As of now, we are cancelling all events on August 15-17. We’ll update you daily on progress and further cancellation as we get more information.
So, what happened?
In a nutshell, our refrigerators stopped working. They are old refrigerators that year after year chugs and chugs. Let’s just say they are the Big Compressors That Could. We take great care of them. Constantly do preventative maintenance. Keep them well oiled. And monitor them for performance. It's worth noting, that, given the age, parts aren’t always readily available and when they are, they are very expensive. It’s why we don’t stock them in large quantities. This has played a key role in the delay.
When we started on July 27, Compressor 2 fired up great, but as we started the ice making process, it showed issues with its shaft seal. We were able to fix that issue while Compressor 1 was working to keep the ice stable. We couldn’t build more ice, but it was a quick repair. It took a few days to get parts, but it only delayed us by a couple of days.
Then, when Compressor 2 was fixed and fired back up, Compressor 1 started acting up.
For reference, to build ice, we need two functioning compressors at full capacity.
After some analysis, Compressor 1 needed a top-ended overall. A process that is required about every 4 to 5 years. We do these on a normal schedule so we can avoid service interruptions, but this time Compressor 1 decided it would fail early and during the most critical time period.
To complicate matters, parts for Compressor 1, that were originally ordered back on August 8, still have not arrived. As of today, we still have ice to build, paint to put down, and then lines and logos to install. And then after all that, we still have about an inch of ice to put down that all of you actually skate on. That’s about a four day process. We can do it faster than that in ideal conditions.
At this moment, it’s difficult to ascertain when we’ll be ready because we still don’t have an estimate on when parts are supposed to arrive. We keep hearing today, but that was yesterday and so on. They are a great vendor and have been amazingly supportive of our community over the years. They too are also frustrated by the parts issue.
So, we’re in a holding pattern until Compressor 1 is fixed.
We all really appreciate your patience. Thanks so much!