Agitators involve placing a heavy-duty submersible motor that drives a rugged propeller in continuous duty to draw warm waters from the depths of the pond or lake towards the surface. The warmer waters at the bottom of the pond usually maintain a temperature of around 4 degrees Celsius or 39 Fahrenheit and by bringing them rapidly to the surface in a directed thrusting stream they can keep large areas of open water even in the coldest of winter temperatures. I have seen this sort of ice-eater literally open up solidly frozen areas in only a few hours.

This sort of deicer works best when you have deeper waters around the dock but keep in mind that even an agitator aimed at the shallow shoreline, if it originates in waters of say 12 feet deep, can create a large opening under the entire dock structure. The size of the opening in the ice depends on the overall ambient air temperature but typically even a 1/2 HP or 3/4 HP device can open up a hole in the ice up to 60 feet in diameter.



Read More About Dock Bubblers & Deicers | Read About Winterizing Goldfish Ponds