I have just started my 4th year of making ice. Still trying to figure it out. I have an observation that I think makes sence but would like to hear from others.
my yard is sloping by about a foot over 26 feet. the first year was no problem and last 3 have been challenging. The first year we had early snow just before I was going to tarp it. I shoveled the 2 inch snow towards the deep end ( side ) feathered it out so it was say 5 ft wide. put the tarp in filled it and had no issues.
I am now seeing evidence that that snows melts and pulls the tarp into the rink as the snow melts.
My thought is that the earths surface is going to start warming / melting the snow under the tarp as soon as the tarp goes down and creates a barrier between the cold air and the ground surface. I may of had a lot of "over hang " of the tarp the first year but I don't recall. perhaps the same thing happened but I didn't notice because the tarp never pulled all the way in.
Mike