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Thanks for the ideas Hobby!

Highflyer and I have actually talked about an alcohol injection system. First, I think this Winter is going to show us how bad off we are or are not. One big lesson I have learned up there is the less moving parts the better. If we could solve our problem with a condensation trap or two and not have to add more "complexity" I would be thrilled. Heck at this point I am actually hoping I still have a small P trap in the weighted lines where they hit the water that can be straightened out. If so, that could possibly solve everything.

The Thomas 2660 I run during the Winter will not restart pumping under pressure - I'm only running ~12 PSI. To enable the pump to restart I have a small valve cracked open as small as possible to bleed off the pressure after shutdown. I would be very happy to lose that air blowing out condensation instead.

Last Winter the total lack of snow did not give us an accurate sample of what the solar system would be dealing with on a normal year. (It also sent the frost line MUCH deeper than normal.) This year the much needed snow has made for some tough stretches for solar and we are in one right now. The system hit the low voltage disconnect yesterday and will not turn back on until the sun comes back out and recharges the batteries to a predetermined higher voltage. While it sucks to see the hole close up this setup protects the batteries from being drawn down too far and reducing lifespan. It will be interesting to see what happens when the power turns back on over the next couple days.

With the American Eagle crapping out once again and the solar struggling in a more normal Winter we are discussing taking the Eagle compressor off the tower and replacing it with a 1KW wind turbine to generate more power. We already have basically all of the "infrastructure" in place so it will tie right in to the existing system and battery bank. That should be a very fun project.

Pic from yesterday

Last edited by wbuffetjr; 12/28/18 12:33 PM.

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All makes sense. I'm hoping to get enough solar to keep ahead of the low voltage cut-out - we'll see. The additonal power from a wind set-up might be the ticket for your set-up.


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My buddy is going up to check on my place and help me out today. Planning on running some alcohol through the airlines, adding water to solar batteries and collecting DO data.

I should say he is TRYING to go up today. It's tough going....



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Now that is a good buddy! We could all use friends like this guy smile


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^^^^^EXACTLY!!!

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Looks like he got the snowmobile stuck. Oh Crap!


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He IS a VERY good friend! They eventually made it up. Unfortunately he did not bring back good news.

The hole from the aeration has been struggling badly for about a month. The hole consistently shrank. It went from one large hole to two separate holes, to two small holes, to one small hole, to gone. The one single hole would reappear and then disappear one or two days to the next. We have lots of speculation to why the hole would disappear and reappear, but no solid answer. I figured the DO was going to take a big hit.

He said the lake has a thick layer of slushy snow on top. After he cleared away the slush he drilled a hole to measure DO. He said the ice was from his elbow to the very tip of his finger. Estimating 18"-20" thick. He measured in 7' of water and got 1ppm down to .8ppm. The spot he measured was no where near a diffuser. Neither him nor I wanted him getting anywhere near any possible thin ice.

While he was up he put 6 pints of alcohol through the airlines 1/2 a pint or 1 pint at a time. He let some of the doses soak in for up to 20-30 minutes before blowing air through and adding more alcohol. We have already seen an improvement in the aeration holes. All we can hope is there is enough snow on the ground now that it is insulating the airlines and they were starting to thaw on their own and/or they will not refreeze after this round of alcohol. Traditionally February and March are our snowiest months.

I am assuming a lot of fish are dead. We are back to the drawing board again for solutions to the condensation issue.

Pic from 01-24-20109 - day before he went up. Koenders still keeping a small hole open.


Pic from 01-27-2019 - two days after he went up.


Measuring DO.


Snow not giving up easy this year.


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In Canada where we went fishing and in winters when they had as much snow or more than what you are showing the camp owner said the ground did not freeze the shallow underground water pipes when snow cover arrived before really cold temps. If you can get the airline open and with your current snow cover it is likely the airline will not refreeze. Hopefully.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/28/19 10:44 AM.

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Big snow came in last night. More on the way over the next few days. We are getting our butts kicked as far as keeping a hole open goes. Time for version 16.1.7ab plan F



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Buddy with a cabin close by swung by our place while he was on the mountain. My other buddy that helps me up there rode up with him. Much easier and more relaxing ride in the snowcat!! Still some work though. Even the snowcat was having a little trouble in some of the really deep and steep! Couple videos just for some perspective of what we are fighting up there. In the end, they made it up and ran some more alcohol through the line. We had a hole open today. More snow coming though so no idea how long the hole will last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fQQfXKBTWI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOp562JgU4

Last edited by wbuffetjr; 11/22/20 06:43 AM.

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my browser at home says video unavailable. Tried putting the link in the browser directly and says unavailable. Maybe you can post the direct links?

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I think you have to make the videos public?

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agree, the links didn't work either, it brought me to youtube but then said the page wasn't available. I suspect at the time of upload it was set to 'private viewing' or something like that

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They were private. I thought that just meant people couldn't see them without the link. I have changed them to public.


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WBjr,
Any updates for us? Any new pictures? What is the weather supposed to bring?

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Canyon - I am getting my butt kicked buddy. Hard to say for sure, but I would guess 2'to 3' of new snow in the last week or so. A small hole opened back up again from the previous snow, but this new round of snow buried it pretty good. More snow coming tonight, tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. So far we are 120% of normal snow pack so a great year for snow. Unfortunately the 1/2HP pump just doesn't have the muscle to break through. I need more intensity in my plume. Definitely going to be running the 1HP pump next year. My buddy is going to go up again in a couple weeks once we know lines will for sure not refreeze and we are going to go ahead and switch over to the 1HP pump. Hopefully it's not too late.

Highflyer, MNFish and I have been brainstorming quite a bit on the plan for next Winter.

Last edited by wbuffetjr; 02/18/19 02:27 PM.

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Here's an update for y'all. We are at 141% of normal for snow right now. I upped my game this Summer and unfortunately Mother Nature upped hers as well.I would estimated the peak of that roof is ~15-16' off the ground. That is no small structure. There's an F150 and a 70HP Kubota under there with room for two more vehicles. You can see the truck if you look. Needless to say...... no hole open.


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Always a pleasure reading your updates in the mountains. Somehow, it makes our Wisconsin winters just a little easier.

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WOW!! Does that mean that the deer, elk, cougar, bobcats will have a much higher mortality rate this year? How in the world can they move around to find food in all that snow?

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Joey - I am happy to help!! Lol

Canyon - As soon as the snow really starts flying basically all the wildlife migrates down the mountain to lower elevations. Some things stay up there all year. Bears are in their dens hibernating and snowshoe hares stay up there. Down in the valley there is not very much snow on the ground. I don't think my buddy has even had much more than 1' on the ground at one time this year if that.


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Looks like we are getting close to punching a hole through the snow/ice. There is a large area of gray snow above the solar diffusers and a small one above the Koenders diffuser. Open water can't come soon enough!



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Will you be able to get DO readings once the diffusers punch through again?

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Got more snow today so a little set back. My buddy is headed up tomorrow. Going to swap in the 1HP pump and let it rip. I m expecting open water very soon after. He is also going to get DO data while he is up there.


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Buddy went up a couple weeks ago to hook up the big compressor. He got it all hooked up and then it blew up. So reconnected the smaller pump. We finally had a hole start to form and it has finally gotten a little size to it. I am hoping the holes and the compressor running ~9 hours per day are making a significant impact in DO. Not sure if any fish are alive, but if they are hopefully the situation improves quickly. A guy in Michigan shipped me a new 1550 and we hope to get it up there and installed asap. No DO data collected as all the time was eaten up with pump swaps. Lots of rain in the forecast. Temps have been pretty warm up there so not sure if it will come down as rain or snow.



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