Yesterday I mentioned one of our culverts had frozen. This resulted in a temporary pond that has been driving me a little crazy the last few weeks. We have an impending snow storm coming tomorrow and I really wanted to get this drained before then.
The main way I’ve seen for clearing frozen culverts involves steam and machinery I do not have access to. But I do have access to hot water and hoses. What if I run a hose down the culvert to where the ice blockage begins, and pour boiling hot water down? Would it melt the ice and let the water flow?
I mentioned the idea to Kate and she said she had been thinking the same thing. So we got the gear together and started pouring boiling water down to the ice blockage. After a couple of pours it didn’t seem like anything was happening. Then we noticed water slowly puddling up on the downhill end of the culvert. Then I noticed the whirlpool in the pond.
Eventually the ice cleared enough and the remaining ice flowed out:
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