Dock De-Icer

[MasonGarifi]

This is the first winter living on the lake that the dock has actually been floating due to the fluctuations in the water level, so that means that we need a de-icer so the dock is not destroyed by the ice. We have a 10' by 20' dock with about a 2'-3' water depth currently it can be up to 4' though. We bought a 1/3 HP utility pump today and threw it in with some PVC and made a "T" coming off of it, working great, but we need something a little more permeant. We were thinking mount the pump and have PVC running off the end with sprayers but thats all we've got as far as ideas go. Do you have any suggestions? Sorry if this is in the wrong spot on the forum, first time posting. Thanks!

 

[GA_Boater]

:welcome: aboard, Mason. Moved this out of of Dockside chat. Your topic should be more visible here. Do you know if the water freezes to the bottom or how thick the ice gets? Will you have water to pump or spray? Spraying water will freeze too if it gets cold enough.

 

[MH Hawker]

It would be simpler to pull the boat

 

[roscoe]

Your location?

What do the neighbors use?

Guessing you don't want to drop $600 on a commercial deicer?

Better chance of making this work if you are south of the 43rd parralel.

Any chance of pulling the dock?

 

[bobdec]

Where are you located, in real cold areas you want 6-8 feet of depth to have a warm enough supply. That 2-3 feet is sketchy, depending on where you are. How thick do you expect the ice to form worst case ?. As previously asked , what do your long time neighbors do if you have any around ? Deicers run 24 X 7 in a crappy environment, and therefore cost is higher.

 

[rallyart]

If this is a floating dock, does it have foam filed plastic floats? If so you might be just fine letting it freeze in. The ice will mostly push it up as they have a bit of a wedge shape to them. I've left a Hewitt dock freeze in for years without issue.

 

[frantically relaxing]

The docks in our harbor are 40 to 50 years old, floated by styrofoam. They've never left the water, ice has never done a thing to them. Stupid muskrats chewing the styrofoam has messed them up more than ice ever will...