Roads and winter

Salt and grit spreader

On the left, salt spread over the cleared surface melts what is left. On the right, sand melts nothing, it gives grip on the ice. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** salt spread over the cleared surface melts what is left. **Right:** sand melts nothing, it gives grip on the ice. Computer-generated image.

Clearing the snow is not enough:
what is left freezes again.
Its usual carrier is not an excavator:
it is a tractor, a municipal tool carrier or a lorry.
On an excavator, it treats the surface the blade has just cleared, without changing machine.

Other names for this tool: salt spreader, de-icer spreader, excavator-mounted salt spreader, salt distributor, hydraulic spreader, sander.

The essentials

Family: Roads and winter
Classes (t): We calculate it with you for your machine
Coupler: All, by plate
Power source: Hydraulic, continuous function — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine

Chosen together with the blade →

01 Use

What it is for

**Left:** salt spread over the cleared surface melts what is left.
**Right:** sand melts nothing, it gives grip on the ice.
What sets it apart:
the de-icer lowers the refreezing point; the sand, for its part, does not melt — it makes the surface grip.
Computer-generated image.

A hopper feeds a hydraulically driven disc or auger, which throws the product onto the road.
The de-icer lowers the refreezing point; the sand, for its part, does not melt — it makes the surface grip.

Fitted on the same machine as the blade, it treats the surface just cleared, with no second pass and no second machine.
On a site to be treated urgently — an emergency access, a loading dock, the car park of a public building — it is the total intervention time that counts, and that is where it is decided.

Salt and sand do not answer the same need. Salt makes it melt, but it works poorly below a certain temperature and it attacks structures, plants and metals.
Sand melts nothing:
it gives grip straight away, including in hard frost, and it will have to be swept up afterwards.
The choice is made on the site, not on habit.

And a word on the carrier, to be honest: a department that treats a road network every winter equips itself on a tractor or a lorry, not on an excavator.
The excavator-mounted spreader is worth it for a site, not for a round — and for the machine you already have.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

A salt and grit spreader fits all couplers, via a mounting plate.
The machine class and the coupler details: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What the tool does

It spreads salt and grit over an adjustable width.
The hopper capacity, the spreading width and the empty weight: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It needs an auxiliary hydraulic circuit with continuous function.
The flow and pressure: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model, the length or the area to be treated, and the product you already use.
If you also fit the machine with a blade, say so:
the two are sized together, and the spreading width is set by that of the blade.

What we need to answer you

Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
The coupler in place Its system and its class.
The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

04 Choice

What determines the choice

01 — The hopper volume, related to the length to cover Too small a hopper forces you to come back and reload, and reloading is the dead time that costs the most in a winter intervention.
Too large a hopper is weight on the end of the arm for nothing.
02 — The regularity of the dosing Too little does not treat; too much wastes the product and sends it into the structures and the neighbouring soils.
An adjustable and constant rate, independent of the travel speed, is what marks out a good spreader.
03 — The spreading width It must match what the blade has just cleared.
A wider spread sends the product off the road; narrower, it leaves untreated strips that freeze again.
04 — The nature of the product Dry salt, wetted salt, pozzolan, sand, chippings:
they do not all flow in the same way and they do not all wear the same.
An abrasive or damp product calls for a suitable distribution system.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

The auxiliary line and its flow The drive runs continuously throughout the pass. See the 7 criteria.
The weight with the hopper full It is the only figure that counts, and it is the one that gets forgotten:
the product often weighs more than the tool.
The stability calculation is done full, with the arm extended.
Resistance to salt De-icer is corrosive for the tool as well as for the machine.
What the manufacturer provides in the way of protection and end-of-season care is in its manual:
it is the manufacturer you should ask, they answer for it.
The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
The tool is supplied with the matching plate — see the couplers.

In the same family

Roads all year round

On the interface

To go further

Family: Roads and winter
Trade: Local authorities and roads
Compatibility: The seven criteria in detail →