New technique for keeping holes open

[GoodToGo]

My permanent has 5 gallon pails with the bottoms cut out that slide into the holes in my floor. They go down to with an inch or two of the ice. The house was banked, but only about a 18 inches. Before I left Saturday I slid a 5 gallon bucket, with the bottoms still attached, into the pail already in the hole. I stuffed blankets (smallish quilted baby-blankets, don't tell my gramma, who made them) into the buckets, then put the hole covers on top the buckets. So it was basically the water, a few inches of air, the bucket bottom, about a foot of crumpled up blanket, then a piece of plywood. It was -25 that night, it never got above -10 the next day. When I went out the next afternoon, almost 24 hrs later, the holes were OPEN, no ice. As soon as I pulled the buckets out they skimmed over. I did this again yesterday and I won't be back until Thursday. I'm sure there will be ice, but how much?

[hip_hop_fisherman]

Thanks for the tip, going to have to try that out. Can't afford the money they want for 2 Air Plugs let alone the 5 I would need....

[Ed Carlson]

We used to use 8" steel pop-up-tubes capped on one end and placed in the holes. We added sand to them to balance the tube like a bobber and centered the tubes with a chain and hook hung them from the ceiling.

We added a Bertha Propane torch to the heater line and hit the tubes with the flame when we arrived and they popped right loose. We set them outside tell we left, then placed them back in the holes.

The house stayed good and hot so we seldom needed to chop the top part out before slipping the tubes back in. Most of the time they were larger from the heat so the chain helped to keep them centered so the hole froze straight between trips.

The system worked great! The steel well casing tubes were heavy but far better then chipping 2-3' of ice like we did back then.

I thought my Bro-In-Law was a genius for dreaming that deal up! Sure saved me a WHOLE lot of chopping!

[Cottco]

Having thought through your bucket idea - that sounds pretty good and worth while pursuing - thank you. I post my results once known.

I am assuming that you did not bank snow around the first pail - but rather the house itself?

[Traxxx]

I've put those styrofoam minnow buckets in the holes overnight and they kept the holes open. I wouldn't leave them any longer than a night or so or they will be froze solid.

[Rainman]

I used to fill the bags that you get your minnows in with air and a little water and shove them in the hole under the hole covers and it kept them open over night!