High River Rentals

GROUND THAW

How It Works

The versatile Ground Heater^® - solves cold weather construction problems! Ground Heaters^®' dry, radiant, hydronic heat is economical and easy to use!

Thaw frozen ground for excavation and concrete placements

Thaw up to 1 foot deep per day!

Accurately quote winter construction jobs

Deliver projects on time

Keep crews and equipment working all winter

Protect exposed footings from frost heaving

No need to build temporary roads.. adjacent ground stays frozen

Cure concrete - achieve required strength gain sooner

Quote projects accurately

Keep projects on schedule

Keep crews and equipment working all winter

Avoid risk and expense of frozen concrete

No expensive enclosures to build

THAWING

Problem:
Ice in the soil!

Know Your Dirt! Ice Content of Frozen Soils


Gravel 5 to 7 lbs. in 1 cu. ft.	Sand 14 to 18 lbs. in 1 cu. ft.	Clay 16 to 22 lbs. in 1 cu. ft.	Silt 15 to 52 lbs. in 1 cu. ft.
Up to 1,001 Btu's required to melt ice	Up to 2,574 Btu's required to melt ice	Up to 3,146 Btu's required to melt ice	Up to 7,436 Btu's required to melt ice

Melting ice requires 143 Btu's per pound!

Frost Facts

Soil does not freeze
Water in soil freezes
Ice binds soil
Melting ice requires 143 Btu's per pound!

Best Solution:
Ground Heater^®

Ground Heater^® System

94% of the heat is conducted into frozen ground!

Thaws at a fast rate - typically 1 ft. deep per day
Achieves up to 10' thaw depth per application
No temporary enclosure to build
Uses fuel efficiently; fuel costs per cu. ft. thawed:

= less than 2?

= $1.10
Requires minimal supervision
Utilizes BTU's efficiently with minimal heat loss

Old Solution:
Hot Air

Hot Air System

Only 15% of the heat is conducted into the frozen ground!

Limited thaw depth
Requires building costly temporary enclosures
Requires noisy propane heaters
Creates outrageous propane bills
Emits noxious fumes into enclosure
Requires constant supervision

Thaw Cost Comparison

Thawing 6,000 sq. ft., 3 ft. deep

	Hot Air	Ground Heater
		Own	Rent
Time	25 days	3 days	3 days
Equipment/labor/ materials cost	$4,934	$913	$1,860
Fuel Cost	$19,800	$390	$390
Total job cost	$24,734	$662	$1,568
Cost/cu. ft.	$1.37?	8.7?	16.7?

NOTE: Figures above are based on average rates/costs. Actual rates/cost incurred may vary depending upon geographical location.

Ground Heater^®

out-performs hot air!
Thawing 6,000 sq. ft., 3 ft. deep

Time	8:1
Fuel Cost	50:1
Overall Cost	14:1

Ground Heater^® System Setup

1.	Prepare Site Scrape snow and ice from thaw site.
2.	Position Heat Transfer Hose Space hose 2 feet on center over thaw site area. A closed system, only heat goes into ground.
3.	Lay Poly Vapor Barrier Place minimum 3 mil poly vapor barrier to contain water vapor.
		Prevents loss of heat
		Keeps soil moist for better heat conduction
		Keeps hoses and blankets clean
4.	Place Insulation Blankets Prevent heat loss and direct heat into ground. Requires 2 to 3 layers of high R value blankets.

Benefits!

Thaw fast - typically 1 foot deep/ day!
Thaw cheap - as low as 9.7?/cu. ft.
Thaw deep - up to 10 feet/application
Thaw easy - no enclosures to build; set up is simple
Thaw large areas - up to 18,000 sq. ft./application
Thaw safe - certified in the US and Canada

NOTE: Figures above are based on average rates/costs. Actual
rates/cost incurred may vary depending upon geographical location.

CURING

Problem:

Cold temperatures slow speed of concrete's cure, causing cost increases and schedule delays.

Best Solution:

Use a Ground Heater^® to accelerate the cure.
A Ground Heater^® raises concrete to ideal curing
temperature (65°-75°F), greatly reducing costs and delays.

Fact #1: Hydration Reaction		Fact #2: Temperature		Fact #3: Speed
Cement chemically reacts with water to produce calcium silicate hydrate... the chemical compound that makes concrete hard and strong.		Temperature mainly determines the speed of this hydration reaction.		The speed of the hydration reaction determines how long it takes for concrete to set and develop strength. The speed of the hydration reaction is mostly determined by the temperature of the concrete.