Manitowoc ice machines

Maintowoc ice machines are number one selling commercial ice machines in the United States. Manitowoc have have always been a favorite piece of commercial kitchen equipment at food service establishments like fast food restaurants, high end hotels, health care institutions across the US and other countries.

In the fifties, Manitowoc Equipment Works started manufacturing a high end product line of commercial refrigerated display cases for the newly arising, fast growing supermarket business and started flourishing expansion of commercial ice machines. With the development and production of  walk in refrigerators & water dispensers Manitowoc Foodservice emerged.

By purchasing production rights to the Kodiak brand ice machines, Manitowoc has joined the kitchen equipment market in the mid sixties and soon invented technologically advanced, revolutionary evaporator that pushed the company to the leading position in the industry.

Today Manitowoc Foodservice owns manufacturing factory in China, and runs product distribution chains all around the world. Manitowoc became the most trusted name in the industry for it’s superior innovation, high quality &  proven reliability.

Manitowoc works hard to conserve the environment and does everything to  make more  water and energy efficient  products, it’s brands support minimizing energy consumption & conserving the environment is beneficial for food service businesses. Manitowoc increased efforts to provide increased variety of  energy & water efficient  products while supporting the reduction of human’s footprint on the environment. Environmental responsibility & energy efficiency are the most popular subjects in kitchen equipment industry. Manitowoc’s EnerLogic™ program helps to choose from almost five hundred ENERGY STAR rated products .

Manitowoc EnerLogic

Commercial kitchen equipment experts have noticed a very strong trend on kitchen equipment market of  switching to  energy and water efficient equipment, becoming  green.  All kinds of businesses from  bagel stores  and grocery stores to restaurants and supermarkets are trying to reduce their footprints on the ecology of  our planet. Energy saving  is beneficial in many ways. It is good not only for the environment, but it also saves money for the business owners. ENERGY STAR® report shows that, by using ENERGY STAR rated commercial ice machines, business owners can save  20% on their energy cost.

Manitowoc Foodservice became the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial food service equipment, equipping small & large hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, caffeterias, catering halls,  health care institutions,  schools and  colleges all around the planet.

This commercial ice machine buying guide will walk you trough every aspect that you need to know before shopping for ice making equipment.

Commercial ice machines can be an integral part for many restaurants, hotels, bars, schools, fish markets, nursing homes and hospitals. Many food service institution owners and managers doesn’t know what they need to know before purchasing an ice making equipment. IceMachineMaker.com offers a quick information for consideration before making a decision on buying commercial ice maker.

How much ice do you need in a day?

Keep in mind how many people your foodservice institution can fit and the amount of ice you will need during busy hours . The last thing you want is to have a busy day with shortage of ice at the bar. Also don’t forget to take a look at the ice production listed in the commercial ice machines specs. Keep in mind that your consumption might increase in the future, plus calculate the amount of ice that you need for displays, food packaging, salad bar… If you need ice for a sea food display or a salad bar, count around 25-30 lbs per cubic foot. If you are is the restaurant business, your daily ice consumption is between 1 and 2 lbs per person.

Fast food institutions need about 1/2 the size of the serving cup times the number of cups sold per working day. That is approximately  8 oz of ice for each 16 oz size soda cup you distribute a day.

Hospitals & Nursing Homes will use about 8-10 lbs per person and around 1.5-2 lbs per employee.

A Bar or Lounge will use about 2-3 lbs of ice per seat.

The Shape of Ice

Think about shape of the ice. It could be full dice ice cube, half dice ice cube, crushed ice, flakes or nuggets. The shapes differs from one ice machine to the next. You can choose ice cubes in a variety of shapes and sizes.You can also choose the texture of the ice crushed ice, flakes or nuggets. It’s up to your preference and consumer needs. For example sea food stores must go with soft textured ice like flakes or nuggets, and bars and restaurants should consider different dice sizes of ice for the drinks.

How much space do you have for the commercial ice machine?

Measure the width, length, and height of the space you have for your commercial ice maker. Don’t forge to include for ADA aisle space requirements. Also account that if the ice maker you choose is smaller than the bin, you will need a bin top and ice bins require a separate vented drain connection.

What kind of ice maker is right for your business?

A self contained unit – (integrated unit), is the simplest to install. Remember that the capacity for ice storage is fixed, and you are not gonna be able to upgrade ice storage bin if you find you need one. If you need to increase your ice production capacity, get a modular unit (non-integrated unit). With modular unit if needed, place a second ice machine next to the first on top of a larger ice bin, and your problem will be solved.

Ice makers come in 2 types: continuous operation models & batch models. Continuous units run non stop. Batch ice machine models, after harvesting a batch of ice, starts a thawing cycle.

Commercial ice machines could be: Air cooled, remote air cooled, and water cooled.

The least expensive in a long run are air cooled ice machines, they use more energy to make ice and are noisier than water cooled ice machines.

Water cooled ice machines are usually more quiet, but are more water hungry than the air cooled type. The ice making process can use from 20 to 50 gallons of water per 100 lbs of ice, and self cleaning ice machines use even more water, but the self cleaning feature saves on labor needed to clean the unit.

Remote condensing ice machines generate the heat outside the building. This saves the air conditioning cost, because your AC unit doesn’t have to work that hard. Remote Condensing type is also the most quiet, since the it works outside.

Finally, think about the ice bin. Ice making head units don’t have ice storage bins, but can hold a variety of ice bin capacities.

How large of a ice storage bin does your business require?

Choose an ice bin that can hold a 1/2 day of ice making. Try to take into account your daily usage, your peak usage, and ice production time of the ice maker.

Another  factor is cleaning of the ice making unit. Every ice maker needs periodic cleaning, because of the slime mold build up inside of the ice maker. (“Slime mold is a broad term describing fungi-like organisms that use spores to reproduce^.”) The last thing you want is to scare a customer with the slime in their drink. Ice makers, depending on manufacturer’s guidelines, usually need to be cleaned and sanitized every 1.5 to 5 weeks, some ice makers have self cleaning feature, another have anti slime solutions. Sealed, sanitary ice bins are available to provide ice that will come into direct contact with food and those models are more expensive than regular ice bins.

How to keep your ice machine energy consumption as low as possible?

Don’t get an ice maker which produces more ice than you require. Don’t risk wasting energy on big standby losses. Remember that the ice capacity rates vary with ambient temperature and water temperature. Try to select equipment based on the capacity listed at the test conditions used by the AC and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). This info is  listed in the tech specs of your ice maker and may help you choose a more energy efficient model.

Think about water heat recuperation. Some commercial ice machines circulate incoming water over the ice. The warmth of the incoming water helps harvest the ice and cools it, helping to save energy.

Consider water costs. Water usage among ice makers can vary greatly, so take a look at how much water each unit consumes to produce 100 lbs of ice. If your water is costly, forget about water cooled ice machines, because water cooled ice machines use a lot of water.

Making ice sounds simple, but what do restaurants and other food service institutions do to make a large amount of ice ? In 1920 and 1930’s that an ice maker was available for the average public. So how does the ice machine actually work? Any ice machine needs three basic things for the ice making process: a refrigeration system, a water supply for the ice production and ice trays or molds.

ICE MAKING PROCESS
Then the refrigerant circles through a set of pipes and coils causing it expand and condense. This process cools the ice molds and slowly freezes the water. Todays technology allows to produce crystal clear ice by constantly pumping the water into the ice trays and push out micro water bubbles and minerals out. Low freezing temperature makes this process possible. Once the ice mold or ice tray is full, ice is forced out of the tray into the ice bin or ice storage container. After the ice has been released out of the ice mold or ice tray, the process repeats again.
INFO
Today, commercial ice making equipment, ice makers, ice machines, ice cubbers, flake machines, nugget machines and ice dispensers currently make up about 11% of all commercial refrigeration market. Their main purpose is to make a large amount of crystal clear ice. To produce 100 pounds of crystal clear ice you will need around twelve gallons of water.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ENERGY STAR qualified air cooled commercial ice machines are on average 15% more energy efficient and 10% more water efficient than models without unqualified.

The ice maker energy efficiency is enforced by the Energy Star. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Manitowoc SM-50

The undercounter ice machine or undercounter ice maker brings convenience to your kitchen, bar or restaurant. The undercounter ice cube machine works by continually pumping the filtered water and spray it into inverted ice cube molds. The water gets frozen forcing the air bubbles and impurities & minerals out of the ice. With innovative air cooled technology, undercounter ice makers make tasteless, odorless, crystal clear ice cubes.

Manitowoc SM-50 undercounter ice machine is perfect for home or office use, produces up to 53 pounds of ice daily & has a storage capacity of 25 pounds. Manitowoc SM-50 is self-contained, comes air cooled only and produces octagon shape ice cubes only.

Manitowoc SM-50

When purchasing an under counter ice cube maker, keep in mind that energy efficient and water efficient air cooled ice machines use much less water and energy than other cube ice machines.

Choose ice maker with easy access to all internal components for easy clean up.
Before you make your purchase calculate the amount of ice that you need. It is very important because it will help you save a lot of usable space. Please use Manitowoc ice machine sizing guide to estimate your needs. Depending on your needs you will want an ice maker that produces the sufficient amount of ice and stores enough to fulfill your needs. Dual drainage systems are also recommended to allow you to use the unit with the water drain or without the drain. Under counter ice machines featuring automatic overfill prevention is also recommended.

Manitowoc Q-Model Series 130

Manitowoc Q-130 commercial undercounter ice machine produces up to 147 pounds of ice daily and has a storage capacity of 80 pounds. Manitowoc Q-130 is self contained and comes air cooled or water cooled and produces full dice size or half dice ice cubes.

Under counter ice cube makers are perfect for commercial kitchens, caterings, restaurants, bars and even home use. They are perfect for cocktails, mixed drinks & soda beverages. Undercounter ice machines produce ice much faster than refrigerators and are best for food service establishments that need ice to be quickly produced right at the counter. If you need to use ice machine for commercial purposes make sure the unit is endorsed by UL and NSF standards. These standards offer certification for food service equipment to ensure a healthy & safe environment to consumers.
With undercounter commercial ice machines you get the true taste of every beverage with ice, because it adds nothing to your drink. Under counter ice makers add reliability and convenience for food service institutions and homes.

Slime

Slime is a type of mold or fungus that growth on surfaces that are exposed to moisture and warm temperatures. If the moisture is not wiped clean and left alone or the machine is not sanitized properly and on time, you will then see mold build up in the wet, cool environment of your ice maker. Most times, slime will take on a light pink color if left untreated, the pink color will soon start changing colors, pink will turn to red, green, brown and even black strings of slime stretching from the panels inside the non commercial and commercial ice machines.

Slime causes the ice to have a taste, odor & change color. Serving contaminated ice may bring unnecessary problems to your food service establishment, such as loosing valuable customers, law suits… People with weak immune systems are at risk to illnesses passed on through the pathogens found in contaminated ice cubes.

Ice Machine Slime

Ice Machine Maintenance

Keep the ice machine interior clean and sanitized using an approved sanitizer. It is not uncommon to clean up commercial ice machines once a month. Professional maintenance will cost around $160, but there are many products, such as Manitowoc’s Guardian that can extend slime cleaning effectiveness by up to six times. The Guardian sachet housing comes with every S-Series Manitowoc ice machine. “Manitowoc’s exclusive Guardian® Accessory is patented technology that releases chlorine dioxide on a controlled basis to inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi that form slime and cause odors in the food zone of ice machines.”
Do it yourself. Twice a week take a paper towel, and wipe the moisture from the ice machine surfaces above the ice level. Using sanitizes solution wipe interior walls with proper sanitizing solution. Using bleach is not safe, because it reacts with the metal walls of your ice machine.

Water cooled ice machines use regular water to cool the machine, which is more effective way than air cooling, because it keeps the heat out of the building, but the water waste dramatically increases water bills. Water cooled ice machines use less energy than air cooling. However energy savings & effective water cooling never make up for the  water & sewer costs. That’s why air cooled ice machines are more convenient pieces of commercial ice making equipment.

Having crystal clear ice in your beverage is essential, because crystal clear ice cubes means free of impurities and minerals trapped inside. When I see cloudy ice cubes inside of my drink, i get second thoughts about the quality of my drink.

I was browsing the Internet and I’ve found a very interesting How To video, on how to make crystal clear ice at home.

• For best results use filtered water to filter unnecessary compounds
• Boil the water and let it cool, for best results repeat the process. It eliminates dissolved air and decomposes some of the minerals.
• Fill your ice cube tray with the water and leave it in the freezer.

• Check results.

Crystal clear ice cubes

Good Luck!

ice cubes

Ice cubes are small pieces of ice used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are produced at home by filling an ice cube tray with water and leaving it in a freezer. Some refrigerators are equipped with built in ice maker, which makes ice cubes & stores them in the small bin inside the freezer compartment from where they can be dispensed in the shape of ice cubes or crushed ice directly into your glass.

In commercial setting ice is usually produced in commercial ice machines, capable of large production and storage amounts. Ice from commercial ice machines are mostly cylindrical, and may have holes through the center and are completely clear without clouding found in the center of home made ice cubes. Clear ice comes from machine forming the ice cubes in very thin layers, instead of all freezing all the water at once. Cloudy ice cubes result from rapid water freezing. Oxygen gets trapped in fast freezing water producing cloudy ice cubes. When water is cooled slowly, oxygen & micro bubbles escape slowly from the water. Ice machines use a flowing water to make ice, making the bubbles to be forced away as the cube gets larger.

Drinks in US are served with ice “on the rocks”,  in Europe they could be served with or without ice cubes. Restaurants and bars use ice cubes heavily to save alcohol, because having ice cubes in the glass hides the real amount of alcohol.

Ice cubes can also be crushed into flakes if faster cooling desired or to add some density  to some multi colored cocktails.

Manitowoc commercial ice machines

Shopping for food service equipment could be tough, time consuming and very depressing of you have no idea what kind of refrigeration equipment, kitchen or restaurant equipment do you need. This article was created to guide you in the right direction. Before shopping for commercial ice machines you need to know that ice machines, ice makers, ice cube machines, flake machines, nugget machines, ice dispensers share the same main feature, which is ice making, the only thing that differs is the size, shape and the texture of the ice.

There are 2 types of commercial ice machines: water cooled & air cooled. Water cooled ice machines use water to cool the heated ice machines and air cooled ice machines uses air to cool down the machine. There are many different ice machine manufacturers on the market, but the most trusted and more reliable are Manitowoc, Scotsman, SerVend, ICE-O-Matic, Follett.

Water cooled ice machines are usually less noisier than air cooled ice machines and can effectively operate in extremely hot conditions, but air cooled ice machines are more energy efficient and cost effective. The main disadvantage of water cooled ice machines is the water consumption. Water which is used to cool the ice machine, gets drained instead of recirculating to effectively produce large capacities of ice very fast.  Before buying an ice machine you need to know the size of the machine that will fit in your place and the production capacity that you need. If you need an ice machine for your home of office where you don’t need high production capacity, than the width ranging from 14″ to 22″ and the ice production capacity around 65lb and more daily will more than enough for home or small office use. For restaurants and large cafeterias I would recommend using ice machines with the width ranging from 30″ to 48″ wide and production capacities from 450lb to 330lb daily, depending on the amount of customers and ice consumption. Most of the commercial ice machines come supplied with water overfilling prevention features. Another consideration is the shape, texture and size of the ice you want your machine to make. Ice flakers make chipped ice for beverages, while other ice makers make large cubes. Ice dispensers or Ice machines that produce flakes are mostly used in offices or small businesses. You may also take into consideration water filters which filter water, smells and make the ice cubes clear.

Where to buy?

The best place for buying air-cooled or water-cooled commercial ice machine and other commercial refrigeration equipment is CKitchen.com

CKitchen.com is 25 years in commercial kitchen and restaurant equipment business. CKitchen.com carries full line of commercial ice machines, ice makers, flaker ice machines, nugget ice machines & ice machine accessories from the most trusted names in the food service equipment industry, such as Manitowoc, Scotsman, SerVend, Ice O Matic and Follett. CKitchen.com also offers the lowest prices on commercial equipment, and if you have found a lower price somewhere, CKitchen.com will match that price!