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Snow removal
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:17 pm
by Cobra
ok so it's probably a bad omen to mention it but i'm going to havea problem this year since the amount of space i have to pile the snow has been cut in half actually more like i've lost 2/3 of the space. Anyways i wanted to build a propane snow melter to set-up over the storm drain ot in front of my home and melt all the snow (solving the space issue) but i don't have the skills to do it especially in a hurry so i ask you now (i know some of you are in the business) do you know of a little snow melter i know of the big ass ones they used in New York and some rail companies have them but they are beastly and hauled by tractor trailers... or trains. I'm looking for one about the size of a 25 gallon compress that i can store in my home till i'm ready to use it
HMB
Cobra
Re: Snow removal
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:26 am
by tbhager94
here ya go this would work if you aimed it at the snow pile.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=4217247
Re: Snow removal
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:00 pm
by rlsllc
If it's a storm sewer, I'd be tempted to find a way to churn or grind the snow back to particulate and just let it drop into the warm underground drain to melt. Prolly cheaper than all of the propane, if it would work.
Re: Snow removal
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:38 am
by Cobra
tbhager94: it's got enough power but i shovel and i'm sure that would end up wasting the energy
rlsllc: i thought about that if i could remove the grate over it i'm sure it would work but considering the weight of it and the fact the the city would be very upset if they found out (probably charge me with vandalism or something stupid). If the grate is on the snow would start to stick together before it makes it through and block it
At first i had thought of using the internals of a bbq and putting a metal guard above the burner so the ice/water wouldn't interfere with the flame but figured on a really cold day some still frozen bits would make it passed and eventually block the grate (it would of course happen when i'm in the least mood to deal with it) I figured a burner from a forge angled up towards a couple layers of wire mesh would do the trick even at low pressure would still put out a lot of heat and the mesh would cause any ice that makes it passed to be so small it wouldn't be a problem.
Does that mean no one sells a contraption like this....
PS. i just remembered that i have some nickel-chromium wire laying around my house somewhere...