How to Choose the Right Commercial Ice Maker

The right commercial ice maker is a silent profit-driver, while the wrong one creates major headaches. A machine that's too small can halt service on a busy night, and an inefficient one will quietly drain your profits through high utility bills. Making a smart choice upfront protects your investment. This guide is your playbook for getting it right. We'll debunk common myths, explain the real-world differences between ice types, and give you a clear maintenance plan. We'll help you find the perfect unit among the many commercial ice makers for sale that works as hard as you do.

When your ice machine stops making ice

The single most common service call we hear about isn't a dead compressor or a sensor failure. It's scale. Mineral buildup from untreated water coats the evaporator, blocks the float switch, fouls the harvest probe, and stops production cold. Industry data shows roughly 60 percent of "no ice" calls trace back to water or power issues operators can resolve themselves, and roughly 70 percent of all breakdowns are preventable with routine descale and filter changes. Before you call a tech, walk this checklist.

Symptom	Most likely cause	What to try first
No ice, no water flowing in	Closed inlet valve, kinked supply line, clogged inlet screen, or water pressure below 20 PSI	Open the saddle valve, straighten the line, pull and rinse the inlet screen, confirm at least 20 PSI at the inlet
Long freeze cycles, thin or cloudy cubes	Dirty condenser coil or warm condenser air	Vacuum and brush the condenser fins, confirm 6 inches of clearance, check intake temp
Machine runs but produces almost nothing	Scale on the evaporator plate. Just 1/8 inch of scale can cut output by 25 percent	Run a full descale cycle with manufacturer cleaner, then sanitize. After a thorough descale, production often recovers 30 to 40 percent and energy use drops 10 to 25 percent
Harvest stalls, ice frozen to plate	Hot gas valve or harvest probe fault	Verify probe contact, check valve coil voltage during harvest
Production drops in summer only	Ambient temp above 90F or water temp above 70F. Manufacturer ratings are lab conditions, real kitchens run hotter	Add ventilation, move the machine off a hot wall, or upgrade to a water-cooled or remote condenser unit
Slow drain, water pooling in bin	Drain line clog, sagging line, or uphill run	Snake the drain, confirm continuous downward slope from machine to floor drain (gravity drain only, no uphill segments), check the floor drain itself
"Bin full" light on with empty bin	Faulty bin thermostat or stuck reed switch	Wipe the sensor, test continuity, replace the switch if it sticks
Compressor short cycles	Low refrigerant charge or failing capacitor	Call a tech. This one is not a DIY fix and forcing it shortens compressor life

If you've already covered the basics on regular descale and condenser cleaning and the machine still won't perform, the issue is usually downstream of operator maintenance. Average commercial ice machine repair costs run around $708 per incident with peaks past $2,000 for major component failures, and repair work is typically warrantied for 30 to 90 days. Independent techs bill $100 to $200 per hour and refrigerant work requires EPA Section 608 certification. The 50 percent rule applies: if a single repair quote exceeds half the cost of replacement ($3,000 to $10,000 for a new commercial unit), replace rather than repair. If a replacement is on the table, restaurant equipment financing usually beats writing a check on a downed machine.

Common fault patterns to know before you call a tech

Controllers flash a code or display a short error when something is wrong. The exact code varies by manufacturer, but the underlying faults are the same across brands. Match what you see to the pattern below before paying for a service trip.

Fault pattern	What it means	First fix
Long freeze cycle	Water supply restricted, dirty condenser, or scale on evaporator	Check supply pressure at 20 PSI or higher, clean inlet, descale evaporator, vacuum condenser fins
Long harvest cycle	Hot gas valve sticking, harvest assist or sensor fault, dump valve issue	Check hot gas valve coil voltage, harvest assist arm movement, water dump valve operation
Thin or hollow ice	Ice thickness probe drift, scale on evaporator, or low water curtain seal	Adjust ice thickness probe, descale, check water curtain alignment
Float switch or fill fault	Stuck float, low water level, or bad fill valve coil	Clean float, verify inlet pressure, check fill valve coil
High discharge temperature	Dirty condenser, high ambient or water temp, or refrigerant overcharge	Clean condenser, confirm 6 inches clearance and ambient under 90F, log inlet water temp
No water	Closed supply valve, clogged inlet screen, or kinked line	Open the saddle valve, pull and rinse the inlet screen, straighten the line
High temperature sensor fault (Atosa YR / YRM E1)	Sensor connection loose or condenser temp out of range	Verify sensor connection, clean condenser, check ambient temp
Evaporator sensor fault (Atosa YR / YRM E2)	Sensor wiring loose or probe not contacting evaporator	Inspect sensor wiring and probe contact with evaporator

One note on Atosa specifically: descale frequency matters more than diagnostic codes for these units. Operators who follow the 6-month Atosa cleaning schedule rarely see error states at all. Hard water markets should descale every 4 months instead. The full Atosa lineup lives on the Atosa ice machines collection.

Sizing the right machine for your operation

Ratings printed on the spec sheet are lab numbers. Real kitchens run warmer, water enters cooler, and your busiest day is what determines whether you'll have ice at 7 pm on a Saturday. Plan for peak, not average, and add a 20 percent buffer. Three sizing formulas to cross-check against each other:

Operation type	Sizing formula	Why this number
Full-service restaurant	1.5 to 2 lb of ice per customer per day	Covers fountain drinks, water service, line cooking, garnish
Bar and cocktail lounge	3 lb of ice per seat per day	Cocktails on the rocks plus shaker dilution add up fast
Quick-service or beverage-heavy	100 lb of ice per 500 drinks served	Works well for cafes, smoothie shops, fountain-heavy concepts

Cross-check against your daily customer count, then add 20 percent. A 24-hour cycle bin rule applies on top of that: the bin should hold a full day of peak production so a slow night recovers what a busy lunch drew down. Modular head-on-bin systems are the best fit for high-volume operations because you can pair a 600 lb head with an 800 lb bin and upsize either component later. Most major manufacturers publish online production calculators that factor in ambient temperature and water temperature, which we recommend running before you commit. For bar-specific load planning, the bar ice machine guide walks through cocktail program math separately, and the ice maker for restaurant guide covers full-service sizing in more detail.

Storage bins, ice retention, and bin sizing

An undersized bin chokes production. The machine fills the bin, shuts off, and waits. By the time staff dig out the last of the morning ice, the machine is starting from cold and you're short for lunch. The fix is sizing the bin to hold roughly 70 percent of your peak-day production. Bins come in four main formats, with capacity ranges from 200 lb to over 4,000 lb in the largest field-erected systems:

• Modular bins sit under a separate ice head, top-kit adapter required. Best for high-capacity or growing operations. Capacity 265 to 800-plus lb. Multiple heads can stack on one large bin for extreme volume.
• Self-contained units combine head and bin in one cabinet. Simpler install, lower ceiling on capacity. Typical undercounter footprint runs 80 to 100 lb production with 24 to 33 lb of integrated storage.
• Drop-in bins sit front-of-house at service stations, usually under a soda fountain or bar well.
• High-capacity floor bins handle 300 to 1,400 lb for hotel ice stations and bagging operations. Freestanding ice storage boxes (Atosa CYR400P at 395 lb and Atosa CYR700P at 700 lb) sit on a back-line floor and hold reserve ice without a chiller, with portable Styrofoam options good for 18 to 24 hours when transporting.

Daily production	Recommended bin capacity	Typical bin model size
150 lb / day	100 to 130 lb	B-style bin, around 22 inches wide
300 lb / day	200 to 260 lb	Standard bin, 30 inches wide
500 lb / day	350 to 450 lb	Large bin, 30 to 48 inches wide
800 lb / day	500 to 600 lb	48 inches wide, often with top-kit adapter
1,200+ lb / day	800 to 1,000 lb	60 inches wide or modular twin bins

NSF certification is non-negotiable for any bin that contacts ice. Foam-in-place insulation is the industry standard for retention, and polyethylene liners with antimicrobial properties resist slime growth between cleanings. NSF specifies a 6-month minimum sanitization interval for storage bins regardless of how often the ice machine itself is descaled. Bin and machine compatibility comes down to the top kit (the gasketed adapter that lets the modular ice head sit on a bin from a different manufacturer). Most major brands offer cross-compatible top kits, but verify before you buy. Some bins use a sliding ice gate that simplifies FIFO rotation, and most modern bins include overflow sensors plus automatic shut-off to prevent the head from over-running the storage.

Cleaning, sanitizing, and the cost of skipping it

The FDA Food Code classifies ice as food, which puts ice machines under the same rules that govern prep tables and walk-ins. A neglected machine grows biofilm that harbors Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli, and FDA fines for contaminated ice have reached $500,000. The clear ice machine cleaning market is large for a reason: the commercial ice equipment market hit $5.3 billion globally with the IoT-monitored ice segment alone projected to grow from $3.8 billion to $7.7 billion between 2025 and 2035.

Most manufacturers specify a minimum of twice per year deep cleaning, and a 3-step process is the industry standard:

1. Descale with a phosphoric or citric acid descaler to remove mineral scale. Avoid nitric, sulfuric, hydrochloric, or carbolic acid. Avoid salt-based cleaners which cause pitting on stainless evaporators.
2. Disinfect with a quaternary ammonium sanitizer or manufacturer-spec disinfectant.
3. Sanitize all food-contact surfaces and the storage bin.

Never mix descaler with sanitizer. Combining acid descalers with chlorine-based sanitizers releases chlorine gas, which is a real hazard in a closed back-of-house. A $1,200 evaporator replacement is a common bill from operators who used the wrong cleaner and pitted the plate. A full cleaning cycle runs 20 to 45 minutes with a 2 to 10 minute dwell time per the cleaner label.

Operation scenario	Recommended deep clean cadence	Why
Office breakroom, low-volume cafe	Every 6 months	NSF baseline, light biofilm load
Standard restaurant, soft water	Every 4 to 6 months	Manufacturer published interval
Bakery, brewery, dairy-adjacent	Every 3 months	Higher airborne yeast and lactose load
Open kitchen near fryers and ovens	Every 1 to 2 months	Grease aerosols foul the condenser and air filter

UV-C lamps and antimicrobial liners help between cleanings but don't replace the descale-disinfect-sanitize cycle. UV-C lamps run 8,000 hours of service life and cost $150 to $300 to replace. The black light test is a quick way to spot biofilm: shine a UV light into a clean bin and any green or pink fluorescence is bacterial residue. DIY cleaning supplies typically run $150 to $300 per year. A pro cleaning contract runs $300 to $600 per year. After a full clean, expect 10 to 25 percent energy savings and a production recovery in the range of 30 to 40 percent in machines that had visible scale (production has bounced from 200 lb back to 278 lb in real operator case studies). For countertop reservoir units, distilled water plus a 1:10 vinegar to water rinse cleans light-duty residue. Water filtration is the upstream fix that drops cleaning frequency: a 1/8 inch coating of scale on the evaporator translates to a 25 percent energy hit.

Specialty ice shapes and where they belong

Cube ice is the workhorse, but specialty shapes drive enough searches that they deserve their own section. Each shape has a use case where it outperforms cube, and a few where it falls flat.

Shape	How it's made	Best for	Avoid for
Full cube	Vertical or horizontal evaporator, slow freeze	Whiskey, slow-melt drinks, displays	Blended drinks (too dense for blade)
Half cube	Same as full, smaller mold	High-volume soda, mixed drinks, ice tea	Whiskey purists
Crescent	Vertical evaporator with curved cells	Bar service, tumbles freely in glass for even chill, slow melt	Cocktail purists who want a single large clear cube
Nugget / pebble / sonic	Auger compression, ~90 percent ice ratio, chewable	Healthcare, soft drinks, smoothies, urgent care. Softer on blender blades	Spirit-forward drinks (melts fast)
Flake	Auger scrape of freezing drum, no compression, high water content	Seafood display, salad bars, blended frozen drinks. Conforms to shape	Beverages (too watery, melts too fast)
Crushed	Mechanical crush of cube	Sno-cones, frozen drinks, presentation	Long-hold beverage service
Gourmet / top hat / octagon / thimble	Vertical evaporator with layered freeze, ~100 percent ice-to-water ratio, virtually odorless and tasteless	Craft cocktails, hotel banquet, fine dining, premium spirits neat	High-volume operations (low yield, slower production)
Sphere / large-format cube	Specialty mold	Spirits served neat, hotel banquet	Standard well drinks
Bullet	Compact mold	Premium cocktail presentation with minimal clumping in storage bin	General use
Italian ice / granita	Continuous-batch freezer with auger	Dessert, summer concept, kiosks	General beverage use (it's flavored)

Chick-fil-A is the most-asked-about example of nugget ice in a chain, and that chewable texture is why nugget gets searched more than any other specialty shape. If you want to chase that traffic in a cafe or healthcare setting, a nugget unit in the 300 to 500 lb range covers most operations.

Gourmet ice: why upscale bars pay for the slow melt

Gourmet ice is made on a vertical evaporator with water flowing in layers over a chilled surface. That process pushes out air bubbles, minerals, and dissolved gases that cause cloudiness, so what comes off the plate is a crystal-clear cube with an ice-to-water ratio close to 100 percent. Because the cube is dense and has less surface area than chipped or nugget ice, it melts slowly and chills the drink without quickly watering it down. The first sip and the last sip taste the same. That single fact is why fine-dining bars, craft cocktail programs, and hotel banquet services pay a premium for gourmet machines.

Application	Why gourmet wins	Recommended pick
Craft cocktail bar	Clear, dense cube protects spirit flavor and presentation	Atosa YRU0140A-161 undercounter for the well
Hotel banquet and event service	Premium look in high-visibility glassware	ITV DELTA NG 150 for 150 lb/day gourmet cube
Fine-dining iced beverage program	Slow melt for premium iced coffee, top-shelf spirits, and house-mixed sodas	ITV DELTA NG 120 gourmet cube undercounter

Gourmet machines run from $3,000 entry-level for high-end light commercial undercounter units up to $9,000 or more for high-capacity commercial models. Production scales from roughly 26 lb per day on the smallest undercounter to 120 lb or more per day on commercial undercounter units. Most undercounter gourmet models fit a 15 inch wide opening under a 34 to 40 inch counter, with stainless or custom-panel options to blend with cabinetry. Built-in models require a dedicated water line and floor drain, and built-in plumbing adds to the total install cost if your space isn't pre-plumbed. Equipment financing spreads the gourmet premium over 36 to 60 months, which usually pencils out faster than the additional drink margin from a clear-cube cocktail program.

Gourmet machines do use slightly more energy per pound of ice than standard cube machines because of the slow freeze, but ENERGY STAR certified models bring the per-batch consumption back in line with standard cubers. The 2 lb per customer and 3 lb per seat formulas still apply when sizing a gourmet machine, but always add at least the 20 percent buffer because gourmet cycles run longer.

Pebble and nugget machines: cooling systems, certifications, and cost

Pebble ice (also called nugget) is auger-extruded: ice flakes are scraped off a freezing surface and compressed into small, chewable nuggets with a roughly 90 percent ice-to-water ratio. The auger and extruder are the hardest-working components and need the closest maintenance attention. Pebble machines split into three cooling configurations:

Cooling system	Best for	Trade-off
Air-cooled (about 80 percent of market)	Most kitchens with ambient under 90F and 6 inches of clearance	Suffers in hot or poorly ventilated rooms, can lose 20 to 30 percent of rated capacity
Water-cooled	Hot kitchens, quieter front-of-house installs	Hundreds of dollars per year in extra water, restricted in some municipalities
Remote condenser	Upscale environments where noise and heat must stay out of the dining room	Higher upfront cost, requires professional install, condenser sits outside or in mechanical room

Look for four certifications when buying a pebble or nugget unit. NSF is non-negotiable because ice is a food product. ENERGY STAR certified ice makers use 10 to 20 percent less energy and water, which on a 24/7 machine adds up to 15 percent off the utility bill (about $170 per year on a typical commercial unit). UL or ETL is the electrical safety mark required by most building codes and insurance policies. ADA-compliant models put controls and dispensers within reach for self-service deployment. Pebble ice has roughly 10 percent water content, which is why it clumps in a warm bin; rotate the ice in storage to keep it free-flowing.

Pebble machines run $3,000 to $9,000 for commercial units. Touch-free sensor-activated ice and water dispensers add a hygiene layer for hotel lobbies, hospital cafeterias, and office breakrooms, and storage capacities on those combo units go up to 500 lb. Modular pebble setups pair a high-production head (often 600 to 1,000 lb per day) with a separate 265 to 800-plus lb bin, with the option to stack a second head on one bin for extreme volume.

Used and refurbished, when it makes sense, when it does not

Buying used can shave 40 to 60 percent off the sticker, but the math only works if the machine has years of useful life left. Compressor hours matter more than calendar age. A 5-year-old machine that ran 12 hours a day in a Texas summer is more worn than a 10-year-old hotel unit that ran 6 hours a day in conditioned air. Quick-service downtime can run $1,000 per day in lost revenue at a busy concept, and the 50 percent rule on repair-versus-replace applies hardest on used purchases.

Before you sign anything, inspect or have a tech inspect:

• Evaporator plate for pitting (salt or wrong-cleaner damage), scale, or copper corrosion
• Condenser fins for damage, oil residue (a sign of a slow refrigerant leak), and cleanliness
• Compressor amp draw against the nameplate (a tech can read this in 5 minutes). Compressor replacement runs $1,000 to $2,500-plus and evaporator replacement $1,200 to $2,800-plus
• Bin gaskets and door hinges for splits and rust
• Water dump valve and inlet solenoid for sticking
• Service records showing descale dates and any major repairs

Red flag	Why it matters	Walk-away or negotiate?
No service records	You have no idea if it was descaled or repaired	Walk away unless price is under 25 percent of new
R-22 refrigerant unit	R-22 was phased out in 2020, refrigerant is now expensive and scarce. Refrigerant work needs EPA 608 certification	Walk away unless price covers full R-410A retrofit
Heavy scale on evaporator	Production capacity is already compromised, may not recover	Negotiate hard, factor in pro descale and possible plate replacement
Cracked or warped bin	Cold loss and sanitation problems	Negotiate for bin replacement cost
Compressor over 30,000 hours	End of typical service life	Treat as a salvage purchase, not a working asset

The total-cost math: a new 350 lb undercounter with financing runs around $90 to $130 per month over 60 months. A used unit at $1,800 with a fresh compressor swap ($800 plus labor) gets you to $2,600 plus the risk you bought a lemon. New-with-financing usually wins once you price in service calls and downtime. Repairs account for roughly 80 percent of total ice machine cost of ownership over a 10 to 15 year life, so a clean service history is worth real money at purchase. We cover that comparison in detail in the ice maker financing breakdown.

Ice machine as a business, buying or starting one

Restaurants buy ice machines to support their operation. Some operators buy them to be the operation. An ice business can run as bagged retail (gas stations, grocery), unattended vending (parking lots, marinas), or wholesale to restaurants and caterers. Margins range from 50 to 80 percent on the ice itself once equipment is paid off. The clear ice segment alone hit $2.44 billion in 2024 with premium cocktail ice driving growth.

Capex is the gating factor. A small bagged-ice operation needs a 1,500 to 2,000 lb-per-day production unit, a walk-in freezer for storage, a bagger, and a truck, typically $50,000 to $120,000 to start. A vending route can run lower if you buy used Twice the Ice or Kooler Ice machines, but each location adds capex.

If you're evaluating an ice business that's already for sale, look for:

• Production capacity headroom: is the machine running at 90 percent capacity (no growth left) or 50 percent (room to scale)?
• Route revenue stability: how concentrated is the customer base, how long are the agreements?
• Equipment age and maintenance records: same as buying any used unit, scale and compressor hours decide value
• Permitting and water source: some municipalities require dedicated water meters or grease traps for ice operations
• Seasonal cash flow: ice is heavily summer-weighted in most markets, plan for 6 months of working capital

What we stock and how to pick

We stock two ice machine brands: Atosa for value-driven commercial production and storage, and ITV for gourmet cube and high-volume flake or nugget. Here's how to choose between them.

Need	Pick	Why
Undercounter for bar or small restaurant, 140 lb/day	Atosa YRU0140A-161	Best value per pound, simple controls, half-dice cube fits most service applications
Undercounter, 283 lb/day capacity	Atosa YR280-AP-161	Steps up production while keeping the undercounter footprint
Modular head + separate bin, 350 lb/day	Atosa YRS0350A-161	22-inch half-dice modular, pairs with any compatible storage bin below
Modular head, 600 to 800 lb/day	Atosa YRM0600A-261 or YRM0800A-261	30-inch half-dice, 208-230V, top of the Atosa line for high-volume restaurants and bars
Hotel-style countertop dispenser	Atosa HD350-AP-161	Hotel ice machine with integrated dispenser for self-service
Storage bin, 300 to 400 lb	Atosa BYR0300 or BYR0400	Bin-only for pairing with a modular head
Storage bin, 395 to 700 lb	Atosa CYR400P or CYR700P	High-capacity floor bins for hotel ice stations or bagging
Gourmet clear cube, 80 to 150 lb/day	ITV DELTA NG 80, DELTA NG 120, or DELTA NG 150	Slow-freeze clear cube for craft cocktail and fine-dining beverage programs

If you want the Atosa-specific breakdown including parts and cleaning, the Atosa ice machine review has more detail. To browse the full lineup, the commercial ice machine collection shows current stock and pricing, and the ice maker machines sale page tracks the open promotions.

Install checklist for any new machine

Not sure which configuration fits your space? Our team walks operators through sizing and install questions over the phone or email; reach out through the contact page with your peak day customer count, bar seat count, and a rough kitchen layout and we'll come back with a 2 or 3 model shortlist. Below is the checklist we run before any new machine ships.

Install errors cause more first-90-day problems than manufacturing defects. Run this list before delivery:

• Dedicated electrical circuit at the right voltage for the machine
• Cold water supply line at minimum 20 PSI
• Floor drain within reach for both meltwater and cleaning purge water
• Air-cooled: 6 inches of clearance on intake and exhaust, away from fryers, ovens, and direct sunlight
• Machine perfectly level so water flows correctly over the evaporator plate
• Sanitize before first use, per manufacturer instructions
• Water filter installed and dated. Replace every 6 months
• Drain line on a continuous downward slope, no kinks, no uphill segments (gravity drain)
• Outdoor installs use only outdoor-rated stainless steel cabinets. Indoor units installed outside will fail

FAQ

Does a commercial ice maker keep ice frozen once it's made?

Yes. Commercial undercounter and self-contained units have insulated storage bins designed to hold ice at or just below 32F. Some melt is normal and the meltwater drains away. Countertop residential ice makers without insulated storage are a different category and don't keep ice frozen indefinitely. If you need ice held in storage for hours, an undercounter or self-contained commercial unit is the right pick.

What brand and shape of ice does Chick-fil-A use?

Chick-fil-A is best known for nugget ice (sometimes called pebble or sonic ice). The chewable texture comes from auger-compressed flake rather than molded cubes. If you want that style for a cafe or quick-service concept, a 300 to 500 lb nugget unit is the typical fit.

How long does a commercial ice machine last?

With regular descale (every 6 months in soft water, every 3 to 4 months in hard water), condenser cleaning twice a year, and water filtration, a commercial unit lasts 10 to 15 years. The compressor is usually the limiting part. Skipping maintenance cuts that in half. Repairs account for about 80 percent of total cost of ownership over the machine's lifetime.

How much ice do I actually need?

Plan 1.5 to 2 lb per customer per day in a restaurant, 3 lb per seat per day in a bar, or 100 lb per 500 drinks for cafes and quick-service. Add a 20 percent buffer because manufacturer ratings are lab numbers and real kitchens run hotter. Pair the machine with a bin sized to roughly 70 percent of peak daily production.

Should I buy or rent a commercial ice machine?

Rental makes sense if cash flow is tight, you need a unit installed today, or you operate in a market where pro service is hard to find. Ownership wins over 3+ years on total cost in most cases. The financing route splits the difference: monthly cost similar to rental but you own the asset at the end.

Why is my commercial ice machine not making ice?

The top causes in order: scale on the evaporator (most common), dirty condenser coil, no water supply or pressure below 20 PSI, a stuck float switch or fill valve, ambient or water temperature out of spec, and finally compressor or refrigerant issues. About 60 percent of "no ice" calls resolve at the water or power level and 70 percent of all breakdowns are preventable with routine descale and filter changes. Run the troubleshooting table above before calling a tech and you'll resolve most stoppages in under an hour.

Air-cooled, water-cooled, or remote condenser?

Air-cooled is the default and covers about 80 percent of installs. Water-cooled performs better in hot kitchens and runs quieter but burns hundreds of dollars per year in extra water and may be restricted in your municipality. Remote condensers put the heat and noise outside the building and are worth the upgrade in upscale dining rooms or open-concept bars.

What is the difference between pebble and flake ice?

Pebble (nugget) is auger-extruded and compressed into chewable nuggets with about 90 percent ice-to-water content. It works for beverages because it cools fast without diluting too quickly. Flake is scraped off a freezing drum without compression, so it's much wetter and softer. Flake is the right pick for seafood displays, salad bars, and produce packing where ice needs to mold around the product. Do not put flake ice in a beverage program, it will water drinks down inside a minute.