De-icing

2009-03-19 12:08:29.000 – Steve Welsh,  IT Observer

De-icing

So what exactly is the contraption shown in the accompanying picture? Read on to find out.

Yesterday we had several periods of freezing rain and ice pellets which left everything, including our office windows, covered in hard opaque ice. This morning we started to clear from the freezing fog and, rather that running up and down the stairs to keep an eye on the weather, we decided to try and clear the ice from the office windows. After some trial and error we found that positioning a low powered heater several inches from the outer window worked really well. The picture shows the heater balanced on a plank of wood with the complete works of Shakespeare as a counter weight – finally a good use for Shakespeare!

In less than 30 minutes two windows were clear of ice and we were able to see the view once again. It should be noted that during times when we are clearing we have to pay close attention to when the fog ends, or returns, and to what the cloud base is doing. So it looks like we have another de-icing tool to join our trusted crowbar.

Steve Welsh,  IT Observer