My New Invention

[pulleye16]

Hello all-

So I always run into the same problem year after year ice fishing. I converted an old pop-up camper into a fishhouse. I cannot take off the axle very easily so I use the ol' 5 gallon bucket technique to cover the holes. You guessed it..the holes always freeze up. I even heard people placing fans over their holes to blow down heat but heard they STILL freeze up. Thought about insulating the buckets somehow but figured that would be a waste of time as well. So...here's what I propose:

Can someone invent a large bobber that both warms up and "shakes" to prevent my holes from freezing? I figure a large enough bobber that could hold a "D" size battery that has a heat resister built in and some type of simple motor to Bounce or shake the bobber would work awesome. The heat could keep the top water warm(er) and the "Bouncing" or Shaking" would both keep water from freezing AND add some life to bait.... Just cut me in for some of the profit!!!!

The bobber just to clarify will NOT be attached to the line...just would float in the hole on it's on. It will just float around the hole shaking and bobbing.....

[JeffB]

Just a thought for you how about a small floating container on a string that could hold one of those hand warmer packets. It would have to be vented, because they need oxygen to work. I would be just as cheap as D cells. The string would be to pull it out of the way if you have a fish. A bobber large enough to hold a D-cell would be way to big in my opinion. If its important to you you should just design something to either heat the water or circulate it and leave the bobber alone. Good luck.

[pulleye16]

I do like the hand warmer idea...The bobber just to clarify will NOT be attached to the line...just would float in the hole on it's on. It will just float around the hole shaking and bobbing.....

[BartmanMN]

StrikeMaster "The Heat Pump" Ice Hole Opener

Check it out. http://yhst-25955672838162.stores.yahoo.net/stthepuiceho.html

Reed's and others carry them as well.

[McGurk]

Well, I see you are in a permanent house, so I can imagine that you already have some type of furnace or stove for heat. In that scenario, I use an old metal coffee pot, filled with lake water, that warms to steaming on top of the furnace. Pour some of the hot water in each of the holes until the pot is empty, melting any skim you might have accumulated. Refill, warm, and repeat. The only hassle is the humidity that comes with constantly warming the water, but it doesn't bother me, I guess.

[Jameson]

wiggling duck butt decoy

[Boar]

Hey pulleye, nice idea. But I have a camper house to an use ten inch pvc instead of the buckets, an what I do is when i drill my holes, I take out the pvc, drill, push the pvc into the slush created by the auger, then scoop out slush, this way a nice seal is formed between between pvc an slush, at days end i just raise the pvc so it dosent freeze to the ice. banking the house really good helps, this is not a cure all an I do have to skimm the holes periodically but untill the invent a heated light weight tube for this purpose I dont think youll find alot of gadgets that will be cost effective for this purpose, Boiling water to put down the hole helps but wastes propane an if you remeber chemistry class warm water freezes faster than cold, try it with ice cubes int eh freezer sometime. I have thought many hours on this to get heat down the tubes but time an effort to build my ideas, I just put up with it, kids are great help in ice skimming. Good luck. boar

[Boar]

Ok I looked at the heat pump bartman, that cool, would it go down two feet of tube? I would need five for the holes in my camper an five batteries, Plus you know how many walleyes I've lost just hitting my transducer? Great Idea but not for me to much stuff to deal with, maybe if i saw them in action it might be worth the investment. Thanks for posting that site though. Boar

[pulleye16]

I like the wiggling butt decoy...thats pretty much what I invisioned but would produce some heat somehow...and maybe a tad bit smaller! I like the input...maybe we'll figure this out yet, Thanks!

[LOTWSvirgin]

Screw a soup can to your bucket and burn charcoal in it.

[Lure Lightning]

The soup can with a plumbers candel would work well. You can get them for less then $0.50 each and they last quit a while. I use them in tip up boxes and they offer just enough heat to keep the hole open. Just keep an eye on where your line is or you might be losing some jigs from melted line.

[PikeTipper]

Just like the duck butt we have a deal about the size of a puck that we throw in with the decoys on calm days to add some ripples to the spread. Sounds like just what you are thinking about.

[crazyice]

I would first try the insulation on the buckets. I did something similar a couple of years back for tipups. I cut a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon pail big enough for the reel on a tipup to go in, then I used the spray foam insulation on the inside of the pail. It wasn't a cure all, but it definitely slowed the freezing process. I would think that spraying the outside of your pails would get the same effect.

[boec0020]

I always thought that it would be a good idea to somehow rig some type of heating element in the transducer float. I even sent Vexilar an email 5 years ago. This way it could run off the 12v battery and would attach to the flasher (not another thing to pack).

[jbird68]

Just a thought...but what about buying a pair of electric socks and taking the wiring out and putting it inside something that is water proof that floats and setting in your hole.