How’s everyone’s rinks doing? My last resurface last week has got it to where I can almost send a puck across the entire rink without hopping. Finally! The weather this week looks ideal for skating and resurfacing at night. The early start this year might give us an entire month more than we had last year.
Our ice is great and kids are progressing! Feel like I’ve cleared about 6′ of snow off it since Christmas with all the snow and wind. Temps FINALLY above zero today so we can start using it more regularly.
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The early start this year might give us an entire month more than we had last year.
My friend tried to do a back yard rink last winter and it was a disaster except for about 10 days in February. He told me that its 10 times better already this winter because of the colder temperatures.
Mine is pretty good. Despite I am getting close to maxing out my boards in one corner. I have been zamming with a tub of hot water and it really works well.
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Rinks look great guys! Love seeing the pics of the kiddos. Man the hours and hours they will be spending out there.
Mine is pretty good. Despite I am getting close to maxing out my boards in one corner. I have been zamming with a tub of hot water and it really works well.
Ice looks great. And well used!
I hate all of you that don’t have 2+ feet of snow on the ground.
I hate all of you that don’t have 2+ feet of snow on the ground.
Sounds like more snow on the way Friday. Weather guessers are thinking it could be significant especially for a clipper. Thankfully those are typically fluffy variety.
I’ve already used the snowblower on the rink twice as much as I did last year. I’m closer to 1′ snow so I feel lucky. Gonna have my daughter strap on the goal pads to get ready for her first game in goal. Seems like a good week to do that.
I hate all of you that don’t have 2+ feet of snow on the ground.
I build a snow tube run in our yard every winter, and I could use some additional building material.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Mine is pretty good. Despite I am getting close to maxing out my boards in one corner. I have been zamming with a tub of hot water and it really works well.Ice looks great. And well used!
I hate all of you that don’t have 2+ feet of snow on the ground.
Lol that was after a good five hour session.
This is after a fresh zam.
Have since moved the towel below the tub so water flows directly on the towel.
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Hello, ODR newbie here to the forum. Inherited An EZ Ice setup from family and just installed it in the backyard. In MA. Made a mistake by making it too large because I had the extra boards. 40×25’. Slope is greater than expected, 2” on one side / 14+ on the far end. We just had 2 sub 10 degree days and we had about 2 to 4” of ice this morning. My kiddos went out today and had a blast. Unfortunately the weather warmed up quickly to the 40’s and when I went to clean off the snow / put down some warm water tonight, the ice cracked while I was on it in several places while I tried to get to land. Any tips on how to deal with large ice cracks? It is supposed to get down to single digits again in a few days. I added some more water to balance it out, we’ll see how it looks in the am.
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No backyards for us but happy to report after 25 years of no skates I tied some on with the kiddo this week with no broken bones or spills so far. Pretty dang fun feeling gliding around. All the rinks posted here are good inspiration for this city slicker. 8 year old skated up to me and held my hand for a couple laps to help out lol, memories!
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Honestly, if it were me, I would have claimed that was my backyard rink.
Unfortunately the weather warmed up quickly to the 40’s and when I went to clean off the snow / put down some warm water tonight, the ice cracked while I was on it in several places while I tried to get to land. Any tips on how to deal with large ice cracks? It is supposed to get down to single digits again in a few days. I added some more water to balance it out, we’ll see how it looks in the am.
Couple questions first.
How thick is the ice? Is it more than about 4″ thick?
What are you using to resurface? Just a hose to flood it or are you using an ice resurfacer?
Is water coming up from the cracks from below?
Ultimately, the ice resurfacer does a good job of filling the cracks and preventing larger ones from forming when you apply warm water. When you apply warm water it stresses the ice and the more warm water you put down the more stress and the larger the cracks.
Luckily here in MN we’ve been cold enough for everyone’s rinks to be frozen solid all the way through so we don’t have to worry about it being thick enough.
Luckily here in MN we’ve been cold enough for everyone’s rinks to be frozen solid all the way through so we don’t have to worry about it being thick enough.
Isnt that the truth! Loving the last few days we’ve had. It was brutal last week. Looks like a downward trend again starting tomorrow, but nothing seriously cold hopefully.
The local city-run outdoor rink near my house is in pristine condition. I was out there on Monday evening to skate around and fire some pucks on the net. Sure felt good. Wish there was more people around to get a game going, but I can’t control that.
As for a backyard rink right next to the house, that is asking for a broken window Lee.
It was around 3 to 4” thick. Maybe even thinned to 2” when it cracked due to the warm weather.
It froze overnight, but now we have a few mini icebergs. Here are some pictures, there is a ledge around the area that is cracked.
I have a blowtorch that I can use when it thickens up some more to even out the edges and then flood the low points to see if we can get back close to even.
I used a hose last night with cold water to flood. A neighbor has an extra ice resurfacer that I can pick up soon.
Thanks
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Lee, unfortunately its going to be tough to get that thing to ideal condition until you can get at least 4′ of ice. Otherwise cracks with broken ice and water coming up from below is inevitable.
I think the cracking you have is more due to thin ice than applying too much water. I’d take a cordless drill and check the ice thickness often until you get 4″ and then continue maintenance. Hopefully you get some more cold weather soon. Looks like that may come true.
Your plan to smooth things out seems fine. an ice scraper can help smooth things out as well. Just need some patience now.
Hello, Luckily the weather cooled down over here in MA and we had 70 % of the rink useable for the kids to skate on today. It’s down to 4 degrees F tonight, so I’ll see if I can use a blow torch to soften the bumps / ice crack edges tomorrow.
Another issue just popped up. At the end of the skating session today, we shoveled the shavings off and I went to put down a flood coat of warm water spraying lightly with a hose. Immediately the ice started to spider web crack in several spots as you can see in the pictures. I’ve read that this can happen and it’s normal, however it made me feel uneasy and I stopped. Should I continue or wait until it warms up in the next few days? Thanks
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Perfectly normal and shouldn’t pose an issue. Expansion and contraction will cause that no matter what you do.
Try to get to those leaves and dark spots off the ice though. They are going to be your ugly spot on an otherwise nice sheet of ice once the sun comes out.
A little goalie action from earlier in the week.
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i really enjoyed reading this thread. Good work everybody. looks like lots of memories are being made. 
Some backyard rink porn… 20+ rinks in one location. Anyone here partake in the festivities?
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Some backyard rink porn… 20+ rinks in one location. Anyone here partake in the festivities?
I think I’ve done it 3-4 times now. Has always been a ton of fun.
I was actually thinking about this earlier this winter. Haven’t done it for a few years and would like to again. Maybe we can get an IDO team together for 2023?
Have done it several times. Been a few years. Other life things have gotten in the way.
Last weekend was our 4th year playing and the weather and ice condition was prime. They added another low division this year and split it into 2 weekends. Made everything was way less congested and allowed time for a zamboni dry shave in between most games.
Our first year it was like 40 degrees and just a big slop fest… games were not very fun that year. Overall it’s a riot though, and I highly recommend everyone to play in it at least once.
How are the rinks holding up? I’ve been struggling to keep up with the warm and snow lately. I flooded on Wednesday and got it near perfect and then it snows last night.
It’s been an odd weather year. When it isn’t bitter cold it’s windy. When it isn’t windy it’s snowing. Got an inch or so to clear off tomorrow morning. After I clear it off tomorrow, I’ll post some tools and tips I’ve been using to get the best results.
Hopefully a couple more weeks left. The sun is showing it’s power. I can’t imagine more than 1-2 weeks left.
Just came in from a double Zamboni and was thinking of this thread. Was in Florida during the last big snow storm and had some work to do today. Snowblower double shovel and double Zamboni.
Should be good for the weekend anyway.
Now I’m tired.
As the leaves fall and cooler temps around the corner I thought I would bring this topic back to life. I will be doing the rink again this year. Taller boards this year so I don’t have to chase pucks as often. Anyone ever paint lines on there tarp before? I want to ad a little flair to my rink. Neighborhood kids loved it last year. So did the parents that would stop for a warm cocktail.
Mine will be the same size as last year. I am planning on adding some more lighting but it appears the lights I was buying may be getting phased out. Only one available on Amazon and the price jumped considerably. I’m hoping to add some netting at the ends too.
The tarp arrived about 2 weeks ago and the past 2 seasons I’ve put the board up on Halloween weekend. Looking out past 10 days in the forecast it looks like it may get colder soon. I really don’t want to mess with frozen ground.
I’ve seen discussions online about painting lines and all have said not to do it. Anything dark colored under the ice will melt it under sunlight. It’s best to avoid it. The best thing would be to put rope lights under the ice.
After tearing down my deck this summer I have a ton of nice clean burning cedar to burn in the pit. Looking forward to another long ice skating season.
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