Collection: Commercial Ice machine

Types and ice formats

Ice machine selection turns on three things: how much ice per day, what format, and where the unit sits. Hospitality Connect stocks Scotsman, Brema, Polar, Blizzard, Skope, and Bonvue across these formats. Each format has clear use cases — the wrong type doesn't just look unprofessional, it costs money in melt loss and customer complaints. Brands also vary in service availability across Australia, so the right choice depends as much on regional support as on capacity.

• Cube ice (full and half): standard for bars and beverages; 13 g cubes from Brema, gourmet 22 g from Scotsman ECM and ECS series for spirit service.
• Nugget/chewable: soft pellet ice popular for soft-serve drinks, healthcare, and high-volume QSR with refillable cups.
• Flake ice: for seafood displays, salad bars, and medical use — packs around chilled product without crushing or denting.
• Bullet/tube: hollow cylinder; clear, slow-melting, fits drink dispensers efficiently and reduces dilution in spirits.
• Dice and gourmet: crystal-clear premium cubes for spirits and presentation work, typically Scotsman or Brema.

Sizing for your venue

Plan on roughly 1 kg ice per cover per service for venues serving cocktails, double that for high-volume bars and outdoor venues in summer. The Scotsman 23–31 kg/day self-contained units suit small cafés; Polar 20–50 kg/day countertop machines fit secondary stations; Blizzard SN-80 to SN-120 (80–120 kg/day) handle full restaurant service. For high-volume venues, modular cubers paired with NB-series ice storage bins (129–243 kg capacity) decouple production from storage and let machines run at off-peak times to manage demand peaks. A 30% safety margin on calculated demand is standard practice — the cost of running short on a Saturday night dwarfs the small uplift in capital outlay.

Operating considerations

• Air vs water cooled: air-cooled is cheaper but raises ambient kitchen temperature; water-cooled needs supply and drain plumbing but runs cooler in tight spaces.
• Ambient temperature: most machines drop output 20–30% above 32°C ambient — factor for non-air-conditioned bar zones and Queensland summer service.
• Drainage: gravity drain is standard; pump kits available for installations below floor level or where slope is impractical.
• Filtration: inline carbon filters extend element life and produce clearer ice — non-negotiable for hard-water areas.
• Sanitiser cycles: every machine on the HC range supports a manufacturer cleaner cycle; build it into the monthly compliance roster.

Pair with

Fitout an ice room with commercial fridges, merchandising refrigeration, and commercial food display, plus Scotsman cleaner and sanitiser kits to keep machines compliant. For glass-side service, pair with glass wash racks and dolleys for clean handover from wash to ice station.

Why buy an ice machine from Hospitality Connect

• Six brands stocked: Scotsman, Brema, Polar, Blizzard, Skope, Bonvue — sized from 11 kg/day countertops to 243 kg/day modulars.
• Pre-sale sizing help: tell us cover counts and venue type, we'll spec the right output and cooling type.
• Manufacturer warranties carried direct, with national service network for Scotsman and Brema in metro and regional areas.
• Cleaner and sanitiser consumables stocked — keep the unit compliant year-round without sourcing separately.
• Storage bins (NB-193, NB-393, NB-530) sold separately to match modular cubers for flexible installation layouts.
• Freight booked direct to commercial address, with installation coordination on request through preferred trades.

Ice machine care and longevity

• Run a manufacturer-approved cleaner cycle every 3–6 months — biofilm halves output before it's visible to staff.
• Sanitise the bin and scoop weekly; ice is a food, not just a drink ingredient, and biofilm builds quickly in moist storage.
• Change inline water filters at the manufacturer's interval; mineral scale on the evaporator plate is the most common service call.
• Keep 75–100 mm clearance around air-cooled units for condenser airflow; even one summer of restricted airflow shortens compressor life.
• Inspect the door gasket annually; a slack gasket pulls humid air into the bin and forms ice clumps that block dispense.
• Schedule a full service annually — descale, clean condenser, check refrigerant pressures, and verify thermostat calibration.

Need help choosing? Talk to us

Send through your daily cover count, drink mix, and floor plan — our team will recommend kg/day output and cooling type, plus the right storage bin if you're going modular. Trade pricing applies on full ice-station fitouts; freight booked Australia-wide with installation coordination on request.