WSGW Morning Team Show: February 23, 2021 (Tuesday)

It’s the WSGW Tuesday Morning Team Show with Charlie and Dave and Pat and YOU…..

Charlie’s Ice Rink: The “Homeboni”

From this…..

….. to This!

Ask any home ice rink owner how to keep the ice surface in great skating shape through the season and you’ll hear about some version of a Zamboni. Yes, basically the same method used for a professional ice rink is used on a home rink, though on the home rink, it’s called a “Homeboni”. If you search on YouTube, you’ll find endless videos of how people have designed very simple to very complex “Homeboni” contraptions and methods.

A real Zamboni will actually shave the top layer of the ice and then leave a fresh coating of hot water to freeze. The ice is also washed of debris and dirt before the hot water is applied. The hot water produces a little melting action which will smooth out rough surfaces and all the skate cuts. Indoor rinks use a refrigeration system to immediately freeze the new water spread on the ice.

A “Homeboni” will not shave the ice or clean the ice (at least mine doesn’t). It’s best to remove the “snow” left from skating and any debris. The hot water will help melt the surface snow and produce a smooth surface when finished. Mother Nature supplies the freezing method for the new water spread on outdoor rinks.

Here is my “Homeboni” contraption and method…..

When we are done skating, the rink looks like this.

Quite a bit of surface snow and many cuts left in the ice from our skates.

We start with a wide shovel to push the surface snow off the ice.

We don’t scrape all the snow off as the remaining thin layer will melt into the ice cuts and other imperfections to help with the smooth surface result.

We use this smaller blue shovel to get the edges and eventually scoop out the snow pile created to throw it off the ice.

The snow pile a little tough to see in the shadow, but it’s in the corner seen at the top of the picture.

Here are a couple of pictures to try and show the cuts in the ice from our skates and how “damaged” the surface is.

Did I mention how much Leia enjoys the ice?

Now, it’s time for the “Homeboni”.

A garbage can, some PVC, a towel. And just add hot water!

Here are the holes in the PVC allowing the hot water to flow.

The PVC will attach to the pipe at the bottom of the garbage can. The towel is attached with zip ties.

Here is the “Homeboni” put together and the buckets of water ready to pour into the garbage can.

If you look close, you might see some of the water flowing from the holes as the towel is soaked and water is starting to spread on the ice.

Now, we simply drag the “Homeboni” back and forth along the ice and you can see the difference from where the “Homeboni” has been and where it’s going.

When we’re done, we pull the “Homeboni”, break it down, and take it inside to dry.

Here is the rink, with a new surface, and ready for the next skate!

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Charlie and Dave and Pat and YOU: A Pew Research Center report finds people who use social media platforms for news are less informed and more susceptible to rumors and hoaxes (runs 5:52)…..