Manager Dave Plant says the plan is for it to be up and running by about the third week of February.
He says only around six to eight hours of downtime will be needed to replace the pump.
Plant says Yeti Refrigeration out of Prince George has been hired to do the work…
“Byron is a former employee of Fraser Valley Refrigeration and has a great resume, so we chose Yedi for the simple fact that he’s nice and close and we ever need some help he’s right there for us. His quote was very similar to Fraser Valley, within a couple of thousand, so, it was right around 225 thousand.”
The City of Quesnel and Cariboo Regional District are contributing 200 thousand dollars towards the project.
Plant, who is also responsible for maintaining the ice, says the new equipment will make a world of difference…
“With this new system we’ll be able to keep the temperatures where we want. Just to have a refrigeration system that you’re able to pull the temperature down or let it warm up a little bit, whatever the case, to have that flexibility is huge because the outdoor temperature really does dictate what’s going on inside here too.”
Plant says they have been using a small compressor to keep the ice that they have right now, and Plant says that will no longer work if it gets warm at night.
And he says without the new system there is no way they could have got the ice in for next season.