Gravel Road Dust Control

[GaryM]

Well, summer is coming and with that comes dry weather and dusty gravel roads. I'd like to spread Calcium Chloride on our subdivision road and am looking for some advice.

I have a JD4100 and access to a borrowed cone spreader. I've reads that calcium chloride can be spread as either a 35% more or less solution or as a solid. I'm thinking the cone spreader would be best as it eliminates having to mix and spray. I don't have a suitable sprayer anyway, but would be willing to purchase if it's the best way.

Is calcium chloride available at local supply stores, or is it obtained somewhere else?

Is there something better?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RDrancher]

Spraying is the best method. Any way you get it on there, you're going to want to wet it. You can order bags of flakes from Home Depot and Lowes, or powder from meltsnow.com.

There are some pretty good alternatives out there. Check out one of them here Control Dust on Unpaved Roads with Dust Fyghter LN100 Solution | MIDWEST. There's another product out of California, but the name escapes me at the moment.

 

[orezok]

Here's a product we use on construction sites. It's specifically designed for dust control. The Gorilla Snot (yes that's it's name) is the most economic.

General

 

[GaryM]

Both if those products look interesting, but probably more expensive, at least short term, than good old calcium chloride. I was considering purchase of a sprayer I could mount on my three point and run off my tractors battery. I'd be able to use that for weed spraying, but I don't think they would work for spraying calcium chloride. Maybe it would, but at least could use it to wet the road after applying the calcium chloride.

 

[Citydude]

We used calcium chloride in the mining operations on roads that were prepped for it. It was applied on a damp surface by spraying.Our supplier never gave us the option of a dry application.

 

[tcreeley]

On the road with the Beet Generation | The Daily Reporter - WI Construction News & Bids
Beet juice compounds have miraculous road deicing properties, but did you know it is also a proven dust control agent for gravel roads?
This revelation comes not from a future, post apocalyptic snake oil salesman wandering the radioactive dust bowls of the Great Plains in search of mutated rubes, but from actual science in your living present.
The main manufacturer of a sugar beet molasses compound, called Molex, is Savannah Foods of Fremont, Ohio.
Molex is made from beet molasses, a useful green product. Molasses is sticky so it will absorb dust particles and soak up water. Since beets are a food source, Molex is safe for plants and animals to consume right off of the road. Molex also attaches to and holds water, has a high level of potassium chloride (which can replace calcium chloride), has a near neutral pH level (so it shouldn’t be corrosive), and doesn’t freeze, even at minus-16 degree Fahrenheit.
Molex is normally available at half the price of a common dust control compound, calcium chloride.
Lake County, Ill., (among others across the U.S.) is in the process of experimenting with a solution of beet juice and calcium chloride for deicing roads over the last four years with much success. The price of beet juice has been dropping, so not only is the county saving money, but it is diminishing the impact calcium chloride has on the environment.
For more information on Molex, the result of the road tests, or the application rates used, call Milan Levett at (219) 936-2181.

 

[paulharvey]

There's a product called (don't laugh) "Rhino Snot" that is supposed to be good. I have no experience with it, but it acts as a binder and keeps it dust free and actually stabilizes the dirt/sand.

 

[RDrancher]

Here's a product we use on construction sites. It's specifically designed for dust control. The Gorilla Snot (yes that's it's name) is the most economic.

General

Ahh yes, Gorilla Snot out of Arizona. That's the one I was thinking of.

 

[atgreene]

Calcium chloride is good for this, but through a cone spreader it will go everywhere. Be sure to oil everything down first. Wash everything after and re-oil. Liquid application doesn't require a pump other than in mixing it good, it helps. A canoe paddle, a small tank and a six pack is all you need. Use a plastic valve, a pics of schedule 40 mounted horizontally with a bunch of holes in it. Let it drizzle out by gravity. Better to make several light passes rather than one heavy one.

 

[paulharvey]

Ahh yes, Gorilla Snot out of Arizona. That's the one I was thinking of.

I missed this post.

 

[GaryM]

So this might be a new plan.

55 gal plastic barrel with top removed.
A fitting and valve installed hooked to a piece of pic hose tee'd into a 6' piece of pic pipe with drip holes and capped ends.
Mix the solution in the drum which is strapped into my fel.
Open the valve and drive down the road.
Profit!

 

[greenmojo]

So this might be a new plan.

55 gal plastic barrel with top removed.
A fitting and valve installed hooked to a piece of pic hose tee'd into a 6' piece of pic pipe with drip holes and capped ends.
Mix the solution in the drum which is strapped into my fel.
Open the valve and drive down the road.
Profit!

I like that.

 

[Citydude]

So this might be a new plan.

55 gal plastic barrel with top removed.
A fitting and valve installed hooked to a piece of pic hose tee'd into a 6' piece of pic pipe with drip holes and capped ends.
Mix the solution in the drum which is strapped into my fel.
Open the valve and drive down the road.
Profit!

Go for it. Sounds perfectly doable to me!

 

[ZAR2USA]

We've used discarded/used cooking oil on short sections of gravel road. It eliminated dust completely for several months and we found it bonded the dirt real well for a better base.

 

[GaryM]

Hey, use bacon grease. Smells good too!

 

[KiotiKowboy]

All this sounds interesting ...

I've got about 300 ft of dirt/gravel road in front of my house where I would like to control the dust.

Am I correct in assuming the calcium chloride is basically rock salt, or ice melt? How much would need to be dissolved per gallon for effective control, and how many square feet per gallon would this treat?

Thanks

 

[jeff9366]

When I worked in the wine industry in Mendocino County, California, we had a Masonite particle board plant nearby. They gave us, free, a liquid waste product that smelled like molasses, which we spread for dust control. It took several layers, applied from a tank truck by gravity flow, before it was really thick but held nicely for about a year before it required a maintenance coat.

Check for similar products near you.

 

[jeff9366]

All this sounds interesting ...

I've got about 300 ft of dirt/gravel road in front of my house where I would like to control the dust.

VATICAN CITY?!!

I am hugely impressed.

Are you trying to lay down marble dust? I am surprised you do not have a bi-directional Italian tractor for what must be tight quarters.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

VATICAN CITY?!!

I am hugely impressed.

LOL ... What? You think we aren't plagued by dirt roads here in the Vatican? Every time that blasted Pope Mobile goes by, the clouds of dust are almost unbearable.

 

[super55]

So this might be a new plan.

55 gal plastic barrel with top removed.
A fitting and valve installed hooked to a piece of pic hose tee'd into a 6' piece of pic pipe with drip holes and capped ends.
Mix the solution in the drum which is strapped into my fel.
Open the valve and drive down the road.
Profit!

I've spread Calcium Chloride on my dirt drive before and it does work well for keeping the dust down. I usually have mine sprayed professionally every other year or so because they use some type of compound that once soaked in almost creates a type of chipped asphalt surface that is much more durable to plowing.

Anyways back to the CaCl. They say the general recommendation is to use 3# of salt for every gallon of water. While the stuff does dissolve quite well it does take some work. I had issues with the stuff caking together. After mixing up about 5 gallons and not particularly happy at my progress I gave up on that venture.

I found my best results were to use a drop spreader instead of a broadcast since it allowed me to lay a heavier coat more evenly across the drive especially on the edges where most of the dust was without getting a bunch of salt on the lawn and killing the grass. I waited for a day that was going to just have a light/moderate rain for the better part of the day and spread it out. It worked quite well. I ended up using 5 bags of CaCl on a about a 150 yard drive.

I looked at that professional dust control products but the price and more so the cost of getting it shipped did not make it economical for me to go that route.