![Surfaceuse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Surfaceuse.jpg)
An ice resurfacer is a vehicle or hand-pushed device used to clean and smooth the surface of a sheet of ice, usually in an
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
. The first ice resurfacer was developed by American inventor and engineer
Frank Zamboni
Frank Joseph Zamboni Jr. (, ; January 16, 1901 – July 27, 1988) was an American inventor and engineer whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname being registered as a trademark for these devices.
Biography
Z ...
in 1949 in the city of
Paramount, California
Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098, down from 55,266 at the 2000 census. Paramount is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area and is borde ...
. As such, an ice resurfacer is often referred to as a "Zamboni" as a
genericized trademark
A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...
.
History
The first ice resurfacer was invented by
Frank Zamboni
Frank Joseph Zamboni Jr. (, ; January 16, 1901 – July 27, 1988) was an American inventor and engineer whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname being registered as a trademark for these devices.
Biography
Z ...
, who was originally in the refrigeration business. Zamboni created a plant for making
ice blocks that could be used in refrigeration applications. As the demand for ice blocks waned with the spread of compressor-based refrigeration, he looked for another way to capitalize on his expertise with ice production.
In 1939, Zamboni built the Iceland
Skating Rink in Paramount, California. In order to resurface the skating rink, 3 or 4 workers had to scrape, wash, and
squeegee
A squeegee or squilgee is a tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is used for cleaning and in printing.
The earliest written references to squeegees date from the mid-19th cent ...
the ice. A thin layer of water was then added for the fresh ice. This process was extremely time consuming, and Zamboni wanted to find a more efficient way to resurface the ice.
From 1942 to 1947, he worked to develop a vehicle that could cut down on resurfacing time. In 1947, he built a machine that would shave, wash and squeegee the ice. This machine was mounted on an
army surplus
Military surplus are goods, usually matériel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by ...
Willys Jeep
The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503,According to i ...
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. A blade was mounted on the machine, which would shave the ice; the ice would then receive a thin layer of water creating a smooth sheet of ice. The prototype had a tank that held the ice shavings, which were carried to the tank via a conveyor belt. Zamboni abandoned this model in late 1947 because of deficiencies with the blade and handling.
A new machine was developed using another army surplus vehicle chassis. This machine had
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
as well as all-wheel steering. By 1949, the Model A Zamboni Ice Resurfacer was developed.
Further modification to the Model A included the addition of a wash water tank and a cover for the snow-holding tank (for ice shavings). The all-wheel steering feature was reduced to only front-wheel steering because the machine constantly got wedged against the boards.
The Zamboni ice-resurfacer was patented in 1953.
![Zamboni Ice resurfacer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Zamboni_Ice_resurfacer.jpg)
The Model B was the next ice resurfacer made by Zamboni.
The Zamboni Model C was also built on the same frame, but more design changes were applied. The driver's position was raised for better visibility, and the capacity of the snow-holding tank was increased. From the late 1950s to 1964, there were minimal changes in how the ice-resurfacers were designed.
The introduction of the HD series in 1964 saw a shift in the design of the Zamboni ice resurfacers. Instead of relying on a conveyor belt system to move the ice shavings into the snow-holding tank, a vertical
screw conveyor
A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating helical screw blade, called a "''flighting''", usually within a tube, to move liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling industries. Screw conveyor ...
system was installed, and a new hydraulic snow-dumping system was adopted. This design has been the industry standard since it was first adopted.
In 1967, an
Elmira, Ontario
Elmira is the largest community in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is north of the city of Waterloo near the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's northern border with Wellington County. The community was listed in the 2016 Canadian ...
-based welder named Andrew Schlupp founded the
Resurfice Corporation
Resurfice Corporation is a manufacturer of ice resurfacing equipment based in Elmira, Ontario, Canada. Their Olympia brand product line includes push models through full size models built on a Chevy Powertrain. In early 2009, Don Schlupp, the ...
and began producing competing models of resurfacers, including their popular Olympia line. In 1980 an Italian company, Engo Ice Arena Equipment, began producing ice resurfacers.
Technology
Ice resurfacers are generally composed of a snow container, hot water tanks, a wash water tank, the conditioner, and a board brush. Depending on the power plant, an
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
or
electric motor
An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
of the vehicle is responsible both for propelling the resurfacer and also powering the
hydraulics
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
that control the various functions, such as lowering the conditioner or raising the snow dump.
Most of the actual resurfacing components are contained in a heavy device at the rear of the machine, known as the "conditioner". The conditioner is hydraulically lowered to the ice surface, its weight providing the friction necessary for a large, sharp blade (similar to those used in industrial paper cutters) to shave off the top layer of ice. A horizontal
auger conveyor
A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating helical screw blade, called a "''flighting''", usually within a tube, to move liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling industries. Screw conveyor ...
collects these ice shavings, or snow, and funnels them to a vertical auger at the center of the conditioner. The shavings are then carried upward and sprayed into a large snow container, which takes up most of the volume of the resurfacer.
The height of the blade can be adjusted by the driver, allowing deeper or shallower cuts. This is useful for keeping the ice sheet level, improving the quality of the cut, and preventing the snow container from overflowing.
Wash water can be used to further improve the quality of the ice by removing debris and snow from deep skate-blade cuts. Located directly in front of the blade, nozzles forcefully spray water into the ice surface, loosening deep debris. Runners on either side of the conditioner contain the spray, while a rubber
squeegee
A squeegee or squilgee is a tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is used for cleaning and in printing.
The earliest written references to squeegees date from the mid-19th cent ...
at the rear of the conditioner allows a vacuum nozzle to pick up excess water. This water is then filtered through a screen and recirculated.
![Hand Flooder](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Hand_Flooder.JPG)
Finally, a layer of water is laid down to fill in the remaining grooves in the ice. The ice-making water is released through a sprinkler pipe at the rear of the conditioner, which wets the cloth towel that is dragged behind the resurfacer. The towel ensures a smooth, controlled deposition of water.
Traditionally, hot water has been used because it slightly melts the layer of ice below it, leading some operators to believe it forms a stronger bond during the freezing process because heating the water releases dissolved gases thus allowing the ice to freeze in a clearer state. It is also sometimes believed that warm water reduces the freezing time of the water due to the unproven
Mpemba effect
The Mpemba effect is the name given to the observation that a liquid (typically water) which is initially hot can freeze faster than the same liquid which begins cold, under otherwise similar conditions. There is disagreement about its theoretical ...
. The water used in some rinks is also filtered and treated before being used in the ice resurfacer to remove any minerals or chemicals in the water. These impurities can otherwise make the ice brittle, soft, give it undesirable odors, or change the color and clarity.
Many ice resurfacers are fitted with a "board brush", a rotary brush powered by a hydraulic motor. The board brush is extended and retracted on the left side of the machine by a hydraulic arm. This allows the operator to collect ice shavings and debris that accumulate along the edge of the rink (along the kick plates below the dasher boards of the rink) where the conditioner cannot easily reach. The brush sweeps the accumulations into the path of the conditioner, which removes them from the ice. The use of a board brush can dramatically reduce the need for edging of the rink. After resurfacing the entire sheet, also known as an "ice cut" or "flood", the snow container must be emptied. Hydraulics raise one end of the container, causing the snow to spill out.
Smaller, cheaper machines have also been designed to provide a smooth ice surface in a manner similar to a traditional resurfacer. These can be either self-propelled or pushed/pulled by the operator. Self-propelled vehicles typically incorporate the main components of full-size ice resurfacer, including a blade and water tank, but on a smaller scale. These are usually mounted to an ATV or golf cart-like vehicle.
Ice edgers
The ice around the edges of a rink has a tendency to build up because the conditioner blade does not extend all the way to the outer edges of the conditioner and it is unwise to "ride" (drive with the conditioner touching) the dasher boards. An ice edger is a small device similar to a rotary lawn mower that is used to shave down the edges of the ice surface that the ice resurfacer cannot cut. An ice edger cannot shave ice that has an overall bowl or mushroom shape.
Drivers using latest model ice resurfacing equipment can effectively cut ice edges within millimeters of the dasher board.
In popular culture
*Starting in 1980,
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wid ...
incorporated Zambonis into his ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'' comic strip as well as into the 1980 television special ''
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
''She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown'' is the 19th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz and a spin off around Peppermint Patty and Marcie. It originally aired on the CBS network on Febru ...
'', increasing public awareness of them.
*In the 1981
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
For Your Eyes Only'', Bond uses a Zamboni to dispatch an attacker during a fight on an ice rink.
*In the sitcom ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'', the character
Eddie LeBec (
Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas (born Jon Thomas Terrell; July 12, 1948 – August 24, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976–1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in L ...
) is killed by a Zamboni in the episode "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" (1989).
Ken Levine, who co-wrote the episode, recalled, "We were worried that we wouldn't be able to use the name Zamboni but the company loved it."
*The term "Zamboni" got a further boost in popular recognition from the
1992 Winter Olympics
)
, nations = 64
, athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women)
, events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines)
, opening = 8 February 1992
, closing = 23 February 1992
, opened_by = President François Mitterrand
, cauldron ...
, when skater
Laëtitia Hubert
Laëtitia Hubert (born 23 June 1974) is a French former competitive figure skater. She is the 1997 Trophée Lalique champion, the 1992 World Junior champion, and a two-time French national senior champion (1998–1999). She competed in four W ...
fell so many times she was nicknamed the "Human Zamboni", and the usage of the term "Zamboni" in its general sense subsequently expanded by an
order of magnitude
An order of magnitude is an approximation of the logarithm of a value relative to some contextually understood reference value, usually 10, interpreted as the base of the logarithm and the representative of values of magnitude one. Logarithmic dis ...
.
*The 2009 video game ''
Plants vs. Zombies
''Plants vs. Zombies'' is a video game franchise developed by PopCap Games, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (EA). The series follows the affiliates of David "Crazy Dave" Blazing as they use his plants to defend against a zombie invasion, led ...
'' features a zombie opponent called "Zomboni" (a portmanteau of ''zombie'' and ''Zamboni'') which rides a Zamboni to crush plants and resurface the lawn to prevent players from placing new plants.
*On January 16, 2013, in honor of Frank Zamboni's 112th birthday,
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
published a
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
dedicated to him. The doodle is a game where the player can clean the surface of a virtual ice rink using an ice resurfacer.
*In the 2014 film ''
Dumb and Dumber To
''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise and a sequel to the 1994 film ''Dumb and Dumber''. The film stars Ji ...
'', the protagonists, Harry (
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
) and Lloyd (
Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
), reach
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
on a Zamboni that they stole from an ice rink.
*In the 2016 superhero movie ''
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'', the titular character uses a Zamboni to run over a heavily injured opponent as an act of vengeance.
*February 22, 2020,
David Ayres
David Ayres (; born August 12, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current Head Coach of the Port Perry Lumberjacks of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. He achieved fame as the first emergency backup goaltender ...
, the operations manager at the
Mattamy Athletic Centre
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
, entered the game as the
emergency backup goalie for the NHL's
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
, leading them to victory over the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
6–3. Ayers was referred to as a "Zamboni driver" in news articles about his NHL debut.
References
External links
How does an ice-resurfacing machine work?Zamboni Google DoodleZamboni Driver Explains The Art Of Making Ice Video produced by ''
Wisconsin Public Television
PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television or WPT) is a state network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It c ...
''
Ice Resurfacers (Including Zamboni Machines)at
The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ice Resurfacer
Figure skating
Resurfacer
Bandy equipment
Land vehicles
American inventions