Ice resurfacer

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

An ice resurfacer lays down a layer of clean water, which will freeze to form a smooth ice surface.

Ice resurfacer

An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink, originally developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949. Frank J. Zamboni & Co, Inc. and other companies manufacture ice resurfacing machines, but because of the success of the Frank J. Zamboni & Co, Inc., Zamboni has become a genericized trademark and most people refer to any ice resurfacer as a Zamboni.

Ice resurfacers are needed because usage (such as ice hockey and figure skating) creates many pits and ridges in the ice. Before ice resurfacers, resurfacing a rink was done with scrapers and hoses which took many workers over an hour to complete. Zamboni's invention led to a great improvement in the speed and quality of ice resurfacing, thereby contributing greatly to the popularity of ice sports today. The Zamboni is often run between periods at hockey games and is sometimes accompanied by the song "Zamboni" by the Austin, Minnesota band the Gear Daddies.

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 145°F, 60°C) is frequently used where available because it melts and smooths the rough top layer to create a flat, smooth ice surface; many experts hold that if hot water is used, it should be followed with a second pass using cold water, as ice made from hot water is denser (containing less trapped air) and therefore harder, for any given temperature. A softer cold-water layer on top of a harder hot-water layer thus produces a surface that is flatter, smoother, and more durable than a cold-water surface alone, yet gives better purchase to blades than a hot-water surface alone.

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 or electric power.

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.

[edit] Ice edgers

The ice around the edges has a tendency to build up over time making the ice uneven, higher at the sides than in the middle. As a result, the ice resurfacer then cuts the ice unevenly. An Ice Edger is typically similar to a rotary lawn mower, and is used to shave the ice down around the edges making them even with the middle at which time the ice resurfacer can be used to cut the excess ice from the corners and sides to level the ice.

A revolutionary edging system was introduced in the year 2000, the Continuous Edging System (Conti-Edger). It integrates edging into the normal process of ice-resurfacing, is absolutely safe and has "0" emissions.

[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.
Canadian 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 Fruvous sings that the Toronto Maple Leafs call the narrator to drive their Zamboni.

[edit] External links

Categories: Ice hockey equipment | Figure skating | Vehicles