Whats the best available bagged material for the Midwest???

[Ken]

I haven't posted in a while and almost forget how. I know this topic has been covered but I thought I would get some current information.

I mainly do driveways and when it get icy, I'm ask to apply sometype of Ice Melt. I use a commericial walk behind spreader and usually double my cost of the material, plus charge $5.oo per 50# bag of material applied. This is in addition of my charge of blading their driveway.

My issue is that I only can buy and store only about 10 bags of material. This is great in the off season but after one winter storm there is no material left. I have been buying Ice Melt from Walmart which is $6.00 per bag. Walmart also sells a combination of Ice Melt/Sand in 40# bags for $4.00. Right now everybody is sold out and the stores that do have 50# bags charge around $10 to $25.

I live 25 miles from Kansas City so it isn't easy to drive over to a major wholesaler and buy material. I've bought some rock salt buy my customer don't want this material on their driveways. Also I understand you can get salt in 80# bags but the local farm store can only get 50#. Is there some other type of material I could buy cheap in bags that would melt ice. Is $6.00 a good buy for a quality Ice Melt and I guess next winter I will bite the bullet and buy several bags from Walmart and hope I use it all.

Any help would be appreciated and again later in the week its suppose to get icy again. I might have to buy some of that expensive hardware store ice melt.

Thanks, Ken.

 

[TLS]

Just a word of caution on the ingredients of so called ice melters. I have seen some contain almost all NaCl (Salt) and claim its safe to use on concrete. Nothing is "totally" safe for concrete. It depends on the condition and finish and what psi the concrete is to determine wether it will scale. I paid $11 per 50lb for a MgCl and CaCl mix that seems to work real well on solid ice. It sounds like Rice Krispies....snap, crackle, popping all over the place! Good stuff.

Ken,

Dont you have any landscaper supply centers around you? Thats the places that you need to go to, not Wal-Mart.

Good Luck

 

[66Construction]

I bought four pallets from Walmart. 6$ a bag plus a 10% discoutn. It was the best deal I found. There is a lot more salt then calcium in it but it works great on the walks. It hasn't done anything to the sidewalks at all. Find a suplier like Dixie1 said they're more likely to have what you need but they may only sell by the skid. A suplier around here had calcium flakes 7.50/50lbs it was a 5 skid minimum.

 

[plowjockey]

My supplier is a sod farm and I get potassium chloride for $6.95 per #50 bag any quantity. I can't go real large so I don't know about a mass quantity discount. I buy it by the skid #2500.

Bruce
Happy Plowing

 

[iowastorm]

Right now, the best de-icer is basically anything you can get your hands on. I'd take anything I can get my hands on.

 

[earth works inc.]

hey iowastorm, travel to dayton ohio. everyone is trying to unload because they think the season is over. one supplier went from $8.00/bag down to $6.00 /bag. I took him up on 2 skids.

i know its a drive. good luck finding some. 6 weeks ago you couldnt find hardly anything then it quit snowing.

 

[Mike Nelson]

That is it!
I am driving out to Iowa with some bags of Magic salt just for you Iowastorm.
In return I will take some good fresh bacon back with me.
No I don't want to take the whole sow back.Besides you will need that one for the trip to Denver.

 

[iowastorm]

. . . like I said, I'd take ANYTHING I can get my hands on. Bring on the Magic (but leave enough for the coating of the pretzels).

Mike: Digger and I are trying to find a double wide sow so we can ride together. Might have to take to champion boar from the State Fair.

 

[Mike Nelson]

Iowastorm,
Is the State Fair before Denver?You might be asking for trouble if it is.
Don't worry have a private stock of Magic just for the pretzels.
For real:I will ask the guy who parks his tractor trailer in my yard if he is going your way and if he is I will get you a couple of skids of the World Famous Magic salt.

P.S. Maybe I might have to take a road trip myself
How long to Iowa?

 

[iowastorm]

Mike: It'll have to be the champion boar from last year I guess (if nobody's eaten it yet). Take a drive to Iowa (with Magic I presume)?. The trip will take you anywhere from 2 to 3 days, depending if you stop at the JA shrine in Eerie, PA and how fast you drive. Take my advice; take a plane . . . although we don't have an airport around here yet.

 

[Mike Nelson]

You are right,it would take a couple of days just to see the shrine.
Most likely he would put me to work.
Anyway just called the driver he will get back to me in the morning to see if he has anything going that way.Could you guys peddle a full trailer load of bagged Magic salt?Also I will touch base with JP in the morning.

 

[Rooster]

Ken:
I live in Overland Park,Ks, a suburb of Kansas City, I buy Ice Melt (rock salt) for $3.25 50lb bag, from a small locally owned feed store.
I was told that they get their supply from a warehouse in North Kansas City, Mo.
If you know of any wholesale suppliers here let me know I will check with them. Cargill has a warehouse here and I know someone who works there that I happen to plow with, I have asked him, but he has other friends also, so he is busy checking for everyone.

Iowastorm: What part of Iowa do you live in? I know a person who does small deliveries, he has a box truck. I have here he goes to Iowa quite often.

Mike Nelson: Only 2 days to see the JAA Shrine?, Take a week plow some snow and pay for the trip

 

[iowastorm]

Mike; the only way we could peddle a truck load of Magic would be if we had another ice/snow event like last week. I bought 2 pallets (100 bags) of 'safe step' from a True Value as a precautionary measure and cost me $14/bag. I even thought about turning around and selling it in the parking lot for $25/bag (and I would have gotten it too). Anyway, I've got some leads on bulk salt and that's what I'm really interested in now.

Rooster: I'm in DSM. There's a place in KC where Digger is getter bulk salt trucked up. I forgot that name of the place; do you know who it might be???

 

[Yardworks]

I was buying Rid Ice from Fleet Farm for $5.00 a 50 # bag, but this year I wanted to try Magic, so after many phone calls, different leads and a lot of phone tag I finally found a place that mixed up magic and sold it bulk. The next question was how to store it and handle it. I found a place that sold food grade 55 gallon plastic barrels with clamp on lids. This has worked great for me this year. I go up their with my trailer and 7 barrels and get close to 3000 pounds of magic salt. Then I have dozens of 5 gallon pails with lids left over from my dairy farm days. A 50 pound bag of salt is close to what a 5 gallon pail will hold. So I just load up however many pails I need and put lids on them. I works great for me. No more empty bags to dispose of. The magic salt works great. And the best part is it works out to be only $1-$2 bucks a pail/bag. This treated salt is rock salt, but it seems like however they mix it really smashes the stuff up to a size similar to bag salt. I use it on sidewalks and private drives and have had no complaints.

 

[Rooster]

I have an idea, I call some local contractors who just salt and got quite a few answers. So my idea may be wrong.
I will attempt to find out some for you.