Is Elon Musk still selling his version?
Salt.
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Might water repellant paint help?
After a few impractical ideas involving shaped explosives, I wondered whether we could try and prevent the bond forming between the ice and the paving in the first place. It only needs to be a few molecules thick if the surfaces were flat, but a paint might also fill some of the holes that lets the ice ‘key’ into the paving.
I do not know if this would make the pavement extra slippy when it had snow on it. They make water repellant paint for floors and decking, so maybe not. Best to try on a spare paving slab first.
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It’s Kentucky, so they might be hovering right around 32 degrees. I bet it won’t go black ice in a significant way.
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Our good old friends the hydrogen bond connected H2O molecules… all life on Earth is in debt to this property.
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Florida Man is too far south.
It’s Ashland, though. Average low of 23 in December, 19 in January.
I’d say it’s about the same amount of work-- that snow isn’t very deep looking, he wouldn’t have to pick it up and toss it to the side, just walk down the driveway pushing a shovel ahead of himself.
Maybe he doesn’t own a snow shovel.
… and it’ll also clear any debris from it as well?
And too small a job to justify the expense and hassle of a snow blower, too. Presumably, as long as he hits the driveway with enough heat to bake off the water, he should be ok.
Fresh from house construction, I needed a temporary sidewalk on my muddy yard until I settle on the landscaping design and such. I ended up building a series of 10’ long sections with 3’ 1x6 planks and 2x4’s. Very dock-like.
I should have used a rougher-faced plank because even after staining she’s slippery when wet/damp/m o i s t. Dew/frost is the morning makes things tricky. But where this concept really shines is that cleaning snow off (so far) has been crazy easy. Most times I’ve been able to just take a push-broom and be done. On heavier days I’ll push the shovel (make sure I don’t gouge into the wood).
With the old concrete sidewalk, ice would bind to it and become one (the texture was finished with a corn broom so the irregular surface allowed ice bind without problem). The wood on the other hand is smooth AND doesn’t freeze like concrete. Add sunlight and the air moving between/under the planks and so far … if it wasn’t for being so slippery (depending on shoes) … this is really easy to maintain.
The lumber isn’t treated and ideally will be used as sidewalk between my raised garden beds once I figure out a more permanent solution. I’m very willing to try a heated PEX concrete sidewalk down the road.
/end of ramble.
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There’s a guy in my neighborhood I’ve seen weeding with a flamethrower.
I dropped my wedding ring (since recovered) in a snowy parking lot. I considered attempting to melt a snowbank where I suspected it had been pushed into by a snowplow. Having done some quick math to determine the amount of energy required to melt a snowbank, I decided to wait until spring and let nature do the work.
The ring was within a couple of steps of where I projected(!)
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Edinburgh, Scotland has tried for years to put heating elements in a steeply-sloping central urban road called “The Mound”. Last I heard it still wasn’t working.
Tried that, doesn’t make a dent.
Probably just wanted to mix things up a bit. Chores are always more fun if you make a game out of them.
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Well a sloped hockey rink is a novel idea. On tho othermhand he may need a winch to get the car back in there.
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Hydrophobic coatings DO exist. They’re always threatening to coat the inside of ketchup bottles with them so it comes flooding out at you.
They also have been experimenting with coating the sides of buildings outside bars/pubs with them. This would ENCOURAGE urine splashage and, in theory, DISCOURAGE peeing on on the sides of said buildings.
Only problem is, the coatings aren’t terribly durable. You’d have to engineer the hydrophobicity (is that a word?) into the asphalt/concrete/brick that made up the driveway itself, otherwise it’d wear away within days or weeks of being driven on, exposed to weather, etc.
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