Rink Rake - Buy or Build your own

[twilly2007]

I know it wouldn't be too tough to make, but has anyone purchased a rink rake from http://rinkrake.com/? I see its only $15 right now. Looking to upgrade from just using a hose to something like it.

I'm also thinking about buying a better hose to avoid kinking in the cold weather, anyone have a hose they really love?

[Joe]

Welcome to the site!

For $15, I'd buy it. Heck, I might even get one just to see what it's like. That's pretty cheap and even building one with PVC will run you at least $10.

I use black 100% rubber Goodyear hoses. Only hose I'll ever use, everything else stiffens up in the cold. The pure rubber ones are great.

[kevmac]

I bought my first rink-rake when he first started selling them and I was making my rinks out of packed snow (sans tarp). It cost me $40-$50 with delivery and although I regretted spending that money on underground sprinkler pipe, the knowledge that I gained seeing the product and knowing that I could build one myself was worth its weight in gold. I swear by my rink-rake and I would never ever use anything other than it to resurface my rink.

At a price of $15 (if he has any left, check to make sure they aren't sold out), I would stock up. The price of the material is going to cost you $10 but it saves you the hassle of drilling all those holes in a somewhat straight line.

[MLeslie347]

I'd have to agree, at $15 hard to beat. I built my own out of PVC years ago, but I'm sure I'm into it for more than the $15 as they do get brittle and I've had to replace various sections and the valve a couple of times over the years.

As for hoses. I agree with Joe that usually, you can't beat a 100% rubber hose. Have 200' of it that I keep on a large metal hose reel just for the rink. Only problem is that I don't have the space once we moved a couple of years back, I lost my nice big utility room where I kept that big hose reel to stay unfrozen- so have been looking for an alternative for a couple of years.

This season I bought two of those cheap "pocket hose" things that you can find at Home Depot (around $15-$20 for a 50' hose). I was skeptical, but I connected two together (100' of hose total) and they have worked exceptionally well so far this season even down to -5 to -10 F. The plastic fittings are fragile so you'd have to be careful not to over tighten or step on them, but the hoses themselves are waaaaay lighter than rubber hose and stay perfectly flexible. They shrink enough when you shut the water off that I can keep all 100' of hose and the resurfacing towel for my rink rake in a 5 gallon bucket just inside my mudroom door.

I did a short write-up on the hoses for my rink blog () if you want any more info/details, but with a $15 rink rake and a couple of <$20 pocket hoses, I think you'd be all set.

[mtbhk44]

For a total of $30 this was a no brainer. I stood in Lowes like an idiot for at least 45 minutes last weekend trying to find what I needed to make my own rink rake. In the end I never found what I needed other than a hot water hose and some PVC pipe that I ultimately didn't buy. I was advised later on that Home Depot was probably the better choice but in the the spirit of saving time I bought this thing rather than go to Home Depot this weekend. If it ever gets cold here and I get to use it I'll report back.