Ice farming in Illinois
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Yup. I've given up on any ice forming at Starved Rock this season. So in a sudden urge to do something with the severe cold spell, I joined with a couple friends in starting our own little 'farmed' ice formation. Location to remain secret, of course. It isn't going to be as spectacular as the Peabody Ice climbing club in Fenton Michigan, but a frozen silo is still the thing to do in desperate times. |
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Just one concern. Those looks like some old silos. Is it safe to add all that weight to them? Hate to see them collapse. They are made for holding outward internal pressures not so much with outward external forces. Just a thought. |
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You might try getting into contact with these folks in Iowa. I haven't been out there to check it out but I know they've been doing the same thing for the past few years. Judging by their pictures it looks like they know what they're doing. |
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Bill Lamoreux wrote:Just one concern. Those looks like some old silos. Is it safe to add all that weight to them? Hate to see them collapse. They are made for holding outward internal pressures not so much with outward external forces. Just a thought.This one is solid concrete with all those steel bands intact every 3 feet. It's been used for toprope rock climbing for many years already. More ice on day 3. |
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What are you using for your nozzle? I have had great success using soaker hoses. They put out a mist which I have found freezes really well. I have also used a "spot sprinkler" which I super glue some of the holes shut to decrease the flow rate. I however do not have a structure to farm on, instead my ice is free standing. I just use conduit to raise the sprinkler up high and let the water flow down. |
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Woodchuck, |
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That OkCity ice looks alot like what ours is turning out to freeze into. Just a simple sprinkler hose and pvc pipe is doing the job so far. A couple frozen hose nights below zero, but working good in the teen temps of the day right now. Thanks for the tips. We did get hose heaters going a day or so ago. |
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Wow, good luck Woodchuck! |
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Woodchuck that is lookin' nice! Keep it up! You got anchors setup? |
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Cool you guys have some good ice going We've been working on building ice for about the last 13 or more years and changing our set up every year. right now we have 3 outside climb's and 3 on the inside. anywhere from wi3 to wi4+. I've found that I can build ice as warm as 22 degrees and as cooled as you want as long as you have the volume of water to build good ice. We use a pvc pipes with misting sprayers for spraying fields. moving it up and down depending on where we need to build. |
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bye bye ice it's been fun! |
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we hope to squeeze another day or two out of it before the collapse. |