Talking About Baking

Posted on: 28 June 2017

Setting up your first restaurant space is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming. You need to evaluate all of the appliances that are in the building to determine what will need servicing and what needs complete replacement. Through this process, it's important that you don't overlook the ice machine. It sees a lot of use throughout meal services, which makes it prone to wear. Since a malfunctioning ice machine could leave you in a lurch during your first service, you should know the things to consider if you're trying to decide whether or not to just replace it with a new one.

Why Should You Buy A New Ice Machine?

Ice machines are a great tool for any restaurant kitchen, but they can also be a serious problem. Here are a few things you should consider if you're thinking about just replacing the existing one with a brand new model.

You'll Save On Maintenance Costs - Without knowing how old the existing ice machine is, you have no way to know what kind of maintenance needs it's going to have or how well it was taken care of. This means you could be facing more time down for repairs than actually functioning. The cost of these repairs will add up, not to mention the inconvenience of having no active ice production through your meal services. Sometimes it's better to just replace it and not have to worry about those costs.

You'll Reduce Your Energy Bills - The last thing you want to do is find yourself in over your head financially when the first energy bills come in. Older ice machines are less energy efficient than the newer, more streamlined machines. In addition, as machines age, they often require more energy consumption to continue meeting demands. When you invest in a new model, you'll get the production you need without increasing your monthly electric bills.

You'll Know How It's Cared For - You're sure to have seen the expose videos of the restaurant kitchens with mold and bacteria in the ice machines. Sure, you can clean the existing machine thoroughly and eliminate most of it, but when you don't know the full maintenance history and care of the machine, it's hard to be confident that you've cleaned everything out and aren't facing a potential health risk. When you buy a new machine, you can be confident that you know how well it's been cleaned from the beginning.

You Won't Have To Worry About Production - As ice machines age, they can grow slower in production. This can make it more difficult to meet your meal service and kitchen demands. By investing in a new machine right away, you won't have to worry about slow ice production. You'll have a machine that's running at peak capacity from the beginning.

How Do You Choose An Ice Machine?

If you've decided that it's best to just replace the existing machine, you need to know what you're looking for in a new model. After all, choosing the wrong one could be just as bad as keeping the old one.

Consider the production cycle rating on the ice machine. You need to know that it will produce enough ice to meet the demands of both a busy service cycle and your kitchen's production needs. Think about how much ice you expect to go through, then choose a production cycle that's well beyond it. That way, if you have a rush, you'll be prepared.

You'll also want to know how the ice machine is cooled. It's tempting to invest in an air-cooled system for simplicity. However, unless your kitchen has significant airflow and ventilation, that could lead to disaster. Opt for a water-cooled machine if your kitchen runs somewhat warm, because you won't get significant cooling otherwise.

Visit a site like http://louiswohl.com and talk with a restaurant equipment manufacturer for more information.