Commercial Ice Machines: Do’s and Don’ts

Ice machines are probably the most-abused equipment in a commercial kitchen. This is twice as true for hotels, night clubs, and restaurants with more than 50 seats. In most of these cases, the overworked machines are actually costing the business a lot more than they need to. Read on to find out how to save money with your ice machine:

Do: Adjust your Ice Production when needed
One of the easiest ways to save money and increase the life span of your ice machine is to monitor and adjust ice production. Different seasons need more ice production than others so keep a log of when you make changes. After a couple seasons patterns will develop and you will be able to accurately predict how much ice you need.

• Quick Tip: Another easy way to reduce energy consumption of your ice machine is to have it produce ice only in the daytime when power is less expensive.

Don’t: Keep Your Ice where it’s Warm and Stuffy
Of course I mean your entire machine, not just the cubes themselves. The truth is that either way, whether the room is hot or cold, your ice machine (if working properly) will keep your ice cold for the duration. The question is how hard it will have to work to do it. The higher the room temperature the more energy your ice box will consume to keep your ice iced. This will cost you. Put your ice machine somewhere that has good air movement and doesn’t heat up over 90 degrees.

Do: Regular Maintenance
In order to keep your ice machine safe and reliable you’ve got to give you machine a check up every few months. This means sanitizing the box, d- liming the water hose, and adding antimicrobial products. Keep up with these regular needs of your machine and you will find that it last its full lifetime or longer.

Don’t: Forget to Change the Filter
The last thing you need to check up on (and many owners don’t) is the water filter. Have you noticed that ice always looks pretty clean? Unfortunately looks can be deceiving. The filter on your ice maker should be changed every 6 months.

Do: Go Air Cooled
All ice makers are cooled by either air or water. Air cooled machines use much less energy. The best part is that there is little to no price difference between air and water cooled ice machines.

• Quick Tip: When purchasing a new ice machine, look for the Energy Star logo if you want to ensure that your machine is the most energy efficient. A machine that is 10-15% more efficient in water and energy use can save you a lot of money over an average life of 8 years.