Sno Technology

Sno Technology Sno Technologies is a company that makes equipment for the ski resort industry. Currently being developed.

Snow Technologies is a company that makes equipment for the ski resort industry. Our flagship product is going to be a ski lift designed to fit the needs of small ski resorts.

02/24/2021

Will the lifties union go on strike and leave people on the chairs? Will someone claim the runaway ski that went thru the chalet window? Is the yellow snow what we think it is? Tune in next week for another hour drama on "as the bullwheel turns"...

My humor for the day.

05/24/2020

I have been giving some thought to a new idea. I am a fan of learning to ski on a tow rope. It sharpens your strength and endurance.

If built right a rope tow can be safe. Get the rope off the ground is a big improvement. I was also thinking coating the rope with something like liquid rubber (yes, flex seal) would help keep the rope dry and make it easier to grip. I feel a lot of the bad news you hear about rope tows are bad designs, and design elements (dragging the rope in the snow is a big offender)

I have a design for one in my head that would incorporate safe design elements, be easy to operate and install, and be built out of available components.

I am thinking about adding this to my lineup of products.

02/15/2020

I have a lot of new and different ideas for ski resorts. Some ideas are not new, but work with less maintenance.

For example: Led lighting. Greatly reduces time changing bulbs. Also uses way less electricity which allows for wiring to be 8 gauge or smaller. This and air and water only snow making systems greatly reduce Infrastructure costs and increases safety. And yes I have an idea for a fan gun that only needs air and water.

Other ideas include running pipelines in the woods between 2 runs so that 1 air and 1 water line can serve 2 runs. One should be able to reduce the pipe size using this system. Another idea is to mount holders on the lighting poles. One could move the a/w sticks from run to run. I have also been developing a snow-making system that can snow the entire hill in 9 days.

One could also power the hill lights with solar or wind. Since you only use the lighting system for 4 months the system size can be reduced to 1/3 of normal if your system is grid tied. Used generators with engine updates so you can run them on e85 could supply the three phase power and you can store the waste heat to heat the buildings. Price per watt goes up bit when you factor in Free building heat and no cost to run in 3 phase power ($$$) it becomes cheap real quick. It is also very environmentally friendly.

Snowcats that run on e85 and biodiesel would make grooming less costly and more environmentally friendly. Vending machines that sell lift tickets would cut down on office labor. I was also thinking re-purposing shipping containers for buildings would be economical. Something else to look at would be composting toilets and a gray water system. It could greatly reduce the septic cost.

Electric snowmobiles would be cheaper to run and you can limit the speed to make their use more safe. A lower cost groomer that runs on e85 would be possible. Or a groomer that comes without an engine and transmission so you can install whatever engine you prefer.

You will notice most of my ideas are based on reducing infrastructure and being environmentally friendly.

What are some of your ideas?

Preliminary design for ski lift.* fixed double chair* 9'-0" line gaugeTower is a combination of bolt / weld componentsfe...
02/14/2020

Preliminary design for ski lift.
* fixed double chair
* 9'-0" line gauge
Tower is a combination of bolt / weld components
features:
* ladder treads for safer climbing
* tread walkways
* simple fork switch for derail circuit
Return terminal is a combination bolt / weld components
Drive / tension terminal is a combination bolt / weld components. Drive patterned after hall 1405/1406 and Miner Denver lifts.
drive features:
* counterweight for tension
* Planetary drive
* Hydraulic drive, Eliminates service brake as hydraulic drive acts as service brake
* One Hydraulic hose change to swap between Primary and evacuation power.
* All motor components, hydraulic components, and controls contained in the vault room. Can be assembled and tested in the shop instead of the field.
* Air brake for emergency brake. Brake actuates at startup and shutdown. Less chance of emergency brake failure from not being cycled.
* self contained drive eliminates the need for a control room.

Uses off the shelf components wherever possible.
Uses common fabrications where possible.
No new technology, just a combination of the best of existing technology.
will have a maximum vertical of about 400 feet.

I wanted to get this out for feedback. Please feel free to comment. I ask that comments be constructive.

02/07/2020

I haven't posted for quite a while. For those who don't know I lost my right foot, to a bad infection, in October. That put a big halt to my work on my ski lift project.

I am back working on it. I am on the 12th major redesign. I finally go a design I really like. The tower and upper terminal preliminary designs are done. The drive/tension terminal is next. I have a good chair design thought up that isnt on paper yet.

I will be posting some pictures soon.

06/11/2019

Finally, after much delay, I am back working on my Double chair design. I came up with a new axle, cross arm, and deropement switch design.

Its a lot to redraw, but the improved design will be more simple and safer. Hopefully in the end it will help keep the price down too.

I will post photos as the project progresses.

05/23/2019

Imagine someone of average means having the ability to build and operate a ski hill.
.. An inexpensive, owner maintained, ski lift.. An inexpensive, build it yourself, snow cat with a tiller and blade. You choose the power plant, drive train, and how fancy or plain you want to make it.
… A cost effective snow making system. Again a build it yourself system that is energy efficient to run. You assemble the components and size the system to work on your hill. No electricity is needed on the hill drastically reducing power installation costs.
… Snow making air and water pipelines designed for your hill, to deliver the air and water requirements of your specific snow making system. Again, the system would have the potential to be installed by the owner, without the need for a welder who can weld pipe. Proper sizing vs the guessing method could reduce construction costs.
… LED hill lighting installed on poles built by the owner. The reduction in power needed by the LED lights would dramatically reduce electrical installation costs.
… workshop, warming, and rental building plans available to provide cost effective structures.
… The use of composting waste systems and gray water systems to dramatically reduce the cost of utilities.
… the potential for environmental conservation, small carbon footprints, and reuse / re-purpose / recycling of available resources (shipping container buildings, pallet fences, central wood fired heating systems, and heat reclamation from clean burning {E85, bio-diesel} power generation).

Imagine some these items being available in an open source environment, to help cut costs and enable the owner to incorporate their own resources. Crowdfunding could be used to raise funds needed to purchase the land and necessary materials without the extra costs and requirements conventional business loans often create. Tracked skid steers, outfitted with some attachments would allow the owner to perform many construction tasks that previously would need to be farmed out.

Dramatic cost reductions that allow areas to be developed on a way smaller budget could greatly effect the cost of skiing and snowboarding. Imagine making a profit on a $20 lift ticket.

Imagination and creative thinking, like this, could open the potential to create new ski areas. Imagine the reversal of the now, almost extinct, mom and pop ski areas.

08/27/2018

Double Chair Capacity vs Quad Chair Capacity

On any double or quad lift, if you count the chairs that go by any one spot there will likely be 600 per hour, or less. 600 is the amount that will go by at 6 second loading intervals. The minimum loading interval you can have, according to the B77 code.

At 600 chairs this means a double has an hourly uphill capacity of 1,200 passengers. The hourly capacity of a quad is 2,400 passengers. This is the calculated capacity of these chairs.

The actual capacity differs. When there is a line at a double chair most people will line up and load 2 to a chair. The actual capacity of a double chair is pretty close to the calculated capacity. On a quad chair, if you watch you will notice a lot of passengers loading 1 or 2 to a chair, even with a line. The actual capacity of a quad chair can be substantially less than the calculated capacity.

Quads cost more to build. They also require double the power of a double chair lift serving the same elevation. While Quad chair lifts have their place, I see a need for an affordable double chair lift. One smaller resorts can afford to replace their aging lifts. Also one that can replace beginner area lifts at bigger resorts.

Some points to ponder. Have a great week everyone!

An alternate Tower design.This uses a carriage style sheave train vs a cantilever style my other design has. It is also...
02/09/2018

An alternate Tower design.

This uses a carriage style sheave train vs a cantilever style my other design has. It is also a mainly bolt up design.

11/30/2017

I haven't posted in a while. I had a couple of health issues that took precedent. I was also working on a plan for a community center for our Village. I am on the mend and the community center plan is done.

I have some new ideas for my double fixed grip ski lift. I will be designing on them in the near future. I will be posting as the new design takes shape. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience.

Brian

10/25/2017

ATTENTION! Did you get your significant other a sweetest day gift? If not, it isn't too late to redeem yourself.

Nothing says "I love you" quite like a new pair of skiis and a season pass. ;) Get skiis and a pass for yourself, while you are at it. :)

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Pardeeville, WI
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