OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 2

TableofContents:

BUILDINGICE 3

Building ice on an existing ice 3

Building new ice 3

ICEMAKINGINSTRUCTIONS 4

ICETHICKNESSANDTEMPERATURE 5

WATERTEMPERATURE 6

ONLYREALICE-TREATEDWATER 7

ICETHICKNESS 8

ICETEMPERATURE 9

RESURFACING 10

GRADUALCHANGES 11

BESTPRACTICES,REALICE,SUMMARY 12

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 3

BuildingIce

Buildingiceonanexistingice

Firstincreasetheicetemperaturetomakeiteasiertoshavetheice.Shavetheicetojustabovelinesand/oradvertising.Afterfinishingshavingreturntothenormalicetemperature.Goto:Icemakinginstructions

Buildingnewice

TobuildgreaticewithREALice,useonlycoldwatertoavoidburnmarksfromthehoseontheice.WerecommendusingtheREALicehandheldwiththeblackcaptobuildtheicefromscratch,althoughyoucanuseanyice-buildingmethodsaslongasthewaterhasbeentreatedthroughtheREALicesystemunderpressure(staticPSIof43ormore).Thewatershouldbeaddedinthinlayers.

Whatevermethodyouchoose,neverstandstill.IfusingtheREALicehandheldnozzle,pointingitupward(ata45°angle)willgivebettercoverage.Moveitcontinuouslyfromonesidetotheotherasyoumoveacrosstherink.Allowthewatertofreezebeforeapplyingthenextlayer.

Only½inchor10mmoficewillneedtobebuiltbeforeitisstrongenoughtosupporttheiceresurfacingmachine.

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 4

Icemakinginstructions

DrainallwaterfromtheiceresurfacingmachineandrefillitwithREALice-treatedwater,treatedunderpressure.MixingregularwaterwithREALice-treatedwaterwillcreatebadice.

Makesurethereisadequatestaticpressure(43psi)andflow.ThetaptotheREALicewallunitmustbeopenedcompletelytotreatthewater:trickle-fillingwillresultincloudy/wavyice.

Buildtheiceinthinlayersandwaitforeachlayertodrybeforestartinganewone.Oncetheiceisabout½“thick(10mm)itwillbestrongenoughtobeginusingtheiceresurfacingmachine.Addingalayerofwaterwiththeiceresurfacingmachineshouldtakeabout10minutes(NHL-sizedrink)orabout12minutes(Olympic-sizedrink). Afterthefirstlayerofwaterhasbeenputdownusingtheiceresurfacingmachine,returntothefillingstationandfillthefloodwatertankwithREALice-treatedwateronceagain.Makesuretheicehascompletelyfrozenbeforestartingthenextlayer.Repeattheaboveprocedureuntilyouhaveanextra10-15mmor½-¾inchesofice.Whenfinished,theiceshouldbeabout1¼inches(30mm)thick

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 5

Icethicknessandtemperature

Withoutmicroairbubblesleftinthewater,theimpuritieshavenothingtoclingtoandwillbeforcedtothesurface.Bydry-shavingtheice,theimpuritieswillberemoved.Beforeyou’vereachedyourdesiredthickness,dry-shavetheiceonce.Thenapplyanother1-2layersofREALice-treatedwaterusingtheiceresurfacingmachine.Youwillhaveproducedaclear,densesheetofice.

Next Job: Find the Sweet Spot

Raise ice temperature 3-5°F/2-3°C

Checkthetemperatureoftheice.BecauseREALice-treatedwaterfreezessoquickly,youwillneedtoraiseyourbrinesettingshigheroryouricewillbebrittle.Whatthattemperaturewillendupbeingisuniquetoyourbuilding,butyoucanexpectittobe3-5°Fhigher(1-2°C)inordertopreventthewaterfromfreezingtooquickly.

Raisingthetemperatureshouldbedonegraduallyandinstepsof1°F(½°C)atatime.Beforemakingasecondtemperatureincrease,waitaboutaweekastheiceneedstostabilize

Repeatthegradualtemperatureincreasesuntilthesnowfromadry-shaveiswet.Then,lowertheicetemperaturebyonedegree.

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 6

Watertemperature

Normally,onlycoldwaterwillneedtobeusedwithREALice.Insomecircumstancesitmaybenecessarytoaddsomewarmwater,especiallyiftheambienttemperatureabovetheiceiscolderthanfreezingandtheiceisfreezingfromthetopdowninsteadthebottomup.Withimproperbuildinginsulationandcoldoutdoortemperatures,thetowelonthebackoftheiceresurfacingmachinecouldfreezetotheiceunlesstemperedwaterisused.

Cold water 5-18°C, 41-64°F

AnytemperedwaterneedstoberunthroughtheREALicesystem.MixingREALice-treatedwaterwithregularwaterwillresultinbadice.Thewatertemperaturedoesnotneedtoexceed18°C/64°F.

Humidity

Highhumiditycreatesicecrystals(rime)onthesurface,resultinginmoresnowbeingproduced.Thehumiditylevelsintheicearenashouldnotexceed50-55%

Humidity

between 50-55%

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 7

UseonlyREALice-treatedwater

DoNOTmixwaters.NormalwaterandREALice-treatedwatershouldneverbemixed.Theyhavedifferentproperties(viscosity),differentfreezingcharacteristicsandcreatedifferenticecrystals.Mixingthewaterswillresultinbadiceaswellashigherenergyconsumptionasyourrefrigerationplantwillbeworkinghardertofreezetheresultingslushywater.

REALice-water

24h

TheeffectofaREALicetreatmentlastsatleast24hours.Thismeanstheleft-overfloodwaterintheiceresurfacingmachinecanbetoppedupthroughouttheday.Infact,theiceresurfacingmachinecanbefilledintheeveningandcanbeusedforthefirstresurfacingthefollowingday.

Washwater

Thewashwaterintheiceresurfacingmachinemayneedtobeslightlywarmerthanthefloodwatertopreventitfromclogging.

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 8

Icethickness

SinceicemadewithREALiceisusuallyclearerthanordinaryice,itisdifficulttoestimatetheicethickness,especiallywhenbuildingicefromscratchfortheveryfirsttime!Makeitahabittoregularlycheckthattheicehasnotbecometoothick.

Ice thickness 30mm/1¼ inches.

Itisgenerallysufficienttohaveanicethicknessof1¼inches(30mm).Aimtokeeptheicethicknessconsistent:anextrathicknessof10mm/.40inchesresultsin18m³or193.75ft2oficetokeepfrozenduringthewholeseason.Gatesanddoors

Makeitahabittoalwaysclosegatesanddoorstoboththearenaandtotheicerink.Warm,moistaircomingintotherinkwillresultinhigherenergycostsandpooricequalityifagateordoorremainsopenforlongerthannecessary.Ifthereisanoption,anairlockispreferred.

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 9

Icetemperature

Theicehasonlyonetemperaturerangewhereit'sbestandthattemperaturerangediffersfromrinktorink.Iftheiceistoowarmitwillbesoftandtough.Iftheiceistoocold,theicewillbedryandbrittle,resultinginalotofsnowontheice. Thebestwaytofindtheoptimalrangeistoraiseicetemperatureinsmallincrements,½°Cor1°Fatatimeandthenwaitaweekbeforeraisingthetemperatureagain.Duringthistime,studytheicequality.Repeatuntilthesnowfromadry-shaveiswet.Then,lowertheicetemperaturebyonestep.Thisisthesweetspot.

Tohot–Bad

Optimal

Tocold–Bad

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 10

Resurfacing

REALice-treatediceismoredurable,producingfewerscarsandgougesthanordinaryice.Thismeansthequantityoffloodwaterbeingputdown,inmostcases,canbereduced.

Beobservantoftheamountofwaterusedandthethicknessoftheice.Shavetheicewitheachresurfacing,don’tjust“collect”thesnow.Asaruleofthumb,it’salwaysbettertoshavemorethanless.

Alwayshaveagood,sharpbladeinstalled.Driveslowlyandconsistentlywitheachresurfacing.Turnoffthewaterwhereseveralpasseswillbemade,suchasoverthecreases.ResurfacinganOlympicrinkshouldtake10-12minuteswhileanNHL-rinkshouldtake8-10minutes.

Ifyouriceishavingtroublefreezingthewater,checkyouricethicknessandoperators’floodingroutinefirst.Inmostcases,theunfrozenwateriscausedbyicethat’stoothick.

Loweringthebrinetemperaturetosolvetheproblemofwaterthatwon’tfreezewillresultinbrittle,chippyicethatscarseasily.

Notsurewhattodo?Callus:

US:+1-844-464-8408

Canada:+1-888-542-9292

EU:+352-268-468

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 11

Gradualchanges

Anicerinkiscomplex,wheremanycomponentscontributetotheoverallicequalityandenergyconsumption.Experience,careandexpertiseareneededtobuildandmaintainareallygoodsheetofice.WhenchangesaremadeafterhavinginstallediceusingREALice,itisimportanttomakejustonechangeatatimetounderstandhowthechangehasimpactedtheice.

One change at a time:

Ice thickness

Resurfacing temperature

Humidity

Spectators

Ice temperature

Outside temperature

Arena temperature

Amount of water

Compressors

Thereisacertaindelayintheiceafteranadjustment:waitatleastaweekbeforemakingfurtherchanges.

REALiceAssembly,OperatingInstructionsandIce-MakingandMaintenanceTips–022020 12

Bestpractices,REALice,summary

AllwaterusedforyourrinkneedstobeREALICEtreated Comments

AfterinstallofREALICE Firstincreasetheicetemperaturetomakeiteasiertoshavetheice.Shavetheicetojustabovelinesand/oradvertising.Afterfinishingshaving

returntothenormalicetemperature.

BuildingNewIce UseREALICEun-heatedwater

Normally,REALICEisusedwithonlycoldwater.Insomecircumstancesitmaybenecessarytoaddsomewarmwater.Thisisseenmorewhenthereisverycoldwaternear5C/40Fand/orifthebrinetempeitherhasnotbeenresetupwardsorifthereareinconsistenciesinresettingthebrinetemperature.Trythisbyaddingalittlewarmwater(REALICEtreated)at

atime,ifyoudonotgetgoodresultswithonlycoldwater.

UsetheREALICEhandheldnozzletobuildverythinlayersforbothnewiceaftertakingdowntherinkandalsoforbuildingiceoverexistingice.

Adjusttempasneededtypicalun-heatedwater

Note:recommendedunit

installationtoallowhot/coldmixing.Thiscanhelpwithrateoffreezingasdoesconfirmingaccuratecontrolofbrine

temperature.

WaterPressure Needstobeatleast3bar/45psi Citywaterusually,3-5baror45-60psi

ResurfacingTank FillwithonlyREALICEtreatedwater Allcoldormixed

Donotmix REALICEwaterwithuntreated

waterforthebestresults

NormalwaterandREALICE-waterhavedifferentpropertiesandshouldnotbemixed.Thedifferentwatershavedifferentfreezingcharacteristicsandvariousicecrystals.Mixofwaterwillgiveyouapooricequalityand

higherenergyconsumption.

TheeffectofREALICEtreatmentlastsatleast24hours.ThismeansthatyoucanfilluptheIceMachineintheevening,beforenextday'swork

Washwater ThewashwaterintheIceMachinemayusuallyneedtobeslightlywarmer,nottobecooledbythere-circulatingwater,topreventitfrom

clogging.

DoesnotneedtobeREALICEwater–orcanuseREALICEbutneedto

usemixingtomake warm

TypicalIcethicknessabout30mm,or1.20”

Willvarybasedonyourconditionsorifrinkiscoveredforothervenuesorduetoregulations.

Icetemperature(BrineTemp)

Iftheiceistowarmitbecomessoftandtough.Iftoocold,theicebecomesdryandbrittleanditbuildsupalotofsnowontheice.Thetemperatureoftheoptimalrangeisdifferentfromicerinktoicerinkwhereeachicerinkisuniquebasedonclimatezone,ageanduseof

refrigerationequipment,etc.Thebestwaytofindtheoptimalrangeistoraiseicetemperatureinsmallincrements,about0.25to0.50°C,1-1.5°Fatatimeandthenwaitatleastacoupleofdaysandduringthetime

studytheicequality.Thisisrepeateduntilyoufeelthattheicequalityistoobad.Thenyoulowertheicetemperatureonestep.

Thereneedstobeaccurateautomaticcontrolofthebrinetemp?

HowisBrinetempforthe

specificrinkmeasured/controlled?

Resurfacing IcemadeofREALICE-treatedwaterismoredurablethanordinaryice.Thismeansthatitdoesnotgetasmuchandasdeepscarsand

injuriesinaREALICEcomparedtoaregularice.Thisalsomeansthatthewaterthatisaddedateachresurfacingusuallycanbereducedor

usefewerresurfacingrounds. Itisimportantthatyoushavetheice,notonly“collect”thesnow.

Humidity Highhumiditycreatesrimeontheiceandthereforeproducesmoresnow.Toobtainanoptimalice,thehumidityintheicearenashouldnotexceed50-55%.Alsoverylowambienttemp,(lessthan10C/50F)especiallyifthetempapproachesthedewpointcancausefoggingand

frost/rimeontheice.

Whatisthehumidityanddewpoint