Using a new "salt" here for winter, anyone know anything?

n2_space

n2_space

New member
Salt and molasses on city streets.



Brine -- salt and water -- on interstates
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Link



That is a direct quote from the newspaper. Apparently a new "salt" they are using this year. Anyone know anything about them? I am hoping they will be a little less harmful to the car :nixweiss
 
Hmmmm, interesting. I wonder if this is what I witnessed two days ago:



Very odd sighting : We were coming back from lunch yesterday in Wellesley and entered Rt 128 at Rt 9 around 1:30pm so it was long before the snow started. As I climbed the hill to enter 128 south, this medium size tanker truck passed us (riding in the center lane and moving along) while GUSHING some liquid out of 3 nozzles...it was like a fire hose. The truck had no markings and must have been a private contractor doing some pre-treatment of the road surface. I assume it was a solution of anti-icing agent or whatever but the truck was soaking the entire road surface. I was kinda pissed cause I had washed the car and now it was turning white. There was no where to go and no way to avoid it so I immediately got off at the Needham exit and took back roads home....strange stuff.
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Surrey Council have invested this year in new trucks that spray a salt water solution on the road instead of spreading salt/ grit. Its the same salt but apparently when spread this way they use less so less to spray up on the cars and run off into the environment
 
The middle TN area has been using the brine method for several years now. I don't know if it's any less damaging to cars, but it sure makes a big mess when it's wet. :eek:
 
I live in the same area as HellrotCI and I hate the crap. The worst thing was it never went away. Some of the bad hills had this crap on the side and middle of the road two months after the last snow. It was more of a powder and got on your car like dust but I don't know if it was corrosive like salt or not.



Hellrot, I do know the City of Franklin is going back to salt this winter.
 
In addition to brine, they also use:



sodium chloride

calcium chloride

magnesium chloride



I wrote a magazine article last month for a truck book about the differences. They are listed from least to most expensive, and in operating temp range. Here's a clipping:



1) Chemicals applied to roadways can damage the metal surfaces:



a) Sodium Chloride (rock salt) NaCl is the most commonly used due to its low cost. NaCl is not very effective at low temperatures, so other, more aggressive chemicals are used.



b) Calcium Chloride CaCl2 works at lower temperatures, but costs more than NaCl.



c) Magnesium Chloride MgCl2 is the most aggressive of the snow melters, operating at the lowest temperatures, and also the most expensive. It also is very damaging, particularly on automotive glass surfaces. It can etch glass surfaces within several hours. Frequent use of the windshield washers can dilute MgCl2, preventing it from etching the glass. If the glass is etched, use a proper glass polish from a variety of sources, or a quality chrome polish, to remove the damage.



d) Brine (salt water) solutions are also sprayed on the roadways in some areas before snowfall, to prevent the snow from adhering to the roadway. If following a sprayer truck, be sure to flush all areas of your vehicle, particularly the undercarriage, to remove all traces of the solution.



No matter what's used, flush all surfaces frequently to prevent possible damage. Read the comments on MgCl2, it's bad news for glass.
 
They did that a day before the ice storm we had in NC last Saturday. From what I've heard on the news, that solution will last about 72 hours after it has been applied. What it does is melting the bottom layer so the road crews won't have as much difficulty removing the ice/snow.



Speaking of...I need to wash my truck and finish doing my Klasse treatment!! :D
 
In the Dallas area, they just dump some sort of sand mixture on the overpasses, bridges and intersections. Real PITA to clean cars after it snows or ices here. Luckily, that is only once or twice a year on average.
 
Butchdave - Surrey county council didn't grit any roads around Woking this morning and was showing as -5 on my outside air temp gauge - damned slippery!
 
I would settle for them not firing WHATEVER they're using at my car as they drive by. I have made many a paniced dive towards the side of the road when a salt truck ambushes me (often much to the surprise of the driver behind me).
 
I hate the StuFF

Its very hard on wirering ,will rot copper wire 12to 18 inches if a connector the least bit bad

It the one truck that i'll see, and turn around and head the other way from quick!
 
They use a "wonderful" mix of sand and salt here in the Tulsa area. The salt helps the rust form and the sand blasts your paint after the snow is gone! :angry The parking lot at work is worse now with all the sand than the actual snow was LAST week!
 
As another thought, is it conceivable that major cities located on either coast could draw salt water directly from the ocean and perhaps add addtional de-icing components (as needed) and throw that on the roadways? It sure would be less expensive and there is a rather large supply.
 
Reviving this thread...



Saw a salt brine spray truck in Indy a few days ago-I'd never seen one before-been int he South for the last 15 years. Big sign on the back says 'Stay Back 300 Feet'. Even @ 300+ feet I was getting spray coming up off the cars in front of me. So I decided to pass it, and there was a lady so close behind it (@60 mph) that she was using her wipers to keep her windshield clean! I would have to think her entire engine / undercarriage / any place water can get is now coated in brine.
 
forrest said:
It can etch glass surfaces within several hours.



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I have a very hard time believing Magnesium Chloride in water could do this, let alone in "a few hours."



I know this is an old thread, but care to explain?
 
TOGWT said:
Corey Bit Spank-my reaction was the same as yours,and I'd be more than interested to learn more on this subject.



Some backround information- Magnesium Chloride- MgC12-6H2O

JonM
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You're telling me....argh. I had been wondering how that would happen. Then I was reading it again and said oh hell, why not ask a few people at my school since I was already there. So I showed the post to 3 professors and the best answer I could get was "Only if it had impurities." :nixweiss
 
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