How To Fix Rough Ice Rink

People use different words for resurfacing. Some call it flooding and others call it watering. In the end, the goal is to clean your ice and also build up your ice. Once you finish your resurface you should have a beautiful glass like surface. It is truly and ultimately a thing of beauty.

You should try to plan your resurfacing around the weather. It is best to resurface at night, when it's not snowing and no or minimal wind. As far as temperature goes, you want to do it when its cold like in the teens, fahrenheit. Check out our article on Making Ice as these weather conditions tend to provide the best results and and produce ripple-free and shell-free ice. In addition to the right weather conditions, you should also remove all snow from the ice prior to your resurfacing, to help produce the best ice possible

You should resurface in small quantities. Over-watering or flooding when the temperature is not cold enough creates a shell of ice on top of the water. Ice that is only frozen on top is not suitable for skating, since the shell breaks when weight is applied on it. Check out our article, The Joys of Shell Ice to learn more about it.

You need to make sure the resurface layer you did is completely frozen before re-flooding your ice rink.

To preform your resurfacing, the best tool is what people call a homeboni also known as a rink rake. It helps you lay down a consistent layer while smoothing the ice as well. You can buy a homeboni or purchase one. We will cover this in another post in the future.

One final tip is to use pure rubber hoses, not your usual garden hose. The typical garden hose will freeze and not allow the water to flow.

The following chart describes some of the common problems with outdoor rink ice and suggests some remedies for consideration.

Problem	Cause	Remedy
Shell or Shale ice	Heavy flooding, leaving ponds of water which freeze on top and run away underneath	Scrape away, and fill with wet snow, or gradually build up with warm water resurfacing/flooding.
Cracked Ice	Cold temperatures	Fill cracks with a wet snow slush and resurface/flood.
Pebble or Rough Ice	Too much snow on ice, or flooding while snowing, or scrapers not flat or not sharp enough, or you could be using too little water, if it ripples you are using too much water	Make sure the ice is clean of all snow before resurfacing/flooding, or repair/sharpen scraper or blades or use warmer water. Make sure you are applying the correct amounts of water.
Ice Chipping	Brittle ice from severe cold weather	Resurface/flood with warm water.
Spring Deterioration	Warm weather or painted lines absorbing sun's rays or sun reflecting off the rink boards	Do not allow skating and place snow on melting areas as a thicker layer of ice will help prevent melting in warm weather. Some rinks may have as much as 30 cm (12″) of ice by the end of the season. You can also try and bank snow up against the outside of the boards throughout the season will have an insulating effect in the warm weather.
Low Spots on the Ice	Excessive use, usually in goal crease, behind net, at players boxes, etc.	Flood utilizing the bucket dump method in the evening after all the patrons have left.

One of the scariest feelings is resurfacing/flooding the rink and the ice is cracking. The sound puts a pit in your stomach the first time you experience it. I immediately went and started to research to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. I luckily found a Facebook post by the guys over at NiceRink.

The short answer is that it's normal.The moisture in your slab is acting as the glue to keep it all together. When it's extremely cold out that moisture dissipates and can cause settling. You then go and shock the ice with a resurface and which in turn can cause cracks.

Luckily it's not that big of an issue and its a pretty straight forward fix:

Pack any larger holes, chipped cracks, etc. with a slush mixture of snow and water. Make sure you pack it in and smooth it out and let it freeze. Don't just fill it with with water, as the water will expand when it freezes and you'll have little bumps.

Then commence resurfacing/flooding and apply a layer of water. You can repeat this over and over again pausing between each flood allowing it time to freeze. Usually a minimum of 15-20 minutes or as some have told me, the time it takes to drink a beer.