Ice Quality

REALice will help preserve/improve your ice quality by:

Producing less snow on the ice

Creating fine powdered snow

Making lines clearer / more transparent

Laying the ice using REALice® treated water gives you an optimal foundation for high-quality ice. REALice® treated water produces ice which is hard and more resilient than traditional ice. As micro-bubbles, that normally are in the water have been removed, the ice obtains greater clarity so that advertising and lines become more clearly visible through it. 

  • The REALice not only helps me to make a great sheet of ice but it’s saving our arena money and reducing the run time on our compressors. It’s the most important tool that I’ve ever added to my toolbox.

    Nathan Kleinschmit, Ice Specialist for The Monument

  • Our ice quality is better than it has ever been!

    Damon Johnston, Arenas Manager City of Nanaimo

  • Some of our operators were really worried about the ice quality we’d get by using cold water to flood the ice. We found that when we converted over, they didn’t mind it at all. If there had been a difference in ice quality, I would have heard about it from everyone. But no, we’ve had nothing of the sort. With the REALice system, we’re not missing a beat!”

    Ange Tassone, Supervisor of Facility Operations, City of Guelph

  • We have huge savings and having great ice. Even some of the pro teams skating in our facility are saying how hard it is. There is nothing I would want to change.

    Chet Murch, General Manager Rinks at Exeter, New Hampshire

  • I was the biggest skeptic, being an old-school ice maker, but I can eat crow now.

    Mike Shevallier, Arena Manager, Christenson Sports & Wellness Centre, Rocky Mountain House, AB

  • No spider cracks, fantastic ice, 5,000 hours less runtime. The biggest thing for us was the quality of the ice. If the quality went down, we wouldn’t be using the system.

    Mike Knight, Sardis Sports Complex, Chilliwack, BC

  • REALice has allowed us to reduce our water temperature, decreasing our flood-to-freeze time without sacrificing our ice quality.

    Michael Pisocki, Manager of Ice Operations at Barclays Center & Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York City

  • We have been running the Real Ice System in Our Lac du Bonnet Arena in Manitoba Canada for 2 years now. We get compliments on our ice almost on a daily basis. From hockey coaches, players and figure skaters: they all just love our ice!

    Jeff Seifried, Lac Du Bonnet Arena Manager, Manitoba

  • The change in the ice is hard to describe -- it just feels denser.

    Allen Van Velzen, Sunshine Coast Regional District

  • We are very pleased with the results of the REALice system thus far. The users have reported very hard, consistent, and fast ice. The ice also looks very clear and has a nice sheen to it.

    Zion Cruz, Fraser Lake, BC

  • In Williams Lake we have very hard and mineralized water and we have found that the ice is as good as before the Real Ice installation if not better. We have also noticed our ice stays much clearer than before. We flood with 57-60 degree F water and have not had any problems at all since the system was installed. The cost savings on our utilities is also quite noticeably better and this is a big positive when you deal with your politicians or directors.

    Garry Breck, Facility Maintenance Manager, Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex.

  • REALice works and making great ice comes from good ice maintenance. There’s nothing else out there that we could put in so easily and save the money we’re saving.

    Fred Kilner, Fuller Lake Arena, Chemainus, BC.

  • Ice made with REALice is resilient and strong & allows for a faster and better Hockey Game.

    Guido Lamberti-Charles, Hockey Coach, Euroelitehockey - www.euroelitehockey.com

  • Our staff and users are completely satisfied with the switch, in fact if we hadn’t told users about it they wouldn’t even have noticed the change. On top of that, we are already seeing reductions in our gas and electricity usage.

    Tony Liddle, Operations Manager, Kerry Park Rec Centre, Mill Bay

Watch these 6 Operators tell their success story
From REALice® user Feedback:

 

How would you rate your ice quality:

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What is important to mentioned that in the ice maintenance process not only the snow is removed with the ice machine but also the ice also shaved 1mm per round to eliminate the scars and make it nice and transparent again.

Through ice crystal comparison it was shown that the ice made with REALice® treated water is:

 

  • stronger
  • more homogenous
  • has a higher heat capacity

 

leading to reduced energy usage in ice rinks. With the ice crystal being bigger, the density of the ice increases.

ice_crystals

Image shows ice crystals of normal ice (left) and REALice® (right) as seen in cross-polarized light. The scale at the bottom is in cm. (Source: Lulea Technical University, Sweden, May 2011).

  • The conclusion is that the rebound or hardness numbers are as good or better after the installation of the REALICE system, which meets the intent of the measurement and verification process.
  • For Rink A the ice was on average 39% harder post installation of REALICE with a high of 80% and low of 11%.
  • For Rink B the ice was on average 46% harder post installation of REALICE with a high of 80% and a low of 14%.
  • The overall uniformity of ice strength is much better after the installation of the REALICE system. This means that the ice was more consistent in hardness across the entire rink after installation.

  • Ice hardness testing results

    Study results of the overall uniformity of ice strength using REALice®.

  • Ice Quality Comparison

    Investigation into ice crystals at Lulea University

  • Ice Quality Assessment Guide

    Optimize your ice quality and energy savings

Comments on the Ice Quality

Complex Park, Castlegar

Civic Centre, Nelson

Agrodome PNE, Vancouver

Island Savings Centre, Duncan



Read more: ECHL’S 2021 best ice award

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