Limestone on Excavating Equipment

[Joe Ragsdale]

I have an opportunity to bid on cleaning excavating equipment in a limestone quarry on a regular basis. The owner actually has four quarries in the area that he is interested in me bidding on. In order to bid these correctly, I'm wondering what is the best chemical/acid to use to remove the limestone residue? I'm using 3500psi/ 5gpm hot water and also have a turbo nozzle if needed. I can 2-step if needed but I need to know first what I'll need to get the limestone off. Any help would be appreciated!

Joe

 

[flimmy]

ask him if you can do a small test on a piece of equipment so you can get a better , more accurate bid.

 

[Joe Ragsdale]

Thanks, flimmy, I definately will do that, but what will be the best thing to get the limestone off?

 

[Dave Olson]

Hi Joe,

For sure you need to test. We don't have any limestone quarries in my area so I'm not sure what will be needed. Thats why you need to test! Take everything you can think of and give it a try.

We bill time and material for heavy machinery. Here is a couple pictures of some equipment that we clean at a local coal mine.

Dave Olson

 

[Joe Ragsdale]

I did some research today with a fellow PWer in a neighboring county. It turns out he has actually done some of this type of cleaning with the limestone residue on equipment. He told me that he uses hydrochloric acid pre-soak, then he lets it dwell for just a few minutes before rinsing and then does the second step with soap. He tells me it works for him, but that it's just going to be a matter of trial and error to get the right combination. I'll try that as well. I'm going to meet with the quarry owner in the morning. Thanks very much for the advice!

 

[Russ Johnson]

There are modified hydrochloric compounds that are non corrosive, used for removing concrete from ready mix trucks. Safer for wash contractor and equipment.

 

[R L S]

I wash dual hopper dry bulk trailers every weekend. Last weekend I washed two that were used at another hub to carry limestone and they were black as all get out. These are polished aluminum trailers and they had black lime streaks running everywhere. I 2 steped them with HF very diluted and then good soap and then came out perfect.
Richard

 

[Joe Ragsdale]

I met with the owner yesterday morning and got the account. The last couple of people were apparently only using water and soap, which obviously wasn't doing the job that he wanted. After it dried, there was still a thick film of limestone on the equipment. I didn't have my equipment with me for our meeting, but I'm going to try the hydrochloric acid mixture that I found from a local PW distributor. It's probably similar to what you're refering to, Russ. The owner understands that it will be a trial and error process to get the right combination and is very agreeable to that. He appreciates the fact that I want it to be right. It has the potential to be a great account and I want to make sure that he's happy with the end product.

Joe

 

[flimmy]

Joe , how did it work ? I have a dump trailer to do next week that had limestone dry in it over the winter. It is hardend on the bottom and 1 side. The owner said he was getting it off with his pwer but I can only guess what he was using. I am going to try a turbo nozzle and ?? chem will loosen it up.

Thanks,
Scott Dixon

 

[Joe Ragsdale]

Scott

I've been using the buffered hydrochloric acid (muratic). I prespray with my shurflo or you can use a pump up sprayer and let dwell for 2-3 minutes, then I come back and add soap and then rinse well with hot water to ensure there is no film left. It works like a dream. For the heavy stuff that is already dried or built up, I will use my turbo nozzle in advance of the acid to knock the heavy stuff off first. The turbo nozzle cuts right through it. Some spots may take a little longer, depending on how thick and dried it is, but sometimes I will loosen that up with a paint scraper and then hit it with the turbo nozzle. After the thick stuff is off, I use my 25 degree nozzle, 3500 psi and hot water. Make sure that you're careful with the acid. It should be fine on the trailer paint, but if you get it on the tractor paint or aluminum, make sure you rinse it off pretty quickly before it spots. I use chemical goggles, a full resperator, gauntlet style chemical gloves and my rainsuit to apply the acid. Make sure you apply it downwind of yourself to avoid the overspray. The vapors can be fierce if you get a whiff of them and the overspray can definately do a number on the skin. Call me if you have any questions.