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How to keep water from freezing in basketball base
How to keep water from freezing in basketball base
Tips for Filling a Portable Basketball Hoop
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Your basketball hoop needs a solid foundation. Find out what you need to fill your hoop’s base.
Looking to bring the excitement of the basketball court to your home? Portable basketball hoops can be a great option for playing a pickup game with friends or a round of HORSE with your family.
But once you find the right portable hoop and get it home, don’t forget the most important step: filling the base. It’s crucial to properly fill the base to help increase the hoop’s stability during play, as well as in windy weather.
There are two common ways to fill a basketball hoop: with water and with sand. The owner’s manual you receive with your hoop will let you know how much to use of either. You can also use a base gel that mixes with water to become solid.
WATERAdding water to the base is as simple as hooking a hose to the base hole.![]()
This is a cheaper and easier option than sand. If you plan on moving the hoop around a lot, water is a good choice since you can easily empty it from the base.
There are a few things you can do to help with stability and keep the base strong over time when using water:
- Adding a small amount of bleach to the water can help avoid the growth of algae in the base.
- If you live in an area with cold winters, the water in the base could freeze and expand. This can cause the base to crack. To avoid this, add a small amount of nontoxic antifreeze. You can also empty the base and store it indoors during colder months.
- Water can evaporate and leave the hoop less stable, so checking the water level regularly is key.
- Examine the base for any leaks over time. This can help to keep it upright for your next pickup game.
SANDSand is denser than water, and it weighs more per gallon, so it can help increase stability. But while it may make for a more stable hoop, sand can also make hoops difficult to move.
Another drawback to sand is that it can be hard to add — especially if wet — and even harder to get out of the base of your hoop.
Many hoop owners choose “play sand,” like the kind used to fill kids’ sandboxes, to fill the base since it can be smoother and more even. Using a funnel while filling the base can help decrease the chances of spilling sand.
BASE GELA third option for your hoop is a special gel designed to stabilize bases. Made of absorbent polymer, you will mix the gel with water. This mixture can become the equivalent weight of several bags of sand. Designed to be both mold-resistant and freeze-thaw durable, base gel can last several years. Once firm, it can also resist small holes or cracks that can cause leaks.
No matter what you use to fill your base, it’s always a good idea to have two adults move the portable hoop if needed. Also, it’s advised not to use weights, bags of cement or bricks to hold the hoop down.
Now that you know what to do to keep your portable hoop firmly on the ground, it’s time for tip-off.
With a solid base for your hoop, you’ll be able to focus on hitting a long-range three or guarding against uncle Joe’s legendary jump shot during your next family pickup game.
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A Quick Guide to Winterizing Portable Basketball Hoops
If you have a basketball hoop, it would be awesome if you’d take care of it. You want to know how to winterize a portable basketball hoop, protect it from wind and freezing, and you want it to last so that you don’t lose money for repairing it or even buying a new one.
If you’re not going to move it under the cover, here are the three steps you need to do to winterize a portable basketball hoop:
- You need to secure it from the wind. You don’t want to risk it falling on someone.
I just took two of these 16-inch anchors and lagged them into the ground on the opposite sides of the base. Along with anchors I bought this ratchet strap and tied it to anchors to secure it.
- You need to protect the base from freezing.
This is what we’re going to talk about today. Read on. - You need to cover it up and protect it from rust, especially if you’re living in a wet area.
Also this way drunk teenagers won’t notice it overnight. The simplest thing you can do is use the largest barbecue cover you can find. This 58” BBQ Grill Cover will do the work.
How to prevent basketball hoop base from freezing
1) Drain the water from the base. This is how to do it…
If you want to be environmental-friendly, and not use antifreeze, you might want to drain the base. It’s an easier and cheaper option if you have time to deal with it.
You can try to empty the base laying the hoop on the side. There will still be some water in it afterward, so you’ll need to tip it around a bit until it’s completely drained out. Remove the pole and plastic plugs in holes on top. You don’t want to damage it.
If the hoop seems too heavy or you just don’t want to do the hard work of disassembling it, you can siphon it out with a siphon pump.
I’m happy with my Siphon Pro XL which I use for other things, but I’m sure it will work just as fine for this purpose.
You can also put the hose in the base and another end of the tube on the ground so that the gravity do all the work. Suck on it a little bit, but don’t let the water come close to your mouth.
2) Add antifreeze to the water in the base
If you don’t want to put sand in the base because you want to move it occasionally, there’s not much you can do but to add antifreeze.
Portable basketball hoop bases are made out of high-density polyethylene plastic and in most cases, they don’t break. They are flexible enough to expand when the water goes under 15 below 0 F.
When adding antifreeze to water, you should know two things. What antifreeze you should use and in what ratio with water.
What antifreeze to use?
The answer is non-toxic antifreeze for basketball hoop base. Antifreeze increases the boiling point by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Plants and animals are in great danger when antifreeze is uncarefully used so it should be treated and stored with full care.
If it spills, it should be cleaned up immediately. A minimal amount can damage a CNS, and it can even cause death. It’s estimated that over 9,000 pets are accidentally poisoned with antifreeze through ingestion. The effects of antifreeze on the environment are brutal.
So, depending on the brand, the labels usually suggest adding non-toxic antifreeze.
What ratio with water?
Although some people believe that the ratio should be 50:50, which eventually stops them from buying non-toxic antifreeze, that is not true at all. You have two options.
- You can use 2-3 8lbs bags of Calcium Chloride 77% dissolved in a big can of water, and you’re good to go. But be careful, this mixture can get very hot. Allow it to cool enough before moving into portable basketball hoop base.
- Or you can use 2 – 4 bottles (depending on the size of the base) of non-toxic, biodegradable pool antifreeze concentrate, safe for pets and kids.
This is also the best option because of the simplicity of the procedure.
Both of these options are better and safer for the environment than automotive ethylene glycol based anti-freeze. Plus, they’re less expensive.
3) Use sand or BaseGel instead of water
If you choose to fill the base with sand instead of water, you do have good reasons for it. A 40-gallon base filled with water weighs around 320 lbs. If you put the sand in the same support base, it’s weight will go over 500 pounds.
It’s clear enough that sand brings more stability and won’t allow for leaking, freezing or evaporating. Sand doesn’t even cost much, as you can purchase it at Home Depot for about $4 per 50 lbs bag.
The BaseGel gives the same effect as around 390 pounds of sand. If you already filled a base with water, you can add a half of BaseGel to make it more firm.
It can last for years, and that makes it also an excellent option because it’s almost as stable as sand and you can get it back to its natural state (gel) in a few minutes; you just add a mixture of water and salt.
You can get Basegel on Amazon for affordable price.
What should you do if the water’s already frozen?
First, you need to check if your portable basketball hoop base is broken and will the cap come off. If it’s not, and if the cap comes off, pour some road salt in it.
Salt dissolves into the liquid in the ice and lowers its freezing point. If you live in a city that has lots of snow and ice in the winter, then you have probably seen the salt spread on the road to melt the ice.
Wrapping up
That’s it really. All you need to do to store a portable basketball hoop for winter are these few steps that we covered. We recently did an article on how to keep portable basketball hoop from falling over, so there you’ll find everything about securing it from wind (and dunking).
Don’t look for complicated solutions, don’t leave it out on the open spot unprotected, and most importantly – don’t let it freeze.
Hope you found what you were looking for.
If you’re interested in anything else regarding hoops, you’ve got all the answers at improvehoops.com/hoops/.
Drinking water on a hike at low temperatures
Many people associate the concept of dehydration mainly with warm and hot seasons of the year, while achieving a state of dehydration at low temperatures is very real and no less dangerous, since it can occur less noticeably and lead to to excessive fatigue, frostbite and hypothermia. Previously, we have already stopped at the average level of water consumption for one walking day, in the material we will consider those points that must be considered if you are going on a winter hike, including in mountain conditions, including skiing or snowboarding.
At low temperatures, thirst is relatively easier to bear, but at the same time, the body works in a more intensive mode, since, in addition to continuously maintaining the necessary body temperature for the proper functioning of all organs and physiological processes, it needs to additionally moisten and warm the air that we inhale .
Add to this the possible errors in clothing selection, the overall weight of the equipment, and the high intensity of the activities during hiking, skiing, snowboarding, or mountaineering, and you have a rather serious problem in the form of dehydration, which, without proper preparation, can lead to extremely serious consequences.
In addition to determining the amount of water needed to safely cover all possible costs, it is also important to decide both on the choice of container for its transportation, and on the method of treatment if the basic supply is not enough. A poorly selected container can lead to rapid cooling of the liquid, its freezing, freezing and damage to the lid or drinker, and improper use of various water treatment and filtration systems to their complete failure, and uselessness in the fight against harmful bacteria and pathogens.
For winter hikes, I choose military flasks with ample wide mouths, or liter plastic bottles like Nalgene, which also have a wide mouth and a convenient enough lid that can be opened quite easily without taking off gloves, as a container for transporting water.
In addition to a convenient wide neck that is less likely to freeze, Nalgene bottles, which are lighter than metal counterparts, can safely transport hot drinks (we are talking about models made of dense polyethylene), and can also be used as heating pads in sleeping bags.
When hiking, water containers are best placed in a special insulating cover, if not, then you can use the insulating layers in the backpack and place it in the center of the backpack and closer to the back. If the tightness of the lid allows, the bottle should be turned upside down, which should also protect the neck thread from freezing. For long stays, if it is not possible to hide the container in clothes, you can use deep snow, which also works relatively well as an insulator. During a rooming house, a container of water, like all electronics, must be placed directly inside the sleeping bag.
Drinking systems also work well in winter, I mainly use products from the Israeli brand Source, but I also protect the flexible 3-liter container with layers of clothing, and the hose is always protected by a basic thermal cover.
In addition, it would be useful to place the hose with the drinker under the clothes, passing it through the collar of the jacket, so you protect the drinker from freezing, and the first sips will not be so cold.
Boiling is the best way to purify water in winter. In order to use alternative cleaning agents, such as tablets, membrane filters, or ultraviolet disinfectants, it is worth preparing in advance. Since, for example, camping ultraviolet disinfectants are powered by batteries, which, as you know, are quickly discharged at low temperatures. Liquid chemical disinfectants can freeze, and thereby completely lose their properties. In tableted products, the required water temperature is often also indicated. In membrane filters, regardless of the brand and principle of operation, after use, a small amount of water continues to remain inside, which can quickly freeze and make the filter unusable.
Personally, in winter conditions, I use the following combination - boiling and a Sawyer MINI type membrane filter.
The collected water (spring, snow) is brought to a boiling point, boiling is maintained for up to 3-5 minutes, and after cooling, if there is any doubt about the source, it is additionally passed through a membrane filter. The filter in winter is always located in the inner pocket of the jacket, both before and after use, which prevents it from freezing. During sleep, the filter in a small zip bag, like a container of water, is located inside the sleeping bag.
Give an answer in the comments, what do you use to transport water, how do you protect water from freezing, and what methods of water purification are best for you?>
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Let's open the cards right away: hot or warm water freezes faster than cool or cold. This paradox is called the Mpemba effect. About why it works contrary to logic and what temperature the water should be in order for it to turn into ice faster, read our article.
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0 The Mpemba effect
This story began more than half a century ago, but has not been resolved to this day. And all because, no matter how hard thousands of inquisitive minds from all over the planet try, they can’t find the only true solution to the Mpemba riddle.
In 1963, an inconspicuous African student named Erasto Mpemba (Erasto Mpemba) noticed one oddity: warm ice cream mix hardens faster than chilled.
The observation seemed so implausible that the physics teacher could only laugh at the discovery of the unlucky experimenter. However, Erasto was sure he was right and was not afraid to become a laughing stock again: a little later he raised a slippery question with Denis Osborne, a professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The scientist did not rush to conclusions and decided to study the problem. After that, in 1969, the journal Physics Education published a material describing the Mpemba paradox.
In scientific circles, it was immediately remembered that something similar had already been said by the greatest minds of the past. For example, even Aristotle mentioned the inhabitants of ancient Greek Pontus, who, during winter fishing, heated water and soaked reeds in it so that it would harden faster. Centuries later, Francis Bacon wrote: "Slightly cool water freezes much more easily than completely cold water."
In general, the question is as old as the world, but this only fuels interest in the solution. Over the past few decades, many theories have been put forward to explain the Mpemba effect. The most probable of them were announced in 2013 at a solemn event held by the Royal Society of Chemistry of Great Britain. The professional association studied 22,000 (!) opinions and singled out only one among them, which belongs to Nikola Bregović.
A Croatian chemist pointed out the importance of the processes of convection and supercooling of a liquid when it freezes.
Here is how these phenomena are described in Wikipedia:
- Cold water begins to freeze from above, thereby slowing down the processes of thermal radiation and convection, and hence the loss of heat, while hot water begins to freeze from below.
- Subcooled liquid - a liquid having a temperature below the crystallization temperature at a given pressure. A supercooled liquid is obtained from a normal liquid by cooling in the absence of crystallization centers.
World recognition and a check for 1,000 pounds were a good reward. By the way, the winner was greeted by Erasto Mpemba and Denis Osborne.
scienceblogs.com What should be the temperature of the water before freezing
There is still no clear answer to this question. The Royal Society of Chemistry, although it was determined, did not completely stop the disputes. Until now, new hypotheses are put forward and denials are heard.
Although there is a small clue: the popular science magazine New Scientist did research and concluded that the best conditions for replicating the Mpemba effect are two containers of water with a temperature of 35 and 5 °C.
