Ice Rinks

As ice skaters and spectators watch a "Zamboni" grooming the ice, most people will be unaware of the complex chemical environment they are witnessing. Most ice rinks use R-22 as the refrigerant, but ammonia is becoming more popular in rinks because it is readily available, inexpensive and does not bring the same environmental issues as halocarbon refrigerants. Either of these refrigerants will work well for ice rinks, but each must be monitored by a sensor that will quickly and accurately identify a leak.

Refrigerant-22 has no odor and, therefore, is more "patron friendly" than ammonia, but the lack of smell shouldn’t be construed as being benign. In a situation where a halocarbon leak would be in a cold area at floor level, it is extremely important to identify the leak at the earliest stage. When R-22 is burned (as would happen if it were ingested in an internal combustion engine), one of the many gases produced is phosgene which, even at low levels, is a very dangerous gas. The AirScan™ iR infrared refrigerant sensor placed strategically around the arena will not false trip from exposure to other gases, i.e., combustion gases, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, etc., and will operate for many years with minimal maintenance.

If ammonia is present in an ice rink, it is extremely important to identify and contain any gas leak at a low ppm level. The EC-F9-NH₃ electrochemical ammonia sensor can monitor ammonia as low as 15 ppm without nuisance trips from any other gas that might be present.

Related products and technology

All Manning Systems sensors can be monitored by the GM-1 single channel gas monitor or the GM-10 or GM-4 multi-channel gas safety systems that provide an individual bargraph display of gas concentration for each channel, plus relay outputs for emergency response and ventilation control.

The new AirAlert™ 96d multi-channel gas monitoring system adds addressable RS-485 Modbus communication protocol to the broad line of Manning Systems readout/alarm units. A total of 96 gas sensors and relay modules can be linked to a single controller.

The redundancy provided by a Manning Primary Safety System (MPSS) gives an extra measure of gas monitoring protection and peace of mind.

Manning Systems offers personal protection portables for the single- and multi-sensor toxic gas detector market. These innovative, low-cost portables are ideal for industrial hygienists, safety managers, petrochemical applications, fire departments, police and emergency responders at risk of exposure to toxic contaminants.