Tire Tank

[Jake]

have one of the big tire automatic waters. Last week it froze up during the cold spell and has yet to thaw out even as we continue to haul water back to it. Anybody have ideas to thaw it out? It is a long ways from electricity so tank heaters would take a generator.

 

[4Diamond]

let nature do the work would be my suggestion.

 

[Haytrucker]

If it is plumbed with a shutoff valve nearby, you might try some heat down that pipe. How far down to the supply line?

 

[Denny]

Take apart the water line get a hose and a funnel and run some hot water from your thermos down the pipe it normally does'nt take much.I leave the water on so the pressure helps when it thaws. Yer gonna get wet.

 

[eatbeef]

I stick a 3'' fertilizer hose in my exhaust and a blanket to cover what you are warming and it works wonders. I wouldn't haul water when it's cold without that hose on the pickup anymore. And when you get it thawed cover 1/2 to 3/4of the tank with a tarp and some plywood and it will help keep tank warmer and less ice chopping. I have to do that with a big concrete tank.

 

[RSL]

We use a tarp over the trough and a propane torch inside an old steel tank heater. A propane space heater under a tarp works great as well if you have the water turned off.

 

[coyote]

We use a copper pipe and put it along side the inlet hose that is froze and use a funnel on the top end and poor boiling water down it. Cuts the ice pretty good.

 

[Big Swede]

I welded a drill bit on the end of a electric fence post. Take your float valve off and with a cordless drill you can drill down through the ice in no time. Leave the water on like Denny says and you'll know when you bust through. :lol: I've done it that way for years.

 

[Jake]

I was trying to find a picture of it but can't. The inlet comes up through the middle of the tank and isn't real easy to take apart as it is connected directly to the supply line coming up from below. I had tried forcing water back through the float valve but it is such a tight system I didn't get anywhere. What I'm worried about is that the semi tires under the tank have water in them and are keeping it all frozen. Trying to come up with something that doesn't require tearing apart the whole system

 

[Big Swede]

Most of my valves are screwed in to a threaded nipple so it's not hard to remove them. Don't follow your semi tire comment.

 

[Jake]

Most of my valves are screwed in to a threaded nipple so it's not hard to remove them. Don't follow your semi tire comment.

When they put it in they put semi tires in the whole under the tank to give it support and to provide ground heat to keep the tank from freezing.

 

[jedstivers]

Fill a water trailer or if you don't have one fill one or two 275 gal totes with whe hottest water you can and then fill the tire tank. See what that does.

 

[jedstivers]

Another thing is take a piece of 8 or 10" well pipe and weld a plate to one end and set it upright in the tank. Fill with charcoal and light it. See if that will warm the water enough to thaw under it.

 

[Angus 62]

Have had a similar problem in the past. Thawed it out using a forced air kerosene heater with a stovepipe elbow stuck in the end to force the air downward. Cover the tank with tin or something nonflammable.

 

[greybeard]

Sometimes you can thaw out frozen lines using a calf tubing bag and about 10 gal of HOT water. Just keep the water running down the side of the plastic pipe that goes down into the hole.
The bag makes very efficient use of not much water.

 

[Denny]

I had a frost proof hydrant freeze up it was in a cattle pen and they were rubbing on it and turned it on slightly. I put a car tire over it and set it a fire that worked but it took a while it was froze pretty good.

 

[Jake]

Thanks for the ideas. Forcast is a little warmer for the next 5 days so I think nature gets a chance before I build a fire in the tank. We've never had this bad of a problem with it but it was the perfect storm with power going out while it was -15 with a heat index around -40