, flip up the hinged back panel, and toss the gravel in by the shovelful. if you need to retain a finer size stone, add the appropriate sized wire mesh. when this gets tedious, pretend you're a fireman on a locomotive.

Reply to
bo bob

Hi, I don't know when I had to clean couple wheel barrowful, I filled them in a drum with water rolled it around a few minutes tumbling. They came out shiny clean.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Don't WASH it, sieve it. Make a 2 x 4 frame about 2 feet by 6 feet, tack some wire mesh on it sized to the size of stone you want to keep. Set it up at a 45 degree angle and shovel the gravel against it at the top. By the time the gravel has rolled down the wire mesh, it will have lost enough of the fines to make it clean enough to use in your French drain. Be sure to clean up the fines that drop through the screen to keep them from plugging the mesh at the bottom of the slope. This method can go real fast if two or more are working. One to throw the gravel at the top of the mesh, one to remove the fines, and one to claim the screened gravel that you want.

Reply to
EXT

That works fine for readying stone for the french drain. When you need to wash it is when you are using it as aggregate in concrete and the fines are organic - soil instead of pure sand.

We washed about half a yard in Burkina to make concrete for the base of the water system - using the screaning method with a hose, 5 gallon pail at a time. Kept the kids occupied (young teens at the time)

Reply to
clare

replying to ShadowTek, Bill in Palmyra wrote: I used a cement mixer. Throw about 2 buckets of gravel in there, turn it on, spray water in, shut off and pour off the dirty water, repeat about 3 times. Did about a ton of gravel in an hour and a half.

Reply to
Bill in Palmyra

replying to ShadowTek, Lisa wrote: I need to wash pebble rock, any ideas?

Reply to
Lisa

On 26 Apr 2016, Uncle Monster wrote in alt.home.repair:

Q-Tips are also helpful for getting dirt out of the cracks, and Lemon Pledge is good for making each pebble shine, plus they will smell wonderful!

Reply to
Nil

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.