Frank J. Zamboni, inventor of the ubiquitous ice resurfacing machine, was born in Utah and raised in Idaho. Frank and brother Lawrence moved to Southern California to join older brother George in 1920. Originally, the brothers installed refrigerators for dairies. As demand for block ice waned, Frank and Lawrence began thinking of new ways to use their knowledge of ice.
In 1939, the brothers, along with a cousin, built an outdoor skating rink, that runs to this day, called Iceland. The rink in Paramount, Calif., is mere blocks from the Zamboni factory, and it is not unusual to see one of the famous machines driving down the street to the ice rink for testing.
The brothers eventually covered the rink with a domed roof to protect the rink from sunshine and desert winds, but had to figure out how to maintain the surface inside. Originally, resurfacing was accomplished as the Estes Park Recreation District accomplishes the task now; workers shovel off shavings and chunks. After that, hot water is sprayed through a "trickle bar" to create a new layer of ice, then a towel on the same device smoothes the ice surface. This works fine on the small Estes Park rink, but the Iceland rink is 20,000 square feet. What takes 40 minutes once or twice a day on our town's rink would take well over an hour three or four times.
In an attempt to make the process quicker and more efficient, Frank, the tinkerer of the family, began making designs and putting together machines to work on the ice. After several prototypes assembled from surplus Army Jeep parts, the first Model A Zamboni machine was rolled out in 1949. The first patent was granted in 1953. Now the machines are so common, the name Zamboni is used to describe almost any ice resurfacing device.
"We call it the 'Human Zamboni'" says the Rec. District's Gregg Farmer of their human powered resurfacer.
The problems with that first Iceland sheet were the same as the town's: intense sunshine and dry winds. This can degrade the quality of the ice as the day progresses.
"Even with refrigeration, the northeast corner gets bad in the afternoon," explains Farmer. "Between the sunshine and the reflection from the plexiglass and lack of cold, it's a challenge."
The compressor at the rink pushes refrigerant through tubes under the ice. That substance leaves the compressor measuring about nine degrees. It returns from the ice just a bit warmer, 11 degrees. All of this is no match for highs near 60 degrees.
Good ice is, obviously, cold ice. Between the unusually warm temperatures and the crowds those same temperatures attract, the district has quite a challenge keeping the ice in good shape. The rink is such a hit, however, that the district will have plenty of time to experiment with what keeps ice good up here. One adjustment that may soon come into effect is pushing the hours of operation a little later into the evening hours. Less sunshine and cooler temperatures will make for better ice. Skaters can come test the sheet to see, or feel, how the learning process is coming.
Generally open weekends through February, though more hours will be added during the holidays. For more information, call the Estes Park Recreation District at 586-8191.