Rink Liner Tips to Care for your Backyard Ice Rink
Even though your ice rink liner is made to handle the weight and pressure of a full backyard ice surface, it’s still a delicate piece of equipment that needs to be treated with care. A little extra attention during setup and use will go a long way toward preventing damage and ensuring the smoothest possible rink-building experience.
The tips below will help you get the most out of your ice rink liner and avoid common mistakes.
1. Buy the right size liner
Once you have determined the size of rink you want to build, take into account the height of the boards or other sides that your are using, and add an extra two feet to ensure you have enough. For example, if you are making a 20x40 foot frame from 2x10 wood boards, then you will need a 24 foot wide liner. Be sure to add four feet extra in the length dimension also. A foot of extra liner is fine. Being one foot short can cause difficulties with setup of your rink.
2. Do not walk on the liner
The liner is a durable membrane designed to hold water, but it is no match for sharp objects or debris. If you step on something sharp or pointy, it could puncture the liner.
3. Do not drag the liner
Dragging the rink may cause it to snag on objects, which may result in tears, rips and cuts.
4. Do not set up your liner on a windy day.
Wind adds to the challenges of setting up the rink, as the liner can act like a big sail even in a mild breeze.
5. Be careful with sharp objects
Keep tools and any other sharp objects away from the liner while you are doing your setup work.
6. Ask for extra help
More people involved reduces the risk of dragging, cutting and walking on the liner. Call some people outside for five minutes.
7. Make sure that the liner does not support the weight of the water
Tuck the liner down into the corner where your boards meet the ground to ensure that your boards are supporting the weight of the water and avoid blow-outs.
8. Fill your rink in stages, and let it freeze
Adding water in stages reduces strain on the liner, and allows for earlier identification of any problems with the liner. This applies to both the RinkMaster Rink Kit and lumber or plywood setups.
9. Do not set up your rink too early
Wait for the ground to freeze. Setting up too early may result in debris, leaves, pets and other objects that can cause problems with the rink setup process.
10. Avoid setting up over a septic bed
Septic tanks and beds emit heat, and the rink will not freeze as well.
11. Do not shovel your liner
If snow has fallen and remains on the liner, go ahead and put water in, which will melt some of the snow. You may end up with a slushy mess, but it will freeze and you can continue on flooding the rink.
12. Be aware of slope
Be sure to know how much slope you are dealing with. Water will always flow to a low side. We wish we could change that, but we can't. Take into account when building your rink frame or your RinkMaster Rink Kit. For more help, please see our page on Dealing with a Slope