h a l f b a k e r yNot so much a thought experiment as a single neuron misfire.
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A large tarp is placed across the surface of a home driveway
to catch snowfall. On one side of the driveway, an
electrically-powered winch is secured to a post, with cables
extending out of it and attaching to the far side of the tarp.
Meanwhile the side of the tarp closest to the winch is staked
into the ground to fix it in place.
After a snowfall, the winch is activated and pulls in the far
side of the tarp, bringing with it all the snow that is covering
it, peeling away to leave behind a clean driveway.
Afterwards, the tarp can be unfurled again and re-used for
the next snowfall.
This mechanical method of snow removal is intended for
average-sized home driveways, and would be far less
laborious than snow-shoveling, snow-blowing, etc. It would
also be far cheaper and more energy-efficient than a heated
driveway which melts snow.
Cheap Winch
https://www.youtube...watch?v=YFA5cX9V1vQ
review of cheap winch from Amazon [sanman, Feb 10 2022]
[link]
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[+] but this has to have been thought of no? If not bravo. |
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I'm thinking it might be easier to have the whole thing just
slide, rolling into a case that pushes the snow off, basically
like a window shade. The snow would still be moved off the
driveway but with fewer parts maybe. |
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Yeah, I'd thought about that, but then there's the danger it
could just slide out from under the snow, leaving the snow
deposited on the driveway. I thought that the peel-away
method might work better. |
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Flaps that lay flat, but tilt up and catch the snow when you
pull it? |
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A crane might be a little exhorbitant for a regular home
driveway. |
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Either this or something else, the idea that you have to use a
shovel to clear a driveway in this day and age seems barbaric. |
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Maybe have your winch on the SAME side the cables are
attached, but up on a post. Once the tarp gets high enough,
the snow will slide off.
But I do like the "roll up" style; some analysis would be
required to see which is more efficient (possibly quite
dependent on snow depth...).
Just had a thought: re-purpose a roll-away swimming pool
cover. |
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// I think the winch might be out of my price range too,
though it really is a good idea. // |
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There are cheaper winches available, which should be able to
do the job. Even the cheap ones come with remotes - which
would probably be important for safety. |
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Any significant amount of snow will keep the tarp from rolling up. You need a way and a place to dump the snow. |
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// Once the tarp gets high enough, the snow will slide off.//That's going to have to be a very steep angle: your posts will need to be three stories high, and quite strong. |
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That's why I felt the winch should pull in the far side of the
tarp, in order to effectively scoop or bundle the snow off the
driveway. The winch itself should not be located on the edge
of the driveway, nor should the stakes which pin down the
near side of the tarp be. Instead both the winch and the
staked end of the tarp should be located a few meters/yards
from the driveway's edge. That will give the tarp (I keep
typing trap for some reason?) a place to deposit its snow that's
adjacent to the driveway, and not on the driveway itself. |
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Okay, I get it now. A kevlar or better tarp, I guess, and you'll need to have a fairly large space to the side of the driveway. [+] And putting the tarp back down will be a chore. |
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For only slightly more than the cost of that winch, you could
get a fairly sturdy pop-up carport structure to cover the
driveway. I used a cheap $100 one from Walmart that was
meant to be an event tent, with a tarp roof. Lasted me all
summer, all autumn, and about 1/3 of the way through winter
before the snow collapsed it. Mind you, getting it to last even
that long took a fair bit of gorilla tape and ratchet straps... |
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// Garden tractor perhaps?
Hand-crank come-along? // |
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Garden tractor won't have the power. Hand-crank would be
too slow, and winch could be operated more safely with a
remote, just in case some cable snaps free from the tarp and
comes flying at you. |
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1- Wow! A battery powered that thing to haul a
tractor stuck in the bushes? |
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2- Both of those guys were waaaayy to close to that
cable if it were to snap. |
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