Heated driveways.......

[flyingcow]

A nice remote controlled winch at the top? Or splurge, one for each vehicle?

 

[Boil&Toil]

Yes I am very aware, I just like pictures of huge (comparatively speaking) services We actually put in a 400A single phase service 600' from the last pole, pad mount XFMR and all, a couple of weeks ago. Guy insisted he needed 200a for the house and 200a for the shop. Holy overkill batman.

Mine is a CL 320 (transformer on pole) feeding 2 200A panels in the shop (one of which will spawn a 100 amp service for the house if and when the house ever happens.) Partly because the local utility didn't charge any different for a Cl320 or a 200 amp...I'd be surprised (and quickly broke at GMPs rates) if I ever stressed it too much. But I shouldn't have to do it over for any conceivable reason.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

I have the same issue with my work van. the ash from wood burning works amazing for traction, and the dark grey really helps melt the ice. But take shoe's off before going in the house. 20 yrs ago in tech school my heating project was an oil burner mounted on a push mower frame, that thing melted ice awesome. It was like cutting the grass with an electric mower except the grass was ice.

 

[maple1]

20 yrs ago in tech school my heating project was an oil burner mounted on a push mower frame, that thing melted ice awesome. It was like cutting the grass with an electric mower except the grass was ice.

Red Green - is that you?



Seriously, that sounds like something that would be a hoot to build & play with.

 

[Ashful]

As a licences electrician pics of that alone would be great. A 320 amp residential service is scary indeed. S

Several houses in my neighborhood have 400A or 600A service, but they all seem to be run as multiple 200A feeds to individual disconnect boxes at the house. Not sure why...

 

[kennyp2339]

This is there setup so far, I guess there electrician did not get as far as he wanted to, it's been raining and snow here a lot lately ... The meter pan is a 320 amp, and each of those smaller boxes are independent controls that go to a master out door sensor

 

[Frugal]

BoilerMan, by any chance do you have a swimming pool? If so, a pex array under your driveway would make one heck of a solar collector. Can't do that with electric cable ...

 

[BoilerMan]

Haha, no swimming pools here. Interesting thought, could get solar gain from black driveway......summer DHW?

This really makes me want to try it now!

TS

 

[BoilerMan]

Several houses in my neighborhood have 400A or 600A service, but they all seem to be run as multiple 200A feeds to individual disconnect boxes at the house. Not sure why...

In our area I'd defy anyone to actually use 100A in a residential setting. Unless of course there is significant resistance electric heat. Notice I said significant. In all of my years in the electrical field, I've never seen a main breaker trip due to overloading, on a reasonable balanced load.

I only put in a 100A service in my 3200 ft2 house. I bet I could get away with a 60A main breaker.

TS

 

[kennyp2339]

In our area I'd defy anyone to actually use 100A in a residential setting. Unless of course there is significant resistance electric heat. Notice I said significant. In all of my years in the electrical field, I've never seen a main breaker trip due to overloading, on a reasonable balanced load.

I only put in a 100A service in my 3200 ft2 house. I bet I could get away with a 60A main breaker.

TS

So true, is see these houses by me install 320amp services, I look them up a year later in our system and see there only using 8kw peak. I've only did one 600amp service for a house >15,000sqft (that's not a typo) I installed a 50kva xfmr for sole use. 600amp services are a pain in the butt, we require a main non-fused disconnect before the customer supplied /installed c.t. cabinet, then we have to wire the (2) c.t's its time consuming when the house will only use 100amps or so at the end of the day.

 

[Boil&Toil]

20 yrs ago in tech school my heating project was an oil burner mounted on a push mower frame, that thing melted ice awesome. It was like cutting the grass with an electric mower except the grass was ice.

Hmm - move to pellet fuel (or wood, but more tricky) and we have a winning approach for ice melting, I think. Just because I don't much love burning oil if I can help it...but a black driveway and a bunch of heliostats would also be nice when the sun came out.
..

 

[ewdudley]

Yellowknife NWT keeps the whole town clear of ice and snow in the winter with an array of mirrors in orbit. Works pretty well, seems like more northern municipalities would be doing it.

("You just stick to moderatin' BB, that’s what you’re good at.")

 

[DaveBP]

My how the winter has flown by. First of April already.

On the other hand, and from the opposite direction, Iceland heats some of their roads and sidewalks with heat from beneath the ground. Which they have a lot of.

 

[BrotherBart]

My how the winter has flown by. First of April already.

Huh?

 

[Fred61]

It appears that most contributors to this thread are lucky enough to have the sun shine on their driveway all day. My situation is a bit different. The drive is on the northeast corner of the house and 25 to 30 feet of it is shaded by the house and garage all winter. From the 30 foot mark to the street is a different world. Tomorrow, the solstice will be giving me more sun every day from now to June. I can use it for a calendar! I also have a set of concrete stairs rising from the driveway to the front porch that are shaded all winter.

I added a hot water line to the sillcock that I can change from cold to hot (for winter use) and I periodically wash out the accumulated ice on the driveway and stairs with hot water. Reality check; This would not happen if water was heated with fossil fuel. Washed wife's car out there yesterday and ice went away.
The problem with using a burner or torch is that the ice reflects back and causes the ice to melt slower. I can recall years ago telling a friend of mine was trying to thaw a culvert with a torch that I could Pee through a block of ice quicker than he could melt through with a torch. Town DPW use steam to thaw culverts.

 

[F4jock]

Get a snow dragon.

 

[2.beans]

I ran pex tubing in my walkways and in my patio and tied them to the pex tubing that's in my basement floor. I just turn on the circulator before it snows and leave it running till the snow is gone. It's not fast by any means but it gets the job done eventually. It runs through a heat exchanger so I can apply heat to it but I found it easier or less work to shovel the snow then to cut wood to melt the snow. Letting it melt off slowly works fine for me.

 

[Ashful]

beans... larger photo of your avatar, if you please? Can't quite make-out what sort of vehicle rolled, there.

 

[2.beans]

Can't find the one in the avatar. But it's my jeep.