Thawing ground to lift implement

Wind Gypsy

Wind Gypsy

5 year old buck +
I’m an idiot and left my drill on soft ground before it froze and now the openers are 2-3” sunk in frozen ground and the tractor won’t lift or pull it out. I was pretty gentle with the pull efforts so I don’t damage anything.

Think a propane torpedo heater would thaw a few inches of ground on a warmer (say mid 20s - mid 30s) day over the 6’ width of the drill?
 
I think it would.
 
Most any kind of heater would do the trick IMO, especially if you can figure a way to tent the drill. I have used tarps or sheets of metal roofing and a Mr. Buddy heater for similar situations. One of those propane weed torches also might work.
 
Definitely will. Just do what you can to trap the heat. It'll thaw in no time
 
How far is it from you hot water heaters drain valve?
 
We used to thaw frozen houses with the 150k BTU kerosene torpedo heaters. We'd set it in the yard, 5-8 feet back from the crawl space opening to avoid starting a fire, and let it blow hot air under the house. Just a few minutes and the pipes thaw.

The hot air will have a tendency to go horizontal and upwards, so you should use something to direct it down to the ground. Like a piece of plywood angled down so the hot air hits the ground.

If its a big heater you don't need a warm day. And you won't need to thaw 2-3" of soil. The metal will heat up quick and break the frost bond to the soil.
 
You could throw a black tarp over it and secure the tarp to the ground with logs and rocks to trap the heat. Sun would warm up underneath the tarp while you are not there.
 
Black tarp, or clear. Create your own greenhouse effect without the need for costly co2.

When I was building my house and getting ready to pour mud I was getting in to winter and worried about frozen soil. I used concrete blankets at night, but I had the bright idea to throw salt down in the trenches along with some water. Not sure if that made a difference, but no signs of settling or other after 10 years.

So maybe a salt brine would do the trick too.
 
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