Ready to Invest In an Ice Machine?

Restaurants and commercial kitchens all find that having an ice machine is essential. Your customers and diners will expect to have ice in their drinks, and it can also be important if you make any style of blended beverage. There has been a lot of hype about commercial ice machines in the past few months, and we’ve covered topics that explain how you can clean your machine in past blogs. Today, we want to talk to you about things you should consider as you are purchasing your new or replacement ice machine.


What Is the Output?

One of the most important questions to consider is how many pounds of ice will the machine put out in 24 hours. You will also want to know how much you will use in that time period. Your requirements for ice should be carefully planned out before you buy this piece of equipment. Restaurants will generally need a pound and a half of ice per person, while hotels use around five pounds of ice per occupied room.

Ice Style

Did you know that this would be important? There are many different styles of ice, and each has a better task that it will be suited for. Here are just a few:

  • Cubes
  • Half Cubes
  • Nuggets
  • Flakes
  • Gourmet
  • Pearls
  • Octagons


Each shape has a task it is better suited for. Nugget ice and cube ice are better for beverages, while flake ice is great for seafood and produce displays.

What Is the Energy Star Rating?

Having an ice machine that is qualified by Energy Star is important if you want to conserve water and electricity. Sometimes you can even receive rebates for appliances that are energy efficient so the cost up front can be evened out with the rebate. Not only can the upfront cost be better, but the long-term use costs can be significantly more effective for your business.

Do You Need Special Technology

There are different technologies that can make one machine better than another for your business. Some have programmable settings, while others offer monitoring. These settings can allow you to also be notified when a problem occurs so that you can get the commercial ice machine repaired as soon as possible.

Do You Need an Ice Bin or Ice Dispenser?

If this is your first time buying an ice machine for a restaurant, you will also want to have something to store the ice that it creates. Ice machines in a hotel generally have a dispenser. It’s more expensive to create ice than it is to store it, so having a larger ice bin is never a bad choice. How much ice will you need to have on hand during your peak hours? This can determine the size and capacity of the ice bin that you choose.


Who Knew?

There are a lot of questions to think about as you plan the purchase of your new ice machine. These beauties work great behind the scenes, but as soon as it runs into a malfunction, you’ll be calling your appliance maintenance crew in St. Louis FAST. Thankfully, Fast Fix LLC is just that - FAST. One call does it all, and we look forward to serving your Missouri restaurant with your maintenance needs. Give us a call to learn more about our commercial kitchen appliance maintenance services in the central Missouri and Eastern Illinois areas. We look forward to serving your business!

Fast Fix LLC. Restaurant Equipment Service & Repair - 

One Call Does It All! 


Fast Fix LLC. Restaurant Services
3362 State Road JJ
Kingdom City, MO 65262

Columbia: 573-544-0456
St. Louis: 636-327-8349

Location: Columbia, MO, USA

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