# Ice Eater



## hungoverhunter (Apr 10, 2013)

Anybody make their own ice eater? I've read a few forums where they use sump pumps not to sure that would be ideal for the slew i hunt. If you have built your own leave a link to the parts and directions on how to build, thanks in advance!


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

A sump pump works wonders.


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## hedning (Sep 11, 2014)

A sump pump works perfectly fine. I have not myself built one but heard about a neighbor who have been using one for about 1½ feet water.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

Explain to me guys how a sub pump would work guys?...I use one to drain my small pond that I raise waterfowl in and it doesn't take much muck to clog it up and shut it off...Would you put it up on something to get it off the bottom? BL?


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

When I used the sump pump, we cut a hole in the ice and only let it hang in the water about 8 inches so it wasn't on the bottom and let the water pump over the ice to create a bigger hole that was a square.


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## duckyboymn (Jan 28, 2006)

I made mine out of a modified Minn Kota trolling motor. Used a green 5 gallon bucket. Mounted it thru bucket. Cut hole in back and used galvanized screen to allow water to flow thru. Best part is that i don't need a generator there...just a couple deep cycle batteries.


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## KJH (Aug 23, 2006)

My partners and I built one a few years back... we spent the summer purchasing cheap old 12v trolling motors off of Craigslist.

We built a metal frame that was adjustable and anchored it to two large old tires that we filled with concrete. It was very stable. Then we mounted 4 trolling motor power heads to the frame and ran the wires back to the shoreline where the 4 control units were located. All 4 of the motors wires were zip tied together. Each motor power head could be adjusted on the frame to direct the prop wash in the desired direction. Worked very well... with one exception... We had 4 batteries to run the motors and they were charged by a fencing charger but it wasn't enough to keep them charged. This led to having to swap out the batteries every day. It would keep a 40x20 hole open in very cold weather as long as you could keep power to it.

The concept worked well and if there would have been a way to do it with 120v power and alternating current motors we would be in business.

A couple of guys I hunt with have a homemade "duck lagoon" about 300 yards off the river and they put in pipe with a large air compressor buried behind their pit blind. They have power tot he blind. The compressor runs on a cyclical timer and bubbles for 5 minutes on and 10 minutes off to build up pressure. It works exceptionally well. They turn off the compressor when they hunt and every morning the lagoon is open except the first couple of feet around the edges. They used half inch pipe with holes in it every couple of feet. There is likely 400 ft of continuous pipe in the bottom of the lagoon. The only issue that they have is that its easy to catch your feet on the pipe when setting decoys or retrieving birds. When they are done for the season, they disconnect the compressor and walk away.


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## PnR_Productions (Feb 15, 2010)

I've been planning on getting myself a cheap half HP used electric motor and building and ice eater. We figured we could build a frame out of square tubing left over from a boat blind. Seeing as my cheap elec motor won't be waterproof i thought we could rig up some sort of adjustable legs in order to keep the motor out of the water and run our prop (aka wore out mud motor prop) off of a chain and sprocket set up. I figured a goose shell would cover the motor well and seeing as my friends and I all bowfish here, Honda genny's are fairly easy to come by.  I hope it all works out well.


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