Anyone using a gas powered wind mill frost machine for their orchards?

[mikester]

Got woken up last night to what I thought was a helicopter landing on my driveway.

We have a neighbour about 1km away (less than half a mile) who installed a new gas powered windmill frost machine this spring. At midnight last night he fired it up. Outside temp was 6oC or about 42oF. Still running, right now it's 4oC and no sign of frost. I'm not sure what he's trying to grow, maybe grapes or some sort of orchard products.

If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a reference:

Wind machines for minimizing cold injury to horticultural crops

Learn how to use wind machines to protect grapevines and tender tree fruits from cold temperatures. This technical information is for commercial fruit growers in Ontario. ISSN 1198-712X, Published June 2010

www.ontario.ca

Does anyone here have one of these? What are your best practices?

 

[oosik]

The large orchards NW of me use these things in the spring. Keeps the young tender blossoms and trees from frost damage. They use to use smudge pots - long ago - also.

 

[oosik]

FWIW - most of the more modern "frost machines" have a large electric motor atop the mast. I think that is what your picture shows - mikester. However - the power has to come from somewhere. Perhaps a remote fuel driven generator.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

LOTs and LOTS of them around here, they are powered by propane powered V8 gas engines.

SR

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Air pollution regulations, along with nuisance complaints, have pretty much eliminated the old smudge pot. I was the the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for nearly 20 years, and we had some complaints then, but they were pretty quickly eliminated...the pots that is.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

We lost our harvest this year due to a frost. Didn’t get enough apples out of 500 trees to make a single pie. The vineyard on the property next to us has two wind machines. They had a good harvest this year. I don’t know if those trees will ever give us a decent harvest. Every year is something new.

 

[JPRambo]

I dont need anything as large as that windmill thing. I only have 12 or 13 fruit trees. But I need to do something about a late frost. This year I did not get 1 peice of fruit apple, plum, pear, peach, or cherry.
It's a bit of work to put a blanket over each tree for each frost warning. What do you folks use?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

In Napa valley, I saw units where the prop was pointed upward. Not sure if it "pulled air down, or pushed air up"?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Sometimes here, they will bring in helicopters.

SR

 

[Jstpssng]

I dont need anything as large as that windmill thing. I only have 12 or 13 fruit trees. But I need to do something about a late frost. This year I did not get 1 peice of fruit apple, plum, pear, peach, or cherry.
It's a bit of work to put a blanket over each tree for each frost warning. What do you folks use?

If you have some type of sprayer, you can spray water if temps don't get too cold.