Dock bubblers
 

for The second time my dock has sustained damage from ice. Since the actual cause can not be documented, I am looking at options to prevent or reduce damage.

So I am thinking of adding a bubbler to try to keep Ice from forming around the dock. I know it would not prevent ice floes from running into the dock, but it might reduce damage from freezing and heaving.

My questions are the what is cost of purchasing and where to purchase. Looking forward to any input

Watermark Marine Supply in Laconia
 

Give these guys a call. They definitely have them and I want to say they are around $800-$1000 (?). The other cost to consider would be installing a dedicated 30 amp circuit to run it.

http://www.shorefrontproducts.com/laconiastore

Check out Watermark in Laconia, and Winnipesaukee Marine Construction in Gilford for prices.

There are two types of units that are most common in my opinion . One hangs off the dock, and the other is mounted on a frame and sits on the lake bottom. In either application, you want to move the warmer water which is closer to the lake bottom in the winter to the surface to melt the ice.

If you have low water once the Lake is drawn during the winter at the end of your dock, I think the frame mounted unit is the way to go.

I would talk to both dealers with some stats about your dock to get an opinion, and price.

I run two units with separate dedicated 20 amp ground fault protected lines.


Good luck,

Cobalt

Can you confirm what caused the damage...was is heaving or ice flows? If it was ice flows your wasting your money on a bubbler. If it is in fact heaving the bubbler will certainly help. If your on the broads side of rattlesnake, more than likely it was ice flows.

Dan

Dan is spot on ......again! Last bubbler I bought was just $650 a year ago

we have two on our docking system and they are the frame sitting on the bottom type. the better of the choices out of the way of ice. they are on a alternating time so not to run 24 hour straight every day for 4-5 months.
They definitely do not stop ice flow, but we had pylons put out in front of the docks in line with the slip fingers and we need to have some re-driven every year or so because they take the brunt of the damage but having free water around the docks instead of the ice softens the blows to the pylons and the docks for sure because there is room to move.
we are south east in Paugus bay in the corner near the Margate, always the direction of the wind either coming from Lakeport or across the bay, everything comes our way

Crank up dock?
 

If you don't know the cause, and are about be be stuck with a second repair bill plus a bubbler that may not solve the problem, maybe now is a good time to consider a crank up seasonal?

If you're calling Watermark about a bubbler, you could ask them a ballpark price for a dock.

Learned a lot this year about ice damage and deicers. Damage can be from three different forces and the deicers only cover two. The two they are useful for are expansion and jacking. As ice freezes it expands. If your dock is frozen in the ice as the mass is expanding it can be pushed off its footings. These are mainly horizontal forces. Jacking occurs if the dock is frozen in the ice and the ice lifts it will lift the dock and footings up every so slightly. This is a vertical force that can repeat over and over pulling footings right out of the lake bed. Deicers safe guard against both of these sources of damage. Unfortunately nothing protects a dock from flowing ice in the spring.

BTW, Watermark has a Dockwatch program which is affordable and lends a piece of mind. They will set and check your deicers periodically

Bubblers are a must regardless. Cheap insurance against potentially devastating damage. May not need it if you have a crib dock. Do not need it if you have lift outs or a breakwater mounted dock. Only help against flows is a bunch of driven pilings cabled together on the flow side of the dock so that the ice hits it and is diverted.


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Dock bubblers/circulators serve two purposes. First - they prevent the lake water from freezing around your pilings, cribs or dock posts and lifting them up as the lake level rises in the spring. Second - they create a "shock absorber" of open water around your dock to protect it from the expanding and shrinking ice mass during the winter as the sun slightly warms the ice during the days causing expansion and the frigid nighttime temps. cause shrinkage.

However, no bubbler or circulator will protect your dock from sheets of ice being blown by the wind in the spring when the ice begins to break up. Those sheets of ice often weigh many tons, and whatever they hit is going to be damaged to some degree. I've seen several instances where the previously mentioned tripod-style pilings that are supposed to protect a dock by diverting the flowing ice were totally destroyed, so in my opinion they are probably not worth the expense of having them installed. They may divert small sections of moving ice, but pretty much nothing is going to stop larger flowing ice masses from causing major damage.

We run two circulators (also called "aquatherms" or "ice eaters") each winter on a single 20 amp GFI-protected circuit.

We have a couple of the tripod style pilings off the end of our dock. They are effective and without them our dock wouldn't survive. Like anything else they do have to be replaced from time to time. They are definitely worth the cost. The last time we replaced them we tried steel.

We had the dock watch program for our bubbler through watermark... the bubbler must have stopped working and the dock froze and is damaged... can’t get anyone to repair it until 2020. Absolutely false piece of mind...


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Winter Dock Protection
 

Island Service Company provides our circulator, installs it, monitors it during the winter season, and removes it at ice-out at our place on East Bear Island. The electric cost is high, but worth it. Just hope that the wind blows the ice away from the dock. We have a breakwater that protects us from north winds. 🐻

We use an "Ice Eater Model P750" it has been working for twenty years now. I recommend using a thermostat, it will save you money in the long run.

https://thepowerhouseinc.com/iceeaterdocks/