The reason you are presently using a front end loader is quite simple; it works.

Your material would have a long time to consolidate in hoppers and give you all sorts of problems when you try to get it out in a hurry. Fixed equipment will always be in that corrosive environment while your digger can be parked outside away from the salt. Time & seasonal demand are very definitely on the side of the digger & you should not go rooting round for a capital project which will not work anything like as well as your present set up. In short, for your own peace of mind, leave well enough alone.■

Originally Posted by Neil H

We are looking into new ways to load our trucks for snow and ice operations. We currently use a front end loader to load our snowplows with either sand, salt or a mix, depending on the weather conditions. I would like to incorporate hoppers, conveyors, blenders and some way of controling and weighing the materials being loaded. Some problems that I see right away of course is corrosion from the salt, and also dealing with the hard chunks of both sand and salt.

Does anyone have any information on existing operations?

Having spent 22 years dealing with rock salt, sand, heavy machinery mining Machinery used for salt mining, conveyors, etc., etc.

The only way you will gain any speed and portion control is using a vacuum batch weigher system where the material is vacuumed weighed and mixed and loaded with the same system.

Using conveyors and unheated hoppers for this is out of the question unless they are heated around the clock during the salt season from Sept 1 to May 1

Starting from scratch is easy for this:

by purchasing and using a small whirlair vacuum system with an integral batch/volume weigher with a portable vacuum hopper you will be able to use a small skid steer loader or a very small farm tractor with a loader to do all the loading and mixing chores easily and the whirl air system will blow everything to be mixed into the cement mixer body. I describe the set up in full below.

Buying the largest un-mounted used or new complete cement mixer unit available with the gearbox and an electric motor to run it is the first rung in the ladder.

With a cement mixer body you will need to line the interior with a poly liner such as the ones used to line dump trailers that haul sugar beets to make a "no stick" surface to keep the material flowing.

Mounting the cement mixer on the floor of a heated shop is the next part; be sure to NOT set the cement mixer on the level-the tank needs to be horizontal at the center line of the tank to allow for fast mixing and full discharge to allow for easy flow in reverse rotation of the dry material back to the portable vacuum hopper to blow it into the spreader.

I do not like to do things the hard way period. The most you will use the loader for is to load salt in the salt shed or sand in a warming shed heated by an infloor heater or salamander.



Using the vacuum transport and integral weighing sytem offered by whirlair.com will get your salt and sand in the mixer and the mixer will mix up the sand and dump the mix back in the vacuum hopper to blow it into the spreader body with no climbing or other worries. Attaching a discharge pipe on the spreader to load it with salt or sand or the salt sand mix is easy to do.

The small portable loading hopper is attached to the vacuum hose and will have a screen in it or a screen can be added to reduce the clumps of sand and salt to zero.

Also google (seamless poly liners) as well poly liner material is sold by the width and length and you will be able to use in your spreaders to reduce bridging problems to zero.

Seamless poly liner

1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 guages

8 and ten feet wide any length

Northwest Plastics

1-406-293-3097 toll free 1-877-368-2097

www.whirlair.com lots of useable information

Fully portable vacuum and blower systems and special equipment for vacuum and blower sevice.

lzaharis ■

Originally Posted by lzaharis

.......The most you will use the loader for is to load salt in the salt shed or sand in a warming shed heated by an infloor heater or salamander.

He's already got a loader. If he hasn't; he can rent one. ■

Dear

We are doing Truck Loading System which weigh and load the desired quantity and fill the complete truck automatically. BUt our experience is limited to material with good flowability.

In case you need any help please contact us.

Rajesh Kumar

Merit Technologies India Ltd.

No. 152, Defence Colony, Ekkattuthangal,

Chennai -97, Tamilnadu

India

Phone: +91- 44 -22334099,22318697/98/99

Fax.: 044 - 42647382

E –Mail: rajesh@merittech.co.in

Web Site:www.meritbulkhandling.com ■