Home Snowmaking with these arctic temperatures

About 3 years ago I decided to make a homemade snowmaker similar to those that are used at the ski resorts in the North Carolina mountains. My wife thought I was a nut but she already knew I was a little off when it came to science and weather. Part of me did it because I love snow and skiing, the other part was because the science of snowmaking fascinated me. It isn’t like taking out your hose on a cold day and just spraying it in the air that just makes ice, to make snow you need just the right combination of compressed air and water. Which is where the science comes in.  When you compress a gas it warms this happens in the atmosphere under high pressure aloft or downsloping winds. Another example is when you pump up tires on your car or bike if you use a hand pump feel the valve after a few pumps it will be warm. Or on an air compressor it get warms as it compresses the air. Well the opposite happens when you decompress a gas like hair spray or compress air to clean your computer. Press the nozzle for a while and the can get cold. Well if you compress air and water together then decompress it you get super cooled water vapor that will turn to snow under the right temperatures and dewpoint conditions. The best are when temperatures are below 28 degrees and the dewpoint is in the teens.  The colder and drier the easier it is to make snow.

Okay building the tee gun is pretty simple and cheap, but you need a good air compressor that is built for continuous running. Which means it usually has oil in the motor to lubricate it. The rest of the parts are available at most hardware stores. I found great plans and information on snowmaking at www.snowguns.com this site is awesome for amateur snowmakers.

Hers the parts list from www.snowguns.com

Here is how to assemble the gun

Once you have a goo compressor test out the nozzles and here is what mine looks like.

It’s the real deal check it out!

Here’s a video from a few years ago the very first time I tried it.

So if you have the time and effort to be the most popular Dad in the neighborhood give it a try, it fun and the kids will love it! One word of warning once you start you’ll get a addicted to trying to make more and more snow, just check out the forums under the www.snowguns.com website. You’ll see how people take snowmaking in the back yard to a whole new levels! Have fun!

Brad