Ice Humps

[kevmac]

I like the way you think!! Obviously, I immediately went to YouTube and started watching "Home Improvement" clips with Tim Allen... more power! "ohh ohh ohh"

[PCMM]

Actually I like the Alaska Ice Dragon. But at $3000 each, it's a it expensive for me!! I'm sure that someone could design something with a burner like the dragon, but lighter and less expensive! I was thinking something that looked like a homes one with the burner across the bottom of the T heating the ice indirectly by heating a wide strip of steel. The hot steel does the work of melting the ice and resurfacing. If IMG des Tipton doesn't make sense I'll try to draw something up. The hardest part is safely designing the burners as I still want the unit to be 60 inches wide ( cuts down on the number of passes required)

[jpaw]

One way to attack the humps is a plane old electric iron.

It will melt the humps away in pretty good time.

I've used a propane torch from home depot. It takes a lot of time to reduce the bumps. The iron method is a lot more efficient. The only problem is that the neighbors will think you are crazy bending over ironing the ice.

[kevmac]

Re: Alaska Ice Dragon

PCMM - you talk about designing burners: what if someone simply picked up some replacement BBQ burners? think we could engineer something with a large steel plate/box and the BBQ burners inside??

[kevmac]

Well, I could use the Alaska Dragon today that's for sure. I awoke to look out the bedroom windows and see the entire rink covered in humps. It has been warm since Saturday and it got cold last night. There was never any standing water on the ice before it froze last night so the ice humps were obviously caused by the expanding water inside/under the ice looking for a place to go. There is WAY too many to scrape off so now I am hoping for warmer weather with a little rain then another cold spell; otherwise, I'll be calling it a season.