Topping off/leveling/compacting a stone pad adjacent to my barn for a lean-to addition. I inadvertently left 3/4 ledgestone in my dump truck and it's frozen solid (in NH). Besides learning my lesson not to build in winter and to dump and spread immediately, what can I do now to thaw and spread the frozen aggregate? I've got a tractor front end loader and a mini-ex. I've got no power at the site but propane heaters. Calcium chloride? Dump and churn it up? All thoughts and comments appreciated. Thanks....
Pretty sure you need to consider the project on hold until spring, if you plan on pouring concrete over this pad. If not, find a neighbor/friend/someone that has a heated shop to park it in for 24 hours.
Thanks for thoughts. Was looking for a "warm place" to thaw out. Thought of throwing insulated panels over bed and using propane heater. Not pouring concrete. Top coat will be compacted twin pack. Best...
Here is a warm place. Rent a 500K BTU Frost Fighter and find a parachute.
if you can tarp the sides or even sheets of tin to block the wind, then a propane heater under the truck, or a charcoal fire in a culvert with the end under the truck will thaw the bed enough to dump it. Or you could do a small charcoal fire at the base of the slope of material in the truck, cover with a scrap of tin, come back the next day, dig out a hole, start another charcoal fire and cover with tin, repeat until you're close enough to the center to keep it going a day, then come back the next day and dump.
If it's still in the truck, it's probably not frozen solid, but there will be a lot of chunks, and they will be pretty hard. I spread 150 loads of topsoil before Christmas, and there was about a foot of crust over the pile. I tramped anything that came with the D4, but they were as hard a rocks, and I ended up pushing them off to the side to be dealt with in the spring. Heated boxes are great this time of year.
Thanks for tips guys. I managed to get 3/4 of the load out by tilting the bed and going at it with a sledge hammer and shovel. Crushed the chunks with loader blade. Left the bed tilted and oriented so that sun warms the remaining "clump." If that doesn't work, will pump stream water to wash it out. No power or well at this site yet. Thanks again for advice.
Maybe jump up on a pile with the mini and see what you can get after. Leave the tailgate closed until you lull away from it.
If it's just stone with no fines it won't be as hard to break up as frozen gravel. Like skyking said, if you can reach into the box with an excavator or backhoe you can probably loosen up the rest and it'll come out. It's supposed to be 37 and sunny here tomorrow, so maybe it'll be similar on your side of the river (I'm in S VT so if you're in northern NH it may not get that warm). The sun does help a lot!
hot water pressure washer? They run on gasoline engines, just need water. Add isopropyl alcohol to the water as antifreeze.
Carry water to site in IBC tote in bed of pick up. Thats pretty much how we wash up our grain dryer system every year.
Good volume of cold water should get it