The Inner Workings of a Zamboni

Any hockey fan knows what they are. Kids and dads alike want to drive one, or at best ride on one. One of the most watched things in the world, but no one knows why. Even Woodstock from Snoopy drives one on his birdbath in the winter.

We’re talking about the zamboni.

The zamboni is the machine that drives across the ice in between periods or at the end of a hockey game or other skating event. It provides a clear surface for skaters, hopefully free of ruts!

The zamboni got its name from its creator, Frank Zamboni, who was looking for an easier way to clear ice. Originally, it was done with a tractor which first came across and scraped the ice. A few people would follow behind and clear up the ice shavings and add more ice to refreeze into a smoother surface. This whole process would take sometimes over an hour! In 1949 the first zamboni was released and has since become a mainstay at any ice skating rink.

Watching a zamboni is fascinating, but unexplainable as to why. It wasn’t until I decided to write this article, after years of watching one, that I dug down in to see how they actually worked. It didn’t seem possible for all this clean, clear ice to come out of a simple machine that looked like a tractor on steroids.

As large and as loud of a machine that it is, it has some pretty simple inner workings. First, a blade will scrape off a thin layer of ice, while a screw shaped blade collects and feeds them to an auger, which “throws” them into a snow tank. Water is fed from a “wash-water” tank, which washes the ice and vacuums any dirt that might be in the creases. The water then returns to the tank. Finally warm water, which typically runs 140-145 degrees, is spread onto the ice, and smoothed down by a “towel,” which is like an oversized squeegee, will give it an even ice surface. The hotter the water is, the more even the surface will be by melting the top layer of ice, and all of it refreezing smoothly.

As complicated as it sounds, an average ice rink can be “zambonied” in less than 15 minutes! If you attend any kind of a skating event, you’ll find people in the stands mesmerized by watching the zamboni. Not to mention, it will save you some money! If you decide to spend the break watching, it’ll save you a trip to the snack bar!