There have been a few messages in the past about the ice surface; I thought
the following article might be of interest to some.
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     From the Michigan State Blue Line Newsletter of January 1995
                   Newsletter Editor - Pat Morscheck
 
Submitted to the Hockey-L list with permission from Pat Morscheck and
Coach Ron Mason.
 
                     KEEPING THE ICE HARD AND FAST
                            by Tom Campbell
 
  "Something in that concrete floor makes the water freeze."  Comments
such as this are often heard from visitors to Munn Arena.  So how do
we maintain ice?
 
  The 200' x 85' floor is comprised of 6-inch think concrete. Imbedded
in this surface are 255 pipes (3/4" in diameter) running the entire
length and width of the ice floor.  Through these pipes we pump a
refrigerant known as freon 22.  Freon is piped down the sides of the
rink through a feeder line which runs under the dasher boards from the
compressor room to a common feeding header.  Freon flows from this
common header to the 255 floor pipes.  The freon enters the west end
of the floor at a temperature of 8 degrees F.  By the time it empties
into a collecting header at the east end of the arena, the freon has
absorbed enough heat to raise its temperature to 12 degrees F.
 
  Coach Mason likes cold, fast ice for his typically fast skating
teams.   Hours before each home game we set up the refrigeration
system to have 10 degrees F ice at the start of the game.  We also
chill down the air temperature with our air handling units for the
comfort of the players.  The arena warms up very fast when 6,200 fans
enter!
 
  There is a fine line between keeping the ice hard and fast versus it
becoming too cold, brittle, and chippy.  This brittleness has an
adverse effect on the tempo of play up and down the ice.  The main
principle to remember is that to keep something very cold you have to
remove as much heat as possible.  It's all about transferring heat
from one area and releasing it to another.  There are several factors
that can affect the amount of heat that is conducted to the arena
floor and its adjacent concrete and superstructure.  These include:
(1) large crowds, (2) body heat from skaters, (3) outside air
temperature and humidity, (4) arena lights, and (5) hot water from the
ice resurfacer.
 
  Because of the above-mentioned factors, one of the most crucial
responsibilities of our ice maintainers is to constantly monitor
changes in ice temperature.  A temperature sensor probe located in the
concrete floor relays ice floor temperature back to a Honeywell
controller.  This controller senses and displays ice temperature
changes down to 1/100 of a degree.  As the temperature raises or
lowers, the controller cycles our three 60-ton compressors on and off
as needed.
 
  A worst case scenario would be a summer day in which the outside
temperature is nearing 90 degrees F with high humidity.  On this day
we are making ice on the hour with our resurfacer putting 140 degrees
F water down.  Most likely, it is a rental that requires full arena
lighting.  It's at times like this that our temperature read-out is
spinning upward and all three compressor are going full tilt.  Now you
can understand why we are so sensitive about keeping the arena doors
closed at all times!
 
  Because of the modern and attractive appearance of Munn, many people
do not realize that our facility is 20 years old.  Originally the
arena was designed for 6-8 months of annual operation.  However,
because of the tremendous demand for ice time, we currently operate at
least 11 months of the year. Due to these factors, we are constantly
maintaining and upgrading our facility and its system.  Last year, a
major project added two new condenser towers.  These towers increased
our heat-removing capacity by at least 40 percent.  Thanks to the
ongoing success of Spartan Hockey, MSU is committed to maintaining
great ice and an attractive and comfortable facility for years to
come.
 
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MUNN ARENA FACTS:
Year Built      : 1974
Ice Surface     : 200' x 85'
Seating Capacity: 6170
Single Game Attendance Record:   6,902 (vs. BGSU - 2-6-87)
Series Attendance Record     :  13,780 (vs. LSSU - 2-13/14-87)
Season Attendance Record     : 157,567 (1975-76)