Ice is an essential in any restaurant, particularly if drinks will be a major part of your service. This makes a commercial ice machine a vital piece of equipment for many businesses, including restaurants, bars, cafes, and hotels. When choosing a commercial ice machine, here are a few factors to be considered:

Type of ice: Commercial ice machines can produce a variety of different types of ice, including cubed, dice, modular cube, flaked/granular and crushed ice. The type of ice you need will depend on the specific needs of your business. For example, if you own a restaurant, you may need cubed ice for drinks and pebble ice for smoothies and desserts.

Production capacity: Ice makers come in a variety of production capacities, ranging from 20kg/24hrs to several hundreds of kgs of ice per day. You need to choose an ice machine that can produce enough ice to meet the needs of your business, but you don’t want to overspend on an ice machine that is larger than you need.

Storage capacity: If you have limited space, you will want to choose an ice machine with a built-in storage bin. It should be able to fit into your kitchen without compromising on more necessary kitchen equipment. In addition, it should be large enough to hold the ice you need and small enough to require little or no storage space. If you need to produce a large amount of ice, you may need an ice machine with a production capacity that is greater than the storage capacity of the ice machine itself. In this case, you will need to purchase a model with a separate storage bin to hold the excess ice.

Energy efficiency: It is important to choose an energy-efficient ice machine to help reduce your operating costs.

Ease of use: The ice makers on the market vary by efficiency as well. Some are much easier to use than others. There are even some machines that come with all the bells and whistles, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and self-cleaning technology.

New to our site for 2023 are the latest range of ice makers from market leader Maidaid Halycon. These units produce different shapes of ice, such as cubes, pebbles, half dice, modular cubes, and granular. The range offers a selection of models with varying production & storage capacities, incorporated storage bins, and integral drain pumps  (CUBE 30-15DP). Backed up by a 2-year full warranty, the Maidaid range of ice machines have models to suit the smallest bar up to the busiest hotels and pubs.