# By the inch



## badger (Sep 14, 2007)

just looking for some input on charging by the measured inch compared to by the inch of water content.


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

?huh
there is aprox 10" of snow to 1" of rain or 8" of heavy snow to 1" of rain is that what you mean


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

powerjoke;422391 said:


> ?huh
> there is aprox 10" of snow to 1" of rain or 8" of heavy snow to 1" of rain is that what you mean


Where do you get your numbers from, I have never heard of that. Sounds about right though.


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## badger (Sep 14, 2007)

what i mean is we might get a wet snow that stick measures 4 inch with a water content measuring 8 inches. you also could get 14 inches of powder snow with a water content of 1 or 2 inches


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

i think we're reading too much into it i would just charge on acumulative, i maybe wrong but i dont think your going to only get 4" of any type of snow out of 8" of rain? 

if it were the other way around it would mean a gal of snow weighed 16lb

JD i don't know where i heard that but i have always kinda thought it was a general to go by?


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

badger;422406 said:


> what i mean is we might get a wet snow that stick measures 4 inch with a water content measuring 8 inches. you also could get 14 inches of powder snow with a water content of 1 or 2 inches


That's too complicated, you charge by the measured inch. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

I like to use this


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

The only think I'd pay by the inch is a Sub.Dam Sabres!:realmad:


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

He means it is harder to push an inch of very heavy snow compaired to a inch of very light snow as they would have diffrent water content.

We do not charge by the inch or weight. 
We service/plow 3, 24hr restaurants all of them have a 2inch trigger. their will never be more than 2 inches in the lots.

Some are 1 inch trigers, one is no tollarence.


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

powerjoke;422422 said:


> i think we're reading too much into it i would just charge on acumulative, i maybe wrong but i dont think your going to only get 4" of any type of snow out of 8" of rain?
> 
> if it were the other way around it would mean a gal of snow weighed 16lb
> 
> JD i don't know where i heard that but i have always kinda thought it was a general to go by?


Good to know. Thanks


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

I heard 1" rain makes 4"-6" of snow.

I understand what you mean by less height, but heavy snow and more height with light snow. Maybe there needs to be a universal measureing device. (not a tape measure) Like a jar. Fill it with snow, let it melt, and then charge by the liquid that is in there. Just kidding. 

You win with the deep light and you "break even" with the shallow heavy.


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## badger (Sep 14, 2007)

no joke that is pretty much how its done . the local water district measures it. they do a stick measure and a moisture content. i use the standard stick measure. others in my area prefer the moisture or water content. we are in an area by the coast where some storms draw warmer air into the storm causing the snow to become heavy. we call it mashed potato snow. i know that 4-5 inches of wet heavy snow can push mean but 12 plus inches of powder can be a pain in the---- to chase around. as i said i use the stick measure method. it all evens out in the end. thanks guys


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

badger;422878 said:


> no joke that is pretty much how its done . the local water district measures it. they do a stick measure and a moisture content. i use the standard stick measure. others in my area prefer the moisture or water content. we are in an area by the coast where some storms draw warmer air into the storm causing the snow to become heavy. we call it mashed potato snow. i know that 4-5 inches of wet heavy snow can push mean but 12 plus inches of powder can be a pain in the---- to chase around. as i said i use the stick measure method. it all evens out in the end. thanks guys


okay. i dont get it. 
im from maine too. i just dont understand the by inch theory. no one really seems to know exactly how much we get here when we get snow. we have a drift over there of 19 inches and over here only four inches. some of these storms we get its just hard to tell. i could have ten inches in my driveway give or take a couple but at my friends place two miles from here he could have twelve or more. please explain because im at a loss. even on the weather reports and when i look up results online after a storm they dont match up with what i can drive around and measure. all i can comes close to guaranteeing is if its a two inch trigger i can pretty much say we have more than two inches if im walking around through eight.
and that doesnt even factor in sleet or freezing rain. ten inches can turn into six after its pelted with sleet and freezing rain for a hour.


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

bri i understand about the drifts i wonder if anyone else in main(OR ANYWHERE) has ever heard of this


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

powerjoke;422965 said:


> bri i understand about the drifts i wonder if anyone else in main(OR ANYWHERE) has ever heard of this


i wasnt joking power joke i really dont understand. i dont get it.
charging by the inch i could see as long as you are using a broad range like maybe the intial trigger (and even that can be argued). but i think some people are trying to do it like its a science. when whatever your measurment is may be different a couple feet over or may be different than it was a hour before or a half hour after. i just dont see any accuracy in it at all. ive tried it. it doesnt work. i can come up with more than ten measurements all in one little driveway. and ten more for the same driveway a hour before that one or a hour after depending on wind and sleet or rain. i just dont get it. the weather reports dont even know how much fell. no one really seems too. look at the reports then walk outside and start measuring. you will have different numbers. and it changes from area to area. the parking lot across the street could have two more inches. t-man touched on this once in a previous post and i remember him stating something about using a source as a tool for establishing per inch. even that could not be right though. you could shove the tape measure in the ground at your feet and come up with a different number. im a bit confused.


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

bribrius;423003 said:


> i wasnt joking power joke i really dont understand. i dont get it.
> charging by the inch i could see as long as you are using a broad range like maybe the intial trigger (and even that can be argued). but i think some people are trying to do it like its a science. when whatever your measurment is may be different a couple feet over or may be different than it was a hour before or a half hour after. i just dont see any accuracy in it at all. ive tried it. it doesnt work. i can come up with more than ten measurements all in one little driveway. and ten more for the same driveway a hour before that one or a hour after depending on wind and sleet or rain. i just dont get it. the weather reports dont even know how much fell. no one really seems too. look at the reports then walk outside and start measuring. you will have different numbers. and it changes from area to area. the parking lot across the street could have two more inches. t-man touched on this once in a previous post and i remember him stating something about using a source as a tool for establishing per inch. even that could not be right though. you could shove the tape measure in the ground at your feet and come up with a different number. im a bit confused.


no don't get me wrong i don't understand either i think it's B/S (the whole thread) but i don't live in maine. maybe....there is NO drifts andNO obstructions to deflect the snow's path and maybe just maybe its the only place on EARTH that snow is heavier than water...... i wonder why it is white surely it's not traped air?


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

bribrius,
How do you know when it's time to plow?
When your trigger depth has been reached, right.

Kind of like plowing by the inch and you still need to mesure it for the per-push methoud.
Sooooo,
Now ,by your last posts it sounds like you are going to have a hard time determinging this.
How do you do it?
---------------------------------
-powerjoke,
"i wonder why it is white surely it's not traped air?"

lol http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon971003/skinnyon.html


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## badger (Sep 14, 2007)

i get my measurements on the national weather sevice site for this area and the water district. snowfall is measured by the hour. if it turns to rain you still have a pretty close figure. i think snowfarmer knows what i mean. it might be to complicated for some others.


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

SnoFarmer;423091 said:


> bribrius,
> How do you know when it's time to plow?
> When your trigger depth has been reached, right.
> 
> ...


because i see zero tolerance and i see 3-5 inches. im not specific. i walk through it and figure its time to plow. if its up to my knees i figure im running behind schedule. lol


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

This has nothing to do with commercial lots. That can be billed at a different price for different depths for the fact that you have to push the rows from one side to the other. By the time you get done, you could be pushing a lot of snow.

For residentials. I look at a driveway and I look at my truck and I don't really care how much snow falls, my truck can handle it. Be it 2" or 12" Any thing over that and I should have been there sooner. So every drive gets a flat rate based on time to plow X hourly rate.

With my City sidewalks they have a 2" trigger. I get to the first spot that has a tendency to blow the snow off of the sidewalk. (Highway over pass) If I walk it and my boots are kicking snow, I drop the blade and go. If it is a question about maybe not being enough. I drive to another location and look. Judgement call.


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