My short bio: I have been driving a zamboni now for 2 years. I drive at a very small local rink (AKA a barn). I enjoy this job a lot and will never have a better job! AMA My Proof: http://imgur.com/7YK2LnP

Comments: 157 • Responses: 66  • Date: 

WarmPorcelainThrone21 karma

How awesome is sex on a Zamboni? Express your vote in Celsius degrees.

zamboniman9021 karma

-20ยท

GorillaBallet10 karma

so... no such thing as a Zamboner?

zamboniman9019 karma

I get them every morning

MrJazzTurtle20 karma

[deleted]

zamboniman9012 karma

Well, I first had a job at CFL stadium that was run by our local municipal workers. That job was in the same division as the rink jobs. So once i seen the posting for the job, i applied and got the job!

And no problem!

Lopnob18 karma

Do you ever look down at the non-zamboni riding peasants and scoff at their reduced gloriousness?

zamboniman9026 karma

All the time! i consider my zamboni my thrown

Stoltz313 karma

Have you ever yelled "For Happy Gilmore, anything!" while the lights of the arena slowly dim?

zamboniman9027 karma

no but i was very tempted too once night. A couple had rented the ice for just the two of them. The guy had told me he was going to propose. so i put some nice slow lovey dovey music on for them

AnoK7604 karma

did you sit in the press box and start crying and singing along? because that'd be awesome.

zamboniman903 karma

That would be. But unfortunately we dont have press boxes

fundip123 karma

endless love?

zamboniman903 karma

Love it

rjmdesign13 karma

Do you have any pets?

zamboniman9010 karma

I do not. Good question though!

BrightenthatIdea12 karma

Does road-head ever get awkward with all of us in the stadium?

zamboniman9021 karma

Extremely..it's cold in here so it's not impressive

friedrice8311 karma

Did you ever run into the boards while driving the zamboni?

zamboniman908 karma

I've slightly brushed up against them. A lot of children stand really close to the glass, banging on it, watching me drive in circles..etc.. So if i were to hit the boards, it would be fatel!

desperadow11 karma

Do you ever imagine yourself driving in the Stanley cup finals?

zamboniman9019 karma

Every single flood!

robertmeowneyjr11 karma

Do you put the "bone" in zamboni?

zamboniman9017 karma

I like to think so

wakawaka8019 karma

How much training does it take to become a zamboni driver.

Also, I had to google Zamboni to be able to join in this AMA :p

zamboniman9013 karma

I did 80 hours of training and a 3 day orientation

jaybong9 karma

Have you ever had belligerent hockey players try to fight you while on duty?

zamboniman909 karma

Yes. A bucket got ruthless one night

brokenzion4108 karma

so do you just drive the zamboni or do you know in depth information about the ice and how the zamboni works?

zamboniman9015 karma

yeah i do ice maintainece and ice measurements

brokenzion4106 karma

that's awesome--I'm actually producing a video about the chemistry of ice in ice hockey, one of our angles is focusing on the zamboni

zamboniman9011 karma

thats awesome! if you remember this AMA, post it in here. Id love to see it. And im sure my co-workers would as well

daftpunk123146 karma

What's the max speed of a zamboni? As a kid I always wanted to see them race for some odd reason.

zamboniman908 karma

The zamboni doesn't have a speed gage. But a rough guess...i'd say 30 km/hr

reddittailedhawk6 karma

Not so much a question, but an anecdote. My stepdad is a Zamboni driver as well, and he told me how filthy the snow piles outside the rink are - spit, blood, sweat, and possibly other bodily fluids. Doesn't it make you cringe whenever you see kids climbing all over that snow?

zamboniman908 karma

haha great point. i let children know that as well. Also, there is some paint in that snow when we paint it white

cara1234567891 karma

why do you paint it?

zamboniman905 karma

To make it white. Then we paint the lines on top of the white

JPhrog6 karma

No question, but thanks for your work on the ice! Here is my favorite Zamboni driver, he is iconic to the Seattle Thunderbirds

zamboniman907 karma

wow. that guys awesome lol

Leweyb6 karma

what did you have for dinner last thursday?

zamboniman909 karma

Went to the mandrain. (all you can eat chinese food)

spacejamisraw6 karma

Have you ever fell asleep behind the wheel?

zamboniman906 karma

no, thankfully the cold keeps me up

gerryhanes5 karma

If you were a type of reptile, which one would you be?

zamboniman905 karma

Frog

lichorat5 karma

Do you have to get a license to drive a Zamboni?

zamboniman907 karma

Not a specific license. But we require that you have a regular G license

lichorat5 karma

Ever do Zamboni stunts?

zamboniman9020 karma

i do some pretty sweet "drifts" every once in a while

lichorat5 karma

How do you make sure the ice is even?

zamboniman9014 karma

We drill holes in 23 different spots and measure the thickness. And every monday we scrap full bins of snow to make sure its even. We have also done a "marble test". Where you put a marble on the centre dot nd see where the high nd low spots are

capnfauxhawk5 karma

The Stig stole your Zamboni and drove it around the Top Gear test track, what would you do?

zamboniman9011 karma

Slow clap. who could get mad at the Stig

r5jamesray4 karma

What are some of the more important factors in making a smooth surface, and why do some rinks take forever for the water to freeze? I swear sometimes the zamboni drivers at my rink just leave a flood everywhere.

zamboniman905 karma

Well we have to use boiling hot water which helps fill in cracks and bonds better with the ice. But I've mastered the art so it's dry within seconds. Your zamboni driver must be putting to much water down

wakawaka8014 karma

How do you manage to make the zamboni make such sick drifts?

zamboniman905 karma

Hydrolic Stering

Hoobydoo3 karma

Does your job ever get boring/monotonous?

Edit: And if not, why not?

zamboniman904 karma

It does at times. We usually only have little kids in our rink. Not that that is a bad thing, but it isnt the most exciting hockey to watch. However, we do get some good rep hockey and tournaments which can be real barn burners

gps2603 karma

Does the rink you work at have curling sheets as well that you are responsible for? If so, could you share your feelings about the process of changing the ice for the curlers?

zamboniman903 karma

no they don't

FunAndFunky693 karma

what temperature does the [steam, water, stuff] run?

zamboniman902 karma

boiling hot water. freezes faster

SempzShow3 karma

That's weird that you require full g license. I'm 17 and only have my G1 License and I drive an Olympia . Had four 4 hour training days and off I went . Defiantly the best part time job for someone my age I think. Not for everyone though.

How old are you? Where you from?

Keep doing floods man!

zamboniman904 karma

Yes, but you may work for a private rink. I work for a municipal goverment. Much more strict on labour laws.

Im 23, Ontario Canada.

Thanks buddy! you too!

SilentSongs1 karma

Represent Ontario!

zamboniman902 karma

GTA!

northanger3 karma

First off Zamboni drivers are awesome, so you're awesome and thanks for doing this AMA. What's the craziest thing that's happened to you while driving the Zamboni/at the rink?

zamboniman909 karma

Parent fight...nothing Better than watching two parents go at it over tyke hockey

zamboniman905 karma

Parent fight...nothing Better than watching two parents go at it over tyke hockey

redditarian243 karma

Anyone throw shit at you?

zamboniman904 karma

Not yet! knocks on wood

jasonalloyd3 karma

How fast do you drive the Zamboni? It really annoys me when I'm at the arena and the guy drives super slow. It also really bugs me when he messes it up and has to go around again for a little sliver of snow. How often do you mess it up?

zamboniman903 karma

Most drivers drive slow to make the flood better. The slower you go, you scrape more evenly and drop more water. And no, I've managed to perfect my floods so I clear all the ice with out missing what we like to call "half moons"

pass_that3 karma

Are you dtb?

zamboniman903 karma

Yes

Redpb2 karma

When you first start I see the driver scrape about ten feet of ice, lift up the thing in the back, you look at the ice, sometimes make an adjustment, and then start resurfacing the ice.
What are you looking for in that scrape?

zamboniman903 karma

The amount of snow you are picking up. Also to see if you are picking up even amounts along the blade. So in other words, to make sure the left side isn't taking off more than the right...and vise versa

WalterWhitesHat2 karma

What's your fav cheese?

zamboniman902 karma

Cheddar

tux_rocker2 karma

Why do many Zambonis still have internal combustion engines (at least here on the speedskating ovals of The Netherlands)? I'd say electric drive is far superior where not much range is required, the machine is used indoors and there is plenty idle time to recharge.

zamboniman901 karma

Not quiet sure what the answer is to that. But ours run on natural gas. Some are propane

zamboniman901 karma

Not quiet sure what the answer is to that. But ours run on natural gas. Some are propane

zamboniman901 karma

Also maybe it's something to do with easier to maintain

harrison_kion1 karma

Whats your MPG with that thing?

zamboniman901 karma

Runs on natural gas. Not sure what the conversion would be...

[deleted]1 karma

[deleted]

zamboniman905 karma

no not at all. Frank zamboni was actually born in Utah, but Italian decent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zamboni

wakawaka8011 karma

Is this a full time job? Are ice rings open throughout the year in Canada?

zamboniman904 karma

THis is a full time job. This rink is not open all year round. But the majority in Canada are. In the summer I do greens maintaince at a golf course witch is also nice

dasherboard1 karma

From your pic, it looks like you drive an Oly. Which model do you have?

zamboniman901 karma

Zamboni

dasherboard2 karma

Which model?

zamboniman901 karma

The 546. It's a beaut

heytherecoolguy1 karma

I was wondering what you do between games on your rink? Because obviously the rink needs to be zamboni-ed between games, but games can go until super late. Do you have to just come back every couple of hours or do you hang out at the rink between your zamboni-ing?

zamboniman906 karma

clean dressing rooms and lobby. not the most glamorious part of the job. but thats how it goes

zamboniman905 karma

i also do compressor checks to make sure the ice system is running smoothly

UnrelatedInsult1 karma

did you play ice sports as a kid?

zamboniman909 karma

I played hockey. Broke my leg in the same arena I work at now

RadiatorSam1 karma

In an awkward situation, what do you do to smooth things over? (Assuming the ice isn't already broken)

zamboniman904 karma

Get er wet nd smooth her over

WillIamn0t1 karma

How long is a usual flood for you? And whats the worst thing to happen to your machine on the ice? And I also am same age and same job and same location!

zamboniman903 karma

8 mins tops. Cell phone in auger

zamboniman903 karma

Are you Craig?

WillIamn0t3 karma

No I am not Craig. By location I meant Ontario. But thank you for answering me and doing this AMA!

zamboniman901 karma

No problem! It's been fun answering

Loke11041 karma

Do you make a living out of this, or is it like an extra job?

zamboniman901 karma

Living as of now

AnxietyAttack20131 karma

How fun is driving a Zamboni?

zamboniman902 karma

9/10

manfrommtl1 karma

I have to ask, even if I'll take some hate for it, Leafs or Habs?

zamboniman902 karma

Leafs. But I'm a ducks fan since the movies

KristopherRocancourt1 karma

who is your Hero of Zamboni driving? Teh guys at HAlifax Metro Center are pretty good at it.

zamboniman902 karma

My local rink when I was a kid had a big huge guy with the manliest beard. All the kids were so scared, but always respected the guy

Halo99Elite1 karma

You're on your lunch break, Timmies or Subway?

zamboniman901 karma

Timmies

fundip121 karma

what colour is your helmet??

zamboniman901 karma

Black. Wish it was blue

redditarian240 karma

How many dicks would you suck until you'd get your own dick sucked? One? Two? ...

zamboniman903 karma

who would be doing the sucking for me? maybe three...

redditarian245 karma

Don Cherry

zamboniman905 karma

in that case....4

Hemmingways-1 karma

No clue about hockey ( and i hate Sweden ) how important is a good ride over the ice / is it mostly to secure the players or to have a faster game ?

zamboniman906 karma

Helps skating nd puck movement

Takingshitsatwork-9 karma

How come zamboni drivers have mad small dicks and beat off to the Peewee hockey practices on their break? Just thought I'd ask... Source: buckets

zamboniman905 karma

We also takshitsatwork