I hope John Hack's questions are of interest to some on hockey-l. I'll give some brief answers and invite further discussion to go on the back channel. (Is that OK, Wayne?) 1) Thickness: depends on your building, latitude and all kinds of factors, but general practice is to keep the ice at 3/4" to 1". If it's thinner than that, 200 lb. players making deep turns behind the net on razor sharp blades will cut down to the concrete or sand in no time. If it's thicker than that, you're just wasting energy trying to keep it frozen. 2) Temperature: For hockey you want to maintain about a 17-20 degree range. Colder than that, the ice fractures as the players dig in to skate, turn and stop. Warmer than that, and the blades get "bogged down" and players complain your ice is "slow." Figure skaters love it though, because they can dig in and grab a lot of ice for jumps. Jill Maser Penn [log in to unmask] ------- Forwarded message Posted: Mon, 07 Nov 94 00:00:01 -0500 Date: Mon, 07 Nov 94 02:46:01 -0500 From: "JOHN HACK" <[log in to unmask]> To: "Multiple recipients of list HOCKEY-" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: ice thickness Does anyone have any information on what the desirable thickness of ice should be in an arena. I've always believed 1/2"-3/4" tops. Can the ice temperature be turned down lower then the 15-19 degrees that I've been familiar with? Does the temp of the ice reach a point where it becomes to cold and begins to shatter? Do figure skaters need softer ice then hockey players? -- John Hack, SID UW-Superior ------- End of Forwarded message