Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ice machines

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-03-2008, 12:01 PM:

Our 18 year old ice machine has dropped its last cube...anyone got any recommendations on what kind we should get? I like the Manitowoc machines but am wavering on what kind of ice we should go for. (Cube, flake, crushed, etc.) The machine needs to be water cooled because it sits in the same small room with our candy storage.

Currently we use cube ice and I've never liked flake ice too much because I think it melts too fast, but it would be quieter for sure. Anyone got any recommendations?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-03-2008, 12:17 PM:

I don't know who makes it, but that "rabbit pelet" ice is the best. (The one that is like ice replicas of rabbit doodie.)

A good second option was just installed at one of the theaters I service. I'll try and find the brand.

The ones I hate are the large squares that are rounded on one side. They melt almost immediately and water down the drink.

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 03-03-2008, 05:58 PM:

If you are looking for a real buy on ice machines, check out the used restaurant equipment dealers in your area. Restaurants are always closing and the used restaurant equipment dealers usually always have a selection of used ice machines available - usually at very reasonable prices.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-03-2008, 07:03 PM:

All the drink vendors around here use Manitowac, because of their reliability.

I've had great results with both Manitowac and Hoshizaki machines.

Posted by Adam Holland (Member # 4539) on 03-03-2008, 07:13 PM:

I would vote for crushed or flaked, we are currently using Sonic ice at our theatre and the folks love it. We have an old flake machine in our concession stand but we don't know if it is worth fixing yet. I just found out how to cut it on and the motor runs, just don't know if all it needs is gas or the copressor is gone.

The guy before us sold bottled drinks and hasn't used the ice machine in about 19 years.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-03-2008, 07:23 PM:

Mike, can you do a remote refrigeration type? I'd think it would be much cheaper to operate than water cooled?

Posted by James. R. Deeter (Member # 837) on 03-04-2008, 04:11 PM:

We use Hoshizaki at our theatres and have been very pleased.

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-04-2008, 06:39 PM:

The "rabbit pellet" ice machines can make it faster than anyother type, we tried 3 other kinds before we settled on that type again.

Never own an ice machine, none of them are any good. Lease it, then any time night or day you can call 'em to come fix it and if the company doesn't have after hours service at no extra charge get it from somebody else....the people we lease ours from offer 24/7 service or they will reimburse for the cost of purchased ice, never been reimbursed though--they always come.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 03-13-2008, 06:01 PM:

The nugget machines (rabbit pellets) are more expensive to maintain by far. There are many more moving parts than on the cubers - augers and such - and therefore a lot more to go wrong, but they do make some good ice.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-14-2008, 04:09 PM:

I've got a 600lb per day Scotsman at the drive-in, and it's all it can do to keep with with the demand during the busy summer weekends. It's a air cooled machine, unfortunately it exhausts the hot air from the compressor back inside the concessions area and really heats the palce up.

The week before Memorial Day, Labor Day and 4th of July weekends, we always start bagging our own ice during the week nights and putting it in the freezers to get ready for the weekend. Last year on Memorial Day weekend, we went thru 600 lbs of ice in about 4 hours and had to go raid every convenience store and grocery store around to get enough ice to last thru intermission.

If I had to buy another one, I'd buy a 900 - 1200 pound per day machine, with an external compressor.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-14-2008, 04:54 PM:

We wound up going with a water-cooled Manitowoc 350-lb machine, which should more than handle our needs. It makes the half-dice cubes which are quite a bit like the ones our old machine made.

Barry - the one we replaced was a Scotsman. It lasted 18 years - maybe more, I'm not positive. It was just worn out. The only real complaint I had with it, was the cabinet -- it was kind of inconvenient to get into the machine for cleaning and etc., and the vinyl covering deteriorited quite fast from condensation. It was also about a foot taller than our new mahine. Other than those points it was a great machine.

Thanks all for the responses.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 03-17-2008, 01:04 PM:

"They melt almost immediately and water down the drink"

Brad, I don't understand this. Add ice to a drink, and enough ice melts to get the drink close to freezing temperature... then the melting slows way down. The shape and size of the ice lumps will affect how fast this happens but the total mass of ice melted to cool X ounces of drink from T1 degrees to T2 degrees will be the same. Small pellets should have more surface area per pound and melt faster than the larger cubes even with the cavity.
How about an experiment? That could be fun!

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 03-17-2008, 02:56 PM:

Some of the affect Brad could be referring to may be because cube machines, which like he said leave one side rounded, use warm water to break the ice free from the freezing plate. This makes "wet ice" in the bin right when it drops and it is possible that he has had wet cubes in his drink a time or two. That is also why cube machines make gigantic blocks of ice when left to sit in the bin.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-17-2008, 03:20 PM:

quote: Chad Souder
This makes "wet ice" in the bin right when it drops and it is possible that he has had wet cubes in his drink a time or two. That is also why cube machines make gigantic blocks of ice when left to sit in the bin.

That situations happens quite alot if you don't stay on top of it. Our Scotsman ice machine will fill up the bin all the way up to where the ice touches the bottom of the cuber. There's a contact or temperature sensor in there that will then shut off the machine from making any more ice. If left to sit for several days (6 months of the year my drive-in is a "weekend only" operation), the ice on the outer edges of the bin will melt leaving only a frozen pillar of ice in the center of the bin. If that happens, and the ice is still touching the bottom of the unit, the machine still thinks the bin is full and won't make anymore ice. The last thing I do everynight on the way out the door is to take the ice scoop and break down the ice away from the bottom of the machine.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-17-2008, 03:53 PM:

We had that sensor too and it works just like Barry described.

The Manitowoc has a different system -- it makes ice until the bin is full enough that the next sheet of cubes stays in the chute. This causes the cuber to shuts off. So if you go in and stir up the ice in the bin, thus clearing the chute, it starts making more ice immediately.