Property owners with ponds or lakes that freeze in the winter face the real possibility of severe dock and/or boat ice damage every year. Just because there may have been a mild winter occasionally in recent years, doesn't mean there will be one this year.

Dock de-icing system
When you own property on a pond or lake that freezes, as winter approaches each year you are faced with a few options. You can do nothing and hope for the best. You can put your boat into dry storage and remove your dock from the water (if you have somewhere to put them) which can be extremely expensive, or you can leave the boat and/or dock where they are and protect them by installing a Vertex winter dock de-icing system.

As surface waters freeze around docks and boats, concerned owners begin to worry and wonder if they will be lucky again this year. Don't leave the chance of severe ice damage to your boat or dock to Mother Nature. Prevent it!

Ice Damages
Ice has a tendency to shift over the course of the season. If ice is allowed to form around your dock and/or boat, when it shifts it can cause a few different types of damage.

Jacking/lifting damage happens when water levels below the ice fluctuate and force the ice that has attached to your boat or dock upward. This can loosen, or even completely remove even deep set pilings. 

Expansion damage is caused by the expansion of ice as it thickens (the same volume of water takes up more space when it freezes due to the expansion of the water molecules). 

This can cause damage by exerting high amounts of pressure between neighboring pilings, forcing them further apart and damaging the dock. The cost to repair docks or boats damaged by ice in this manner can be astronomical.

As temperatures start to significantly cool off in the fall, you should start to consider the options available to you for the winter months. Rapid and severe cold snaps can happen without much warning at all, and cause your pond or lake to freeze over much sooner than anticipated. It is always better to be prepared, and much easier to install a system before it gets too cold.

Vertex Aeration Systems
When compared to other aeration systems, Vertex stands head and shoulders above the competition. Vertex AirStations^TM can lift well over 8,000 gallons of water per minute, are self-cleaning, and carry an unrivaled 5 year "no questions asked" warranty. Our 1/3 hp Brookwood^TM compressors have a long-standing proven track record for low maintenance and extremely high energy efficiency, and come with an extended 2 year warranty. Our QuietAir^TM cabinet is constructed of 100% powder coated aluminum and provides a rust and corrosion resistant housing for the compressors under even the most severe weather conditions, and a lock for security. Our 115 volt models also come complete with a GFCI outlet for safety.

** Vertex winter pond aeration systems generally will not keep entire bodies of water free from ice, unless specifically designed to do so. Thin ice around the perimeter of the open area can be extremely dangerous. It is highly recommended that strategically placed signage accurately convey the danger of thin ice in an obvious manner.