Who will not love the idea of a chilling evening drink when the sun is shining will all her might outdoors? Should we be relying on our refrigerator to prepare ice overnight to chill our drinks and our drinking water? or should we run out to the convenience store every time we run out of ice? Sounds like a bad idea right. How about installing a portable ice maker at home? It can give you beautiful nugget-shaped ice cubes every 10 minutes and serve your instinct of drinking chilled water and smoothies as you desire.
Different Types of Ice Makers
Just like the varieties of drinks, we have to savor our day, so are the varieties of ice makers. Broadly we can classify them as residential and commercial ice makers. The former is capable of producing about seven to nine cubes of ice at a time whereas the latter is used predominantly in food and beverage industries, as it is capable of chunking out up to 500 pounds of ice a day. We can also classify ice makers based on their size, function, placement, and types of ice they make. Let us discuss the different types of ice makers based on the type of ice they make.
Differentiating Ice Maker Based on the Type of Ice They Make
We can chill different drinks differently as ice makers can prepare ice cubes in many different variations. For example, we can use flaked ice to preserve fish and other dishes, use nugget ice cubes to chill water in bottles or use gourmet-shaped cubes for cocktails and mocktails. The different types of ice cubes are as follows:
A. Flaked ice: These ice shavings are quite soft and dissolve instantly. They are soft to chew and are good to make ice colas.
B. Full cubes: These transparent cubes are great for alcoholic drinks, as they chill the drink completely without diluting it, or altering its taste.
C. Crescent-shaped ice: Kids will love the ice of half-moon-shaped ice cubes in their juices and drinks.
D. Gourmet-shaped ice: Best when used at parties as it will never fail to impress the guests.
We have to note that a particular type of ice maker will be able to chunk out only one type of ice, and we will be able to choose the ice size as a small, medium, or large. One appliance cannot produce crescent and gourmet-shaped ice cubes. Thus, it is important to choose one’s preferred ice cubes from some of the leading manufacturers in the industry.
Differentiating Residential Ice-Makers
As we mentioned before, ice makers can either be for residential or commercial use. Of the ice makers that are meant for residential purposes, there are two types, namely countertop ice makers and under-counter ice makers.
1. Countertop ice makers
These are small and attractive lightweight appliances that are portable within the home or to a poolside party. They are compact and are an inherent part of kitchen countertops. They take less than 9 minutes to produce a batch of ice.
Generally, they form nugget-shaped ice cubes in two different sizes. They require a power of 110V to be supplied by an outlet and water has to be fed into the system for making ice. These ice makers do not possess a freezing unit and thus require ice to be removed as and when they are being formed. Ice cubes will start melting immediately and the water will recycle to form a new batch of ice.
2. Built-in under-counter ice makers
Like built-in ovens, these ice makers are built in the cabinet of the kitchen. They are larger than countertop ice makers and are capable of chunking out large volumes of ice in a day. Some of them also have a built-in freezer option, to retain the cubes frozen for long hours. They require a dedicated water line and drain line and require professional assistance for installation.
Types of Commercial Ice Makers
Commercial ice makers are huge and are capable of serving a large population with ice. They are generally found in restaurants and in businesses concerned with the food and beverage industry. There are two types of commercial ice machines, namely standalone ice-making appliances, and ice dispensers.
1. Standalone ice-making machines
Ever ordered your favorite drink at a café and were astonished by how they were able to serve you your desired drink with a lot of ice cubes within minutes? Do you think they were preserving the ice cubes for all their customers in their refrigerator? Definitely No. It is the secret of commercial ice-making machines, that are capable of producing anywhere from 200 to 1000 pounds of ice a day depending on their size and capacity. These ice machines are commonly found in cafes, restaurants, malls, hotels, and most of your favorite eateries.
These machines produce ice cubes in huge batches that are collected in the storage bin for immediate use. The best feature of these appliances is that they chunk out clear and solid ice cubes, that retain their shape for a long time, compared to cloudy ice we get in the refrigerator. They will chill the drink completely, inside out without altering its taste or diluting it. But they require manual removal of ice cubes from the collection bin and can melt and recycle if not removed appropriately.
2. Ice dispensers
These are also long ice-making machines, like commercial units, but they differ from them in the way that they dispense ice cubes, from a user-defined port. They are similar to water dispensers we find in lobbies, offices, and restaurants. But they dispense ice upon demand and users can also define the size of ice cubes they require.
Ice from these machines is not stored and is dispensed from time to time. We can find these ice dispensers in lounge rooms, hospitals, and restaurants and many commercial companies are also installing them on their premises to delight their customers and also to make some quick money for their business.
Final Words
Ice machines are of pivotal importance in both homes and commercial establishments. There are many different styles and configurations of ice machines available in the market. We have to choose the best ice maker that will complement our needs. All of these ice machines come with specific warranties and backup from their manufacturers to help customers with uninterrupted ice supply all through the day.
I like that you talked about how commercial ice makers are huge and are capable of serving a large population with ice. I was watching a video about a popular restaurant earlier and I noticed that they have a big ice maker in their kitchen. From what I’ve heard before, it seems there are plenty of ice maker for sale now since the machine is essential for every restaurant.