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driveway sander

steviep

New member
Has anyone used a 3 - point seeder for sanding, or made a sander to pull behind a tractor or atv. ! have a driveway around 1500 ft uphill and after 20 years I am tied of sanding it by hand.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Damn, I won't sand plywood let along a driveway...

OK, kidding aside, tell us what your potential transport vehicles are. The ATV and tractor options are very different.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Hurd makes a line of seeders that are capable of also spreading sand. From what I understand, many of the seeders are not capable of sand spreading, but I have no experience in doing it.

I own a Hurd M96 and I don't recall if that unit is capable of spreading sand, it is the smallest unit Hurd makes and is fine for smaller tractors. The next model up in size has a rectangular hopper, and if I recall correctly, hold 250# of sand, I do not recall the model number for that unit.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
I need some sort of cheap sanding solution too. Commercial sanders are too expensive. I though of buy a Hurd Spreeder but I didn't feel confident it would work as advertised.

I have to spread gravel on a 1/4 mile steep uphill stretch of private road. I'm getting good at using the FEL but it is tedious and not very precise. Lots of ooops mounds on the way.
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
Big differance between sand and grave.... The Hurd 96 will spread sand. They also make a ATV mount for it. It is available in 12 volt motor or driveshaft.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
Junkman said:
Big differance between sand and grave.... The Hurd 96 will spread sand. They also make a ATV mount for it. It is available in 12 volt motor or driveshaft.

Yeah, I don't think I made that clear. I think fine sand on ice is useless. I guess I'm looking for a cheap fine tow behind gravel spreader!

Ideally, it needs to be dragged behind my farm blade so I can do the road in one pass!

I can dream can't I?:eek:
 

steviep

New member
Yes I want to sand my driveway, with either a 4300 JD or artic cat 400 4wheel drive atv. I do like the seed speders that mount to the back of atvs but I haven't found one rated for sand. The avaege sand around here has no stones bigger than 1/2 inch most smaller than 1/4".
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
steviep said:
Yes I want to sand my driveway, with either a 4300 JD or artic cat 400 4wheel drive atv. I do like the seed speders that mount to the back of atvs but I haven't found one rated for sand. The avaege sand around here has no stones bigger than 1/2 inch most smaller than 1/4".

So when does sand become gravel? Is there a rule of thumb? :confused2:
 

DaveNay

Klaatu barada nikto
SUPER Site Supporter
PBinWA said:
So when does sand become gravel? Is there a rule of thumb? :confused2:

Extrapolating from Junk's statement, I'd say sand becomes gravel somewhere around the Mississippi river. :yum:
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
DaveNay said:
Extrapolating from Junk's statement, I'd say sand becomes gravel somewhere around the Mississippi river. :yum:

Stop it! You are SUCH a card! Your killing me with your fast wit and verbal repertoire! I can't take anymore!:rolleyes:
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
OK, I'm going to ask a stupid question...

Around here, it's almost impossible to get a good quantity of dry sand (reasonably priced). If it's cold enough to freeze, doesn't the sand turn into large chunks and won't come out of the hopper?

I used to use salt but switched to urea. It melts the snow/ice but any run-off is fertilizer for the yard. Luckily, we're having a mild winter since the price of urea is high right now.
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
around here most people use salted sand. Yes, it might clump and freeze, but you should only fill with loose material and not keep any in the hopper for later use. Fill with fresh product each time.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
bczoom said:
I used to use salt but switched to urea. It melts the snow/ice but any run-off is fertilizer for the yard. Luckily, we're having a mild winter since the price of urea is high right now.

How much is the Urea? Is it bagged or do you have to buy it in some raw bulk form? Does it store well? Does melt snow as good as salt?
 

steviep

New member
Our town gives the residents sand for free, I plan to keep it in 5 gallon buckets in my celler which is a walkout that I can drive right up to. I figure with 5 gallon buckets I can fill upa sander easy and with only what I need. I then can fill them back up later.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Here is a link to the Herd website.

http://www.herdseeder.com/m96.php

You may find an appropriate model there for your needs. I know that several of us here use them and I have not seen any complaints. I've only had mine for 1 or 2 seasons but it seems to be a very well made unit that should stand up to many years of use/abuse. Many of the round hopper units that I have seen simply do not compare and are often very lightly made compared to these units.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
steviep said:
Our town gives the residents sand for free, I plan to keep it in 5 gallon buckets in my celler which is a walkout that I can drive right up to. I figure with 5 gallon buckets I can fill upa sander easy and with only what I need. I then can fill them back up later.

Crap - they barely spread any gravel (not sand - sand goes in a playbox) on our roads out here let alone make piles of gravel publicly available. They also don't salt the roads. They just wait for everything to melt.

You guys DO get something for your taxes!
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
PB,

Our town spreads pea-gravel. I'm assuming that's what you're talking about. Stones the size of peas and smaller. It's a real bugger on the paint and leaves large collections on the sides of the roads come spring.

PBinWA said:
How much is the Urea? Is it bagged or do you have to buy it in some raw bulk form? Does it store well? Does melt snow as good as salt?
Urea is a byproduct in the manufacturer of several things but primarily natural gas and ammonia. The price of natural gas drives the price of Urea. It's been ranging from about $220-$360/ton for the past 5 years or so. It's expected to drop in 2007.

I purchase in 50# bags. You can buy by the bag (you don't need to buy a ton). Just keep them dry as they're very soluable in water.

I believe it's not very effective below approx. 20 degrees F.

In the spring, I use it for lawn fertilizer (using a broadcast spreader). Makes the grass nice and thick and dark. Be careful doing this... You need the right weather conditions or it'll burn your grass.
 
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