Extreme Rink Maintenance or How I Learned to Love the Slush
Posted by: donsaw. On: 27 February 2008
This was the situation last Thursday night: Even if I rally and shovel, we will be back to thin On Friday, at around 2:00 pm with about 6″ of snow on I decide I have nothing to lose. I drill about 40 We skated tonight. It was a little rough around the
- the ice is clear for the first time this season.
Late in the season, clear ice and a clear liner aren’t
a good combination. After two straight sunny days I
think we are losing ice even though it’s been below
freezing.
- ice thickness ranges from 1 1/2″ = 2 1/2″. I can
walk on it but not skate. Definitely not thick enough
for the snowblower.
- 6″ - 10″ of snow are predicted for Friday
- I am three days into a nasty cold
ice that will be too thin to skate. I decide the best
outcome is another slush event:
- it will make cloudy ice to save us from the sun.
- like previous slush events it will build instant
thickness
- I am to ill to shovel that much snow
the ground, I realize that the ice is just thick
enough to support the snow…no sign of slush.
holes in the ice to let the water up. After a couple
of hours there is some slush but it’s not going to be enough. I
consider using a sledge hammer…
Instead, I drop in the siphon hose and siphon down to
a garbage pail. From there I pump up onto the ice,
moving the hose every hour or so. By midnight, it’s
mostly slush. Saturday morning it’s frozen on top.
edges but all good in the middle. Sun tomorrow, then
rain on Tuesday should smooth it out. Hopefully the
forecast for cold later in the week holds up.
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