Ice resurfacer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The heart of an ice resurfacer is the conditioner, a large device dragged behind the vehicle. A large, very sharp blade, similar to those used in industrial paper cutters, shaves the surface off the ice, and an auger in front of the blade sweeps the shavings to the center of the conditioner, where a second auger (or, in early models, a paddle-and-chain conveyor) picks them up. Behind the blade, wash water is often sprayed on the ice by nozzles at either end of the conditioner; this wash water is confined inside the conditioner by the runners on either end, and a rubber squeegee at the rear or the conditioner, and picked up by a vacuum nozzle, to be filtered through a screen, and recirculated. This washing process removes any foreign material that might otherwise become embedded in the ice surface. At the rear of the conditioner, a sprinkler pipe and a cloth mop lay down clean water to fill the residual grooves and form a new ice surface. Hot water (140°F to 160°F, 60°C) is frequently used where available because it melts and smooths the rough top layer to create a flat, smooth ice surface. Hot water also contains less trapped air which produces a clearer surface and prevents the ice from becoming too soft and thus more difficult to skate on.
The rest of the machine exists to support the conditioner. An engine or electric motor provides propulsion (four-wheel drive with carbide-tipped tire studs) and hydraulic power. The main tank holds clean water for making new ice. The wash tank holds a supply of water for the optional wash function. The dump tank holds the shaved ice picked up by the augers. The conditioner and dump tank are raised and lowered by hydraulic lifts, while the augers are powered by hydraulic motors.
Most ice resurfacers run on natural gas, propane or electric power, however gasoline ice resurfacers do exist.
Many ice resurfacers are fitted with a board brush, a rotary brush powered by a hydraulic motor, extended and retracted on the left side of the machine on a hydraulic arm. The brush sweeps accumulated bits of loose ice along the dasher boards of the rink into the conditioner, before the ice-making water fuses it into a solid mass. The use of a board brush can dramatically reduce the need for edging of the rink.
ZAMBONI® ice resurfacers are built and designed in many styles and sizes for different sized spaces of ice. The smallest "ride-on" type of resurfacer from Zamboni fits on a John Deere tractor and is painted yellow and green to match.
Portable conditioners are also styled after Zamboni's idea...these devices are usually fixed via three point hitch to a tractor and used for outdoor rinks. They do come equipped with their own storage bin for collection of ice shavings. Although water containers are not part of the equipment, it is required to flood outdoor rinks manually.
Contents |
[edit] Ice edgers
The ice around the edges has a tendency to build up as the conditioner blade does not fully extend to the outer edges of the conditioner and it is unwise to "ride", drive while touching, the dasherboards. An ice edger, a device similar to a rotary lawn mower, is used to cut down the edges of the ice surface that the ice resurfacer cannot cut. An ice edger does not alleviate ice that has an overall bowl shape.
A new edging system was introduced in the year 2000, the Continuous Edging System (Conti-Edger). It integrates edging into the normal process of ice-resurfacing, by mounting a secondary pneumatically controlled blade on the side of the ice resurfacer, similar to the main blade.
[edit] New Technologies
Ice resurfacing technology continues to advance. Laser guided systems that automatically adjust the conditioner's cutting blade and the Fast Ice system, which uses mist instead of water and a towel, are now available, but very costly.
[edit] Manufacturers
- Frank J. Zamboni & Co. Inc. - Manufacturers of the original and most popular ice resurfacer, the ZAMBONI® Ice Resurfacer. Headquartered in Paramount, CA, USA with the first ice resurfacers being sold in 1949.
- Resurice Corp. - Manufacturers of the OLYMPIA and OLYMPIA Millenium ice resurfacers. Resurice ice resurfacers are the second most common ice resurfacer used in North America. Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Resurfice Corp. has been building ice resurfacers for over 25 years.
- IceBear - The ICEBEAR® Electric is an electric powered, German ice resurfacer manufactured since 1984. ICEBEAR® Electric ice resurfacers are now available in North America via OLYMPIA dealers.
- Mueller - Italian manufacturer.
- Dupon - French manufacturer.
- Tetra - Czech manufacturer.
- UKKO - Finnish manufacturer.
- Fuji - Japanese manufacturer.
[edit] Cultural references
- A Zamboni resurfacer made repeated (and always nonsensical) appearances in the Peanuts comic strip. Snoopy usually drove the Zamboni, although Woodstock had a small Zamboni for his bird bath. As a result many people who have never seen resurfacers associate them with the Zamboni name.
- On the TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Gil Grissom once commented that "there are three things people love to stare at: a rippling stream, a fire, and a Zamboni going around and around." This was first a Peanuts comic during the 1980 winter Olympics.
- Former baseball third baseman Ken Reitz was nicknamed "The Zamboni".
- In the Canadian series Chilly Beach Dale is a professional Zamboni driver.
- An episode of the comedy/history series History Bites made a throwaway reference to the Zamboni family, employed to tidy the Colosseum between gladiator matches, circa AD 100.
- WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin once drove a Zamboni to the ring to confront WWE chairman Vince McMahon.
- On the television series Cheers, Carla's second husband Eddie was killed when he was run over by a Zamboni.
- "Weird Al" Yankovic mentions the Zamboni in "Canadian Idiot," the third song on his most recent album, Straight Outta Lynwood.
- Connecticut band "The Zambonis" perform a song called "I wanna Drive the Zamboni"
- In the Canadian movie "Bon Cop, Bad Cop", one of the bodies is found attached to a Zamboni.
- In their song "King of Spain", Moxy Früvous sings that the Toronto Maple Leafs call the narrator to drive their Zamboni.
