43 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | February 2024 finding the valve is open and frozen. If you think ahead, you can bring a jug of hot water in the truck with you. You can use a heat gun to thaw things out too, but you must have electricity handy. Be careful with thawing pipes in houses. Even a heat gun can start a fire. Cistern gauges So, we have the water in the cistern, but how much water is in there? For years we used the dipstick method but once we got on rural water, our cistern lid was closed all the time, so we had to find a new method. I searched the world and the best option I found was “Water Window.” This has a sensor in the tank that plugs into a box in the house that is plugged in. It works with your Wi-Fi and sends the level to your phone. It takes time to set up but it works well. You still have to remember to look at it though. Septic tank freezing Once we’ve got the furnace working and the water in the house, we have to get the water and other goodies out of the house. We came back from our winter holiday a few years ago and were blessed with a septic tank that wouldn’t pump out. We have a tank that pumps out every few days depending on usage. The problem is that the suction line from the tank to the basement – where the pump is – freezes up. It’s further complicated by the fact that our septic tank isn’t very deep. When the plumber put in the tank in 1977, his backhoe wouldn’t dig any deeper. After no indoor plumbing, we were happy to get a septic tank anywhere. So I devised various methods to keep it thawed out: I installed a remote thermometer in a somewhat waterproof container about two feet above the fluid level in the septic tank. It’s a Mickey Mouse setup but it works. I took a 1x4 board and put a metal hook on one end to hang it over the top of the septic tank. I made the hook out of flat metal so it would fit under the edge of the cover when it was closed. I drilled a hole in the end of the hook and pushed a small stake into the ground so the contraption didn’t fall in the tank. On the end of the tank, I installed a pill bottle big enough to hold the temperature sensor for the thermometer. I drilled a few large holes in the bottle for air flow. Now we could see the temperature of the septic tank in the house. We also had a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a caged trouble light hanging in the septic tank that we plugged in when it got cold. Don’t use an LED bulb – they don’t give off enough heat. Keep the light away from the thermometer sensor. We built a cover for the septic tank out of 2x10s and oriented strand board. The top was insulated with six inches of Styrofoam insulation. Once this was over the tank, we covered it with snow to seal the cracks and provide further insulation. If the temperature in the tank started getting below 2 C, we turned on the hot water tap and ran about 20 gallons of hot water into the septic tank. These methods have kept things thawed out so far. Keeping pipes warm For years, heat tapes have been a great idea for keeping pipes warm. You can get them in various lengths to wrap around your pipes. However, this just works for the outside of the pipe. I just heard of a new pipe heater called HeatLine that can go inside the pipe. You don’t have to dig up the pipes to wrap them with heat tape. It also works for eavestroughs as well. I haven’t tried it, but it sounds promising. Starting vehicles and equipment Yes, engines don’t like to start when it’s cold. Block heaters are needed and at times that is not enough. Here are a few extra things you can add to make old faithful start in the cold: Years ago, Chrysler and Ford products had the option of two block heaters. You don’t see that much anymore but you can add an extra block heater or a circulating heater. Circulating heaters come in various sizes from 500 to 2,250 watts. They should be mounted in such as way that the warm coolant will rise to make it circulate. Oil pan heaters help out too. They just clamp onto the oil pan and keep the oil warm. There are also magnetic pan Tractors, Trucks & Growing Grain SPRING GROWER PROGRAM INTO Spring Savings Growers who purchase a qualifying unit of the following Gowan products will receive the instant rebate for each product through their retail. Product Qualifying Unit Instant Rebate Edge® MicroActiv® 454 KG 1 minibulk 5% $160/bag Avadex® MicroActiv® 451.33 KG* 1 minibulk 2% $40/bag Fortress® MicroActiv® 453.6 KG* 1 minibulk 2% $55/bag Avadex® Liquid SC 1 Liter 3% $.60/L Treflan® Liquid EC 1 Liter 3% $.50/L QUALIFYING PRODUCTS, MINIMUM PURCHASE REQUIREMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: November 1, 2023 - April 30, 2024 *Insight Liquid SC Any purchase (between July 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024) of a qualifying unit of Edge®, Avadex® or Fortress® 5% Up to $0.50/ac Edge® MicroActiv® 454 KG, Avadex® MicroActiv® 451.33 KG, Avadex® Liquid SC one liter, Treflan® one liter and Fortress® MicroActiv® 453.6 KG *Insight rebate based on 60mL per acre rate. Percentages indicated are based on SRP Instant rebate to be applied at time of purchase by local retailer. Gowan Canada is not responsible for payment. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AG RETAILER OR GOWAN REP FOR MORE DETAILS For more information call 1-800-960-4318, email info@gowanco. com or visit gowancanada.com. Terms and conditions apply. Avadex® and Fortress® are registered trademarks used under license by Gowan Company LLC. Treflan®, Edge® and Microactiv® are registered trademarks of Gowan Company L.L.C. INSIGHT® is a registered trademark of ISK BIOSCIENCES CORP. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3