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My rainwater collection froze solid after a cold snap in Missouri last month
I live in a cabin I built on family land near Rolla, Missouri, and I rely on two 275 gallon IBC totes for my water supply. Last month we had a real cold snap, dropped to 12 degrees for three nights straight. I thought I had winterized them by wrapping them in old blankets and tarps, but the water inside still froze solid and cracked the bottom valve on one tote. Lost all 275 gallons and now I'm hauling jugs from my brother's place in town until I figure out a fix. I'm thinking about burying the totes next time or maybe adding a small recirculating pump to keep water moving. Has anyone here tried using a stock tank heater in a closed tote system, or is that a fire risk?
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margaretramirez1mo ago
Burying them is the way to go but you gotta dig deep enough to get below the frost line. I've been collecting rain here in Missouri for 8 years and lost two totes to freezing before I wised up. Put them in a sloped pit lined with gravel so water drains away, and bury them with the tops sticking up just enough to access the inlets. For the stock tank heater idea, I tried that one winter and it works but you absolutely need a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet and use a heater designed for plastic tanks, not the metal ones. The real trick is a small 12v RV recirculating pump on a timer that kicks on for 5 minutes every hour, keeps the water moving just enough to stop ice from forming without wasting power.
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grant4781mo ago
Whoa wait, hold on. @margaretramirez, you lost two whole totes to freezing before you figured that out? Man, that's rough. I had one crack on me here in Ohio my first year and I about quit the whole thing. I can't imagine losing two of them, those things aren't cheap and cleaning up 275 gallons of water in a frozen yard is a nightmare. That 12v pump idea is genius though, I might have to borrow that for next winter.
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