THE WORLD CURLING ALLIANCE TO PERFECT and PROMOTEPage 7

Click on for Glossary of water related definitions.
Meniscus: the curved upper surface of a non-turbulent liquid in a container; it is concave (curves upward) if it wets the container walls, and convex (curves downward) if it does not. For accurate measurements, readings should be taken at the flat center of the meniscus.

Hardness: a characteristic of water, imparted by salts of calcium, magnesium, and iron, such as bicarbonates, carbonates, sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates that cause curdling of soap, deposition of scale in boilers, damage in some industrial process, and sometimes objectionable taste. It may be determined by a standard laboratory procedure or computed from the amounts of calcium and magnesium as well as iron, aluminum, manganese, barium, strontium, and zinc; expressed as equivalent parts per million of calcium carbonate.

Tertiary treatment: process utilized to remove practically all solids and organic matter from wastewater. Granular activated carbon filtration is a tertiary treatment process. Phosphate removal by chemical coagulation is also regarded as a step in tertiary treatment.

Surface tension: the property, due to molecular forces in the surface film, that tends to contract the liquid into a form having the least surface/volume ratio.

Surfactant: a surface-active substance, such as a detergent or soap, that lowers the surface tension of a solvent (usually water).

Clarification: the composite wastewater treatment process consisting of flash mixing of coagulants, pH adjusting chemicals, and/or polyelectrolytes, flocculation, and sedimentation.

Left glass: Carbon filtered drinking water.
Right glass: Jet Ice treated water.

    Note the difference in meniscus heights of the carbon filtered water - left Vs. the right glass with lower meniscus height - Jet Ice conditioned water.
   The height is a measure of the surface tension of the water and affects the size and internal cohesive strength of the droplet as it exits the pebbler nozzle. A larger, relative to hole size of pebbler head, droplet size with inherent higher molecular cohesion will make a taller rounded more stable pebble (higher area near top vs. a pointee pebble which readily shears to a small bearing support area).
    For the "splat" size (area of bottom of pebble), more water/ice is in the upper portion of the pebble to sustain the rock weight for more ends of play.
"Splat" size is also a function of pebble hole size, pressure exiting the head, temperature of water in can, temperature of water as it strikes the sheet, and the height of fall.

Below picture is the same as across picture but taken at a lower camera angle.

Below picture of pebblers taken from http://www.curlingrink.com
Note that they DO NOT sell weed sprayers but gravity systems!

    Ice technicians should clean their pebbler heads yearly with a "CLR" type product if they do not use JET ICE conditioning . Checking each water port hole restores the original hole size to minimize pebble drop size variability. Note burning torch tip cleaner to check/assure hole size uniformity.
    The Jet Ice system of water conditioning eliminates water hardness and turbidity, so cleaning sprinkler heads is superfluous.
    Jet Ice will eliminate the salts and carbonates in the hardest of waters leaving a "pick free" sheet with uniform ice hardness. While doing its job perfectly, Jet Ice water has a surfactant effect reducing molecular adhesion/cohesion.
    DO NOT use Jet Ice water to make pebble. Use carbon filtered drinking water to gain the maximum rounded pebble height/shape with a larger water mass in the upper frozen pebble body!!!
    Distilled water MAY give good results. I have not evaluated the surface tension of distilled water.
Do not use tap water as you are again defeating the benefits of your Jet Ice treatment scheme.

P.S. If you use tap water for sheet ice, pebble each sheet heavy -2 gallons+ with filtered water BEFORE shaving to minimize hard water conditions rising to the surface and then finish pebble normally with filtered water just before the next draw. Good ice making.