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Tuesday, March 2

Early Snow Melting Marvels Stuck in Beta

Cool. I had no idea. You can melt it and not move it. Makes sense, I guess.

Last week, I was quizzing someone from the Northeast about how their city removed all the snow. He said their community just bought a new machine to melt their recent snow. Not just any machine, a Snow Dragon melter. Some of these units can melt 60 tons of snow per hour or the equivalent of 20 to 25 truckloads per hour.

So, with a little bit of wide-eyed wonder, I discovered snow melting machines were generally stuck in beta for about 100 years.

Revecca Rickard in 1808 patented the first device to clear snow from pavements. Think of it as a fireplace on wheels. A person could move the firebox over the snow to be melted. I don't think this device was too successful.
Soon bigger vehicles, some horse drawn, some with revolving brushes, were designed. Most melted snow at less than a cubic yard per minute. Most failed due to the cost of melting, the lack of speed, or because the machine could not handle the rigors of use on the streets.

Take a look at these early snow melting machines.










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