Home made Zamboni

Sounds like you are way over-engineering it.

I'll assume that cutting/scraping the ice is unnecessary, as it's pond hockey at worst, or some figure skating, and not an NHL game that would generate significant ice chips/shavings.

So, all you really need to do is lay a thin layer of water on the surface. You could make a simple rig in a garden trailer with a couple of 5 gallon buckets with valves that gravity-feed a sprayer bar (drilled PVC pipe would work nicely) that flows onto a towel stretched across a sufficient length (a little wider than the tractor and trailer) something (2x4, rigid pipe, etc), just like the pro's do.

Unless it's super cold, warm water in the buckets would give you suficient time to cover a pretty big area, and your application rate and total storage capacity would determine the total area you can cover. Less is better, because you'll build ridges and cause trip hazards pretty quickly.

No chemicals are needed, real zamboni's don't use them (nor does snowmaking), nor are any heaters really needed, but you will want to either store the trailer inside and warm, or be very particular about draining the unit completey.

Good luck!

I guess I should clarify. It is hard to walk a wand around the pond while holding a beer. The idea is to make it easier. Also, they do use a chemical in snow making. It is not absolutely required, but raises the the OAT required for the process. In SE Michigan, we fluctuate above and below 32 degrees F all winter long. The chemical might help us make good ice when the OAT is slightly above 32F.

I understand the beer thing, hence the suggestion for the trailer-mounted tanks and spray bar onto a towel, just like a regular zamboni. Tow that around with your tractor, and you have not only the beer issue solved, but you get to make a lot of noise, and bump up the "cool dad" factor significantly (and be able to haul a cooler, too!). Yeah, walking around with a 5-gal bucket and broom will only make you look dorky. Does your tractor have a plow blade? That would do pretty well for knockig down bumps and removing the skaters "snow" accumulation.

OK, in warmer areas, yeah, they do use a product called Snow Max. I couldn't say how it would work for pond ice making. I'd love to know, though.

As for uing the mower part to clean the ice, that sounds like the danger factor is going to far outweigh the benefit. It would be cool as heck to see, though.

Good luck with your design, time's running out. It's almost (non-ice) fishing season again!

Thanks, and you were right about the over engineering. For the record; dead bacteria is injected in the fluid stream during snow making. They do not have to do it, but it helps make better snow. I have settled on a 55 gallon plastic drum mounted on the back of an ATV gravity feeding a PVC header.

Joe T

Replace the mower blade with pad that they burnish floors with. Gets the wax hot enough to melt why not ice. Moves it around to fill in the voids. Would find some way to adjust the pressure on the pad. I have seen where to much pressure was placed on the pad and wore ruts into the tiles. Don,t know how big a tractor you are thinking about but you may get enough heat off the engine to warm the water before spraying it.

The simplest way would be to walk around with a bucket of water & broom. You would also need to smooth out the high spots with a shovel.

Again, the problem is that a bucket and broom is too much work, and is difficult to manage the broom and the beer...

How about a trailer with a water tank, and a spray sparger on the outlet of the tank. Drag the trailer behind the lawn tractor.

Texas always understands the beer variable. Not a bad idea, the trailer that is.

This article might help with some ideas for maintaining your rink... http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/02/10/news/state/30-skater.txt

Yeah, skeeter, that's what i'm talking about!

Perfect, exactly what you need. Looks like there is even a rack on the side that you could mount a keg on... I am not sure but I even think that is the seat off a bar stool hooked on there...

Discovery Channels 'Monster Garage' made a Zamboni from a Chevy Impala. I can't track down a video but there must be one somewhere.

If they started with an Oldsmobile they would have made an Oldsmoboni.

There was an article about the history of the Zamboni in a the magazine "American Heritage of Invention and Technology" sometime in the past few years. It described the basics of the trial and error plus continuous improvement that led to the curent design. I think he started with a WW II jeep frame.

Real Zamboni machines, scrape the ice, clear the scrapings, then apply water using a heavy textile.

Maybe if you replace the mower blades with something resembling a giant cheese grater (chipper blade maybe) and drag a heavy wet towel saturated with a continuous supply of hot water?

Old posting, but winter is approaching and I'm planning on doing the same withing for a 300' x 100' pond. I have a 2x4 2000 Polaris Trailboss 325 with a winch/plow and chains for the rear tires. The idea was to clear the pond of snow with plow and then remove the skid bumper and scrape the ice going backwards dragging the plow blade across the ice surface to even it out. Next, with a yet-to-be-purchased 30-50 gallon drum on the cargo bar, hook up a tube or tubes to run to a 4' piece of PVC that is drilled for water drainage. I'll put a shut-off valve on the water supply and a couple clamps on the supply lines so that I can control the water flow. Attached to the PVC I'll drag along some carpet/canvas/rubber mat of sorts to spread the water evenly.

I hear that drilling a hole in the ice and using a pump to extract pond/lake water is best as it is close to freezing and will give the best results. For that I'll just use an aquarium pump, some hose, and a power inverter connected to my quad's battery.

Any thoughts?

Thoroughly drain the system after every use!

An aquarium pump sees pretty small for the amount of water you'll want, and may not be able to push that much head.

For the drums, look to get them free from a car wash. I live near new Haven, CT, and there are a ton of italian food importers, so finding free olive oil barrels is never a tough trick.

Rubber may not be the best way to go for a spreading mat, and given the possibility of very cold temperatures, you may want something cheaper and more disposable. I'd suggest cheap towels, adn not a very long trailing length so it doesn't freeze immediately to the ice.

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

Forget about using an acqarium pump to flood the rink. It won't hold up to the cold nor will it produce the volume you need.

I have been flooding a rink since I was a kid, an my dad spent countless hours keep up a rink for the kids. Now it is my turn as I moved on to a lake 5 years ago.

Here is how I do it:

I have a John Deere garden tracker with a snow blower. After blowing off the rink it needs to be hand shoveled (using a heavy steel shovel, not the cheapo's found at your local hardware store). Then, every few weeks I flood the rink. Here is what I use. I have a 2 HP pump that I trailer down to the lake with a 100' 1-3/4" firehose with a nozel. A home made 50' extension chord for the 220 outlet by the lake. Gas powered ice auger. And a PVC pipe with a elbow to attach to the pump for the intake with a back stop on the end that goes into the water. A small bucket of water to prime the pump.

Key is to add only ONE THIN layer. Don't go over the part flooded a second time as it will only disturb the partially fozen parts.

My rink is about 100' x 50'. Takes me 55 minutes from the time I pull out of my garage to the time I am back in my garage.

My next "to do" is to make a home made zamboni.

Check out this guys sight for the most impressive (and costly) equipment: http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/01/episode_31_home.html

Mostly I just have ideas about what to do, how to achieve those things I'm not so good at but here are my thoughts: you will need either a small 4 wheeler or just your average riding lawn mower would do nicely! on the front you would want a rotating broom to clear away the snow that is too deep down in the rougher ice to get with a shovel, and on the back, a sprayer with warm water and on the behind all of that a very large squeegee to level it out! like I said I do not know how to put that in to action but if someone were to do this I think it would work quite well! I hope this helps! but hey, I'm only 14! how should I know how to make that??

I have a Cub Cadet GT2554 garden tractor with a 42' blower on it. I also have sleeve type brackets on the rear. Im thinking about mounting a hot water tank to the rear, and mounting the sprayer/cloth where the mower deck goes (because the deck lift doesnt have anything attatched to it even with the blower attatched). Do you think it will work?(the tractor already weighs over 850 lbs with the blower) I don't want the tractor to sink through the ice on my medium sized pond.

Where do you live? How thick is the ice? The 850 lbs is spread out pretty well on a machine that size, so your pressure per square area is reduced, but as always, caution is absolutely required, no need in losing the machine, and possible hypothermia/frostbite for a recreational activity!

I think I would prefer to have the applicator behind the rear tires, as wet ice is about as slippery as, well, wet ice.

Having the applicator up there means more plumbing, and a longer time putting tegther and taking apart each season than if it were one self-contained unit that slides on and off, held in place with a couple cotter pins.

Good luck, let us know how you do, and take & post pics!

I am living in China and they often have skating and play hockey on the fountain ponds in the middle of the city. However no one maintains them in good condition. The most they do is spread shavings over the ice on a warm day with brooms made out of straw and might put a little water down. Needless to say this makes for a bumpy ride! I was trying to think of a create way to show them it can be maintained. However I do not have the resources for bulk material as I would in USA. For example there you can get cheap lawnmowers, ATV and Trackors used. Here if it's 50 years old it's still being used and is hand powered. However Electrical bikes and so forth are easier to get parts for and many tractors are electric drive (small ones). So anyone know of a design that you could walk next to? Like a electric driven platform to chops, melts then smooths.

Hey my buddies and I built a pretty ballin zamboni a few years ago. If anyone is interested look at the pictures on our website. This is just a backyard hockey league and since my buddy is going to school for graphic design he built the website. Im going for engineering so I build the boner. Just an old ford tractor and then bought a blade and sharpened it up. Then we took a 50 gallon drum and put a propane powered turkey cooker underneath it to keep the water nice and hot. Works like a charm. see pictures. Hopefully this gives you fellas sum ideas.

http://rive53.tripod.com/ghl/id76.html