Help with sand/salt spreader

[Manvito]

I just got a Sundown P-Pro-180 sand/salt spreader today and hooked it up to my B2601's three point hitch. The spreader has a chain style agitator that they say is for sand. I tried to run some wet sand through it and it wasn't happening. The sand just packed up and wouldn't flow. I'm trying to come up with a way to maybe dry my pile of sand, which is about a cubic yard, or look for places that sell dry sand. I would like to avoid using salt if possible. Any ideas to get this spreader to run better would be appreciated. It seems to be very good quality and spreads sand real nice when it is flowing. I haven't had a chance to take pictures of it yet but here are a few off of the net. It's a different name but same spreader.

 

[WFM]

I think the commercial sanders have a propeller that is geared to spin very very fast to fling the wet sand. Look at Boss plow website for the hitch slide in sander for the homeowner. Fits a receiver hitch and is powered by 12v motor. Of course a receiver hitch is available for the 3pt hitch.

 

[OBKubota]

I think it would be almost impossible to dry a pile of sand specially when it's stored outside. I'm not too sure how big of an area you want to sand. But at your lumberyard or Home Depot you should be able to get dry bagged sand that is sold to mix concrete or as play sand. The spreader that you have looks pretty heavy duty with the chains and all.


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[Tooljunkie]

Wet sand is going to be difficult to deal with.salted sand isnt much better. This year you will find it easier to buy dry sand. Have your sand dry and ready for next year.the big sanders are set up to prevent bridging,some vibrate also.

 

[OBKubota]

This is what use for salt on my driveway.


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[scdeerslayer]

I don't see how those chains would do much good unless they start in already loose material and only break up clods that are mixed in with the loose material. I would think an agitator like the ones in the Land Pride spreaders would work better. Agrisupply sells the same spreader under a different name and carries the parts, this is the agitator for it:http://www.agrisupply.com/agitator-for-cosmo-spreader/p/12268/

 

[D2Cat]

I think you'll discover any material, sand or salt, with absolutely any moisture in it will have to be spread immediately before it freezes or it isn't moving. And trying to dry it out would cost more then buying dry!!

If you need a small amount go the the local farm store. They'll have it bagged and under cover.

Might go to a site like this for their experiences. http://www.plowsite.com/

 

[MisterScott]

Had quite a few similar issues. One fatal mistake is keeping the chute closed and activating the spreader. This packs materials up hard against it and it won't flow once it's opened. Dry sand/salt mixture is always best, but what can you do if stored outside - certainly a tarp over it. No great solutions - I finally went with a boxed shaped larger metal spreader. Works fine but not great.

 

[Manvito]

Lots of good ideas. This spreader has a gear ratio of 3.25:1. I believe most spreader that are made for fertilizer are 1:1. I got cought off guard with the sand. I will have some dry stuff next year. I looked at some dry sand at Lowe's but it seemed very course, that may be what I need though. I was thinking about a different agitator but I'm afraid it will put too much stress on the gearbox. I was hoping maybe someone had some experience changing out the agitator.

 

[eipo]

You wont get anything to run through a gravity style spreader if its got any moisture in it. Sand, salt, fertilizer.... Just isn't going to happen.

If you need it this year, buy it in bags from the hardware store and store it inside. Dont open the bags until you need to use it and don't store an open bag unless you put it next to a heat source to keep the moisture cooked out of it.

 

[OldeEnglish]

One way to dry your sand is to place a burn barrel in the middle of the pile and pile the sand all around the barrel. Light a fire and keep it going all day.

 

[Manvito]

I like the burn barrel idea. A friend of mine suggested a metal culvert pipe and a salamander. I may just buy bags form the store until next year. I have maybe 5 or 6 hundred feet of driveway to spread. It should be too bad and it's not like I have to do it every time it snows, just when it gets icy.

 

[olekid]

Greetings, I have a cyclone spreader for my sand and it works great with dry sand, I live on a hill so use quite a bit of sand when it rains and turns snow to ice, I get a half yard of sand every summer and I spread it out on the garage floor to dry, racking it over with a rack to dry it as quickly as I can, when dry I put it into 2 plastic 45 gallon drums in the corner of the garage until needed

 

[Lil Foot]

Bring it out here, it will dry out.
Seriously, I have heard the burn barrel method works well, but is time consuming & tedious.

 

[Manvito]

I bought this coarse sand to try on the spreader and it worked great. It's almost like little pebbles. I got it a Lowe's for $4.56 for a 60 pound bag. It's not the ideal solution but it will work for this winter.