# Sidewalks liquid brine application



## Goodnyou (Mar 20, 2015)

Has anyone tried something like a snow ex sl 80 walk behind brine spreader on sidewalks? We go through an average of 2 pallets of material per event with broadcast spreaders but I'm having trouble teaching my guys proper application rates . I think with brine it may be more forgiving if the guy goes heavy on the spray. Is it even worth the hassle? What do you need to get started ? A big mixing tank, some hot water and a pump? Can brine be made ahead of time and can it be stored outside ? How much brine would be needed to replace 2500 lb of salt or peladow? Any advice is appreciated .


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## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

Goodnyou said:


> Has anyone tried something like a snow ex sl 80 walk behind brine spreader on sidewalks? We go through an average of 2 pallets of material per event with broadcast spreaders but I'm having trouble teaching my guys proper application rates . I think with brine it may be more forgiving if the guy goes heavy on the spray. Is it even worth the hassle? What do you need to get started ? A big mixing tank, some hot water and a pump? Can brine be made ahead of time and can it be stored outside ? How much brine would be needed to replace 2500 lb of salt or peladow? Any advice is appreciated .


Plenty of threads on brine making


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## tpendagast (Oct 27, 2012)

Goodnyou said:


> Has anyone tried something like a snow ex sl 80 walk behind brine spreader on sidewalks? We go through an average of 2 pallets of material per event with broadcast spreaders but I'm having trouble teaching my guys proper application rates . I think with brine it may be more forgiving if the guy goes heavy on the spray. Is it even worth the hassle? What do you need to get started ? A big mixing tank, some hot water and a pump? Can brine be made ahead of time and can it be stored outside ? How much brine would be needed to replace 2500 lb of salt or peladow? Any advice is appreciated .


Well you don't want hot water

Brine sprayer doesn't work well on packed snow on walks like granular 
So if it snows during the day and they walk on it before you get to it, you're better off granular to loosen to up, clean it off and then spray it.

Like the other poster said 
You can either search threads or YouTube brine making 
Yea you can store it outside depending on temp 
Properly made brine won't freeze until -6
You can spike it with calcium if you know a cold spell is coming.

Brine doesn't work very well much below 20 degrees so stack mixing it with calcium is a pretty common thing.

If you're new to this and not using much brine yet, someone around you is probably selling it.
It's common to be able to buy 275 gallon totes of it.

Personnally I wouldn't buy a snowex walk way sprayer
They're hilariously expensive 
I'd just use a 5 gallon back pack sprayer

We have tanks in our sydewalks service trucks and on demand electric pumps with hoses

It doesn't fully replace granular 
You'll still end up using it


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Just know the limitations of liquids...


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## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

what type of spreader are you using? needs to confine the spread pattern and control the flow rate


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Mark Oomkes said:


> Just know the limitations of liquids...


Of which there can be many depending on the type of snow you usually get.


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## framer1901 (Dec 18, 2005)

5 gallon back pack sprayers are gonna put a real dent in your labor force if your applying a pallet of granular right now - someone with a Popeye size right arm will be looking to kill you!

I'd experiment with it in a confined area and understand application rates, what works and what doesn't first. We've messed with it some this year and I'm not convinced we learned enough.......


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## tpendagast (Oct 27, 2012)

framer1901 said:


> 5 gallon back pack sprayers are gonna put a real dent in your labor force if your applying a pallet of granular right now - someone with a Popeye size right arm will be looking to kill you!
> 
> I'd experiment with it in a confined area and understand application rates, what works and what doesn't first. We've messed with it some this year and I'm not convinced we learned enough.......


dont use a manual pump? Use a batter powered one.

the snow ex sidewalk sprayer only holds 12 gallons, cant go up stairs is far less mobile and costs 2-3 times as much.

How exactly are you deploying that unit? Lifting it in and out of the back of a pick up?


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

Chapin 20V uses black and decker/dewalt battery and they are @$100 (I think with 1 battery). 
Cheap and easy


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## tpendagast (Oct 27, 2012)

m_ice said:


> Chapin 20V uses black and decker/dewalt battery and they are @$100 (I think with 1 battery).
> Cheap and easy


what is it? I dont know what a chapin is? is that a back pack or a carriage type?


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

Sorry, Chapin 20 volt backpack sprayer
For the price they are decent quality


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

This is my first year experimenting with liquids. I started using it on sidewalks with mixed results. Mine is sprayed from a tank and hose. I tried the backpack thing boy thats an adventure not worth the time or risk taking a nice fall with 50lbs on your back. What I have learned this year is liquids are total weather dependent, in my location I see lots of wet snow which means it takes a lot longer to see liquid work VS calcium. Application rates are far higher almost double than dry snow long and short bagged in that case is cheaper and way faster to wet clean walks. dry snow and colder it works great shovel the walks quick spray bare in 5 to 8 minutes. I also found my high traffic walks if pre treated them than shovel them sometimes the residue just burns them clean other time just a very light liquid application melts it off as you spray. The true shining star has been stairs I spray them heavy and it all melts completely with no mess or left over calcium. the other thing is how fast the walks dry off using liquids vs bagged products. I been very frustrated this year at times I did the same application of the same product one time it worked great next time not so much.

Just some food for thought if you struggle to educate the guys using simple bagged products in a fill and push spreader repeat the learning curve of liquids will be very frustrating.


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## tpendagast (Oct 27, 2012)

fireside said:


> This is my first year experimenting with liquids. I started using it on sidewalks with mixed results. Mine is sprayed from a tank and hose. I tried the backpack thing boy thats an adventure not worth the time or risk taking a nice fall with 50lbs on your back. What I have learned this year is liquids are total weather dependent, in my location I see lots of wet snow which means it takes a lot longer to see liquid work VS calcium. Application rates are far higher almost double than dry snow long and short bagged in that case is cheaper and way faster to wet clean walks. dry snow and colder it works great shovel the walks quick spray bare in 5 to 8 minutes. I also found my high traffic walks if pre treated them than shovel them sometimes the residue just burns them clean other time just a very light liquid application melts it off as you spray. The true shining star has been stairs I spray them heavy and it all melts completely with no mess or left over calcium. the other thing is how fast the walks dry off using liquids vs bagged products. I been very frustrated this year at times I did the same application of the same product one time it worked great next time not so much.
> 
> Just some food for thought if you struggle to educate the guys using simple bagged products in a fill and push spreader repeat the learning curve of liquids will be very frustrating.


That's good insight 
I echo that frustration of doing the same thing with the same product and getting different results 
Frustrating

We aren't making our own brine or calcium 
We found one of the issues was inconsistent mixture from the supplier after we ended up buying Beekers and hydrometers and testing it ourselves


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

I don’t make my brine but the product does work great with proven results. Two storm out of the same tote. I’m using Rizzo’s pools mix. It’s the weather that keeps changing here affecting the end results. There is just such a big variables using liquids. I have found if I’m pushed for time with openings I just use bagged for the know results. Two storms ago I ventured out into prevtreating the lots and the walks. The weather was perfect I pulled into the lots walks and areas sprayed were wet after 1” of snow.


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

We spot treat or pre-treat and keep multiple backpack units on multiple trucks which is why we go the backpack route. 
Usually it's the problematic areas that we will pre-treat. 
As for walking on slick surfaces...I always tell my guys there are no rules about walking in the grass if it's safer and all sidewalk guys are required to wear spikes (kind you slip over the boot).


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## BIG (Aug 23, 2014)

I went through 2 of the Chapin battery sprayers this season. Not happy with them at all. Will be upgrading to a backpack that is geared to commercial use. 

As far as liquid on sidewalks it's a great tool but doesn't eliminate granular products. As a pretreat I find it superior to granular on my walks.


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

BIG said:


> I went through 2 of the Chapin battery sprayers this season. Not happy with them at all. Will be upgrading to a backpack that is geared to commercial use.
> 
> As far as liquid on sidewalks it's a great tool but doesn't eliminate granular products. As a pretreat I find it superior to granular on my walks.


What problems were occurring with sprayers? O-rings?

I ask because other than rings we've never had issues with them and just chalked that up to upkeep maintenance. We've had a few break from misuse but they go to parts shelf or dumpster since e they are fairly cheap.


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## BIG (Aug 23, 2014)

m_ice said:


> What problems were occurring with sprayers? O-rings?
> 
> I ask because other than rings we've never had issues with them and just chalked that up to upkeep maintenance. We've had a few break from misuse but they go to parts shelf or dumpster since e they are fairly cheap.


Both units the pump stopped working. First one also leaked and fried a battery. It leaked from the bottom pump area right onto the battery. For homeowner use they seem ok but to use them day in and out they just didn't last. When they did work they did work as advertised but for a commercial operation there is better options for battery sprayers.


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

BIG said:


> Both units the pump stopped working. First one also leaked and fried a battery. It leaked from the bottom pump area right onto the battery. For homeowner use they seem ok but to use them day in and out they just didn't last. When they did work they did work as advertised but for a commercial operation there is better options for battery sprayers.


I'm curious what better options there are and sorry about your bad luck with them. I do understand you get what you pay for but they work for our purpose. Ive only seen the Solo at @$400 a pop. I have 10 in use now and don't want to spend $3000-$4000 for replacements that get used on average less than an hour per storm. 
Disclaimer: lawn crews use them for spot spraying and have a tendency to run over, drop, or whatever else you can think of and don't want $400 backpack sprayers getting destroyed.


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## BIG (Aug 23, 2014)

The my4sons is close to the Chapin price point. 
www.my4sons.biz

I plan on purchasing the jacto pjb-16 but it is price at over $300.
https://www.jacto.com/index.php/products/sprayers/battery-backpack/pjb16

There is a birchmeier battery sprayer but at it's price point I think your better buying a gas powered unit. 
www.birchmeier.us/en/content/products/rec-15-abz/index.php

I am a solo operation so I don't have to worry about employees ruff handling or destroying equipment. In your situation the cheaper option seems to be better for you. I also use my sprayer alot more then one hour per event so my need for a quality sprayer is there.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Interesting...I have a half dozen of the Chapins and no problems. 

BTW...I don't hate myself or my employees enough to make them use backpack sprayer for liquids in the winter.


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## BIG (Aug 23, 2014)

Mark Oomkes said:


> Interesting...I have a half dozen of the Chapins and no problems.
> 
> BTW...I don't hate myself or my employees enough to make them use backpack sprayer for liquids in the winter.


It could just be the two I got where duds. It does happen.

I don't see how using a backpack for liquid is troublesome. Care to explain?


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

Mark Oomkes said:


> Interesting...I have a half dozen of the Chapins and no problems.
> 
> BTW...I don't hate myself or my employees enough to make them use backpack sprayer for liquids in the winter.


In an ideal world I wouldn't either however I will take a backpack sprayer here and there over dragging 100's of feet of hose which is the other option as the sidewalks we use them on havestairs or other factors limiting easy access.


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