COWICHAN VALLEY – Over the past 4 months, the CVRD Island Savings Centre and Kerry Park Recreation Centre have been busy testing an innovative ice making technology called REALice that promises to reduce the electrical and gas energy used in making arena ice.
The traditional ice resurfacing process still used in many places around the world involves pre-heating the resurfacing water to remove micro air bubbles so that the water will freeze harder and stronger. REALice technology achieves the same result but through a different process. Instead of applying heat to remove air bubbles, the water is spun in a vortex like a whirlpool or tornado, forcing any entrained air bubbles to be sucked out of the water. The beauty of this process is that it requires no moving parts or heat; it simply relies on water pressure and uses ambient temperature water. No more heating water to make great ice!