A few weeks ago, I decided to set up an ice rink at home. I started by shoveling away the snow and making banks of it, then I sprayed directly on the grass. It didn't start well, and I didn't think it would work; the water ran away under the snow banks and also into the ground. But after a few days, it got really cold, so it started to freeze together.
The first skating session was on the following Saturday, so in 6 days, I had skateable ice. If I had had a more even surface, it probably would have gone much faster. I sprayed on a municipal lawn, so it was neither short-cut nor particularly even when I started, but it was almost level. In some places, the ice became quite thick, and in others quite thin, but it works, and the neighborhood boys were thrilled.
I mostly get to practice turning since it only measures 8.7 x 6 m. But as a first test, it exceeded expectations. Next year, it will be bigger and with a tarp at the bottom and some form of simple edge.
The biggest problem I have right now is that it's hard to keep it snow-free enough by just scraping off the snow with the snow shovel; some snow remains, and when it's as cold as it is now, it doesn't melt when I spray but freezes together instead, making it bumpy. To get rid of this phenomenon, you should probably brush the ice between sprays. I spray with a hose and some form of nozzle, doing a few short sprays every day, not large amounts of water each time. I think this concept is better than spraying thick layers. I poured quite a lot in the beginning, but then I got ice with air underneath; it might have been because I didn't have enough ice underneath either, so it froze from above and then ran away/sank down afterward. That shouldn't happen now with cold ice underneath.
I'm based in Västerås, so having it this cold for this long is unusual; we'll see how it goes next year. I have grand plans to build some form of ice machine by then.
It was a long explanation, good luck with your ice rinks!
A picture from the steps at home:
Second day of watering. I thought I had been careful with stretching out the tarp. But there are pockets of ice/water. Will this disappear by continuing to water?
That's the problem, if you get a 5 cm wrinkle, the entire track has to be raised by 5 cm.
The guy in Västerås just needs to scrape off the grass that's sticking up.
A few weeks ago, I got the idea to create an ice rink at home. I started by shoveling away the snow and made ridges from it, then I sprayed directly on the grass. It didn't start off well, and I didn't think it would work, as the water ran off under the snow ridges and even into the ground. But after a few days, it got really cold, and then it started freezing together.
The first skating was done the following Saturday, so in 6 days, I had a skatable ice.
Had I had a more even surface, it probably would have gone much faster. I sprayed on a municipal lawn, so it was neither closely cut nor particularly even when I started, but it was almost completely leveled. In some places, the ice became quite thick, and in others quite thin, but it works, and the neighbor's boys were overjoyed.
I mostly get to practice turning since it's only 8.7 x 6 m. But as a first test, it turned out beyond expectations. Next year it will be bigger, with a tarpaulin on the bottom and some form of simple barrier.
The biggest problem I have right now is that it is difficult to keep it free of snow just by scraping the snow off with a shovel, a bit of snow remains, and when it is as cold as it is now, it doesn't melt when I spray but freezes together instead, and it becomes bumpy. To eliminate this phenomenon, one should probably brush the ice between sprays.
I spray with a hose and some type of nozzle, doing some short sprays every day, not large amounts of water each time. I think this concept is better than spraying thickly. I poured quite a bit in the beginning, but then I got ice with air underneath; it might have been because I didn't have enough ice underneath too, so it froze from above and then ran off/sank afterward. That shouldn't happen now that there's cold ice underneath.
I'm based in Västerås, so having it this cold for this long is unusual here; we'll see how it goes next year. I have grand plans to build some form of ice machine by then.
It ended up being a long write-up, good luck with the rinks!
A picture from the home steps:
[image]
The snow ridges you've made aren't exactly watertight; if you spray a little water for a few days, you get an ice edge and can spray properly, but it apparently sorted itself out.
Then it MUST be snow-free when you spray, and it shouldn't snow either because the snow absorbs water, and it becomes bumpy. It can't be necessary to spray daily.
A proper ice scraper is very valuable.
Good luck, Protte
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