Built new ice-ring in back yard. Need advice on how maintain it

[GeHmTS]

Hi all, I completed an ice-rink in my backyard for my son. Here are my questions.

How do you repair the rink when cracks develops?
How cold does it generally have to be before you can start using the rink?
There a chuck of ice sticking up from a crack and refreeze. How do you repair ice that is sticking up?

For grooming the ice, I was told to just use a water sprinkler and that will fill in the cracks and such and keep the ice-rink in good working order. I'm in Mass, so it seems we only get a few good months. Current temperatures are expected to exceed 40F over the next few days.

 

[greg13]

I think just keep adding water, But I have seen a few Zamboni's in the auction listings.

 

[maple1]

You've got a liner - which is good.

We had one for years here - kinda miss it since the boys have grown, we had a ton of fun out there for a few winters. Don't miss the work though.

Maintenance is pretty simple - flood it with a hose when it needs it (ice is chewed up or cracks develop). Scrape with a scraper first to remove snow or shaved ice. Not sure about your chunk sticking up thing - how big a chunk? Usually just get rid of it & flood again - a few careful hits with an axe? Ridges can be a real pain though - I took a hand held electric plane to one bad ridge on ours once. That took a while. Careful chain saw work might work too. How thick is the ice? Repeated floodings are usually needed to get a decent depth - I liked to have 4" or so at least. Repeated flooding might fix your chunk thing too. The worst part was work needed during a snow-rain-snow event - you need to get any snow, wet snow or slush completely off the ice before it all freezes again, or it will be toast. That part was a back breaker at times. Or need a huge amount of new water on it again. A snowblower helps a lot for bigger snow events.

One other tip, maybe for next year - put a second set of boards around the inside before the water freezes, so the plastic sides are sandwiched between wood - with another narrow board along the top (strapping?). That will protect your liner from sharp skate blades or getting caught by a hockey stick or sharp edge of a snow scraper or shovel. Or snow blower body.

 

[lml999]

Keep it clean...looks like you've got trees nearby. We did too, and I found that debris would get trapped in the ice if I didn't clean it periodically... Have fun!

 

[maple1]

Yeah - had to keep an eye on leaves until it snowed. An overnight wind & leaves & sudden freeze can make a mess - even if the leaves are under ice, when sun hits them they create heat & melt holes.

 

[GeHmTS]

Not sure about your chunk sticking up thing - how big a chunk?
How thick is the ice?

The chuck was a 2" thick piece of ice chuck sticking above where the rest of the ice is level. I went out this morning and broke it up with a mallot; it was roughly 3 sq feet in area. Since we're above freezing, I'll add some more water today. Part of the problem is that my son got on it too early (not cold enough) and it started to crack. I'm in Mass and our coldest months are in Jan-Feb where I think we will see a lot of ice time. Is there anyway to check whether it's ok to get on the ice without cracking it all up before it's ready? What patterns do you look for in the weather to say, "yep it's cold enough?"

The ice in the lowest spot is 2-3" thick and the highest spot 6". The big chuck of ice was in the 2-3" area.

Thank you on the snow-ranin-snow event and I'll be sure to watch out for that. All of the leaves have fallen off, so leaves are not an issue.

 

[maple1]

It was leaves on the ground that were my issue. Maples really close so wind gusts blew leaves around & into the rink. Until they got snowed under.

Couple of good below freezing days should get you going. Wait until it freezes solid. Then build it up with flooding every day for a few days. Just enough water to get it all wet. Reflood as surface deteriorates.

 

[moey]

As long as your skates aren't sinking use it

I usually use a hose and nozzle when its 25 or below. Will add just enough so theres a level looking sheen in most places. Im less obsessive then most people though it feels the same when folks fall even if its not perfect.

I just pack snow rather then use the boards and liner. Ive probably got about 6 inches or ice at this point it takes about a week though to do it this way as you cant just flood it as you'll make a big hole. We have had a couple days when it was in the single digits that helped a lot.

Trees can be a killer if your in the sun. Those brown leaves make soft ice.

 

[GeHmTS]

As long as your skates aren't sinking use it

I usually use a hose and nozzle when its 25 or below. Will add just enough so theres a level looking sheen in most places. Im less obsessive then most people though it feels the same when folks fall even if its not perfect.

I just pack snow rather then use the boards and liner. Ive probably got about 6 inches or ice at this point it takes about a week though to do it this way as you cant just flood it as you'll make a big hole. We have had a couple days when it was in the single digits that helped a lot.

Trees can be a killer if your in the sun. Those brown leaves make soft ice.

40'C today and not skateable at the moment. I'm currently flooding as I realize that the center strip of the rink is warmer than the edge of the rink because it sinks in a bit due to less freezing. I'm starting to realize how warm Massachusetts realize is compared to our norther friends

 

[greg13]

Come big or stay home!
Only $42000.

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/2006-OLYMPIA-MILLENNIUM-ICE-RESURFACER-SIMILAR-TO-ZAMBONI-520-/122240527931?hash=item1c761a6e3b:g:~pEAAOSwO~hXIP4q)

 

[GeHmTS]

Come big or stay home!
Only $42000.

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/2006-OLYMPIA-MILLENNIUM-ICE-RESURFACER-SIMILAR-TO-ZAMBONI-520-/122240527931?hash=item1c761a6e3b:g:~pEAAOSwO~hXIP4q)

I'm sure I don't need anything that industrial for my rink...

 

[Gotrek]

Build a rink rake from PVC to resurface it once in a while.

I ruined mine couple days ago. I flooded it during a warmer spell, too much water, (-10c) it snowed a day later and then dropped to -30c The water did not get a chance to freeze fast enough before the snow so it made the surface rough, which isnt that big a deal but the -30 made it crack and heave. Might be a total loss, I scraped it last night to see if I can get the heaving tamed...

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Sweep it before raking it. Makes a difference