Our most popular questions revisited: What products does Ice Now sell?

One thing that new customers have in common is that they always have a lot of questions. Some of these questions are answered on our Commonly Asked Questions page, but we didn't have the space to dive in and go too deep. We felt this was a better place to dig in and answer more specific questions. So in the next blog series we're going to re-visit some of the most reoccurring inquiries we get.

At the end, feel free to let us know if you still have questions about the featured topic or if you would like to see a specific question or topic covered in a future post.

What products does Ice Now sell??

Ice Now is still strongly rooted in our base business which is delivering beverage ice to businesses, restaurants, private parties and events. Our drivers have a daily list of customers that need ice and make a route each morning. When an emergency comes up, we contact a driver in that area to cover the delivery as soon as possible. Sometimes that means the driver has to pick up more ice, which is why we need a specific window of time.

But we don't just drop off ice. Sometimes our customers, especially in the case of special events that will span one day or multiple days, don't have anywhere to store the ice they order. This is why Ice Now also has bins, merchandisers, coolers, and trucks available for rent.

Another product category for us are the ice sculptures we sell. These are custom made creations that we deliver directly to an event location. During the time we added this service, ice luges also became very popular. Since most of our customers were serving alcohol at their functions, we received requests for ice luges to. It wasn't a far stretch so we included this product in our repertoire, allowing customers to customize their luge with a logo or design.

Our last service, which is our newest, is the winter snow we provide to customers. Ice Now has snow-making machines both at our Arizona location and in Las Vegas. Our snow professionals make fresh snow by using beverage-quality ice that is crushed and sprayed out a hose wherever we need it. Surprisingly, man-made snow acts exactly like freshly fallen "real" snow. It can be packed into snow balls, used for sledding, and takes a long time to melt (varying of course based on the weather that day).

This is a fairly concise run-down of the services we offer. If you have further questions about this or another topic, feel free to comment below. We will do our best to answer.

Ice Machine Horror: The growth within your drink

Most likely, you've never see the insides of an ice machine. What consumers don't know won't always hurt them. But it might really gross them out.

Restaurants have to meticulous about proper food storage and handling. Patron will peek at the insides of their steak, check their plate before digging in. But who of us has done the same to their drink order? If you've ever chewed an ice cube that tasted just a bit "off", here's the most likely reason why.

Terror in the ice bin

Like any machine in the kitchen, ice machines need to be cleaned. Thoroughly cleaned. At least twice a year.

That means taking it apart, chipping out old stale ice, and sanitizing every piece that touches the ice customers will be drinking in their cup.

Restaurant staff hate this. They don't always have time to clean an ice machine and their hourly pay doesn't make up for the labor involved in proper cleaning of this type of machine. Regardless of not having the right tools to open the machine, wiping out the ice box really doesn't cut it.

That means... horrors like mildew, mold, and stale ice.

Take a look for yourself at some ice machines we have had the pleasure of making right. The before pictures are stomach-churning.

So you tell us... should we handle the cleaning?

A history of refrigeration and ice: How 3 common men, weren't

PP Digital

 

We use it. We love it. But we think very little about surviving summertime without it.

The modern world can barely imagine survival without refrigeration and ice. Who of us in surviving generations can even imagine what it was like to use a cellar?

But something we think of as so “simple” actually isn’t so. It took decades of trial, error, and pure imagination to get machines like the refrigerator and the ice machine to hit mass production. And especially the help of three very common people who refused to be ordinary.

William Cullen

The basis for modern refrigeration is thanks to a demonstration given by William Cullen in 1756 at the University of Glasgow. He operated a medical practice and lectured on chemistry and physiology at the university.

Cullen had curiosity. And curiosity always leads to invention, although it wasn’t until much later that the next curious mind would take his steps in a new direction.

How did he move the gears of invention? The Professor used a pump to cause suction over a container that contained diethyl ether. As the ether was boiled, it absorbed heat and created a small amount of ice.

Impressive as it was, it was not yet useful to anyone.

Michael Faraday

Modern refrigerators took a step forward thanks to techniques presented by Michael Faraday. Faraday was able to change ammonia vapors into a liquid through compression. As it evaporated, the air was cooled.

But Faraday wasn’t a professor. He barely even had earned an education. In fact, at a very early age he apprenticed to bind and sell books. But greatness doesn’t take a back seat to opportunity, and Faraday’s opportunity came in the disguise of a simple trade. Surrounded by books, he spent much time reading through those he bound. He taught himself about all kinds of subjects and discovered a love for science and technology. Eventually, earning his own name in their pages.

Modern historians claim that Albert Einstein kept a photo of Faraday on his wall. And it’s undisputable that Faraday’s experiments had great influence on refrigeration, electrolysis, and electromagnetic induction. Not so common anymore, now is he?

Carlinde

An inventor named Carlinde from Switzerland was the first to make a machine that could actually refrigerate a food item—a drink in fact. In 1874 he found that Faraday’s process could be confined in order to chill his beer.

Who can say Switzerland doesn’t love beer?

The same process was used to later create the freezer which condenses liquid to -18 degrees.

And Then Came Ice

In America, refrigeration became essential for another reason. A condensing system was used by the physician named John Gorrie. He needed ice to keep the room cold where his yellow fever patients slept. In 1851 he patented the ice machine.

Also in the 1800’s, Alexander Twining and James Harrison patented ice making machines although is unclear if they had prior knowledge of Gorrie’s uses.

Andrew Huhl decided to make an ice machine in 1867 specifically for the Texas beef industry. Texas beef production was growing and orders were being shipped further than ever. In 1873, Columbus Iron Works received a contract on that patent and produced ice-makers to sell commercially. Eventually, interest in the company and process ended up in the hands of W.C. Bradley, Co.

Take Not for Granted

Now that you’ve followed along for a crash course in technological history, you’ll know who to thank for the summertime iced drinks you enjoy and the chilled fruit within easy access. In fact, refrigeration and ice is exactly what made it possible to have most of the foods in your refrigerator. Take a look at stickers in the local grocery store. They’ve likely travelled from California, Florida, and South America.

Yes. Tonight as you crack open the fridge, take a moment to thank Cullen, Faraday, and Carlinde for giving you the precious gifts of ice. And the grit to see their ideas through to the end.