Whether you’re installing a Powerhouse Ice Eater or a Kasco Marine De-icer, you’ll find it is an easy process. Both brands are ready to go right out of the box for a standard suspension line installation.
Suspension line installation of your Ice Eater is pretty straight forward. The first step is to determine where and how you will mount the unit. Optimally, it should be tied off to two solid points 8 feet to 10 feet apart. A cleat or dock piling work great, just be sure that they are solid, because an Ice Eater will exerts between 20 and 50 pounds of thrust while it is in operation. There should be enough water depth so that the ice eater will be at least 1 foot off the bottom, and at least 1-foot below the surface. The optimal depth is 4 feet , but it can be mounted deeper or shallower if necessary. You’ll want to assure that your unit will never run out of the water or you could burn out the motor. Be sure to take changing water levels over the season into consideration.
Now you are ready to attach the suspension lines. Both the Ice Eater and the Kasco De-icers allow you to set the connection points for these lines. On an Ice Eater brand, you’ll choose two connection points drilled through the shroud. If you choose two that are 180 degrees apart, your Ice Eater will hang vertically and produce a roughly circular clearing. If you choose connections that are less than 180 degrees, the unit will hang at an angle and produce an elliptical clearing area. The lower the degree of separation, the closer the unit will hang to horizontal and the longer and narrower the clearing ellipse. The same concept holds with the Kasco De-icer, you’ll just connect the line, then weave it through the wire protective cage to reduce the degrees of separation between the two lines.
Now you are ready to install your Ice Eater. Keeping a hold of the two lines, lower the unit into place and securely tie off the suspension lines. If you are suspending the Ice Eater under a dock or boat, you may need to pass one line under the dock. Using a boat hook to grab the line and pull it under is one option.