# Rate / lane mile vs. rate / acre parking lot ?



## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Can the rate / lane mile be used as a reference for rate / acre parking lot or does the traffic flow affect the rate? I'm looking for opinions on pounds of rock salt and/or # of gallons.


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

1 ton per lan per mile


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

Kubota 8540;945634 said:


> Can the rate / lane mile be used as a reference for rate / acre parking lot or does the traffic flow affect the rate? I'm looking for opinions on pounds of rock salt and/or # of gallons.


IMO, No, it takes a fraction of the amount of salt to do a road compared to a parking lot.



ajslands;945652 said:


> 1 ton per lan per mile


Eh?


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## Runner (Jul 21, 2000)

ajslands;945652 said:


> 1 ton per lan per mile


@ 8 times the required rate for most conditions.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

anyone?


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

ajslands;945652 said:


> 1 ton per lan per mile


Are you a Bonehead..Or do you just throw out numbers to be funny....Oakland County puts down 400 pounds per lane mile...Thats an order from MDOT...Since the countys are just sub-contractors to MDOT......


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Matson Snow;945856 said:


> Are you a Bonehead..Or do you just throw out numbers to be funny....Oakland County puts down 400 pounds per lane mile...Thats an order from MDOT...Since the countys are just sub-contractors to MDOT......


I need more


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

Mark Oomkes;945863 said:


> I need more


No More....I promised myself im on my Best behavior today....


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

Anyway...I gotta go start Warming-up...Deep knee bends, sit-ups,squat thrusts..Looks like we might get some snow...Hopefully the Coach will put me in the Game....xysport


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

.......don't forget about the 12 oz curls.


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

TCLA;945881 said:


> .......don't forget about the 12 oz curls.


Come on now.....Im in training....


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

ajslands;945652 said:


> 1 ton per lan per mile


If you are just passing along what you have read, don't believe everything you read. If you are drawing from your experiences, don't. Or if you are just trying to increase your post count try here.....http://www.plowsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48



cretebaby;945674 said:


> IMO, No, it takes a fraction of the amount of salt to do a road compared to a parking lot.
> 
> Eh?


Thanks for your input. How come there is no clarification of the two?



Mark Oomkes;945863 said:


> I need more


Butter and salt, or just butter? I would still like to hear your opinion on this after you have finished. I highly doubt you are short on opinions.


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## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

Some towns in WI use only 150 lbs per lane per mile. most cities is chicago area use 300 lbs / lane / mile. that's what we use. for lots it is roughly 1 ton / acre. give or take depending on temperature and thickness of ice.


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

Mark O.. Your hero John Allin says Everyone Uses WAY to much salt..He says you can use as little as 600# per acre..Salt usage all depends on site conditions,Air temps,what the customer expects..What the customer is gonna pay for....


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

i meant 1 ton per lan per 5 miles, :laughing:


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## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

Roads take less mainly because they are always driving with the blade down and vehicles tires pick it up and carry it along to spread out more. 

As far as lots go. I used 2 tons on about 4 acres the other day to melt off a 1inch layer because I didn't want to plow it for under a inch in most places. Normally when I plow the lot then drop salt I will use between 45 and 50 bags to accomplish the same outcome. 

My controller only has numbered settings and the amount per lane mile would all depend on how fast I drive. I do know there are controllers that set for lane mile usage but I don't do any roads.


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

I use and have used for several years a benchmark of 1000 lbs per acre. More seems excessive and doesn't really get you there any(much) faster. And as far as JA, well.............I think he's made his own example of how NOT to do things, so take a it with a grain of salt.........LOL.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Matson Snow;946063 said:


> Mark O.. Your hero John Allin says Everyone Uses WAY to much salt..He says you can use as little as 600# per acre..Salt usage all depends on site conditions,Air temps,what the customer expects..What the customer is gonna pay for....


Yeah, I know.

He also said we need to stop bidding, whatever that means.

And he also said dedicated salt trucks are the ONLY way to go.

He also used to own a large snow and landscape company.

He also used to be president of a snow melter company.

He's also been relegated to writing some blog that I bet there are only a handful of people that read it, even less that understand it.

Seriously, under perfect conditions, he's correct. Just too bad we don't have perfect conditions every time we are out.



REAPER;946149 said:


> As far as lots go. I used 2 tons on about 4 acres the other day to melt off a 1inch layer because I didn't want to plow it for under a inch in most places.


Whoa there buddy, if you're from Central Indiana you could have stretched this 1 inch into 4 applications of salt plus a plowing. Course, you also need to have the initials of BS.


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

Mark, Well said..........

Too many "USED TOs" for me to take what that man says as the gospel. Though his advice is like anyone elses, you have to take what they say and apply it where you can, save what you may use sometime and discard the rest.

And what Mark said about ideal conditions was also put well, I can think of a handful of times where conditions were "ideal" and thats why I said benchmark, sometimes more sometimes less.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

Kubota 8540;946007 said:


> How come there is no clarification of the two?


Just a hunch. But in general roads are taken care of by a municipal agency and they like to waste money...er....I mean fund studies that analyze stuff like this and then publish the results.

Parking lots in general are done by private contractors and application rates are considered more of a "proprietary" information.


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

cretebaby;946474 said:


> Just a hunch. But in general roads are taken care of by a municipal agency and they like to waste money...er....I mean fund studies that analyze stuff like this and then publish the results.
> 
> Parking lots in general are done by private contractors and application rates are considered more of a "proprietary" information.


My Brother is a Driver for Oakland County Michigan...He drives a New Peterbuilt ...This Truck has all the Bells and whistles....Its like getting in the cab of a 747..It has all these sensors,Ground Temp, Air temp,Weather radar, Pre wetters..You name it this truck has it....


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

All that for salting roads.............and muni's and counties don't waste money.......HA.


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## cseutah (Nov 24, 2009)

If you can run spreader only trucks it is a huge benefit, you can plow and salt in those daytime storms that you need to be everywhere and you can run a spreader behind your trucks to keep the plows moving. It is not feasible for all companies that's why it seems there are so many tailgate spreaders on the market.. 
It's been along time since i read a bag of ice-melt for their application rate but i think its like 2 1/2 lbs per 10 sq ft, if you used that rate it would be hard to get your customers to swallow it that's why you spread heavy the first half of the lot, lighter toward the back and let the cars migrate the brine. nothing is ever a perfect world in snow or we would schedule our storms accordingly.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

What I was trying to get at with my question is how different the ratings are even though some of my lots would be considered high traffic? Take salt @ average of lane rate of 300 lbs/lane mile, that makes the claim that 300 lbs would be enough salt to satisfactorily melt 1.45 acres? Not even close to the rate of 800-1000 lbs I use on an acre. Or a lane rate of 40 gallons of a liquid, to melt 1.45 acres? Here again, not even close to the 80 - 100 gallons (salt brine mix) I would use on an acre. Are these lane mile rates simply applied multiple times during an event and actually equal what I apply once? How many times are they applied? I have incentive to use less salt. I get paid per push and per app. The cleaner my lots are plowed the less salt I need to use and yet I make the same money! There appears to be no multiplier I can use to compare or use these lane mile ratings to get a parking lot rate/acre. Is this why there seems to be so much confusion as to how much to apply?


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## cplmac (Nov 25, 2009)

I put down 350 pounds per lane mile driving for IDOT (Illinois), but I do several applications to the same road. Our systems are set up to lay down 100/mile 200/mile and 350/mile, all three of which are grossly insufficient for a single application. When I'm running the liquid chloride system with the salt it's fine and that system is generally set at 6 gallons per lane mile and it sprays directly onto the salt as it falls on the spinner. When I'm running my own truck doing lots I put down between 800-1000/acre. I only salt my own lots once, at the end of the storm and that is a sufficient amount of salt to take the lots down to bare pavement after plowing or with a 1" or less snowfall. Lots don't get the traffic that roads do, so they need a bit more salt.


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