sand spreader
- Thread starter chuck172
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leonz
Super Member
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Hello Chuck172,
It is all going to come down to what you can afford.
A spinner spreader will waste more salt and sand than a pendulum spreader due
to the spinner UNLESS you can purchase one with baffles to direct the sand.
I have no idea what the drop spreaders for sand cost now but they were expensive
when I checked the last time as they are ground driven units.
As you have a 4 wheel drive mule I hope your tires are loaded and you have chains too.
As far as sand goes you have to decide whether you want concrete sand or mason sand.
Any type of sand will freeze unless it is stored indoors with a heat source.
Putting the sand in a bin that is above the ground helps to keep it from freezing as
it is not in contact with the ground.
Another option is dumping it on a round silo tarp and having a second round
silo tarp to cover it and sealing it with a layer of sand to hold the edges in place.
If you have a salamander you can heat the pile up for an hour and then use it
BUT the sand will become a magnet for moisture.
Sticking a dehumidifier under the tarp after the load is dumped will get rid
of all the water in the sand if you buy a truckload of it. Gravel sand is washed to
skim it away from the gravel after while it is screened and after it falls through
the screener.
It all depends on what you can afford or spend.
Buying a pallet of bagged mason sand is another option where you can simply store it indoors
and you have no issues with moisture or freezing clumped sand.
A small three point hitch mounted spinning spreader would work well if you keep the
mule indoors so the spreader stays dry too.
I will tell you that a bag of sand goes a long way when it is spread.
Scooby074
Super Member
Herd makes a spreader designed for sand. It has a more robust agitator to keep sand fluid. The local mall has been using them for over 10 years now and are on their second one with their new tractor. It works well. PTO Powered Sand Spreaders, Salt Spreaders
skyhook
Veteran Member
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- 1996 Kubota L4200 GSTC,(sold) 1994 JCB 210S 4x4x4
Why not use stone dust ( small stone pebbles )they are less susceptible to freezing and can be stored in weather proof box or container. Its what we use, throw a bag of salt in the odd time and stir.
Opti-Mist
Platinum Member
I used a rotary (spinner) fertilizer spreader and dry "play" sand. Extended the top link to get better coverage, lower gear, and hit it twice, going and coming. That worked well for flatter ground and had sand barrels at hills to be able to add as needed.
crazyal
Super Member
I've got a Herd spreader, 750s. Works well but it get's mighty cold up here and if it's down near zero the sand will freeze to the sides of the spreader. Even with the agitator banging the sides it still sticks. I leave the sand outdoors and just dig through the frozen layer to get to stuff that I can shovel. Before that I just used sheetrock buckets and would fill a 1 gallon bucket that I used to spread it. It really wasn't that hard. I have a side by side (a pickup would work well too) and would just stop near each spot I wanted to sand, do it, then move on. The spreader, even used, wasn't cheap and you still need to shovel the sand into it. Not sure if it will ever pay for itself but I now get to use the tractor even more.
skyhook
Veteran Member
- Joined
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- Canada Ontario
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- 1996 Kubota L4200 GSTC,(sold) 1994 JCB 210S 4x4x4
Yes it is, but some garden centers also carry it along with sand, earth etc.
I got my father a 3ph Polly fertilizer spreader. It works very well with straight salt. But with sand, it needs to be completely dry and any if not it will clog the spinner. If you have somewhere to keep sand inside and dry you would be ok. Even mixing 80/20 sand salt would help.
