Can an IBC tote full of water freeze?

[CMV]

Obviously I know they can freeze....can one freeze without destroying/damaging the tote itself is what I'm getting at. Mine are full thanks to all this rain. several 330 & 275 gal sizes. If left uncapped? If left with 8" or so headspace? If left half full (half empty pessimists)?

I want to leave as much water in my totes as possible, but other than tossing a blanket over them and parking where they will see the most sunlight not doing anything to prevent them from freezing if it gets cold enough, long enough. If draining is right answer to preserve them over winter that's fine but would rather keep the water if possible. In the past I wasn't collecting rainwater so come winter I never had more than maybe a foot of water in them which caused no harm.

 

[Mendonsy]

It all depends on the weather in your location. If it gets cold enough for a long enough period they will split open. If it doesn't then they will be OK.
About the best you can do is put them in a sunny spot and wrap them with black plastic to soak up as much heat as possible.

 

[Diggin It]

if it gets cold enough, long enough.

That's your main factor. Do you get temperatures below 30 degrees for days and nights at a time? 300 gallons of water will take a long exposure to freeze solid. You may get ice a few inches thick around all sides, but not solid enough to expand the tanks. Then again, these tanks are fairly thin. I found that my 275 will NOT support itself outside the cage when filled.

 

[oosik]

OK - so if the water in the tote freezes and that ice locks in to that level in the tote - then as the water in the tote freezes further and expands - YES - it will blow the tote to smithereens.

The surface water that freezes must be able to expand - ie, move upwards or outwards - as the water in the tote freezes further.

Freezing water has forces beyond belief. I have one gate post - its a 6" well casing with 1" thick walls. Rain/snow water got inside and froze and ruptured that well casing. Split it wide open - like a 12 gauge shotgun on a ripe watermelon.

The one and only gate post where I forgot to put about half a foot of screened gravel at the bottom of the hole for drainage.

 

[CMV]

That's your main factor. Do you get temperatures below 30 degrees for days and nights at a time? 300 gallons of water will take a long exposure to freeze solid. You may get ice a few inches thick around all sides, but not solid enough to expand the tanks. Then again, these tanks are fairly thin. I found that my 275 will NOT support itself outside the cage when filled.

Typically no. Usually lows in the high teens or 20's at night, highs in mid 30s in Dec & Jan, but that's usually worst case and a few days in a row like that, then up to 40s for a day.....hard to say really esp since our last few winters have been a little more mild than normal.

So if they freeze from top down, outside to middle, leaving a lot of headspace wouldn't keep them from bursting - still going to push on the sides vs pushing "up"?

Mine stay in their cages....don't want them running away

Would sitting up on a pallet or blocks help any? Don't know if being further from the ground would keep them warmer or allowing air to move under them would freeze faster.

 

[Diggin It]

Would sitting up on a pallet or blocks help any? Don't know if being further from the ground would keep them warmer or allowing air to move under them would freeze faster.

That. The ground would be an insulating blanket and would allow ground heat to transfer. Think Geo-Thermal energy used for heating/cooling.

It may tend to 'push up' rather than out since there would be nothing but ice on top, no plastic or cage. What I did last winter when we got abnormally cold for longer than usual was use a 1" wood bit as an ice auger on my fish pond. Drilled through was turned out to be 4-5" of ice on top. When I broke through, water shot upwards a foot or so. That relieved the pressure and allowed air into the water for the fish. Had to do that a few days in a row to give the fish air.

If you got cold enough to be of concern, you could try that through the top opening if you have a long enough bit or extension.

 

[ovrszd]

OK - so if the water in the tote freezes and that ice locks in to that level in the tote - then as the water in the tote freezes further and expands - YES - it will blow the tote to smithereens.

The surface water that freezes must be able to expand - ie, move upwards or outwards - as the water in the tote freezes further.

Freezing water has forces beyond belief. I have one gate post - its a 6" well casing with 1" thick walls. Rain/snow water got inside and froze and ruptured that well casing. Split it wide open - like a 12 gauge shotgun on a ripe watermelon.

The one and only gate post where I forgot to put about half a foot of screened gravel at the bottom of the hole for drainage.

In my uneducated mind I consider heat and cold to be the most powerful things in the universe.

 

[Diggin It]

In my uneducated mind I consider heat and cold to be the most powerful things in the universe.

Add water to that mix and stir.

Heat, cold and water vapor is what causes high winds.

Water is what did most of the coastal damage and flooding in the recent storms. Ice is what takes out power for hundreds or thousands of square miles in winter storms.

 

[CADplans]

In my uneducated mind I consider heat and cold to be the most powerful things in the universe.

If you take a course in thermodynamics,,, you will learn there is only heat,, and less heat,,
but, there is no such thing as cold,,,,

To the OP,, the IBC has little chance of freezing in NC because of the small surface area compared to the large volume,,,
Only a ball shaped object would have less surface area,,
put the IBC in an enclosure, like a shed,, freezing would be almost impossible in NC,,,

I am just a little north, bottles of soft drink have very little chance of freezing when stored in the shed,,,

 

[Oldtink]

According to the w.w.w, water expands roughly 9% upon freezing.so it must be true.