cut Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I am going to give it a go this weekend to recover what has become a useless surface. During the warm up it didn't quite melt all the way, and then we got the little snow on top of wet ice that froze. I want to recover it so that we can skate for what looks like another month of great skating weather. Which we never get in southern CT. I need advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlantStickers Anonymous Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I don't recommend driving a zamboni on the pond. Perhaps look up any handheld ice smoothing devices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 people use utility carts, golf carts, lawn tractors, and ATV's outfitted with a 50 gal tank which they fill via hose from scalding hot water at a utility sink or directly from the hotwater heater. If it's a more remote location, you could use a propane turkey boiler, a 10 gal pot placed on the bank of a pond. Use an pvc auto-siphon to get to your zamboni reservoir and your off. Insulating the reservoir may help a bit- but probably unnecessary. A little PVC and some hose- a simple gravity feed to a horizontal small diameter PVC pipe with some holes drilled in to spread hot water, then just add some kind of dragger/sweeper to get the loose stuff. something like this is pretty basic and could probably be made in an afternoon: http://www.gopherpucklive.com/forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=2&image_id=696 and you can get the kids to do the dirty work: http://www.gopherpucklive.com/forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=2&image_id=694 probably the most straightforward and easy to build setup- you could have this built tomorrow morning, and be skating smooth ice by the afternoon. Ball valve controlling rate of flow is important, as are creating enough head, the size/number of holes to get adequate pressure but not lose too much water: http://www.parentingwithresearch.com/2012/12/wordless-wednesday_12.html going motorized: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GLWC_Homemade_Zamboni_(2).JPG probably could do it for a few hundred bucks if you're handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Battery powered marine pump with a decent length hose. use a floor squeegee like they have at super markets etc. to spread the water. Works very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wx2fish Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I've had decent success with either an electric pump or if you have close enough access to well water just flooding it with a garden hose. A thin layer is all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Love this thread,Yankee ingenuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chietanen Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I've had a backyard rink the last two years. I made a PVC "rink rake" last year that attaches to a hose and has a towel on the end with holes drilled in the bottom pipe to spread the warm water (I run the hose from the laundry room). Honestly it's a little bit of a pain to use, it's just kind of awkward. I've also used large buckets of warm water just dumped on the ice and that actually works quite well. This year, out of sheer laziness, I've elected just to use the hose and a spray nozzle. Some of the sites say not to do that, but as long as you are not keeping the spray directed in one spot, it works just fine. The key is to have the ice fairly clean, otherwise the "snow" collects in the corners and along the boards and ends up causing uneven ice as it comes into contact with the warm water. I think I know what you're describing on the pond though, and if it's a thick layer of snow, I'm not sure how best to address that. We went skating at a local state park last winter after the early February storm (Lake Taghkanic), and the ice was brutal. There was several inches of great ice before the storm, then it snowed about a foot, which was followed by a thaw, then the snow refroze into ice. So there was a several inch layer of melted and refrozen slush on top of a really nice sheet of ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modfan Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Make sure it's safe!!! Three people through the ice yesterday in CT alone (Ashford, Hebron,and West Haven) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Pouring regular pond water on it won't do any good which is what the original poster is alluding to. We heated water by burning fire in a 55 gallon drum. At the top of the drum we'd fastened a bracket that held about 30 gallons in 3 10 gallon jugs. It was enough to get the water warm enough to dump quickly and spread with a broom before it refroze. It wasn't ideal but it bonded well and fixed bad areas. When the ice is okay we just popped a hole in the ice at the end of each night, fired up a generator with a small sump pump and dumped it on the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Lot's of good ideas. I am going to try this: http://hockey.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-homemade-zamboni-ice-resurfacer-with-buckets-and-towel-417425/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapturedNature Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Make sure it's safe!!! Three people through the ice yesterday in CT alone (Ashford, Hebron,and West Haven) Interesting - do you know what bodies of water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Interesting - do you know what bodies of water? I heard about the one in New Haven. It was a 70 something year old man and from what I heard he is still with us!! Unbelievable. I don't know why the ice wouldn't be safe over the last couple days. Four of five days ago I wouldn't have trusted it, but we have been below freezing since like Saturday. If I remember correctly, when it is below freezing a basic, still body of water will add like a 1/2 inch of ice a day, and also if I remember correctly 4 inches is plenty thick to walk on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice1972 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I heard about the one in New Haven. It was a 70 something year old man and from what I heard he is still with us!! Unbelievable. I don't know why the ice wouldn't be safe over the last couple days. Four of five days ago I wouldn't have trusted it, but we have been below freezing since like Saturday. If I remember correctly, when it is below freezing a basic, still body of water will add like a 1/2 inch of ice a day, and also if I remember correctly 4 inches is plenty thick to walk on. According to thus 4" is good for walking.... http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modfan Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Interesting - do you know what bodies of water? The one in Ashford was Ashford Lake, not sure on the others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvysnow79 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Not sure if I would try this down on any ice in SNE, but this is how they do it here in on Lake Morey in Fairlee, VT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 That is so cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 After taking a second look I think the pond is lost. People walked on it when there was slush - which never completely melted. So there are bumps that are like 2 inches raised all over the place, and depressions where they stepped. And for good measure there are 2 beer bottles on their sides that are 1/2 exposed - which would be wicked dangerous once they got broken. (Got that word wicked in their in honor of the New England thread!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApacheTrout Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I just faced down a similar situation on my pond, which is about 100 feet behind my house. I had about two inches of water flowing across the pond 10 days ago, and it left behind a splintered and horribly rough mess, and exposed several patches of pond weed thT had been trapped in the ice as it thickened in December. I hooked up four hoses to the utilty sink in the cellar, and turned both the hot and cold water on at the same time. I used a nursery watering wand set to shower spray and started attcking the rough & chippy spots. The warm water helps melt down the rough ice and fill in the spots where the water flowed out from under a new skin of ice. I slowly made my way across the pond until the entire surface had a fresh glaze. And then I did it the same thing four more times. A lot of work, but the pond is now skatable again, and hopefuflly will stay that way through Feb. If yor pond is deep enough, you could also resurface the pond using a pump and a 2 or 3 inch hose. You'll probably still need to do it several times, though. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 I just faced down a similar situation on my pond, which is about 100 feet behind my house. I had about two inches of water flowing across the pond 10 days ago, and it left behind a splintered and horribly rough mess, and exposed several patches of pond weed thT had been trapped in the ice as it thickened in December. I hooked up four hoses to the utilty sink in the cellar, and turned both the hot and cold water on at the same time. I used a nursery watering wand set to shower spray and started attcking the rough & chippy spots. The warm water helps melt down the rough ice and fill in the spots where the water flowed out from under a new skin of ice. I slowly made my way across the pond until the entire surface had a fresh glaze. And then I did it the same thing four more times. A lot of work, but the pond is now skatable again, and hopefuflly will stay that way through Feb. If yor pond is deep enough, you could also resurface the pond using a pump and a 2 or 3 inch hose. You'll probably still need to do it several times, though. good luck! Ha, thanks. Unfortunately I don't have access to a water source, other than the pond itself. I had toyed with the idea of drilling a hole away from the rink area and accessing it that way, but the pond is a drive for me - at my inlaws development - so I think I am going to bail on it. I would want hot water to melt the top layer, and get those bottles out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApacheTrout Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Ha, thanks. Unfortunately I don't have access to a water source, other than the pond itself. I had toyed with the idea of drilling a hole away from the rink area and accessing it that way, but the pond is a drive for me - at my inlaws development - so I think I am going to bail on it. I would want hot water to melt the top layer, and get those bottles out. Losing a pond is a miserable thing. I've stared out my kitchen window and a few too many times as I watched an inch of rain pour down and the stream begin to flow across the pond. On the plus side, shoveling the pond off can be crossed off the chore list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom12309 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 They have ice boats on Lake Morey in the winter. Those things are unbelievably fast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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