Greener ice: Scotsman EcoX offers variety of ice types as well as eco-friendly icemakers

Hubbard Systems says new range recognises demand for specific ice types.

Scotsman has launched a range of icemakers that it says are not only amongst the most eco-friendly on the market, but also produce a wide choice of different ice types.  The EcoX range uses only natural refrigerants and complies fully with upcoming European Union F-Gas Regulations.   It includes machines making gourmet, dice and cubelet/nugget ice cubes, as well as flake and scale ice systems.  It also includes ice dispensers suitable for self-serve and bottomless drinks.

“EcoX represents a huge commitment,” says David Rees, group marketing manager of HTG, the parent company of Hubbard Systems.  “Scotsman is determined to set the pace in the development of eco-friendly ice machines.  However, we also recognise the growing demand from operators for different types of ice for each application – gourmet ice for presentation, cubelet ice for bottomless drinks, dice ice for volume, and so on.  That’s why there has been a dual focus, on the one hand developing greener ice machines, on the other ensuring we also offer a wide choice of ice types.”

Since each ice type requires a different ice making system, the development of so many machines simultaneously has been a major undertaking.  Scotsman also wanted to ensure that, having selected their ice type, buyers also have a choice of production capacity.  Thus there are five different machines producing gourmet supercube ice cubes, with production capacities ranging from 40kg to 170kg of ice per day.

The refrigerants used in the EcoX machines are either Hydrocarbon R290 or Carbon Dioxide R744, depending on the model and system.  EcoX models have an ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential) of zero and a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of three or less.

The AC87 R290 makes gourmet supercube ice cubes.  It is air cooled and produces up to 40kg of ice per day, the equivalent of 2,000 medium (20g) cubes.  It has a storage bin capacity of 19kg (950 cubes) and measures 531mm wide by 600mm deep and 785mm high.