Everyone likes ice skating rinks, but they have a big limitation, because ice does not melt only at subzero temperatures. Usually, skating rinks are filled with water in the winter, right outside. Thanks to natural freezing processes, ice is formed, and the more or less flat surface of the site provides good gliding. People living outside the countryside can fill their own sites and prepare places for them, but what to do for the rest of the year when there is no frost, because putting off the skates is not an option.
The only thing that comes to mind is the installation of specialized refrigeration equipment? The answer is incorrect, this equipment will be prohibitively expensive to purchase and maintain, beyond the means of an ordinary person, and it is pointless, as a rule, such equipment is installed in a closed pavilion and there will be no room for it at home, and besides, it is not so small.
The solution will be to install synthetic ice and a skating rink, which will not require any additional investments other than the cost of materials and, possibly, initial installation work. In addition, such playgrounds are especially useful for children. Unlike icy surfaces, they can play on these surfaces for hours with friends without fear of catching a cold.
Security measures
Dry ice does not tolerate careless handling.
- First of all, it is necessary to protect your eyes and hands: a seemingly harmless substance can leave thermal burns on the skin and affect sensitive mucous membranes, so you should not approach it without protective glasses and gloves (at worst, a towel).
- In large quantities when in a closed space, ice becomes especially dangerous - inhalation can lead to carbon dioxide poisoning.
- It should not be placed in a portable refrigerator, freezer or other cramped container (expansion occurs during evaporation, which leads to destructive consequences), transported in a car with the windows closed, or thrown into the trash or sewer.
- Food use, as you understand, is strictly prohibited. In case of intoxication (typical symptoms are headache, nausea, vomiting and difficulty breathing), you must urgently seek medical help.
Attention! For disposal, ice is transferred to a gaseous state, left in room conditions or filled with warm water; Proper transportation is in a special container or bucket with access to air.
Material selection
The choice of material is also an important task. All materials from which synthetic ice is created are polyethylene in one form or another. In order for the sheets to have good sliding, you need the most dense material, like UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Polyethylene) and others like that. Let's say, the difference between PE500 (polyethylene) and PE1000 and higher (UHMWPE) will be significant. However, there will also be a difference in the price of the material, so it is better to choose according to your taste and budget.
Models of sheets on which sliding is worse are usually lubricated with additional silicone lubricant, which improves sliding. Conventional HDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) is also sold under the guise of synthetic ice. You can also play ice hockey on it, but it’s better without skates, but on rollers. Various models of high molecular weight polyethylene will cope much better with this task with the addition of lubricant or even without it.
There are sheets of branded western ice, they can go like PE5000 and PE7000, you can skate on them almost like on ice, but such polymer sheets are already expensive.
But despite the difference in glide quality, any material will last for many years. And even if one of the surfaces wears out, you can easily turn the sheet over, after which it will be like new.
From vinegar, soda and salt
At home, you can make dry ice without a fire extinguisher using regular baking soda and 70% acetic acid:
- Take the ingredients in equal quantities (200 g of sodium bicarbonate per 200 ml of vinegar). Mix them in a glass bowl. Stir until you get a thick porridge.
- Warm the mixture slightly and add a teaspoon of vinegar. If the mixture sizzles and gas is actively released, add a little more acid. Add in small portions until the mass stabilizes.
- Heat the thick mixture. Evaporate excess water.
- As soon as a thick crust begins to form on the surface, remove the container with the substance from the heat.
- Leave at room temperature for 5-7 minutes. The surface will begin to ice up.
- Add boiling water and stir. There should be no ice or lumps.
- Pour the mixture into a plastic container and put it in the refrigerator until it cools to a temperature of 10-15 degrees.
- Add a pinch of table salt. If everything is done correctly, the process of rapid crystallization will begin.
Important: if the proportions are incorrect, crystallization will not occur. For accurate measurements, use a measuring cup and a home electronic scale.
Additional training for hockey players on the ground.
Every professional hockey player or coach knows for sure that regular hard training is necessary to improve sports skills. Moreover, in addition to training on the ice, it is also necessary to practice on the “ground”, practicing the technique of throwing, dribbling, handling the puck and other elements of hockey. Previously, athletes carried out additional training in gyms or outside with a tennis ball. But, you must admit, a tennis ball is not at all like a puck and, of course, you won’t be able to practice most exercises with it. However, progress does not stand still, and synthetic ice was created for the convenience of athletes.
A synthetic polymer material created for skating has opened up new opportunities for additional home training for hockey players. Today, any hockey player who wants to develop their playing skills can use synthetic ice for training at home. To do this, you need to purchase one or more panels of plastic ice and then you can set up a simulator right in your apartment or house. Or, for example, if you have a separate room, a spare room, a garage or just a shed on the site, you can create a training area, put up a gate and conduct skating training.
Installation of sides
After all sheets of synthetic ice are installed, a platform will be formed. In principle, you can stop there if private use is intended and no one is bothered by the lack of sides. But if some semblance of a real ice rink is being created, or children, for example, will actively play hockey, then it will be necessary to make sides.
The sides are made from another material, most often ordinary HDPE or fiberglass (depending on the need to withstand extremely high loads, professional level or not). The main problem is that all sheets are created for hockey rinks and ice rinks of standard sizes, which may not suit you personally. In this case, you will have to order rounded sheets somewhere separately, or make an exclusively rectangular platform.
Sheets must be securely fastened in several places along the entire length of the sheet, and also fixed with special racks behind them. In short, the more the rink resembles a hockey rink, the more additional work there will be. It may be that installing advanced boards will require the hands and tools of specialists.
Selecting a location
First you need to understand what will happen when the construction is completed? There will be a section assembled from synthetic ice blocks. In principle, it can be located anywhere: at home, on the street, in any room or basement. It is not particularly affected by the sun or humidity or frost. Thus, artificial ice is completely universal for weather conditions, but in addition, it can also be disassembled and moved from an indoor area (in winter) to an open area (in summer), for example. All this is possible due to the fact that the whole process takes very little time. But let's start in order. In order to build a site, we first determine the location, for example, it is the garden of a country house.
The first step is to drop the surface. To do this, you can install any simple flooring made of boards or plywood, or even pour concrete, the main thing is that there is a smooth, hard and non-deformable surface.
How to make, store and use dry ice at home
Dry ice is a solid form of the chemical carbon dioxide (CO2), just as normal ice is a solid form of water (H2O).
It is extremely cold (-78.5°C) and is therefore used industrially for various refrigeration and freezing purposes. In fact, this substance has nothing in common with frozen water, that is, with ordinary ice, except for the ability to maintain or create low temperatures. This is a gas that bypasses the liquid phase and becomes a solid.
Should I use lubricant?
Is it beneficial to use emulsions for gliding? Or is it better to do without them? One of their obvious disadvantages is that they can leave marks on clothing. That's why it's important to read about it on the packaging before purchasing a lubricant. Some people get their hockey uniform so dirty that you can’t wash it off even with stain removers. However... lubricants based on silicone and ethylene glycol are now less popular. In stores there are products that do not pollute the stoves and do not make them sticky. In general, they either dry out or are absorbed into the ice. Yes, and they are washed off with plain water.
And by the way, you should take into account the high cost of lubricants. Their prices start from 1500 rubles. for 1 liter. And they are usually used up quickly. It’s probably better to immediately buy a coating with a high level of friction. Unless, of course, you need the skating rink for more than one game.
By the way, self-lubricating ice is also found on the Russian market. Examples of such coatings include Quick-Connect.
Making ice with a fire extinguisher
To make your own dry ice, you will need:
- fire extinguisher containing carbon dioxide (OC on the label);
- fabric bag or thick pillowcase;
- channel tape;
- protective equipment (insulated gloves, respirator, goggles).
- Wear gloves and protect your respiratory system and eyes.
- Wrap the pillowcase around the fire extinguisher nozzle and secure with tape.
- Remove the pin, pull the trigger.
- Hold it in the working position for 3 to 5 seconds.
- A white mist will begin to seep through the material. This is carbon dioxide vapor. They are harmless to humans.
- Squeeze the bag tightly. The white foam-like granules that fill the bag or pillowcase are dry ice.
- Carefully pour into prepared container.
Carefully! The temperature of the substance is -80 degrees. Do not touch with bare hands, there is a high risk of severe frostbite.
Similarly, you can get frozen pellets from a carbon dioxide cylinder (available in DIY stores or online).
How long do plastic decking last?
The performance of plastic ice, as we have already said, depends on the quality of the base underneath it. Ice tiles on a soft or uneven base:
- firstly, it becomes covered with dents and holes, creating inconvenience for players;
- secondly, due to the seams formed, it can also crumble.
So don't skimp on laying the base. This is the main factor affecting the durability and safety of the skating rink.
But what if you do it right? Install a flat, hard base and properly lay ice on it? Then the flooring will last about 7-10 years.
Technologies for producing ice from polymers
Extruded ice
Ice slabs formed by extrusion are not the most efficient. They may differ in size and thickness, and form joints when laid. As a result, when playing, you can catch your skate on them. And the washers bounce around because of the cracks on such floorings. In other words, this is ice for training and only for throwing areas.
Ice produced on press mats
Pressed plastic, on the contrary, is very reliable. The slabs made from it fit together perfectly. That is why they are allowed to be used throughout the entire area of the hockey field - both in the throwing zones and in the skating areas. However, keep in mind that any artificial ice is more suitable for amateur skating. It is not usually used in professional arenas.
What is artificial ice and how to lay it?
Artificial ice is a polymer material with a slippery surface. Due to its low weight, it is quickly laid down and can be transferred from one skating rink to another. However, it should only be mounted on a hard surface. As a basis, you can, for example, choose:
- plywood;
- linoleum or tiles;
- crushed stone or soil;
- wooden boards;
- metal;
- asphalt or concrete.
Whatever floor you install, it is important to level it carefully. The strength and durability of the skating rink will depend on the degree of smoothness of the base. And also how comfortable it will be to move the puck on it.
Plastic ice, by the way, is sometimes confused with artificial ice. Although the second category includes not only slippery slabs made of polymers, but also rollers sold by refrigeration machines. At the same time, the presented ice also differs from ice mats - products with cooling tubes.
Installation of synthetic ice
Installation of sheets of synthetic ice from any material is very simple, even without the need to call specialists. In fact, no special tools are needed. The skating rink is laid out with custom-made sheets of ice, which are fastened together with grooves, just like paper puzzles.
Typically, it only takes one to two hours to lay out a synthetic ice platform. If the surface is flat, then after one sheet fits into the grooves of another, their joint line will practically not be visible, at least from a short distance. In order for the sheets to fit into the grooves, a special “soft” hammer is used, which does not damage the plastic, but provides sufficient impact force.
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Maintenance of the finished skating rink
A synthetic skating rink requires minimal maintenance, unlike a real ice skating rink. It is imperative to remove dust, sand and other small particles at regular intervals, otherwise they will put additional stress on the wear of the smooth sliding surface.
If necessary (depending on the degree of wear and type of material), you also need to lubricate the surface with silicone 2-4 times. This will improve sliding and increase the service life of the coating.
In addition to using a vacuum cleaner to remove dust and sand, you should also wet clean the surface several times a year, along with using a detergent.
Of course, the substance should not contain aggressive acids and be suitable for plastic surfaces. Thus, from the delivery of sheets to the formation of a skating rink with your own hands, it takes from several hours to a couple of days. After which the site can be used for many years and, if necessary, reassembled in another place.
Instant recipe
- Take a small saucepan and place it on the gas stove.
- Vinegar is poured into the bottom, NaHCO3 is poured onto the bottom, and the resulting mixture is stirred.
- After achieving homogeneity, pour into a glass and place in the refrigerator for further cooling.
The resulting liquid is called sodium acetate. The proportions of soda and vinegar are the same for a successful recipe.
- A frozen mixture of NaHCO3 and acid is taken out of the refrigerator. In this case, the liquid must freeze completely, otherwise it will not be possible to make ice.
- Taking sodium acetate out of the refrigerator, the experiment immediately begins.
- The mixture is placed on the fire and begins to melt.
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The liquid must be poured into another container; the container is covered with a napkin to prevent premature hardening.
The remaining sodium acetate is taken into the hand to proceed to the next stage of the experiment.
- The napkin is removed from the vessel, then the person touches the surface of the liquid with his hand.
- After contact with sodium acetate, an amazing transformation into ice will begin.
Application of dry ice
Dry ice is considered a universal substance that performs different tasks. Used for industrial purposes: for freezing meat products and fish. They are used to transport goods over long distances and preserve their original appearance.
By placing one piece of special ice in a glass of water, the liquid becomes carbonated. The action can be repeated with juice to obtain lemonade.
The element is used at holidays to cool drinks. CO2 produces smoke at parties. Some people use a non-standard element to repel mosquitoes.
Creating CO2 is an interesting, useful experiment. If desired, it can be carried out at home, having previously read the recipe.
Ready solutions
Ready-made modular skating rink
For those who do not want to build a skating rink themselves or have doubts about the quality of home-made ice, companies specializing in the sale and installation of play and sports equipment offer turnkey installation of modular outdoor skating rinks. The cost of the service depends mainly on the region where the site is located and the size of the ice field. For example, assembling and pouring a standard skating rink 6.1 × 12.2 m, located within 50 km from the Moscow Ring Road, will take 1–2 days and cost about 120 thousand rubles. (in the case of plywood sides 50 cm high with protective linings made of foamed polyethylene) or 240 thousand rubles. (plastic sides, foam pads). * The modular fencing is fixed on supports stuck into the ground, the area is lined with a substrate and ice is poured. The area for the roller must be leveled in advance and not have a slope. Responsible companies certify the equipment and, as a rule, provide a one-year warranty on all its elements.
* According to
A 7.5 × 13.5 m substrate without edges for pouring a 6.1 × 12.2 m platform with detailed instructions for self-installation, with a roll of special repair tape and waterproof glue can be purchased for 27 thousand rubles. In this case, you will have to build the fence yourself. Rollers of non-standard sizes come only complete with plywood or plastic sides at prices of 1300 and 1650 rubles/m², respectively.
