If you live in an area where the ice is known for moving around in springtime, it is better to avoid having a bubbler. Letting the ice freeze around the dock will provide a barrier against incoming ice, come spring. If it freezes thickly enough around the dock posts during the winter, the most that should happen to them is that they will need to be re-positioned a few inches in spring -- and many seasons, not at all. In places where ice is known for moving around in springtime, bubblers beat back the edge of the ice all winter long. In spring it melts back even further. Then the ice starts breaking up, and the open water around the dock allows the ice to drift around and slam into the posts. We may remember how long we had to go without the Meredith Town Docks in summer of 2007. In mid-April, the Patriots Day storm caused the ice to break up and drift in the strong winds. Those with bubblers sustained the heaviest damage. This included the Meredith Town Docks. Those who had ice frozen in around their docks actually were protected by the ice that was already there. When the ice is breaking up and moving around, the last thing you want around your dock is open water.
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