# Spraying Your Salt with calcium



## PrestigeNursery (Dec 15, 2011)

So as many people have been trying to find ways to cut costs, one idea that was brought up was spraying down your regular salt with calcium and making your own treated bulk salt. Has anybody experimented with this? Does it work? How do you do it? Do you dye your liquid as well? Cost Effective? Ok I think I am done with the questions.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

PrestigeNursery;1387613 said:


> So as many people have been trying to find ways to cut costs, one idea that was brought up was spraying down your regular salt with calcium and making your own treated bulk salt. Has anybody experimented with this? Does it work? How do you do it? Do you dye your liquid as well? Cost Effective? Ok I think I am done with the questions.


I sprayed my salt a couple years back. I think I used like 8 gallons per ton. Made it sticky and did'nt like going thru the spreader. Did like how there was never a clump all winter. Perhaps a little less calcium chloride say 5 gallons per ton. I just used a small electric pump to spray my pile. Would roll the salt pile and spray, then repeat. I liked the results, seemed to use less salt but 8 gallons per ton was too much. Thought about the dye idea, I have wondered if concentrated food coloring would do the trick, but have never tried it.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Had to think for a second..... seeing clear on white with white light at night is as bad as seeing white on white with white light at night. :laughing:


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## Lynden-Jeff (May 21, 2006)

You could use marking dye for lawn spraying if you wanted to color.


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## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

Food coloring is expensive, I use blue or green pond color/dye, about $25 a gallon and it treats 100,000 gallons.


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## DAFFMOBILEWASH (Dec 9, 2006)

Any links on the pond dye??


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

google is pretty amazing.

http://www.lakerestoration.com/t-pond-dyes-aquashade.aspx

This one even has a video. Hmmm, how to add liquid to a liquid pond.


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## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

DAFFMOBILEWASH;1390856 said:


> Any links on the pond dye??


I just buy it from fleet farm...should be available at almost any larger farm store....only takes half an ounce to color 300 gallons!!


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

deicepro;1391003 said:


> I just buy it from fleet farm...should be available at almost any larger farm store....only takes half an ounce to color 300 gallons!!


Can I mix them to get custom colors.....say like hot pink....fluorescent lime green....?


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## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

Well....let me get back to you on that...but yes you can


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

Kubota 8540;1391085 said:


> Can I mix them to get custom colors.....say like hot pink....fluorescent lime green....?


You just can't leave things alone can ya? You just have to mix it to make your own. haha You mix your brines. I came across a post where you said you don't just run wood pellets in your stove. You mix it with corn. Now you want to create custom colors ? Thumbs Up


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## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

I personally like the red dye, no one else can find it....


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

DodgeBlizzard;1391206 said:


> You just can't leave things alone can ya? You just have to mix it to make your own. haha You mix your brines. I came across a post where you said you don't just run wood pellets in your stove. You mix it with corn. Now you want to create custom colors ? Thumbs Up


Just have to make it mine. :laughing:


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## Lynden-Jeff (May 21, 2006)

Any issues with the dye tracking in to customers business, staining clothes etc


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## Lugnut (Feb 25, 2006)

Kubota 8540;1391252 said:


> Just have to make it mine. :laughing:


Just gotta make sure no one's helping themselves to your piles!


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## peterng (Apr 13, 2006)

Kubota,

Are you talking about spraying it with a 100% liquid calcium? I have found 35% up here (in Quebec in 2200lb totes).

Where do you get that? I'd like to compare prices and see if it would be something that be worthwhile having shipped across the border.

My wife is from New Hampshire so I get down that way by times, perhaps I could arrange to bring a few totes back on my float this summer if it is worthwhile.

Thanks,
Pete



Kubota 8540;1387902 said:


> I sprayed my salt a couple years back. I think I used like 8 gallons per ton. Made it sticky and did'nt like going thru the spreader. Did like how there was never a clump all winter. Perhaps a little less calcium chloride say 5 gallons per ton. I just used a small electric pump to spray my pile. Would roll the salt pile and spray, then repeat. I liked the results, seemed to use less salt but 8 gallons per ton was too much. Thought about the dye idea, I have wondered if concentrated food coloring would do the trick, but have never tried it.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

peterng;1393606 said:


> Kubota,
> 
> Are you talking about spraying it with a 100% liquid calcium? I have found 35% up here (in Quebec in 2200lb totes).
> 
> ...


I sprayed my salt with 32% Liquidow calcium chloride, if I remember correctly the higher the % the better, it will cling or crystallize with the salt or sand. Look around on some of these liquid threads I know I've read some one north of the border has it. I purchase mine from Kevhead20 (Sicalco Ltd, Hinsdale, Illinois) on plowsite. I would think 35% would be better than what I used.


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## peterng (Apr 13, 2006)

I found a supplier close to here. It appears as though my best choice is to buy calcium flake and mix it myself. The sales rep said they have a long standing knowledgeable distributor who is well versed in application specifics. He said they have concentration directions wherein I could apply the flake to a 55gal barrel up to whatever and mix it with a compressor for 20 minutes, aerating it I thinking he was getting at.

So I'll do some searches and come up with application rates. They have a simple gravity pipe setup.










simple but it'll be the only way I have a chance of getting more of the deicing in my control sooner rather than later.
Pete


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

The combination of Rock salt and liquid Calcium chloride/ brine Creates a monster like no one has ever seen before! I have never been upset when we use both. Last year we got our @$$ kicked by this storm that lasted all day. By 7PM we had 1" -1.5" packed down frozen snow thoughout this complex . no blades whether it was a skid plow or truck plows could scrape this up. We had the manager on our back RAGGIINNNGGG! Finally we dropped Some rock and right behind it was our liquid truck! By the time we had made our first pass and came back around the pavement was WET/ BLACK! 

Therefore now we have a few trucks equipped with liquid AND Rock spreaders. We found treating our own salt was a mess and a PITA!


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

I'm assuming that lot wasn't pre treated? Do you think the liquid without the rock salt would have given the same result?
Starting liquids for the first time this year. I think I'm going to do a lot of side by side comparisons so I can see the different results and time lines.


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

DodgeBlizzard;1394212 said:


> I'm assuming that lot wasn't pre treated? Do you think the liquid without the rock salt would have given the same result?
> Starting liquids for the first time this year. I think I'm going to do a lot of side by side comparisons so I can see the different results and time lines.


No. In my case temps were dropping rapidly and we wanted something that would Burn it down to the pavement. Due to the cold rock wouldnt activate as fast as we wanted it to so once that liquid hit it, the rock activates right then an there. The lot hadnt been pre treated either (dont really believe in it) But i might of had a little residue left on it from a previous storm but that didnt amount to anything.

Liquid is very tricky. its not something you can just slap on and leave like rock. You have to know your battles. During this situation is was packed down, more than an 1" so if i would of sprayed it enough it would of worked probably but it wold take a while.(temps play a role in this also!) I feel that liquid works well on ice and dustings the best. It also prevents ice and snow from bonding to the pavement making it easier to plow down to the pavement. We use straight liquid 85% of the time!


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

When you say liquid....what are you using? Straight Calcium ?


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

DodgeBlizzard;1395265 said:


> When you say liquid....what are you using? Straight Calcium ?


Brine mixture
"Little bit of brine, Little Calcium" 
I call it liquid. When i say that im ALWAYS spreading our solution of brine/ Liquid CC
I never spray Straight LCC. Too expensive! haha
Our solution (what ever it is) does the same thing at a fraction of the price!


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Plow man Foster;1395329 said:


> Brine mixture
> "Little bit of brine, Little Calcium"
> I call it liquid. When i say that im ALWAYS spreading our solution of brine/ Liquid CC
> I never spray Straight LCC. Too expensive! haha
> Our solution (what ever it is) does the same thing at a fraction of the price!


I add a little bit of dis and a little bit of dat and I end up with 88/12.! :laughing:


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## purpleranger519 (Jan 1, 2006)

Dynamark Blue can also be added to your liquid when spraying piles. It can be found at any COOP, agricultural store, Tractor Supply, ect. Its cheap and 4-6 oz treat 250 gals. Hi-lite works as well and is sold in a wide range of colors such as florescent yellow and green.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

purpleranger519;1395487 said:


> Dynamark Blue can also be added to your liquid when spraying piles. It can be found at any COOP, agricultural store, Tractor Supply, ect. Its cheap and 4-6 oz treat 250 gals. Hi-lite works as well and is sold in a wide range of colors such as florescent yellow and green.


It seems there are a lot of people that have ideas to die the liquid and with what product. Do you use this in your liquid or salt?


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## GTMN (Aug 15, 2009)

Anybody try this of late?


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## bpersichetti (Jan 12, 2010)

Using straight liquid cacl or mgcl to treat salt can be effective especially when you treat it at the spinner. That's what a lot of DOT's do. When you treat it at the pile it can be difficult to get enough coverage without it running off the stockpile or back of the truck. 

The reason we treat our SnowSlicer product with a cacl and refined carbohydrate is because the carb. allow us to encapsulate all of the salt crystals with the solution. Without the carb., we could not get enough of the cacl to "stick" to the salt. The purple tracer/tint we use is water soluble and will not stain. It is also UV unstable, meaning that after spread, the sun light will cause the color to fade.


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## GTMN (Aug 15, 2009)

Bob, why do you guys choose cacl? Is it the more aggressive chloride?


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## iPlowNH (Mar 10, 2014)

peterng;1393606 said:


> Kubota,
> 
> Are you talking about spraying it with a 100% liquid calcium? I have found 35% up here (in Quebec in 2200lb totes).
> 
> ...


I hate to restart this but where can it be found in New Hampshire? I've googled and called around but haven't had any luck. Can you help me here?
Thanks
[email protected]


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Plow man Foster;1395329 said:


> Brine mixture
> "Little bit of brine, Little Calcium"
> I call it liquid. When i say that im ALWAYS spreading our solution of brine/ Liquid CC
> I never spray Straight LCC. Too expensive! haha
> Our solution (what ever it is) does the same thing at a fraction of the price!


This makes no sense:



> Full Definition of brine
> 
> 1
> a : water saturated or strongly impregnated with common salt
> ...


Brine needs to be defined better than saying it is just brine.


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