# Check out these $1200 walk behind spreaders



## Camden (Mar 10, 2007)

This guy can't be serious...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hydromann-Mini60-walk-behind-salt-and-sand-spreader_W0QQitemZ280174080462QQihZ018QQcategoryZ75667QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


----------



## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

$1200 

and you can go 3 miles with salt??????


----------



## lodogg89 (Jul 8, 2006)

they're canadian, what do they know


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

I think they are the same as Epoke and I paid $1150 for mine. They are by far the best spreader ever made for bulk salt, laugh if you want but one of these spreaders will last you the rest of your life.


----------



## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

WOW! 

it must be nice but if thats a little out of your budget look at mine FREE SHIPPING


i have a real nice scott's i'll sell for less than half that, it use to hold 50lb but the side split and NOW it holds 75lb it has a plastic hopper(wont rust) plastic wheels(wont rust) plastic gears(wont rust) bent cheap steel axle (can't bend it, it already is) cotter pin for an agitator (works sometimes) but it is a steal at $799 LOL


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

powerjoke;431423 said:


> WOW!
> 
> it must be nice but if thats a little out of your budget look at mine FREE SHIPPING
> 
> i have a real nice scott's i'll sell for less than half that, it use to hold 50lb but the side split and NOW it holds 75lb it has a plastic hopper(wont rust) plastic wheels(wont rust) plastic gears(wont rust) bent cheap steel axle (can't bend it, it already is) cotter pin for an agitator (works sometimes) but it is a steal at $799 LOL


Do you have pics? LOL


----------



## Krimick77 (Jan 3, 2005)

JD Dave

Have you used bulk sand/salt mix in that spreader. I've been dying to try it out for my walks but haven't found a spreader yet that will handle sand/salt mix. The epoke/hydromann/Bauman websites all say there drop spreaders can handle sand/salt mix but I've had by doubts Have you tried it?


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

Krimick77;431447 said:


> JD Dave
> 
> Have you used bulk sand/salt mix in that spreader. I've been dying to try it out for my walks but haven't found a spreader yet that will handle sand/salt mix. The epoke/hydromann/Bauman websites all say there drop spreaders can handle sand/salt mix but I've had by doubts Have you tried it?


Yes I have but very little. They will spread anything wet without lumps. Bulk salt/sand mix is exactly what their made for. The only thing not good is they are only 24" wide. If you can afford it buy it.


----------



## Krimick77 (Jan 3, 2005)

Thanks for the feedback JD Dave. I've been looking at those spreaders for years and I've been affraid to pull the trigger because it seems nothing really works with bulk mix. I do close to 5 km of sidewalk between 24" and 45" wide and have always done them with buckets and scoops......which as I am sure you are well aware, really sucks!

Thanks again


----------



## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

what do you guys do when you come to steps? what if you need to go up a flight of steps like a parking garage? we never use spreaders ...just 5 gallon buckets and throw (fling) it out by hand...goes fast !!


----------



## dmontgomery (Oct 3, 2003)

I used one of these with the deflector kit.....as far as bulk I have yet to try that....


----------



## Camden (Mar 10, 2007)

xtreem3d;431720 said:


> what do you guys do when you come to steps? what if you need to go up a flight of steps like a parking garage? we never use spreaders ...just 5 gallon buckets and throw (fling) it out by hand...goes fast !!


I fill up a scoop shovel with salt and I just wiggle it back and forth as I go down the steps. Works like a charm.


----------



## cjasonbr (Nov 18, 2005)

It's worth it if it will cover 32,736 sq feet with two cubic feet of salt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have my doubts though.......


----------



## yard5864 (Nov 8, 2007)

For that price, i would want it to spread itself, so i didn't have to get outta the truck!


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cjasonbr;431821 said:


> It's worth it if it will cover 32,736 sq feet with two cubic feet of salt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I have my doubts though.......


It has a really fine output adjustment. You'll never use the lowest setting. Alot of the bigger contractors around here fill their pickup with bulk salt and they can use this spreader all night, no matter how wet the salt is. The diff in price between bulk and bags easily pays for the spreader in less then a year when your putting 2 ton a storm through it.


----------



## cjasonbr (Nov 18, 2005)

JD Dave;431916 said:


> It has a really fine output adjustment. You'll never use the lowest setting. Alot of the bigger contractors around here fill their pickup with bulk salt and they can use this spreader all night, no matter how wet the salt is. The diff in price between bulk and bags easily pays for the spreader in less then a year when your putting 2 ton a storm through it.


Salt weighs about 50# per cubic foot. 100# of salt to cover 32,736 sq feet????????

c'mon!

Edit: So if you're putting 2 ton a storm through the spreader then you must cover about 65,472,000 sq feet!! That's about 2.35 sq miles a storm!! I'm glad i;m not the guy pushing it!!


----------



## cjasonbr (Nov 18, 2005)

In other words your guy would be pushing that thing for 124 miles.  ....... a storm.


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cjasonbr;431942 said:


> Salt weighs about 50# per cubic foot. 100# of salt to cover 32,736 sq feet????????
> 
> c'mon!
> 
> Edit: So if you're putting 2 ton a storm through the spreader then you must cover about 65,472,000 sq feet!! That's about 2.35 sq miles a storm!! I'm glad i;m not the guy pushing it!!


Like I said, you would never use the lowest setting. The guys that go through 2 tons of salt/storm are a total sidewalk crew with 3 or 4 guys. The spreader is expensive and will last forever if looked after. I'm not new to the snow industry and unless you've tried one you really can't comment. Spending $1200 on something that serves a purpose is not a waste of money IMO.


----------



## cjasonbr (Nov 18, 2005)

There's no reason to get defensive about spending $1200 on a walk behind spreader. 

The only thing i scoffed at was their claim of 3+ miles on 100# of salt.

I could spread 100# of salt 10 miles of i spread it thin enough. But that would be stupid to say............... right?????


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cjasonbr;431963 said:


> There's no reason to get defensive about spending $1200 on a walk behind spreader.
> 
> The only thing i scoffed at was their claim of 3+ miles on 100# of salt.
> 
> I could spread 100# of salt 10 miles of i spread it thin enough. But that would be stupid to say............... right?????


Yep it would be stupid to say. Advertising generally stretches the truth. I'm not getting defensive, I'm just giving first hand information about a product that I have experience with. I've never really figured out how many sq/ft of sidewalk it does because I don't care. The guys put the salt on according to the conditions, so when it's empty it's empty.


----------



## snowconcepts (Dec 29, 2004)

*Push Spreader*

Where can a person buy one of the epoke spreaders from?


----------



## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

You can check the website for dealers. I bought a Epoke mini last year. It was $1200. There is no comparison to other spreaders and for the guys that use pails you will waste more in salt then the cost of one of these. Before this spreader we were using bag only at $540/tonne and going through 20 tonnes per year. Now we can buy bulk at $99/tonne. Last year that was a savings of $8800.

http://www.epokena.com/dealer_locations/view/index.php?display=more&image_id=1&caid=17


----------



## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

glad the spreader is working out for you...20 tons of salt for walks is alot...btw i'm sure i don't waste 1200.00 worth of calcium in a season,
a little off topic but i see that alot of you guys up north salt your walks, not calcium,
down here we could never do that , the customers would throw a fit because of damage to the cement...is that pretty standard for the north?
steve


----------



## karol (Sep 23, 2004)

*spreader*



lodogg89;431366 said:


> they're canadian, what do they know


hey, yankee doodle. take it from us canadians there good spreaders. we use them for big jobs not for spreading 7/11 sidewalks...tymusic


----------



## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

CJASONBR: why would JD lie to you he has NOTHING to gain!


----------



## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

xtreem3d;432167 said:


> glad the spreader is working out for you...20 tons of salt for walks is alot...btw i'm sure i don't waste 1200.00 worth of calcium in a season,
> a little off topic but i see that alot of you guys up north salt your walks, not calcium,
> down here we could never do that , the customers would throw a fit because of damage to the cement...is that pretty standard for the north?
> steve


I don't kow if i am "down here"or not but.... i salt walks? but i only work for wal-mart, national fastfood chains, personal residences, government ofices, and other shopping centers, so you may still be right


----------



## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

xtreem3d;432167 said:


> glad the spreader is working out for you...20 tons of salt for walks is alot...btw i'm sure i don't waste 1200.00 worth of calcium in a season,
> a little off topic but i see that alot of you guys up north salt your walks, not calcium,
> down here we could never do that , the customers would throw a fit because of damage to the cement...is that pretty standard for the north?
> steve


I am not allowed to salt sidewalks either. They will let us put Clearlane on the walks. It is a green treated salt from Cargill. I think it is in competition with Magic Salt.


----------



## cjasonbr (Nov 18, 2005)

powerjoke;432181 said:


> CJASONBR: why would JD lie to you he has NOTHING to gain!


What? How did he lie to me? i never said he lied, nor did i ever say he was wrong.

Actually i thought we ended up agreeing.

What?


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cjasonbr;432253 said:


> What? How did he lie to me? i never said he lied, nor did i ever say he was wrong.
> 
> Actually i thought we ended up agreeing.
> 
> What?


It's all good, we were just discussing things. When I first heard the price I was like WTF, but I paid $1150 for mine back in 99. I'm glad CET and Karol use these spreaders because I know I'm not the only one.


----------



## CARDOCTOR (Nov 29, 2002)

damn 90 pounds take two people to get it out of the truck


JR


----------



## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

CARDOCTOR;432301 said:


> damn 90 pounds take two people to get it out of the truck
> 
> JR


I must say your weak then...cause we use 80lb bags to load the spreader and 10lbs more is not much more..wesportwesport


----------



## DBL (Aug 27, 2005)

someone bumped their head if they bought one of those for that cash


----------



## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Every piece of equipment has it's place. These work very well for our application but it is not for everyone. They are very fast and efficient. The salt goes where you need it and it will spread any type of material wet or dry.


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cet;432544 said:


> Every piece of equipment has it's place. These work very well for our application but it is not for everyone. They are very fast and efficient. The salt goes where you need it and it will spread any type of material wet or dry.


But what would you know? I'm done commenting on this thread and yes I did bump my head, if I hadn't I probably would be working a 9 to 5 job.


----------



## deere615 (Jun 1, 2007)

Man that is some serious money!


----------



## crazymike (Oct 22, 2004)

wow, a lot of inexperienced guys on here if they think $1200 for an epoke is too much.

They are they best spreader out there.

Spread anything, never jam, skip, etc...

Basically any big serious company doing walkways here uses one. Cameron, Clintar, etc...

For a small time guy I can see how $1200 is too much, but if you are trying to make a living how can you say $1200 is too much for a piece of equipment that can save you millions in slip and fall? $1200 buys you an epoke salter, that's just a little over one months payment on $5 million slip and fall insurance. Add one claim because the guy chicken feeding missed a spot and you can double your premium. Sounds like a good investment to me


----------



## crazymike (Oct 22, 2004)

CARDOCTOR;432301 said:


> damn 90 pounds take two people to get it out of the truck
> 
> JR


what do your "guys" (and I use that term loosely) use to blow snow then? a leaf blower? or something lighter like a straw.

If they can't lift a 90lb object in and out of a truck then you probably should send them back to girl scouts.

It's not like you would use this for doing residential walkways and lift it 120x each night.


----------



## CARDOCTOR (Nov 29, 2002)

crazymike;432811 said:


> what do your "guys" (and I use that term loosely) use to blow snow then? a leaf blower? or something lighter like a straw.
> 
> If they can't lift a 90lb object in and out of a truck then you probably should send them back to girl scouts.
> 
> It's not like you would use this for doing residential walkways and lift it 120x each night.


when i was young and dumb i use to use 2 skids of 50's a storm . now i run bulk .
if you have a tailgate spreader that doesnt swing away humping a 90 ld spreader
over the side could be a problem . work smarter not harder .

JR


----------



## Pristine PM ltd (Oct 15, 2005)

I have one Epoke, and it is a great machine. We bought it as part of a $30 000 leasing package with Kooy. It saved us a ton of time at some locations, and didn't make sense at others.

It works best at places that have alot of sidewalks that are by themselves, not next to roadways. I agree that you use alot less salt with it, but we found that it was often easier and faster to just have a yard of Clearlane in the back of the truck and have people shovel spread. 

The epoke worked best at a 240 unit townhome complex that had an underground garage and above ground pathways, no roadways. We had to snowblow all of the pathways and epoke after. We would have killed overselves trying to handsalt this area.

The epoke is also great for letting you put down as much or as little as you wanted. We could presalt with it very well. For $1200 on a lease, it was a no-brainer.

Jon


----------



## Idealtim (Jan 15, 2006)

It should be able to carry alot more, spread wider, and cost $6-700 less.


----------



## hardscaper (Oct 15, 2002)

*rookies*

Not sure how anyone that calls themself a professional snow removal contractor doesn't know about epoke or hydromann spreaders? We've been using them for twenty five years.Lots of beginners on this board I guess.


----------

