Home Made Zamboni

No, I can't say that I've seen one of which you describe in use. It seems to be a great idea/development!

Are there any pictures? If it could possibly do as good a job as described by you, could it it be reestablished, as a newer design by someone as yourself?

Loupy.

Are you hoping to make a Zamboni at home for use on the pond out back? If so you will probably get a lot more responses by adding that to your question. We tend to like coming up with weird ideas around here.

What do you mean We?

i am thinking some thing like a large wood plain with heat from a kerosene jet type heater ducted to the cutting edge,or the exhaust from the vehicle.

I've seen a large RSJ being used.. only problem, it was to heavy for the ice and fell through, but I guess the principal is the same!!

I live in Finland and there is a football field across the street from my office that they convert into an ice skating rink during the winter. Initially they simply spray water on the ground and let it freeze but then to "dress" the surface (usually on a daily or every couple of days basis) they drive a truck with a water tank and a large (1 meter x 2 meter) mat dragging behind it over the rink. There is a water hose that allows water to flow from the tank to the mat and they simply drive in circles until they have covered the entire surface. This leaves a surprisingly smooth finish for such a crude device!

Hope this helps.

My hope is build something like that to tow behind a garden tractor to flood our pond for the kids. Snowblower up front to clear the big snow, a trailer behind with a 55 gallon drum and some pipes and a towel to smooth out the water application. I have figured out a simple way to shave the ice smooth yet though. Also some easy way to heat the water in the drum would be nice, but I have very limited power available on the lawn tractor.

A cheap alternative, that takes more effort, and is slower, but does not consume fuel is...The sun.

As kids we used to use black construction plastic. Set out nice and smooth on the ice on a sunny day. The sun will melt a thin film of water in a couple of hours. Peel the plastic and move to the next spot. Not Zamboni smooth, but pretty good.

We at Corptec Industries Limited can design and manufacture them for you. Let us know if we can be of help. Contact us through our website at www.corptec.net. We have designed all kinds of things for people.