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Roadway dust control

fast_st

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Dec 1, 2010
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Mass
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IT systems admin
So working with a modest budget, the goal was to be able to put some water on the roadway, better part of a mile of pretty heavily traveled road and parking lot, dust is sometimes a problem. With a little napkin R&D, some wood blocks and four IBC tanks, we came up with a nice solution. 4 tanks in the dump truck, 1100+ gallons, all gravity and a discharge rate of 60gpm, easily installed and removed in 15 minutes or so. It really looks like chutes and ladders but it does work pretty well for our needs, will post a few pics in a little bit.

https://goo.gl/photos/H9TrZZdxMdkBgQtT9
 

fast_st

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Dec 1, 2010
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What I found surprising was the intensity of the spray, we tinkered with the hole pattern to get a little more fan. The flow rate from start to dead empty was very constant and we have about 10' wide coverage, when the water ran out it just stopped! I had been expecting a slow taper to nothing.
 

fast_st

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Dec 1, 2010
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Mass
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IT systems admin
Are you running straight water ?
Around here we use brine (salt) from the gas wells.
Been running straight water, a full truckload takes a while to expend itself. Usually put down a bit of dry calcium but may see about adding the calcium to the water before applying it as well as not filling things to the top.
 

Birken Vogt

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Nov 30, 2003
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Grass Valley, Ca
The way I did it was on a 3000 gallon fire water truck I was asked to water some roads. It was not set up for that so I had to hunt around in the tool box to find some nozzle that was big enough to work. I did and the spray was wide enough barely but rather slow. So I had to idle around in granny low about as slow as it would go and maybe make a 2nd pass. I saw it done the first time (got the idea) by a semi water trailer where the guy had a kind of gravity spray bar with slots probably torched in the bottom.
 

digger doug

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Nov 2, 2011
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1,371
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NW Pennsylvania
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Thrash-A-Matic designer
Been running straight water, a full truckload takes a while to expend itself. Usually put down a bit of dry calcium but may see about adding the calcium to the water before applying it as well as not filling things to the top.
You gotta pay for it ?

Ugh.

My neighbor gets paid to remove it from the local gas wells (comes up and gets deposited into a seperator tank)
and then gets paid to spread it on the roads.
IIRC he runs it full strength, analysed and it was 38% or something, was told that's as strong
as it can be.
I know when getting it on your hands...EVERY crack and cut, you will know about...

FWIW I have some spray bars with the holes on the top, and 180 degree loops to bring the tube
down to the nozzle, that way they don't get so much junk in them, the main bar has a valve at the ends
to flush out any junk.
 

fast_st

Senior Member
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Dec 1, 2010
Messages
1,468
Location
Mass
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IT systems admin
Well have to pay for calcium but using it at a small fraction of the suggested amounts, found a good amount that keeps the dust away combined with the daily morning dew. The water is mostly, just gas to pump it. We put a slide valve on the spray bar, easy enough to pull the end caps and give it a brief flush to wash out any debris.
 

Buddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
71
Location
Newtown , Virginia
Occupation
Equipment mechanic (Retired)
So working with a modest budget, the goal was to be able to put some water on the roadway, better part of a mile of pretty heavily traveled road and parking lot, dust is sometimes a problem. With a little napkin R&D, some wood blocks and four IBC tanks, we came up with a nice solution. 4 tanks in the dump truck, 1100+ gallons, all gravity and a discharge rate of 60gpm, easily installed and removed in 15 minutes or so. It really looks like chutes and ladders but it does work pretty well for our needs, will post a few pics in a little bit.

https://goo.gl/photos/H9TrZZdxMdkBgQtT9
I remember when the highway department would put burnt motor oil, and diesel fuel mix, on the roads. They would come around in late spring and give it a heavy spraying. Would last all summer. Also this would make the roads pack like asphalt.
 
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