The following content was inspired by a report from Jordan Smith of Voight-Smith Innovation (VSI) supported by 10+ years of experience using liquid brine in his commercial snow and ice company, as well as through assisting more than 250 their businesses to implement liquid de-icing into their snow and ice operations around the USA and Canada.
Liquid Application Rates
- 40-50 Gallons Per Acre (GPA) for conventional pre-treat (anti-icing).
- 60-120 Gallons Per Acre for conventional post-treat (during or after storm).
The more moisture that is present, the higher the GPA should be in order to be effective. The application rates can be easily changed by adjusting your automatic rate control (ARC) on your spray units (if you use VSI units, that is).
A lot of companies prefer to use a standard rate (80 GPA is common) for post-treatment regardless of conditions. This standard rate can sometimes become over-applied and unnecessary, especially on “well-seasoned” lots. Alternatively, in heavy snow/ice conditions, this standard rate could be too low of an application, and will produce subpar results. Adjusting your GPA based on the storm and/or the current job site is the best way to do things.
Timing & Science
Applying a salt brine pre-treatment 24 to 48 hours before a winter weather event will provide the most effective results. Effective results can be seen as far out as 120 hours before an event when using an additive with your brine. Without an additive, 24 hours is about as far ahead as you should pre-treat in order to impactful results, especially with any rain or in high-traffic/wind areas.
The next potential step is to treat during the storm at the first site of ice/accumulation. This treatment is to prevent anything from bonding to surfaces. A typical application rate is 60-80 GPA depending on moisture content of the event. Preventing accumulation or ice with liquids is much easier than getting rid of it once it has frozen over or accumulated.
An inter-storm treatment also provides much higher quality mechanical snow-removal post storm as there will not be a strong bond of the snow/ice with the pavement. This will translate to using less product on final application of liquid after the plowing is complete. Do not panic if timing does not allow for an inter-storm treatment. An increase to your final application rate to 80-100 GPA will likely meet site conditions.
Application Blend & Additives
The value and importance of using a readymade de-icing additive vs using straight calcium, magnesium or well brine as an additive to your salt brine has been part of regular discussion. These products have many key ingredients in them to help prevent the issues that can be caused by using the previously-mentioned alternatives.
The recommended blend for pre-treating lots is 95% salt brine to 5% additive. For post-treating lots for temps below 15°F is 90% salt brine to 10% additive and for temps over 15°F you want 95% salt brine to 5% additive. For parking garages and sidewalks, it is suggested that you use a blend of 80% salt brine to 20% additive at the same application rates.
- TACKIFIERS to help the product hold to the surface through traffic, wind and rain.
- CORROSION INHIBITORS to protect your equipment and your client’s property.
- POLYMERS to aid with traction even when there may be a glaze on the lot.
- ORGANIC CONTENT THAT SUBSTANTIALLY LOWERS THE FREEZING POINT OF WATER – This means that even once your chlorides (sodium chloride from the salt brine, cal or mag from the additive) are diluted out, you’ll still have refreeze protection.
Additive Sourcing
Every major manufacturer’s de-icing products have been tested, and they all perform similarly. The distinguishing products are odorless and colorless, which is of large benefit, especially on sidewalks. All products use a carbohydrate or other bio-based inhibitor which will give corrosion reduction benefits as well as refreeze prevention. This also helps the substance stick to surfaces better than salt brine alone would.
The additive we use in the brine we brew here is Headwaters HOT, by Pelican Chemical. Headwaters HOT combines the corrosion protection of Pelican Chemical’s proprietary, clean, bio-based and biodegradable inhibitor with the melting power of highly concentrated calcium chloride to form a one of a kind ultra-efficient corrosion inhibitor/performance enhancer hybrid- a true game-changing innovation.
Unfortunately, Headwaters HOT and other leading additives are beet or molasses based, making them dark in color, with an odd smell to match. This additive is somewhat prone to tracking if used on sidewalks, so it would be best not to apply it in areas with high foot traffic. There can also be some issues with storing the mixture if it’s not periodically agitated, as the suspended solids can fall out of solution and accumulate at the bottom of the tank/container.
Pros & Cons of using Liquid
Operation managers who’ve implemented more liquids had concerns about converting customers, and sites as a whole, away from rock salt, since that is what most of us have gotten used to seeing over the years. Change of any type is inherently challenging, even when the change is positive. Fortunately, the results from this change have been cleaner sites and lots, little to no tracking indoors, reduced janitorial costs for the businesses, faster melting of snow/ice, and so on.
In Jordan Smith’s commercial snow and ice operation around 11 years ago, they gave customers the choice to continue using conventional rock salt or switching over to liquid. At first 80% of customers elected to stick with what they knew (granular product) and the other 20% told them to use whatever they thought was the best. One year later, a mass conversion was made over to liquid only, with a few of their clients remaining skeptical, but later insisted Smith and crew only use liquids after seeing the clean and effective results firsthand.
Four years into the liquid conversion, Smith’s operation endured an ice storm which caused some equipment failure, forcing them to use calcium chloride pellets on the sidewalks to get things ready for business hours; Lo and behold, multiple phone complaints were received, asking why they went back to using granular products on their sites. What was first hesitancy and concern over liquid de-icing turned into sheer demand for it.
PROS
CONS
- MORE AFFORDABLE MATERIAL
- LESS LABOR TO COVER SAME AMOUNT OF GROUND AS SALT TRUCKS
- LESS CORROSIVE MATERIAL
- BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
- 75% More Water
- Stays where you put it
- No scatter
- WORKS IN LOWER TEMPERATURES
- 80/20 blend to -30°F
- LOWER MAINTENANCE
- LONGER LASTING EQUIPMENT
- All stainless steel and poly stationary parts
- MORE PRECISE AND CONSISTENT APPLICATION VIA AUTOMATIC RATE CONTROL
- Apply within 3% of desired accuracy
- Automatic system adjusts flow rate with fluctuations in speed
- NO LEFTOVER RESIDUE
- Better looking sites
- FLEXIBILITY OF APPLICATION
- Apply up to five days before snow instead of 12-24 hours with salt pre-treats
- PNS CERTIFICATION FOR PARKING GARAGES AND BRIDGE DECKS
- Low corrosive material
- EASIER TO GO “CHLORIDE FREE” ON LEED AND OTHER SENSITIVE SURFACES
- DOESN’T KILL VEGETATION LIKE GRANULAR SALT
- LESS EXPENSIVE TO SET UP REMOTE FILLING STATIONS
- Simple storage tank
- NEW AND DIFFERENT TO LEARN
- INITIALLY EXPENSIVE TO SET UP
- Requires separate set of equipment from Salters and shop/facility infrastructure
- FREEZING RAIN MAY BE TRICKIER TO MANAGE WITH LIQUID THAN WITH TREATED SALT
At the end of the day, using liquids is a win for both businesses and customers. The initial conversations can be the most difficult or intimidating part of the conversion but, after that, the results will speak for themselves. For information on various new solutions that are better for the environment, one of which is liquid brine, see our Green Solutions page. To see which VSI Pre-Wet systems we currently have in stock, visit our Anti-Ice Equipment page.