It appears water remains in the tubing in between fills, how do you deal with "winterizing" for protecting vent caps and tubes from freeze damage?
1260240
We go south for the winter, that prevents freeze damage! Seriously though, the tubes are rubber and would not be harmed by freezing, the caps are solid plastic, I doubt that the volume of water left in them would be a problem, but I suppose you could always put the original caps back for winter storage. Why don't you try contacting the mfr directly, they would be able to give you the proper answer. Good question though, I had not really thought about it before, but it does remind me, I do need to top up my batteries.
361834
Fill it up with isopropyl until the internal glass tube is submerged, let it sit for as long as you can, see it helps. .. temporarily
676862
I have filled mine with a mixture of water, salt, and rubbing alcohol. This way the water can't freeze all of the way and the ice is flexible. After use, I just put it back in the freezer for the next use. The freezing process doesn't seem to hurt the liner of the bag, because it has not leaked at all.
120331
As far as I know it is auto defrost, when i check on the temp daily (have a thermometer installed) I do not see any buildup in the back.
1643775
I have not done this yet, but plan on it. Apparently having clear water, boiling it, etc. does not matter that much in the big picture. Controlling the freezing from the top down...where water essentially pushes the "not-clear-parts" downward...is the most crucial part. So if you fill a pot of water, submerge this style of mold then turn it upside down, and pull it out of the water with the opening still in contact with the bigger body of water, and finally use a wire to keep it in that position while freezing...you should get a clear sphere. If you need a visual of this, search "alcademics" where I saw this and you can get a step by step. I have not done this yet, but plan on it. Apparently having clear water, boiling it, etc. does not matter that much in the big picture. Controlling the freezing from the top down...where water essentially pushes the "not-clear-parts" downward...is the most crucial part. So if you fill a pot of water, submerge this style of mold then turn it upside down, and pull it out of the water with the opening still in contact with the bigger body of water, and finally use a wire to keep it in that position while freezing...you should get a clear sphere. If you need a visual of this, search... » Read More I have not done this yet, but plan on it. Apparently having clear water, boiling it, etc. does not matter that much in the big picture. Controlling the freezing from the top down...where water essentially pushes the "not-clear-parts" downward...is the most crucial part. So if you fill a pot of water, submerge this style of mold then turn it upside down, and pull it out of the water with the opening still in contact with the bigger body of water, and finally use a wire to keep it in that position while freezing...you should get a clear sphere. If you need a visual of this, search "alcademics" where I saw this and you can get a step by step. « Show Less
1369952
When you initially activate them in water don't let them get too full of water, you should be able to put a dimple in each square and have it remain there this will allow for the gel to expand when freezing and not compromize the covering. Once one of the squares is leaking all you can do is cut it off the rest of the squares. If you use it in a cooler with regular ice also the squares may be absorbing more water as the regular ice melts and when you refreeze the Techni Ice the packaging has no room to expand and it splits.
862657
Unfortunately I don't think this will work for you. I have had mine freeze up when it is only down to 0°F. so I think you'd have real problems at -40. There is not much insulation in there, so it might work if you sprayed more insulation inside and maybe put a gasket between the fixture and the ground and maybe another gasket on the access door on the side. I don't know if there are other waterers that would work any better. It is also critical that the waterline feeding the waterer does not freeze up below grade as it passes through the frost line. I had this occur to me one time and used halogen lamps to heat up the ground. Unfortunately I don't think this will work for you. I have had mine freeze up when it is only down to 0°F. so I think you'd have real problems at -40. There is not much insulation in there, so it might work if you sprayed more insulation inside and maybe put a gasket between the fixture and the ground and maybe another gasket on the access door on the side. I don't know if there are other waterers that would work any better. It is also critical that the waterline feeding the waterer does not freeze up below grade as it passes through the frost line. I had this occur to me one time and used... » Read More Unfortunately I don't think this will work for you. I have had mine freeze up when it is only down to 0°F. so I think you'd have real problems at -40. There is not much insulation in there, so it might work if you sprayed more insulation inside and maybe put a gasket between the fixture and the ground and maybe another gasket on the access door on the side. I don't know if there are other waterers that would work any better. It is also critical that the waterline feeding the waterer does not freeze up below grade as it passes through the frost line. I had this occur to me one time and used halogen lamps to heat up the ground. « Show Less
1930793
In addition to the other suggestions, stand the unit upright in a climate controlled environment (72F+) for about an hour. This will address cold weather and over priming/choke related issues.
858155
I packed up the pump and stored it indoors for the winter. The freezing and thawing will not be good for the unit.
967460
I just work it around, prying out a little at a time & in short order it can be popped out. The warmth from my hands helping as I go. Also, try not filling it all the way to the top before freezing. The water will expand while it freezes. Full to about 80% to 85%. Hope that helps.
711343
We left ours up all year and it did fine. It would have worked better had we put the cover on it. However I decided this spring to just drain it and have the fire department come and fill it. (we just bought the water from local company and gave the department a donation-worked faster than using our hose). During the winter we did put a heat lamp on the pump and covered/insulated it well so it wouldn't freeze. Being a saltwater system probably helped with that.
1353439
I have just installed the box and haven't been in winter weather with it yet. I am planning to install a sheet metal cover over it and will be o.k. if I keep it dry.
893829
I have noticed that there is "residual" ice flakes in the seems of these after a use. Therefore, rinse them off with water to melt away the residual, wipe off the excess water. put them together and put water in it. careful not to squeeze too hard which will allow the seems to get filled up with water (causing that line or crack). allow several hours to completely freeze.
711341
We live in NJ and left it up all winter. We drained to below intake and out take openings and disconnected pump and stored that and lines. Bad thing was original cover tore so bought a winter cover from a cover company and cover was too small! Took forever to get pool cleaned and refilled, but now can't keep grandson out of it!
1398929
try to rinse out the cartridge. The cold side is plugged. Turn the cartridge around. If you only get cold water, the cartridge is plugged or bad.
1090812
I had my tub for about a year. No issues with it at all. Kept it in a cool dark cupboard. It can be frozen if you don't use often. If you try that, break it down into 1 cup increments, wrap in plastic and freeze in a Ziploc with as little air as possible so you can take out only what you need to defrost.
517426
There is no freezer. However, the cooling tubing is vertical along the inner back wall and it is still possible that that could frost over. As an automatic feature, when the compressor cycles off, the frost melts, runoff is captured in a trough and drains through a hole at the base of the inner back wall to an evaporation tray below the compressor. Once you get your temp set to your satisfaction, just check every so often that the drain hole isn't plugged by debris or whatever.