Guides · Setting up
Ice machines: buy, rent, or take the free one?
What mine cost, how to size it, and the catch in supplier deals.
Ice is the one thing a bar can't run out of on a Saturday night, and the one piece of kit new owners most often get wrong. Here's what mine cost, and the trap I nearly walked into.
What I paid
In 2021 I bought a Scotsman MCM46 modular ice machine with a storage bin: £2,548.89 plus £250 installation, £3,058.67 with VAT, from a catering-equipment supplier. Delivery was kerbside, so you need two people and a clear path to where it's going.
Buy, rent, or take the "free" one?
Years earlier my drinks wholesaler offered me an ice machine on my account. It's a common deal: the machine is "free" or cheap, and in return you commit to buying your drinks from them. It worked for me at the time, but understand what you're signing: the machine is tied to the contract, the drinks prices are where they make the money back, and if you want to switch supplier the machine goes too.
- Buying outright costs the most on day one and the least over five years. You choose the supplier for everything else.
- Renting suits a new venue that isn't sure of its volumes. Servicing is usually included.
- Supplier-provided is fine if you were going to buy your drinks from them anyway. Read the exit terms.
Sizing it
A machine is rated by how much ice it makes in 24 hours, not how much it stores. A small cocktail bar gets through far more ice than a café: every cocktail is shaken on ice, then served on fresh ice. If in doubt, go one size up and get a bigger storage bin; running out at 10pm is worse than a slightly higher electricity bill.
Keeping the inspector happy
Ice is food. The bin gets cleaned on the schedule, scoops live outside the bin, hands never go in, and the machine gets descaled. The EHO will open the bin, and a slimy one costs you a star.