ice rink

[GreenStar]

hey guy's i need to info. my father in-law to be asked me a question today about putting an ice rink in his back yard this winter. basically it a tarp like structure that get's flooded then freezes. some people he know have done this and say's it doen't hurt the grass. but we spend alot of time on his property so we want to make sure. i've seen it done but never say the aftermath. if anyone has any experiance or PROFFESIONAL comments please post them.. please hold off on the sarcasm i get enough off that at home lately.
thanks in advance

greenstar commercial groundskeeping

[captdevo]

i've seen it done before, it leaves a low spot, and caused compaction pretty bad.

and these were only approx. 4" thick

if it's in an outta-the-way place, it would be pretty neat.

[Kent Lawns]

We had one growing up.

1.) You need a flat area. We had one that was our vollyball/badmitten court in our backyard.

2.) We used no tarp.

3.) We WAITED UNTIL THE GROUND FROZE (this is key) and then shoveled snow (this was the UN-fun part) around the whole thing to form a ridge around the perimeter. The rink had only 3-4" of snow left- just enough to cover the grass.

4.) We soaked the snow in the ridge so it would contain water and form a solid ring.

5.) We flooded the center in layers until it was smooth.

6.) In the spring, it just melted as any snow or ice would.

No damage to the grass and IMPO wouldn't cause damage IF the grass was dormant AND the ground frozen.

Compaction?! Doubt it: 4" of ice weighs the same as 4' of snow. I'm sure sub-soils make a difference, but by theory the soil would be no more compacted than a typical winter snow accululation.

[GreenStar]

thanks guy's i called michigan state a little while ago and they basically said the same thing. mr. tim doppel of atwood lawncare was also really great. anyway's thanks boy's i'm gonna go play with my sled a bit see ya

[captdevo]

Kent

Compaction?! Doubt it: 4" of ice weighs the same as 4' of snow.

how did you come up with this theory???

[Kent Lawns]

No theory.

Depending on snow density (moisture content) it is +/- 10:1 ratio with water.

[captdevo]

ic

interesting......

Greenstar'

let us know how it turns out

[Dochere]

1 sqft. of water, 4" thick, has a weight of 20.80932 pounds. So if your rink was, lets say 30x40', and was 4" thick, the total weight of the ice rink would be +/- 24971 lbs.


Remember, the density of water is greater than the density of ice, so in actuality, when the rink is frozen it would have a thickness of roughly +/- 4.44", if it was confined to an exact 30x40" area.


Also Kent, water changes density at differant tempatures. At 15 degrees C it has a density of 0.9991026, but water at 30 degrees C has a density of 0.9956502. Ice also changes with differant varibles, but the same water sample turned to ice will
always take up about 1/9 more space than the same amount of water. Snow on the other hand would have to be compacted to 500Ncm2 to be equal to the same amount of ice at 1cm2.

[mowerman90]

Dochere,

While reading these posts one must stop to wonder,"why does a lawncare professional know these things?" Maybe you're just a misplaced rocket scientist! LOL

[Turfdude]

Dochere makes for intersting reading, but is kinda like DENNIS MILLER on Monday Night Football. (In other words guys, about 1/2% of his viewers can understand and appreciate him). I kinda like the mathematical potulates contained therein myself.:dizzy:

Bob

[Runner]

Dochere,

"While reading these posts one must stop to wonder,"why does a lawncare professional know these things?" Maybe you're just a misplaced rocket scientist!" LOL

Double, no TRIPLE that LOL!:D Things that make ya go Hmmmm.

Bob, I can only agree with your view on Dennis Miller. How did HE ever end up op on Monday Night Football!? He wasn't funny as a comedian, (always laughing at his own jokes, looking around, like he had some "inside thing" going on.) And he SURE can't announce football, either! Sorry to get off the subject, here.


Anyway, that's why I keep my Zamboni set at 6 1/2 to 6 3/4, with a tank operating temperature of 36 degrees.

[Dochere]

I was bored guys. Figured you would all get a laugh at it, regardless if you understood it or not. Now, lets all go to GreenStar's and play some hockey at that new rink, Runner, bring the zamboni.:D

[cantoo]

Not sure if you are on city sewers or not, but make sure you don't put it on your septic bed if you have one. Had a neighbour who did this and the septic company that came to fix it blamed the damage on the ice. I'm not sure what the problem was though, I think the lines froze.

[HOMER]

Doc..............

I ain't understood a dam thing you said!:o

Must be a southern thing huh?

Simple solution for me would be to put 5 gallons of water in one bucket and fill another with snow...............whichever one was heavier would win.

I think the water would..................whuchoo think Doc?

[Dochere]

LMAO Homer, I am fiending for a Goody pack! :dizzy:

[HOMER]

Ha Ha.......................I would mail you one but with all the "white powder" scares I might wind up raking out sandtraps or something.

I can't believe ya'll don't have Goody Powders up thar!

How is the throat thing anyway?

[Dochere]

Originally posted by HOMER
....but with all the "white powder" scares I might wind up raking out sandtraps or something....

LOL, I can just see it, lawncare to sandcare. Throat feeling good; That goody thing helped more than anything I have ever taken before.:D