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| (above) Magness Arena often resembled a lake on nights when DU's old chillers couldn't keep up with the heat in the building |
by Emma McKay
The Ritchie Center will replace its 12-year-old ice rink chiller this summer
with a $900,000 more efficient one. The new chiller will save the
university approximately $40,000 in annual operating costs, according to
Allan Wilson, director of Facilities Services at the Ritchie Center.
The ice rink currently uses a cooling component called glycol, which
must reach zero degrees Fahrenheit to chill the ice rink to its typical
temperature of 11-16 degrees, according to Wilson.
.
.
The current
machine lasted 12 years, and he predicts the new chiller will last about
the same. According to him, the last chiller ran 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
“You would hope that a machine like that would last longer than 12
years,” said Wilson. “But we have to remember that it was running all
the time. It actually did pretty well.”
The new chiller will be built next to the existing plant.
“We’ll keep it so there will be redundancy in the future,” said
Wilson. “If one machine breaks down, then we would always be able to
produce a hockey game” [read entire article].
9 comments:
Hmmm. New faster, colder ice just in time for DU's new blue-collar work ethic hockey team.
I like it.
Magness is no longer new.
Let's fix the sound, lighting, and scoreboards, too.
@ 1:44 - all it takes is money...
While we're at it could we get rid of those ugly "smushed donuts"?
Article doesn't say it but seems like it should result in better ice. The can has two chillers that run simultaneously. Must be standard NHL procedure.
The soft ice at Magness has been a problem for years.
Guessing that DU's old Chillers were probably the first generation of "eco friendly" and they just could not keep up on hot days or when Magness was full.
Michigan Tech is installing new Chillers & piping this summer, but their equipment lasted 40 years. Their problem was the cost of Freon went through the roof.
I agree, MagnessMan. Saving energy is one thing; creating a better playing surface is another. Does this effect Joy Burns Arena, where the team often practices and skates, just as hard as they do in live games inside Magness? Shitty ice can turn into an advantage. If all you know is shit, you'd think that when teams come in here expecting and planning for cold, smooth, rock-hard ice like they have back home, whereas for the home team it's business as usual.. with shit - the home team will have the upper hand.
DU's ice will never be the best, because Magness is a multi-purpose arena that hosts many non-ice events on top of the ice surface. Additionally, Denver's very changeable outside weather also affects the chillers and building temperature.
It's about time... there have been a ton of games over the last few years where the ice has looked terrible.
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