Yonkers DPW "Snowdragon"

[x635 4,066]

This was sitting in Yonkers DPW shops attached to one of their dump trucks. I don't know if Yonkers DPW purchased or rented this, but they are ready to melt some snow this winter from the looks of things!!!

Usually, this is used in downtown areas, to clear away banked snow and melt it down and flush it down storm or sewer drains. A payloader picks up the snow, dumps it in the hopper, and the snow is melted and sent down the sewer or storm water route as water. I know NYC and Boston employ these, especially in areas where there's going to be an event, or it is impratical/difficult to truck away the snow.

Official website: http://www.snowdragonmelters.com/ Does a good job explaining how the unit works.

[JackEMT 77]

I can't tell, is there any hazardous areas we should be careful of? lol

[ajsbear 11]

NYC uses them. Any time we have heavy snow they are deployed in Manhattan all the time. Park it over a manhole and bring the snow over then move it to another street.

[billfitz 109]

It was purchased.

[Oswegowind 17]

Hey Chief! You mean the City bought something useful? Did someone at DPW hit their head?

[Bnechis 3,961]

Usually, this is used in downtown areas, to clear away banked snow and melt it down and flush it down storm or sewer drains. A payloader picks up the snow, dumps it in the hopper, and the snow is melted and sent down the sewer or storm water route as water. I know NYC and Boston employ these, especially in areas where there's going to be an event, or it is impratical/difficult to truck away the snow.

I never understood how NYS DEC allowed this.

If you take a payloader and fill a dumptruck then drive it 1/4 mile to the harbor and dump it in they fine you for it, but if you melt it into a storm drain and the pipe ends 20 feet from the dump site thats ok......typical government stupidity

[jack10562 414]

Nice piece of specialty equipment.

It has a pretty substantial oil burner mounted inside, it fires at (nine million) 9,000,000 BTU @ maximum power,

that's roughly 64 gallons of fuel oil an hour.

[JM15 386]

I was going to ask how much does it cost to run. I would imagine that it requires a lot of fuel in order to use it enough after a storm to be practical and effective.

[Oswegowind 17]

Just get the snow off the streets, that is the idea...If you ever drive through Yonkers after a storm you know what I mean! I mean come on...at least plow a little, ya know!

[Doc 11]

I never understood how NYS DEC allowed this.

If you take a payloader and fill a dumptruck then drive it 1/4 mile to the harbor and dump it in they fine you for it, but if you melt it into a storm drain and the pipe ends 20 feet from the dump site thats ok......typical government stupidity

Ah, the differentiation between a non-point source and a point source. I'm always amazed by the DEC's continual regulatory process... the more rules they make, the more they conflict, the more rules they make, etc. Luckily I'm at the money-making end of this process.

[NJMedic 96]

Ah, the differentiation between a non-point source and a point source. I'm always amazed by the DEC's continual regulatory process... the more rules they make, the more they conflict, the more rules they make, etc. Luckily I'm at the money-making end of this process.

I'm not a tree hugger but which is worse.....dumping snow into the water or flushing melted snow into the sewer system then into the river but using 64 gallons of fuel every hour to melt the aforementioned snow?????

[Bnechis 3,961]

I'm not a tree hugger but which is worse.....dumping snow into the water or flushing melted snow into the sewer system then into the river but using 64 gallons of fuel every hour to melt the aforementioned snow?????

Which is worst depends on how much stock you have in Exxon/Mobile

[ja3kfd 34]

I now that we can not use them where i work, we have to truck it away, when it melts it still ends up in the water shed.

64 gallons of fuel per hour would be cheaper for us than all the trucks and loaders that they hire to move the snow.

It would also be better for the reduction of green house gas as well.

[Guest]

If I'm not mistaken, all the water/snow/rain that goes down the storm drain, goes to the sewer treatment plant(s) first before it is returned to nature. At least thats how it is here.

[jack10562 414]

Water flowing into storm drains and catch basins don't get any treatment, they are just surface water collection and removal systems.

If you were to pull a sanitary sewer manhole cover and dump into there, only then it would go through a treatment plant, but there is no need to treat the melted snow water coming out of this machine.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

Water flowing into storm drains and catch basins don't get any treatment, they are just surface water collection and removal systems.

If you were to pull a sanitary sewer manhole cover and dump into there, only then it would go through a treatment plant, but there is no need to treat the melted snow water coming out of this machine.

IT does go through the sanitary sewer because it also has road salt and what ever else is on the road. It can not go into the storm drains, thus it is treated before it is released! Not only a firefighter for 36 years also owner of A.J. SPOSTA & SONS INC. sand and salt and snow removal FOR THOSE SAME 36 YEARS thats a fact JACK

Edited October 31, 2008 by DOC22

[Oswegowind 17]

No need for an argument...really now!

The same snow would melt with salt or naturally and go down the same sewer drains and end up wherever in the end, no? So by picking up the snow and melting it, we see a reduction in amount of salt needed, although we still have environmental impact we have no idea how to figure out the difference, cost is probably similar for fuel and amount of salt needed to melt same snow, and it is faster than natural melting. Also gets the snow out of there in a hurray and clears up street paths that people would be parking in cause snow would be pushed aside!

Did I mention that I like this idea?

[Bnechis 3,961]

No need for an argument...really now! The same snow would melt with salt or naturally and go down the same sewer drains and end up wherever in the end, no? So by picking up the snow and melting it, we see a reduction in amount of salt needed, although we still have environmental impact we have no idea how to figure out the difference, cost is probably similar for fuel and amount of salt needed to melt same snow, and it is faster than natural melting. Also gets the snow out of there in a hurray and clears up street paths that people would be parking in cause snow would be pushed aside!

Did I mention that I like this idea?

So then why would melting it be better than dumping it? If we pick it up and drop it in the harbor, we did not use salt or the fuel to melt it, and it would end up in the harbor anyway?

[Oswegowind 17]

I am not against dumping it in the harbor...but won't that take a little longer? Also need more than 1 truck...It's all water to me!