Salt or no salt

karakachan

Guest
Salt or no salt

Well,living in Bulgaria for 9 years certainly opened my eyes to the question of salt on roads for winter...they just don't use it here,and we have had plenty of ice/snow.I can confidently say more than the uk..
They use grit sand,and guess what,it works...and when a particular period of snow or ice has gone,they send out the council workers to sweep up the road sides/gutters and then re-use it.
Much to be said for so called countries that are not up to scratch with the western world countries.....
 
Think the reason could be salt dissolves and washes away, sand would block drains etc
 
Edina;n7280 said:
Think the reason could be salt dissolves and washes away, sand would block drains etc
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If it dissolves why is there plenty still at the roadside...as for dissolving,the biggest problem I have encounted is it dissolves the snow/ice but all that water just returns to ice making the roads even more dangerous.
Now winter tyres are not compulsory here in BG at the moment,''I think it's more to do with the poor,which are many,cannot afford them''.I've had them on a 2wd car over here,and boy do they make a difference.
I've just had them fitted to the van we are travelling back to the uk in.That's because Romania/Austria/Germany....you have to have them on in the winter period,that differs from country 2 country.
 
karakachan;n7315 said:
I've just had them fitted to the van we are travelling back to the uk in.That's because Romania/Austria/Germany....you have to have them on in the winter period,that differs from country 2 country.
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Makes free movement within the EU a bit tricky.
 
oldish hippy;n7304 said:
nre zealand is the same i think hence why the car dont rot
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Correct,they just use grit,not sand,seems much more friendly than putting salt down,I also wonder if the salt buggers the old iron service pipes etc that run underground. I was a bit surprised to see salt being laid on roads when I came to the UK,the car manufacturers seem like the only winners here.
 
karakachan;n7278 said:
Well,living in Bulgaria for 9 years certainly opened my eyes to the question of salt on roads for winter...they just don't use it here,and we have had plenty of ice/snow.I can confidently say more than the uk..
They use grit sand,and guess what,it works...and when a particular period of snow or ice has gone,they send out the council workers to sweep up the road sides/gutters and then re-use it.
Much to be said for so called countries that are not up to scratch with the western world countries.....
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Sodium chloride at optimal concentration (apologies but I can't remember the actual concentration) will depress the freezing point of water to about minus 10°C. This means that road salt works well in the UK but wouldn't in countries where the winter temperatures approach or fall below this figure.
In the UK we get our road salt from a single mine in Cheshire and it is gritty as spread for our benefit.
Salts other than sodium chloride can be used for lower temperatures but, I suspect, at higher cost.
In my experience the English roads are far better plowed and salted/gritted than on mainland Europe.
I once left the UK in very heavy snow where the roads were really well prepared and drove in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to Berlin, all in the same heavy snow. I was about 80km from Berlin before seeing ANY attempt at road treatment. And the local drivers didn't have a clue how to cope.
Perhaps that was a one-off?
Just don't believe all you hear about super-efficient 'others'. It ain't necessarily true.

Colin ???
 
We lived in Norway for 5 years and they never salt or otherwise treat the roads. They are ploughed but basically everybody drives on hardpacked snow - no problem at all once you get experience at it. Driving on ice training is part of their driving test. Mind you to comply with vehicle insurance you are expected to use “piggdek” (studded tyres) between late October and early April.
You will rarely see a rusty car in Norway simply because of no salt on the roads.

Tony
 
Piers;n7382 said:
Another UK source of salt comes from just down the road from me, a massive mine that also exports around the world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38330182

Oh hi by the way, just registered here today, great looking site.

Piers
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Welcome to Motorhomer, Piers. I hope you find the site a great place to be!
Thanks for the information on the NI salt mine - I wasn't aware and in any case should perhaps have stated 'England' instead of 'UK'.

Colin ???
 
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