Fun Facts
1. At approximately ¾ of a mile per resurfacing, if there are four resurfacings per game, the machines travel an average of three miles during each hockey game.
2. On average, a Zamboni machine "travels" close to 2,000 miles each year in the course of resurfacing.
3. In 2001, a Zamboni machine was driven from the East Coast of Canada (St. John’s) across to the West Coast (Victoria, B.C.). At about nine miles per hour, the journey took approximately four months.
4. Model E34 (shown in film shot at FJZ factory) was in service for over 40 years and it is estimated that it traveled in excess of 45,000 miles on the ice.
5. More than 7,000 Zamboni machines have been delivered around the world.
6. Twenty Zamboni machines were on hand to resurface the various ice sheets during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games.
7. Prior to the invention of the Zamboni machine, the manual resurfacing of the ice sheet required three or four workers and took over one hour to complete.
8. Frank Zamboni’s first patent (1,655,034) was for an adjustable electrical resister, which was awarded January 3, 1928.
9. Why does the Zamboni machine have headlights? Machines may be required to travel over the road at night and many have to leave the arena to dump the snow collection tank.
10. Frank Zamboni personally delivered the second machine he sold (to Sonja Henie) by driving it across the country to the Chicago Stadium. It was so cold and in the dead of winter that Frank said he nearly froze!
11. Machine No. 4 is in the US Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, MN and machine No. 21 (originally sold to the Boston Bruins) is in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada.
12. Frank Zamboni’s other inventions include: an Astro-turf® water removal machine, a machine that rolls up Astro-turf®, a paint remover for lines on Astro-turf®, an ice rink floor and an ice edger.
13. The blade on the Zamboni machine is designed especially for ice-resurfacing. It is sharp enough to slice through thick stacks of newsprint, weighs 57 pounds and is ½ inch thick.
14. In the Fall of 1999, more than a million people visited the Zamboni web site, www.zamboni.com to vote for their favorite Zamboni driver of the year. The winner, Jimmy MacNeil, is from Wayne Gretzky’s hometown of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
15. "Not very scientific" facts and figures:
a. Average number of resurfacings a day: 9.7
b. Time in operation per day (12 min per resurfacing): 116.40 minutes
c. Miles traveled per day (9.7 resurf. X .75 mile) 7.3
d. Snow per resurfacing 60 cu. ft. e. " Snow cones" per resurfacing (28.3 cu. in./cone) 3661 cones.
16. When the machine resurfaces the ice, it picks up approximately 1500 pounds’ worth of snow, but leaves behind approximately 1200 pounds of water.
17. During the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA, the Zamboni machine made its Olympic debut. Frank Zamboni introduced new machines including a 3-wheeled machine (to make tight turns on the Olympic ice sheets) and the first electric ice resurfacing machine. As the Squaw Valley Olympics experienced worldwide television exposure, the Zamboni machine gained international attention.
18. The shape of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine (like the shapes of the Jeep® grille and the Coca-Cola® bottle) is a federally registered trademark.
