Historically, the objective of ice resurfacing has been to produce a clean and attractive sheet of ice, control the flatness and thickness of the ice for maximum efficiency and make the best ice surface possible in the time available.
Before the first resurfacing machine was developed by Frank Zamboni, a complete reconditioning of the ice usually was done only once a day. It involved the following tedious steps:
1. Smoothing the entire ice surface and dropping the shavings at one end of the ice rink.
2. The leveling was followed by washing the whole rink, using a large hose and squeegeez to remove any dirt and debris remaining on the surface.
3. The final step was to flood the rink with a light film of fresh water with a hose or a flooding cart.
Because this process took three or four people about two hours, it was normally done infrequently, and most resurfacings simply involved scraping excess snow from the ice, followed by a light flood of water.
With the ice resurfacer, one person can duplicate the complete resurfacing operation in a fraction of the time previously required. The individual operations performed by the Zamboni are:
1. Shaving the Ice
A razor sharp blade extends from one side of the conditioner to the other. This blade shaves the surface of the ice and the depth of this shave can be controlled by the operator.
2. Collecting the Shavings
A horizontal screw conveyor gathers the shavings and loose snow from above the blade and moves them to the center of the conditioner. The horizontal conveyor then throws this material into the lower end of a vertical screw conveyor. The vertical screw then lifts the snow shavings and propels then into the snow collection tank. These shavings are later dumped into a melting pit away from the ice surface.
3. Washing the Ice
Water is gravity fed from the was water tank to the conditioner where it washes the surface and flushes dirt out of the grooves left in the ice.
This dirty water is vacummed up by the water pump, filtered and returned to the water tank.
4. Renewing the Ice
Following the washing operation, a thin coat of fresh hot water is spread onto the ice by a towel at the rear of the conditioner. These are resurfacing funtions as performed by the machine. They can be done individually or together depending on varying ice conditions.
Well I went down to the local arena,
And asked the manager man.
He came from his office and said, "Son, can I help you?"
I looked at him and said, "Yes you can!"
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni,
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni, yes I do.
Now ever since I was young it's been my dream,
That I might drive the Zamboni machine.
I'd get to that ice just as thick as can be,
And all the kids would look up to me.
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni,
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni, yes I do.
Now the manager said, "son, I know it loks keen,
But that right there's one expensive machine.
And I've got Smokey's who's been driving it for years."
Cause I wanna drive the Zamboni,
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni,
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni,
Hey, I wanna drive the Zamboni, yes I do!
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