Realistic ways to thaw out a frozen tank

[billyinvt]

I have a couple of cage tanks half full with frozen solid blocks of sap in them. Is there a good/safe way to thaw them out enough to get the valve open and boil? I'm going to collect some fresh sap this afternoon and pump it in there with the hopes that it might "float the block"

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

I have a couple of cage tanks half full with frozen solid blocks of sap in them. Is there a good/safe way to thaw them out enough to get the valve open and boil? I'm going to collect some fresh sap this afternoon and pump it in there with the hopes that it might "float the block"

Hit up Princess Auto or Amazon once you put in some sap and buy a tank heater. Used for farming to keep tanks from freezing and should slowly melt the block... could take a while depending on the size but I have done it with some success.

[n8hutch]

I have a couple of cage tanks half full with frozen solid blocks of sap in them. Is there a good/safe way to thaw them out enough to get the valve open and boil? I'm going to collect some fresh sap this afternoon and pump it in there with the hopes that it might "float the block"

Space heater pointed directly at what you want to thaw, I've had good luck using tarps and space heaters to thaw out tanks, build a triangle of sorts to keep the tarp away from the hot part of the space heater and cover what you want to heat, the tarp will fill up with hot air and will get things thawing rather quickly.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Now if the valve is closed you need to get heat to it so you can open it don't over heat it with a torch. A good shop light close will help. Now if you want to get things flowing ASAP once valve is open take a spade bit and drill straight into the valve as far as possible and then drill straight into the top of the ice block onto the hole you drilled from the valve. Once you get a pathway for the water to travel you can get the tank to melt and drain. If you have hot water you can speed it up. Cold water will melt ice it just takes longer. The key is getting just a trickle of water moving out of the tank and you will get it done.

Get a cement blanket for future heating.

[billyinvt]

Thanks for the suggestions. Ill get the space heater/tarp combo going and a blow dryer on the valve. I like the idea of a stock tank heater to prevent future freeze ups. They're not really that expensive, especially compared to what we normally spend on this endeavor!

[Tigermaple]

Take a two gallon pump sprayer from the hardware store filled with near boiling water or better yet sap and spray around the ball valve to open it ( or just unthread it if possible). Then spray into the valve to open the passage. Quick and easy, do it all the time.

[Millwright]

I wrapped a heat tape on my valve and the line coming into the shack. Then covered it with pipe insulation. This keeps at least the valve from freezing

[GeneralStark]

If you care at all about the sap quality then just add more sap to the frozen block tanks and proceed. If you just need to thaw out the valve, then a torch on very low and very careful will do the trick. Heating a whole tote to thaw out a block of ice seems like a fools errand which will only degrade the quality of the sap.

[Ontario Ian]

If you care at all about the sap quality then just add more sap to the frozen block tanks and proceed. If you just need to thaw out the valve, then a torch on very low and very careful will do the trick. Heating a whole tote to thaw out a block of ice seems like a fools errand which will only degrade the quality of the sap.

If you dont boil it today, you will boil it tommorow

[maple flats]

How much do you want to spend? https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200617769_200617769?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&utm_source=Bing_PLA&utm_medium=Material%20Handling%20%3E%20Bucket,%20D rum%20%2B%20Tote%20Heaters&utm_campaign=BriskHeat&utm_content=42023&msclkid=603cd3a2f59d1981e0a28919825e1a2c
or: https://www.zoro.com/briskheat-ibc-tank-heaters-120v-42-h-133a-ac-totew421-adj/i/G0357283/?msclkid=6afeab955a711a86dfdaf12e2242d3f3&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=RLSA_PLA_Site%20Visitors&utm_term=4581390075737158&utm_content=Drum%20%26%20Dock%20Equipment&gclid=CKGhlvfwjtoCFaKtZQod4oAPfQ&gclsrc=ds

[billyinvt]

Wow Dave! Now that's some mighty expensive solution. At the time of the original posting the tank was a solid block of frozen sap. As Matt suggested, the ice in the tank has served to keep all new sap nice and cold and fresh, So I've just been adding to the tank as the block slowly shrinks. Should be gone after today's 50 degrees.

[Daveg]

A sinking stock tank heater from TSC is $32 and is recommended for use in 100-300 gallon tanks. I used one in a plastic 60 gallon drum: just fine. However, you will probably need a $10 space heater from ***mart to thaw the valve. That or 2 gallons of HOT water slowly and strategically directed at the moving parts. All thawed sap will need to be processed immediately or it will go bad very quickly.

[Bricklayer]

I've been dealing with frozen cage totes last couple of years. What I've learned is that the totes take a lot to freeze solid. If you catch them quick enough you will notice they usually freeze about an inch or 2 around the outsides of sap. It looks like a solid block but it isn't.
What I do is get a hole broke in the ice block through the lid. I use a piece of 1" copper pipe about 3' long. It seems to do the trick.
I then put my sap transfer pump intake line in the hole and fire pump up. I just recirc the sap through the pump and put the pump line under the ice deep into the tank. It will create enough turbulence to weaken the ice eventually. I usually run it for an hour or so and I'm good to open the valve. Ice in the tank is good to have to keep sap cool. So I leave as much as possible. I drilled a hole in the outside of the ball in the valve to drain it out when it's closed. If you have the gate type valve that is not possible.

[Havingfun]

What if you ran a aquarium air pump and placed the air line at the bottom of the tote. By introducing air into the tote it should reduce icing by constantly agitating the water.

[FarmerKJS]

If my tank is only frozen around the edges a few inches thick, I can take and shake it up with a skid steer or a bumpy road. This breaks up the ice enough that I can open the valve and pump out the sap.

If it is frozen more than a few inches, I just bring it into our heated shop for a day or two and it gets it to the point that I can use the above method.