What Are Ice Scratchers and Why Do You Need Them?
If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with an endless supply of fresh powder then you may not know much about ice scratchers. If you live around us in Idaho Falls, you might find that some areas are better than others. For the snowmobile riders in areas where the snow is easily packed down, you may want to consider ice scratchers this year.
What Are Ice Scratchers?
For those who aren’t aware of what ice scratchers are, the name pretty much says it all. They are installed to scratch the ice. When I say "ice" I don't necessarily mean an absolutely frozen sheet of ice, but that frozen dense snow pack that comes as a result of too many riders or other circumstances that causes the powder to get packed down.
Ice scratchers are installed to the rails of your rear suspension with one on each side. These scratchers have a sharp tip that digs into solid snow pack and ice to create a “snow dust”. They loosen the snow and ice chunks as you ride. Then, that loose snow is thrown up into the rear suspension. If you're not riding on powder, this will make "powder".
Why Do You Need Ice Scratchers?
If you're not riding on powder and having that snow thrown into the rear suspension then you're not getting the necessary cooling effect for your heat exchangers. The heat exchangers under the tunnel and the hyfax slides under the rails can get quite hot. If the slides get too hot, they can melt away. Ice scratchers are there to keep them cool.
The snow that is thrown up on to the heat exchanger is then melted and the dissipates the heat in the engine. If you don't keep your engine cooled down it can blow up! It goes without saying how financially important it is to keep your snowmobile engine cool.
The slides are there to protect your rails and are much easier and cheaper to replace than the rails themselves, so you need to protect them as long as possible to protect the rails.
Long track riders especially should consider using ice scratchers. The longer slides heat up much faster and can melt away quicker than short track sleds, even when there is a decent amount of snow. Be sure and use the scratchers in the mornings especially because the snow is more frozen and hard from the night before.
What is the Best Ice Scratcher?
Ice scratchers stay down on the ground's surface and work great when moving forward, but not so much in reverse. Most ice scratchers have to be back into the upright position before going in reverse. Much like putting a kickstand up on a bike. But! The design Precision Boats in Idaho Falls sells, made by Ibexx, lets you go in reverse without any worry of it breaking!
This ice scratcher is also on a spring that makes it easy to move up and down. So whether you need the ice scratchers or not, you can leave it attached to your sled year round.
If you have any questions about scratchers or other snowmobile mods, accessories, or just general questions please give us a call. We love to chat snowmobiles!
(208) 529-0520