Salt for melting snow

[Steve B]

I have a situation at our cabin. The last of the approach to the cabin is about 1/4 mile. It goes up and down hills. One is a little steep. It is also shaded. It is crowned with a pack of snow from 12 to 18 " thick. It looks like it could take a few more weeks to melt in the shade.

I wanted to take some coarse salt and sprinkle on it, and help it go away so that we can get all the way to the cabin. Right now, there is a chance of a vehicle high centering on it. Will the salt particles melt through that much snow, and clear that?

I have never lived in an area where we used salt on snow, so am unfamiliar with this. Help appreciated. We also have one of the weed burners that sounds like a F15 that we could take up there and just melt it, but was thinking about the snow idea. I think both would cost about the same, and be the same effort.

Steve

[harry]

We use it here in the UK all the time. It is only effective on thin snow/ice and depends on wheeled traffic to pulverise and melt the snow. If you apply it on thick ice you will likely get large "potholes" formed.

You should keep the road ploughed on a regular basis and not let it get packed down and regularly apply salt.

It will not melt the ice at temperatures below 15degF. Trying to melt the snow with heat will never work due to the latent heat needed to melt ice.

Oh and BTW salt only works on sealed surface,s eg tarmac or concrete. On unsealed tracks, the salty water just drains away though the aggregate and is lost.

[Doug Miller]

"Steve B" wrote in news:kjcaua$4vu$ [e-mail]:

Nope. Not unless you use a truckload of salt.

The proper tool for snow removal is a shovel for small amounts, a plow for large amounts. If the snow is more than a few inches deep, salt is ineffective.

[trader4]

r large amounts. If

He could sprinkle some amount out in one small area and see what happens....

[Jim Elbrecht]

large amounts. If

And a 40pound bag will make a pretty decent hole in about 10 square feet of packed snow a foot deep.

It sounds like a job for a bucket-loader at this point.

Jim

[krw]

large amounts. If

About 1' x 2' if it's dropped on its side. ;-)

Really, "solar salt" does a really crappy job of melting snow. Tried it.

[Frank]

Salt does not melt through snow. It dissolves and lowers the freezing point of water which is the melting. Eventually it becomes too dilute to have much effect. Point is you may need a lot of salt to get the job done.

[krw]

I've known for some time. If I ever wonder, I go into the garage and take a quick look at my snow shovel. ;-)

I've seen it here in the Sowth but I can't remember where or why. It does get icy every few years but everyone just sleeps in.

[generic]

Dump on several cases of salt. Then buy a case of type AA or type D batteries and dump them there too. You'll then have a CASE OF SALT AND BATTERY!

[krw]

Nah, it makes a great long-handled dust pan. After I use it I go inside and call the kid and razz him about having to shovel snow.

No, this was the ice-melt variety. Again, I can't remember where I saw it but I did get a chuckle.

[a2rjh]

how about one of these?

[nestork]

Steve:

Is this a foot path that you're wanting to clear the snow off of or a road?

Initially, I thought you were talking about a foot path, but then you expressed concern that a vehicle could high center on it.

Forget the weed burner idea; you'll just turn that road or path into a skating rink cuz the water won't get warm enough to drain completely away. You'll make water that's just a little warmer than freezing that drains away a little and then refreeze again. You'll end up with 3 or 4 inches of solid ice on your path/road instead of 12 to 18 inches of hard packed snow. Then you'll have a harder time getting up that hill than you do now.

[generic]

I think the OP should just hire someone with a snowplow and be dont with it. I live on a farm, I use salt on spots that are in places where I might fall, like the sidewalk to the house, in front of the hayshed, etc. But doing a large area is gonna require a lot of salt, and that salt can and will damage the grass in the summer. It just seems like a big waste of money and time, considering the snow will all melt in a week or two anyhow, but a snowplow would do the job if it must be done now, and likely with less hassle and about the same price if the right guy is found. In other words, a guy who is fairly priced. The few times I've had to hire someone, I get the job done for $75 to $100 (long driveway). Yet, some guy quoted me $500 for the same driveway. I made sure to tell others that he's a crook and to not hire him, while the guys who charge a fair price have gotten lots of referrals from me.

[Stormin Mormon]

That makes sense -- the melt will go from the high center, to the low wheel tracks, and refreeze. With the road being on a hill, the water may run down a few feet before refreezing.

Forget the weed burner idea; you'll just turn that road or path into a skating rink cuz the water won't get warm enough to drain completely away. You'll make water that's just a little warmer than freezing that drains away a little and then refreeze again. You'll end up with 3 or 4 inches of solid ice on your path/road instead of 12 to 18 inches of hard packed snow. Then you'll have a harder time getting up that hill than you do now.

[dennisgauge]

It will take a f*ck-ton of salt, and cost a fortune, for a one-time thing. A "sprinkle" of salt will melt a thin layer of ice, not 18" of packed snow.

Same with the heat. Your piddly little weed burner won't make a dent. It will take days and days, and several tanks of propane. By then nature will probably do most of the work.

Fastest and cheapest way to get rid of it is to break it up with picks and axes, and shovel it out of the way.

[bob haller]

This summer remove the shade, to make ice melting easier next year....... think tree trimming

for now if you must have access get a guy with a plow.... and perhaps salt.......

[krw]

It's a heavy pusher. Other than being heavy, it works great.

Oh, we don't. Whenever the NE gets hit, we give them a call and give them a GA weather report. ;-)

I don't forget. Smirk, yes. ;-)

I know that area fairly well. We lived a little East of Lake Placid (Burlington VT). Sucked, big time.

We'll never go back. When I was looking for work in '11 SWMBO laid down the law; "NO MORE SNOW". I did move North (75mi. up I-85) and that was enough for her.

[carson ridder]

I've seen it "work" but I've never really understood how salt, which raises the freezing point, "melts" ice.

It seems to me, that salt doesn't melt ice so much as it prevents ice from forming out of water puddles.

I guess, with the warmth of the sun, that's tantamount to the same thing though.

But how does it work when it's really cold outside (so cold that water never forms from the ice)?

[Dan Espen]

the freezing point, "melts" ice.

forming out of water puddles.

forms from the ice)?

All it takes is a little salt water to form, then you have the salt water liquid dissolving more salt and wetting more ice.

Even when ice is way below the freezing point, there's always a little water being formed and re-frozen. The same way water can evaporate without boiling.