This year i came up with a plan to help keep some of my cost(s) down. I'm looking for white rock salt bags? The same bags as the ones rock salt comes in at Lowe's or any seller of rock salt. Anyone know where I can buy some of these bags? I looked up and down the web all morning and cant find any! I don't want a burlap bag or any kind of re-usable bag. Simply the same bags they use to package rock salt.
So what is the plan? Depending on how many you use each storm buy a pallet or more use the salt and keep the bags. If you do this make sure to buy Morton or Calgill because they have thick heavy bags. Or follow a guy using bags or look in dumpster of a place that has been salted by bags and get the empties out of the dumpster. I know I throw several hundred away each storm.
My plan is simple. 1 ton of rock salt delivered to our shop is $65.00 bucks. That's 2000 lb's. Now 1 bag of rock salt is 50 lb's or $5.00 dollars a bag if you buy by the pallet. 5 bucks a bag X 50 bags = $250.00 dollars.
Now if I bag the bulk salt into 50 lb's bags it would be around $1.62 cents a bag. WOW!! a $1.62 a bag from 5.00 dollars a bag. Sure it's not processed the same and it may be a little sandy but.... If we had a repeat of last year I could always put a pallet in front of our shop and sell them for 4 bucks a bag all day long!! At the end of the day it's still rock salt and still works the same as the 8 dollar bags at Lowe's.
Not only all of the above but just to have the convenience of have bagged rock salt for our tail gaters is worth the cost saving's alone. So if I used 10 pallets of salt last year that would of cost me $2500.00 That same 10 pallets this year would cost me $850.00 bucks!! The numbers are all adding up on my side. Now all I got to do is find the empty bags.
How are u going to seal them? Don't forget to figure the labor cost of shoveling 2000# of salt into little 50# bags. Also probably not to legal to be selling your salt in used bags with brand names on it.
How are u going to seal them? Don't forget to figure the labor cost of shoveling 2000# of salt into little 50# bags. Also probably not to legal to be selling your salt in used bags with brand names on it.
yes a few good points. However, I did find rock salt bags for sale with no names on them. They run about .19 cents a bag. It took me a lot of hours searching but I did find some. As for sealing them up I got a heat iron that's made for sealing bags. The same way they seal the bags of salt you buy now.
As for labor... 2 guys should be able to fill at lease 500 bags in the course of 8 hours. That will pay for it self in the first icing or snow event. Example: 3 trucks 2 guys per truck 2 trips back to our yard for salt will cost me around $300.00 in labor. Plus gas in each truck. And wear and tear on each truck.
Labor for 2 guys to fill 500 bags in 8 hours will cost me $160.00. I'm already 140.00 bucks under just the labor alone on one storm. It's cheaper for me to pay a couple guys 10 bucks an hour to fill salt bags then pay my plow drivers big bucks in a storm. Still again! The numbers all add up in my favor. I should of started doing this years ago!
good luck on it not clumping up. keep some windshield washer jugs handy, bagged salt containes a chemical to keep it from clumping up, bulk salt doesnt.
No way are two guys going to fill 500 bags in an eight hour period. You gotta figure at some point production drops off due to fatigue. I know its only a ton but you have to figure they might wear out, show up hungover or whatever else. May want to rethink your numbers.
Forgot to mention...500 50# bags equal out to twelve and a half ton.
Sorry I was thinking that number because that's how many bags I ordered earlier. So thats even better! 50 bags = 2000 Lb's or one (1) ton of salt. Should have them bags filled by lunch time!!
good luck on it not clumping up. keep some windshield washer jugs handy, bagged salt containes a chemical to keep it from clumping up, bulk salt doesnt.
Thats is a good point and something I didn't know. But also keep in mind them bags may have that chemical for long term storage in stores. I'm not keep my bags stored any longer then a month! Or if we have another winter like last year I may very will have that clumping problem. I can't see the salt clumping in a couple weeks time. However, it may. I'll keep you all posted on how things turn out.
I find it hard to believe you have found someone to deliver only 1 ton of salt and charge $65 a ton. That's cheaper than some guys are paying to have 25 tons delivered at once.
I also think you will end up only putting around 40 pounds in each bag which will use more bags. Not a big deal.
I find it hard to believe you have found someone to deliver only 1 ton of salt and charge $65 a ton. That's cheaper than some guys are paying to have 25 tons delivered at once.
I never said I was only getting one (1) ton a salt at a time. I simply used that as an example to explain what I was doing. I used the price of $65.00 a ton because on average that's what most guys are paying. I also never said the price I, pay per-ton.
I'll keep everyone undated after I get some bags filled and see how it ends up coming back out of the bag.
if you have a great heat iron you could make your bags from plastic sheets even cheaper. also get a dump truck and save on the delivery fees on the salt, eventually it will pay off the truck.
good luck on it not clumping up. keep some windshield washer jugs handy, bagged salt containes a chemical to keep it from clumping up, bulk salt doesnt.
UPDATE: Turns out I found a place to buy some "Potassium FerroCyanide" to mix with the bulk salt before I bag it. Thanks for the heads up about it not being treated for clumping. What Im going to order comes in a powder that I can mix with water and use a weed killer sprayer to spray the salt pill before I bag it. In-turn should stop any clumping. I will still bag some untreated salt to see if it does indeed clump up in the bag
There was a company here in Akron on Hazel St., that sold bulk salt in clear bags that was cheaper then a regular palet of salt.Anyway I bought one and had no luck. It would clog my small 400lbs Meyer spreader.I did have it stored outside and did not have a vibrator on the spreader.It only clogged because it was damp and the grandulars were smaller which let it stick together and left a hollow area in bottom of spreader. I used the rest by mixing regular in with it. It might work if stored inside and with a vibrator.I cant remember thow if it got clumped and hard. Im interested in the results because a vibrator would pay for its self fast.
I was thinking if this works out good. I may put a little book together. I can see the name now! (The secrets of saving money with bulk salt). FREE to all PlowSite.com member's. Non-member's only $19.95 plus shipping and processing.
GSS brings up a valid point. Let us know how it works. Maybe you're on to something here.
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