Thawing frozen ground

[davenorthup]

Could not quite figure out how to Google this one successfully.

Need a heating element to thaw a small diameter in frozen ground. One where I can drill out a 1" (or similar) diameter hole of the frozen ground, insert the heating element and thaw that small area of soil. I only need to thaw a few inches in diameter....

Any products - links?

THX

[Kent Brobeck]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Dave, you'd be surprise how much is out there for this type of thing. Concrete and utility contractors have a need for this stuff.

www.thawground.com

Or just google search it there's a number of them.

[gary robertson]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

put a halogen light under a 5 gallon pail for 2 days done

[Dancing Dan]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Or some ice melt wire under some rigid or hay.

[wyattg]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

If you only have to thaw out a few inches in dia. why not just use a hammerdrill or a core drill & drill the hole.

[James Eggert]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Dave
Does this have anything to do with the "permafrost" I hear about in your neck of the woods?

I agree, drill it out, maybe even drill it larger, then ...heck, I don't even know what you're doing with a 1" hole?????

[dave_k]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

There are lots of heaters and blankets designed to thaw ground but the old fashion way is to light a bed of coal and cover it with straw and let it smoulder for a few days. Charcoal under batt insulation would probably work as well.

The type of soil you are thawing and how wet it is has a large bearing on how much energy you have to put in to thaw it. If I remember correctly it takes anywhere from 900 BTU's to over 8000 BTU's to thaw a cubic foot of soil depending on the soil's composition. Free draining soils like gravels are easier to thaw than clays and silts.

[davenorthup]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Dave, you'd be surprise how much is out there for this type of thing. Concrete and utility contractors have a need for this stuff.

www.thawground.com

Kent - I am aware of all the blankets and methods of thawing larger areas of soil. They are a dime a dozen here.

What I am looking for is a quick heat method. Basically drilling a 1" or so hole down a foot or two - insert the heating element and then it thaws the area. This is for installing helical piers and we are needing to thaw just that small area.

I am aware of a local made oil filled rod option in CAN that is basically 3000W runs off 220 and can thaw an area of 8" in about 5 minutes. I'm looking for a fast method like this...

Just curious if there are any other options on the market. Think oil dipstick heating rod on steroids....

Dave
Does this have anything to do with the "permafrost" I hear about in your neck of the woods?

I agree, drill it out, maybe even drill it larger, then ...heck, I don't even know what you're doing with a 1" hole?????

I need to get 8" or more. The 1" hole is to just insert the heating rod... We have to go much further north to find any substantial perma frost and it is going quickly....

[Alaskan Son]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Dave,

What are those rods the ground thawing companies use? I wonder if there's a smaller version of that you can use.

[dgbldr]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

How about something really quick?

[davenorthup]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Dave,

What are those rods the ground thawing companies use? I wonder if there's a smaller version of that you can use.

Do tell????? I've only seen the blankets.

[Alaskan Son]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

The guys who thaw drainage areas on the road system, and utility stuff have a box truck with hoses (or cords) and rods. Not sure how it works, just seen them do it.

[davenorthup]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

That's right. In Homer the culverts have the rods in them and the trucks roll up and heat them and go on thier way.

Thanks for reminding me a about that. I'll chase that lead.

[davenorthup]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

When you said culverts I put that into Google and found this - http://www.arcticblaster.com/index.html

That might work....

[Alaskan Son]

Re: Thawing frozen ground

Any time buddy:)