16 Oct Pechanga Arena San Diego’s Ice Maker on his Mechanical Room, Learning Ice Making, and REALice
Pechanga Arena San Diego has been using REALice to make its ice since March, 2018.
The 14,000-seat AEG-owned facility is home to the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League and off-ice events like Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live and concerts like country singer Luke Combs.
Here at REALice, we’re proud of the installation. And so is their Chief Engineer, Ralph Bedoe.
We tripped across Marketing Manager Chris Biele’s interview with Ralph Bedoe, part of a series the Pechanga Arena San Diego has run to give their patrons, performers, staff and other interested parties a deeper-dive into the goings-on at the arena.
In the interview, the chief engineer comments about his mechanical room and his 53-year-old Trane chiller, he talks about all aspects that he and his co-workers touch (including the 14,000 seats that go through continual inspections and repairs), learning ice making over his 35 years in the biz– and using REALice cold water resurfacing system at the arena.
Here’s an excerpt of the interview:
Q & A WITH RALPH BEDOE
Q: The ice is, like, perfection! It’s so important to the team, to the coaches… How proud are you of that ice?
Ralph Bedoe: I’m very proud. The ice is like one of my kids, one of my children! I started working on the ice in 1984 under the supervision of Carl Ross, the chief engineer then. Learned over the years different ways, different procedures. Worked with Dan Craig from the NHL.
Got better at it. Incorporated a REALice system to help treat the water. And I got a challenge from the GM here, so it’s my pride and joy. It’s really important to me and I’m very proud of it.
Q: It felt good to meet that challenge?
Ralph Bedoe: Oh I beat him. He hasn’t paid me yet, but I beat him (laughs).
Q: Your ice is always there, that could be surprising to people who are coming here for a concert any time during the hockey season, you’re on top of ice!
Ralph Bedoe: That’s correct. The ice is covered by a sub-floor that’s about an inch thick, stages are put on top of it, soccer carpet, lacrosse carpet, football carpet – you name it – that ice stays down for about 8 months give or take, depending on playoffs.
Q: And you’ve been here for how long?
Ralph Bedoe: As of May 14th, 2019 I’ll have been here 35 years.
Q: Thirty-five years! In that amount of years, I think you must have gotten some insider knowledge here. It’s a 50-some-year-old building, you must know what wrench goes where!
Ralph Bedoe: There’s a special application for nearly everything in this facility. A lot of the equipment here is 20+ years old – most of it is still original, they don’t make tools for them any more.
You can watch the entire video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxZuoYn3afo
BE BOLD: GO COLD
REALice’s patented 3D-printed system is a brilliant example of fluid dynamics, using water pressure instead of heat to remove the micro air bubbles that are trapped in the water.
With REALice, you’ll be left with a clear, dense, durable ice that scars less and, when it does, repairs quicker.And it will save on energy too.
