Quote:
Originally Posted by correira99
Am I not allowed to dig the line into the lake floor? Will heat tape of some sort work? What option do I have? I'd rather not dig a well, becuase aside from cost, I know my neighbors in the area have had water quality issues and Lake Waukewan is as clean and I know what I'd be getting. Thanks to all.
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The lake's "floor" is retreating as the Winter season approaches; still, you'd be treading on thin ice with state agencies.
Instead, I'd suggest using BIG rocks to press the waterline against the lake's floor.
While a heat strip will work, it'll quit when an ice storm causes power lines to drop. It could take days to satisfactorily clear the waterline of ice—plus, depending on the waterline's manufacture, there's risk of a leak.
If you have a "Ice-Eater" at the dock, position it so it will shift "warm" lake water to the shoreline entry of your waterline. If the waterline part of your lot has a slope to it, I'd go with the "low tech" they use in Florida.
In Florida, citrus trees benefit from a "low tech" coating of ice from sprinklers. Why? The ice jacket keeps even lower temperatures from affecting the fruit's overall quality. The fruit has sugars within to prevent a solid freeze; nonetheless,
any frozen part will ruin the fruit for market.
If you've got someone there with a shovel, first, have them "lose" that loop, as it's interfering with a natural "thermo-syphoning". The new section will need insulation, so connect the "new" ends with a larger diameter plastic waterline, and insulate that with
still more plastic. (BIG water line or PVC stuffed with "Great Stuff"). There are enormous adapters available, but don't use metal. Protect the waterline from wakes driving it against shoreline rocks, by putting a BIG rock on it as a "strain relief".
I'd arrange a tarp to collect water atop the waterline all the way up to the house. On a good night for freezing temperatures—usually includes a clear sky—spray or drip with a garden hose overnight(s) until you get a solid surface of ice down to the water's edge.
Continue to use household water, as the "warm" water from the lake will melt a pocket of insulating air within your new "ice floe". Due to water temperature differences, there would also be a small amount of mixing of warm and cold waters within the pipe, with which, the larger new waterline section will assist.
FLL, are you taking notes?
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