The Chesterville Arena is getting upgrades including a rebuilt compressor. Morin photo
WINCHESTER – The Chesterville Arena compressor will be getting a new lease on life.
The North Dundas council decided to go ahead and repair the arena’s compressor at a cost up to $10,000.
The issues with the unit were spotted by AC Mechanic Refrigeration Ltd. during the annual refrigeration plant at the end of the season. The inspection revealed that the compressor was using too much oil and making a knocking sound.
As the compressor is responsible for keeping the ice surface of the rink cold, these issues could become a problem. When the issues were identified, the municipality contacted three different contractors who work with arena refrigeration plants. Only two of the companies contacted work with the kind of system used at the arena.
If the compressor is rebuilt, it is expected to have an estimated 15,000 hours of run time, which translates into approximately 10 years of use.
A new compressor’s life expectancy is approximately 30 years with rebuilds every 10 and 20 years.
The Chesterville arena compressor is only 12 years old so rebuilding it made the most sense.
The cost for a new compressor would be around $21,000 to $24,000. The cost to repair the existing one with new parts is between $15,000 and $19,000. The decision was made to go ahead with a rebuild using re-conditioned parts at a cost of $9,761 with AC Mechanical doing the job.
During the 2020 budget process, there were no funds set aside for replacement or repair of the Chesterville compressor.
The Recreation and Culture Department, responsible for the cost of maintaining the compressors has several capital projects underway. Hopefully some of these projects will be completed under their estimated budget, leaving funds free to be used for the compressor.
In her report to council about the compressor issue, Meaghan Meerburg the director of recreation said, “The contractor is going to inspect our other compressors in the Chesterville and District Arena, as well as the two compressors in the Winchester Arena. This will help us to anticipate any repairs and or replacements that will be required in 2021, so that they can be properly budgeted for.”
Joseph Morin is the Editor of the Eastern Ontario AgriNews, and the Record. He is, despite years of practice, determined to eventually play the guitar properly. He has served the Eastern Ontario community as a news editor, and journalist for the past 25 years with the Iroquois Chieftain, Kemptville Advance, West Carleton Review, and Ottawa Carleton Review in Manotick. He has never met a book he did not like.
