Three answers, and the range narrows to two machines.
You do not need a specification sheet to buy an ice machine. You need to answer three questions
honestly. Below is what each answer changes — and the three assumptions that most often lead
to buying the wrong size.
Q1
What does the ice touch?
This decides the ice type, and nothing else in the conversation changes the
answer. Tonnage comes later.
A glass, in front of a customerCube, large cube or nugget. Clear, hard, slow to water down.
→ Cube · Large cube · Nugget
Fish, meat or produceFlake. Moulds to the surface, drains as it melts, no bruising.
→ Flake
A display bed, seen all dayGranular or nugget. Stays loose, stays white, does not slump.
→ Granular · Nugget
Dough, batter or a mixing processFlake dropped straight into the mixer — cold without free water.
→ Flake
A shaker or a whisky glassLarge cube for slow melt, crescent for tight packing.
→ Large cube · Crescent
Nothing — it is for resaleMixed container. Seven types can ship together, one invoice.
→ All ice types
Q2
How many kilos disappear in your busiest four hours?
Not the daily average. A restaurant that uses 180 kg a day may burn 120 kg
between 18:00 and 22:00 — and that four-hour window is what the machine has to survive.
Under 60 kgSmall undercounter or bar unit. Check the bin size first — on small
machines the bin empties before the machine catches up.
60–300 kgThe most common range for cafés, bars, small hotels and fish shops.
Most of our range sits here.
300–1,000 kgModular heads with a separate bin, or a large floor unit. Worth checking
ambient temperature before sizing.
Over 1,000 kgTwo units in parallel. We do not build a single machine above 1,000 kg/day,
and we will say so rather than quote it.
Q3
What does the room give you?
Three facts that change the model number, and that buyers most often leave out
of a first enquiry.
Power220–240 V single phase covers most of the range. Above roughly
500 kg/day, three phase is usually available and worth taking.
Ambient temperatureRated capacity assumes 25–32 °C. A 40 °C kitchen in
August will not deliver the datasheet number — size up, or ventilate the machine
space.
Water supply and drainFlow rate, hardness and drain height. Hard water scales the evaporator and
quietly costs capacity over two years.
Space and accessDoor width and turning radius. A 1,000 kg unit does not fit through a
700 mm service door, and that discovery happens on delivery day.
Three common mistakes
What goes wrong before the machine arrives
Sizing on the daily average
A machine rated 200 kg/day produces about 8 kg an hour. If your service peak needs 40 kg
an hour, the daily number was never the right number.
Forgetting the room
Capacity is quoted at a reference ambient. Put the same machine next to a pizza oven and
it behaves like a smaller machine — then it is called a warranty claim.
Buying the cheapest unit, then the parts
An evaporator is most of the machine. Ask what a replacement costs and how long it takes
to arrive before comparing two prices.
Next step
Send those three answers
Ice type, peak kilos, room conditions. We reply with two or three models, an FOB price
and a lead time — inside twelve hours, in English, from the sales team that quotes
the order.