Nice Ice, Baby

Last Updated (Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:39) Written by Raymond Nakamura

When I took my daughter skating over the holidays, I realized how much the new year is like an ice resurfacing machine, scraping away the old and laying down a fresh sheet of possibilities.

You're probably more familiar with these wonders of technology as Zambonis. Technically, that's the trademark of the recession resistant company founded by Frank Zamboni, the inventor. They, like Kleenex, are concerned with losing their trademark to common usage.

The Competition

Their main competitor is Resurfice, a Canadian company, if such things concern you. Turns out the Vancouver Canucks use their Olympia machines. They are also supplying electric ones for the Vancouver Olympics, which are better for air quality.

Origins

It's hard to imagine an ice rink without a resurfacer. One time, I played hockey in Japan at an outdoor rink, which I suppose not well funded. To clean the ice, they had school boys with straw brooms sweep off the snow and then a guy pushed around a barrel filled with hot water in a wheelbarrow and a mop. They repainted the lines by hand.

Frank Zamboni built his first one in the 1940s in his backyard, with surplus Army parts. He used it on the ice rink he owned in southern California, of all places.

Insides

The modern ones all scrape the ice, collect the snow, wash the ice, and resurface it. The blade scrapes off the old ice. I don't think any have gone the double or triple-bladed route of shavers. Sometimes you see the driver turn a wheel so the blade cuts deeper if the ice is rougher. The snow gets collected with a horizontal and vertical auger, also known as an Archimedes screw. They use hot water to resurface the ice so it melts the top and refreezes.

Just a few things to appreciate, the next time you're watching an ice resurfacer go around and around and around.