Tank Ice

[cecealias]

Well, despite my usual rink being closed today, my coach was kind enough to drive to another rink to give me a lesson at 6 FREAKIN am.

It was freezing, dark but very empty and the ice was really loud and springy. I swear you could hear it crackle whenever I landed a jump.

Coach said it was probably "Tank Ice", and similar to the kind they make for shows that are on the go anywhere.

I'm now curious - what's the difference between Tank Ice and other kinds of rink ice? I have no idea what you'd call the regular rink ice ?

[Casey]

http://www.paramounticeland.com/history.htm

"Frank [Zamboni]'s inventiveness became evident when he started experimenting with a refrigerated ice floor very different from the normal type composed of a gridwork of steel piping beneath the ice. Frank's idea was to create a flatter and smoother ice sheet by circulating the salt brine in large flat tanks covering the entire area of the ice floor. The tanks would be only one-half inch thick and a series of them would extend from one side of the rink to the other, all tied together with large pipes serving as manifolds."

"Frank built a test floor next to the Zamboni Bros. ice plant and because it proved successful, he and Lawrence, with their cousin Pete Zamboni, built Iceland in 1939 using Frank's concept. Frank obtained a patent on his unique idea in 1944. (U. S. patent No. 2,411,919). Iceland became well known for the level quality of its ice surface because Frank had eliminated the rippling that often occurred with pipe floors. The steel tank ice floor served Iceland well until it was replaced by a conventional plastic pipe grid in 1977."

That sounds like it should be a good thing but your experiences say otherwise...so I dunno.

[dbny]

Very interesting. We often get loud cracks just skating on the local outdoor rink, no jumps necessary.

[Isk8NYC]

Sand based rinks are my arch-enemy -- I'm waaaay too loud on them.
I even distract myself!

Never heard of tank ice before. Interesting writeup.

[Mrs Redboots]

Some years ago we used often to experience huge cracks and bangs on Sunday morning ice. I think more people come in earlier now, so we are seldom the first on the ice on Sundays, so I haven't experienced it for awhile.

[dooobedooo]

I've noticed that kind of ice, on outdoor ice rinks with a large surface, and where it gets very cold at night.

The ice bulges a bit, and then as you skate along, it just crackles. If you are in the mood just to skate edges and not try anything fancy it can be fun hairing round the ice in the moonlight just trying to crackle it all flat. (Should I admit that's what I like to do on long winter evenings heh heh .....? 8O 8O 8O)

Anybody know why it does this? Is it something to do with the physical properties of water, that it has minimum volume at 4 degrees C, and below that (including ice) it expands? Any physicists out there ....? Or anybody used to making rink ice .....?