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.
