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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on June 15, 2009 at 9:10am

Hey Jill,
I have moved your discussion to Equipment. I don't have any experience with that kind of question, but I know that Brady Butler, who is also one of our wholesale partners, uses the same crushed ice. I will forward this question to him. Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Jill Jinorio on June 15, 2009 at 10:09am

Thanks Jason.

Jason Dominy said:

Hey Jill,
I have moved your discussion to Equipment. I don't have any experience with that kind of question, but I know that Brady Butler, who is also one of our wholesale partners, uses the same crushed ice. I will forward this question to him. Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Brady on June 15, 2009 at 5:29pm

Hi Jill, how are things in sunny Hickory?

Bunch of questions: Are you talking about the tiny little pellet cubes or the kinda wet "flake ice" like they use at the fish counter? (guess I don't hit Zaxby's often enough?) How are the frappes turning out with this ice? What are you using to make your fraps?

Oh, and another, while we're on the subject... you took it apart, scrubbed, and sanitized it really thoroughly right? The inside of most ice machines is pretty nasty... you probably already did this, but some people forget to.

Looking forward to some helpful input from others on this. We actually use a half-cuber at the shop, so can't really speak directly to your issues, but I do know of a couple of shops that use them. Anyone on here?

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Permalink Reply by Jill Jinorio on June 15, 2009 at 6:02pm

Yes, we thoroughly sanitized the unit. It's called a "flaker" so yes, the ice is flaked like at a fish market. The frappes are kind of fluffy, the iced lattes are really good and the italian sodas just lack the glisten of a clear cube.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on June 15, 2009 at 6:08pm

Hmmm... maybe put it on Craigslist and look for a cuber unit?

In the mean time, you could always advertise "famously fluffy frappes" :)?

(Sorry!)

Not sure if you can just change out plates... anyone?

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Permalink Reply by Dave_G on June 15, 2009 at 10:36pm

Watch your power bill go up and up and up.. Especially during the hot months...

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Permalink Reply by Bob Von Kaenel on June 16, 2009 at 8:17am

If you want to switch to cubes you could replace just the head and re-use the current bin, (if it's in good shape). That would be a little bit cheaper than buying a complete new machine. If you like the flakes for the majority of your uses maybe you should just buy a really small cuber for the iced lattes and other drinks that need cubes. It might be a good idea to have a back-up plan ready anyway since flakers are much more prone to breakdown than cubers. There's many more moving parts in a flaker, (gear boxes, shafts, shavers, & augers), that just aren't needed in the cubers. As a veteran of the corporate fast food industry, I can tell you that all the major chains have gone away from flakers because of the frequency and cost of repairs. Also, flake ice melts much more quickly in a soft drink and this makes for a watered-down final product.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Jinorio on June 16, 2009 at 1:43pm

I think I agree on that watered down final product for iced drinks. The frozen blended frappe will hold it's own but not an iced latte.
So I think I will just sell the whole unit including the filter mechanism. Would be costly to change out the head to a cuber and you definitely alerted me to high maintenance costs if the thing breaks down. We already have 2 smaller cube ice machines and thought this would replace those. So, I guess we're off to Craigs List.... Thanks so much. You and everyone else were quite helpful.

Bob Von Kaenel said:

If you want to switch to cubes you could replace just the head and re-use the current bin, (if it's in good shape). That would be a little bit cheaper than buying a complete new machine. If you like the flakes for the majority of your uses maybe you should just buy a really small cuber for the iced lattes and other drinks that need cubes. It might be a good idea to have a back-up plan ready anyway since flakers are much more prone to breakdown than cubers. There's many more moving parts in a flaker, (gear boxes, shafts, shavers, & augers), that just aren't needed in the cubers. As a veteran of the corporate fast food industry, I can tell you that all the major chains have gone away from flakers because of the frequency and cost of repairs. Also, flake ice melts much more quickly in a soft drink and this makes for a watered-down final product.

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