winter & water features?
A previous Q&A said that antifreeze in an outdoor water feature was not a good idea.
What about putting salt in the water to keep it from freezing – or, at least, to keep it from freezing at the normal freezing temperature?
animals & birds would be able to taste the salt at the first sip and so wouldn’t be poisoned cos they wouldn’t come back for a second!
and what differences would the salt water make to pipes and pumps and so on?
Drain your water lines for the winter or keep them warm. If you need to you can buy heat tape to wrap around water pipes. Also water that is in motion will not freeze. Salt can start a process of corrosion so I would not recommend that. Where I live we get sub zero temps for a good part of the year and I have never had a water line freeze on me.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
The pipes should be drained in the autumn to avoid freezing.
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February 18th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Salt water can corrode metal pipes and the inner workings on pumps. Just look at the effect road salt has on cars in the winter. I agree with the above answer that pipes should be drained in the autumn. If you have an unexpected deep freeze it could still freeze water in a pipe. As far as the animals and birds go, ….yes, they will only drink once from a salty source, but man..that one time will be an unpleasant experience for them.
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February 18th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Drain your water lines for the winter or keep them warm. If you need to you can buy heat tape to wrap around water pipes. Also water that is in motion will not freeze. Salt can start a process of corrosion so I would not recommend that. Where I live we get sub zero temps for a good part of the year and I have never had a water line freeze on me.
References :
experience