Bulgaria Ski discussion board
SNOW CANNONS
Author:Charles Lee
posts : 8 (Beginner)Date : 12-21-14 18:17SNOW CANNONS
Looks like we are relying on snow cannons for the skiing for the next couple of weeks, does anybody know how much these produce in a night. Ie they are going to be on all night tonight and what are they likely to produce.. 5cm, 10cm 20cm etc.......re:SNOW CANNONS
i don't really know... but i've seen highs of 15c in the village for borovets on xmas eve
so anything that the snow cannons have produced will probably be gone anyway. 
re:SNOW CANNONS
True but if they produce 20cm a night that amount is unlikely to melt in the day....re:SNOW CANNONS
"re:SNOW CANNONSTrue but if they produce 20cm a night that amount is unlikely to melt in the day...."what you got to remember with snow cannons that they will produce a mound of snow, which when spread across it's area of piste probably won't amount to an awful lot. But considering bulgaria rely quite a lot on snow cannons and seem to do a decent job of getting runs open they must be efficient enough to be worth having them.
re:SNOW CANNONS
Dependant on the type of cannon, they can produce up to 30 cubic metres of compacted artificial snow in 24hrs. This is a very dense material and resists melting much better than natural snow. When spread it creates and allows for an insulating effect over anything it covers, it will maintain a lower ground temperature so forming almost a refridgerator. Because snow is white, it will reflect radiated heat (sunshine), it is not effected greatly by rain as it consists mostly of water, long ...
Dependant on the type of cannon, they can produce up to 30 cubic metres of compacted artificial snow in 24hrs. This is a very dense material and resists melting much better than natural snow. When spread it creates and allows for an insulating effect over anything it covers, it will maintain a lower ground temperature so forming almost a refridgerator. Because snow is white, it will reflect radiated heat (sunshine), it is not effected greatly by rain as it consists mostly of water, long periods of high air temps being the real deathnail of cannon snow... If you are to watch the deteriation of snow at the end of the season, it is always the cannon snow that will be the last to dissappear... The other advantage of artificial snow is it acts as a base, allowing for a much better build up of natural snow... As a footnote, they are incredibly expensive to run, they use massive amounts of water, the chemicals mixed with the water to aid snow making are also expensive.......... so appreciate them 
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Well answered Steve! Normal people panic at the strat of the season, but already looking better start than last year, just got the small issue of Christmas to get over then role on the 24th Jan.Tom.
