What Are the Costs of Ownership For a Commercial Ice Machine?

Your commercial ice machine is an investment in the productivity of your operation.  What kind of features should you consider in a commercial ice machine that will help you to get the best return on my investment?   Or  What  is my Cost  of Ownership? Consider these factors when you are purchasing:

• How hard does the ice machine need to work to produce ice? – All ice machines come with an evaporator plate where the ice cubes are formed.  The ice machine runs through a cycle and the ice on the evaporator drops into the ice storage bin, ready to use.  Therefore, the number of cycles per 24 hour periods dictates how hard the ice machine is working. Some ice makers have double sided evaporators so they can produce the same amount of ice but with half the number of cycles.  This can prolong the life of your commercial ice machine.

   

• How efficiently does the ice machine produce ice?  Evaporators use different methods to harvest their ice into the bin.  An evaporator that makes individual cubes will produce a harder, more clear ice than one that uses a grid cell. The individual cuber is ice will be 98% pure frozen water while the grid cell approach will yield ice in the 88-92% pure frozen water.

   

• How easy is it to service my ice machine?  When and ice machine goes down, often a service person arrives and has to figure out what is wrong, correctly or incorrectly.  This approach can lead to additional service calls getting the right part.  Ice machines with self- diagnostic tools and cloud connections take the guess work out of repair.  Sometimes, money can be saved when the diagnostic tool gives you information to affect he repair yourself.  Guesswork is taken out of the repair process.

   

• Energy Efficiency – Look for commercial ice makers with the Energy Star rating;  the government is requiring  both water and electric consumption control.  Standards change almost every year so be sure your model is a current Energy Star approved commercial icemaker.

We would be glad to walk you through your ice machine, long term decisions.  Please contact us a lisa@dietaryequipment.net.  Thanks Again!