Kent Smith's Backyard Rink 2008
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Randy Gallant's flooding tip:
"I use the tripod that came with my halogen worklight, formed a cross out of some scrap material and
mounted it on top of the tripod, parallel to the ground. Then, I took a short section of hose (washing machine hose),
drilled 3 small holes in the hose, blocked one end, and mounted it with plastic zip-ties around the cross (holes pointing
down). I place 3 Rubbermaid containers under the holes, connect the short hose to my garden hose, and turn the water on a
slow but steady stream. When the containers fill I slip outside, tip them over in opposite directions, and go back in as they
fill again. The tripod holds the hose up so that as I am emptying the buckets, I don't have to worry about a stream melting a
hole in the ice and allows me to fill three buckets at once. I adjust the flow depending on the temperature so that the time
between fill ups allows for the previous flood to freeze. An extra help is to toss a kid's rubber ball (soccer ball sized)into
one of the buckets. When you look out the window and can see the ball (AKA float) approaching the top of the bucket you know it's
time to get your boots on and head outside. A very time efficient way to add many floods once you have a good base started. I have
even set my alarm clock to ring every couple of hours and used this method to put on several floods if we have a cold night, while
still getting a decent sleep. PS, if one hole flows too fast, try turning a wood screw part way into the hole to slow the flow." (Tip # 93)
More tips...
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Al Duncan's rink location tip:
"BEWARE - BEWARE - Steer clear of any septic lines when considering where to place your rink. I thought having a front
yard rink would be great fun for our kids and provide hours of fun for relatively little funds. $12,000 later I now have a new
septic system and septic bed replacing the one that I ruined by saturating the ground with water. Once the spring thaw comes
any excessive water in the ground can move the tiles in a septic bed rendering your system useless. Frost is your enemy in
these situations." (Tip # 76)
More tips...
May 30, 2009 - The 2007/08 winner has finally been selected.
Sorry for the delay folks. Busy, busy, busy.
Feb 16, 2009 - Finally made a decision about my rink this year.
Stephanie is currently playing with 5 hockey teams. With all that "arena rink time", there would be no "backyard
rink time". So I will not make a rink this year....the first time in about 15 years. Maybe next year.
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