Rink

Our facility hosted a dry floor event on the ice floor concrete surface. The group used hockey tape on the floor and it left the sticky part on the floor. I have a two part question. 1. Do you know what we could use to get the sticky tape off? 2. If we don't get all of it off will the ice bond to the sticky tape? Regarding your second question, yes, any type of residue left on the concrete surface of an ice rink can not only cause a bonding problem with the ice but it will also have the potential to cause a dark spot on the surface, as the residue will be drawn up through the ice and discolor the paint along the way. There are many items that can be used for cleaning the surface. However, it is very important to make sure that you do not use any petroleum-based cleaners. Some of the cleaners that we have had suggested to us for harsh spot cleaning include OxyOrange, Water Based Goof Off #2 and TSP (Trisodium Phosphate). Always wear suitable clothing and eye protection. Keep chemicals away from skin and wear gloves when working with cleaning materials. It's always a good idea when cleaning your rink floor to finish by run- ning your floor scrubber over the surface and performing a couple of clear water rinses. I am trying to find a suitable brine inhibitor for our system. The rink has never used an inhibitor before and after taking the Basic Refrigeration (BR) class I know that we would really benefit from having the brine correctly inhibited. Do you know if there are combination inhibitors and descalers suitable for calcium chloride systems available? First, I am concerned that anyone would try to add chemicals to the brine system without a full brine analysis. As discussed in the BR class, a facility should not be adding chemicals without first receiving a spe- cific chemical analysis and report. As such, I do not have any spe- cific chemicals to suggest for inhibitors. I highly suggest that rink facilities have their refrigeration service company do an annual brine analysis and interpret the results for them as part of their pre- ventive maintenance contract, and make sure the facility sees a copy of the report each year. If needed, STAR has a sample brine analysis that we use to show groups what to look for in a brine report. When you use a reputable company to complete your brine analysis the report will have the recommendations for adding chemi- cals to get the system properly balanced. During the Programming, Marketing & Promotions class at the NARCE Conference a participant mentioned that there is a possible fuel credit for using propane. Can you pro- vide details about this credit? Chuck Emery, General Manger at Maysa Arena in Minot, N.D. shared this information with us. Thanks, Chuck! Go to the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) website at npga.org to find the information on registering and applying for the tax rebate on propane as an alternate fuel. On the main page look for the bar on the left side that reads Fuel Tax Credit. Once registered, it is just a matter of keeping track of the number of tanks and gallons used. A 35-pound tank is 7.9 gallons, which equates to almost a $4 rebate per tank. ★ ask dave 48 R INK MAGAZ INE July/august 2010 ■ You have rink questions. Dave has rink answers. Send your questions to AskDave@rinkmagazine.com. STARrinks.com It is important to properly clean surfaces after dry floor events.

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