--- title: "Choosing and comparing — Ice Machine Guides" description: "Cube, nugget or flake, air-, water- or remote-cooled, a head on a bin or one undercounter cabinet, and when an aging ice machine is worth a repair and when it…" url: "https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/" --- Cube or nugget, keep or retire # Choosing and comparing guides. Cube, nugget or flake, air-, water- or remote-cooled, a head on a bin or one undercounter cabinet, and when an aging ice machine is worth a repair and when it is time for another. ## Choosing and comparing, guide by guide. Read this section before you spend money on ice: a new bar opening, a clinic adding a patient floor, an office replacing a tired dispenser, or an owner looking at an old ice machine and wondering whether it has one more repair in it. They compare the choices across every maker rather than for one brand, because the questions that matter are about the ice, the room and the building. [All 18 guides](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/) 5-minute read ### [Cube, Nugget or Flake Ice: Two Ways of Freezing and the Job Each One Suits](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/cube-nugget-or-flake-ice/) Batch plates against a turning auger: how each ice is made, what it does in a glass or on a display, the water and upkeep it costs, and why flake stays out of dispensers. 5-minute read ### [Air-Cooled, Water-Cooled or Remote: Where an Ice Machine Sends Its Heat](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/air-water-or-remote-cooled/) Room air, condenser water or a coil on the roof: what each asks of the space and the plumbing, why federal guidance avoids single-pass water, and who cleans what. 4-minute read ### [Repair or Replace an Ice Machine: Scale, Sealed System and the Ice You Actually Need](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-an-ice-machine/) What cleaning and a single part can restore, which repairs are routine, when a compressor on an old or undersized unit tips the balance, and what the 2026 refrigerant rules change. ## Cube or nugget, keep or retire. Three decisions come up again and again. What kind of ice the business actually uses, cube, nugget or flake, which settles the kind of machine before anything else. How the machine gets rid of its heat, into the room, into water or up to a roof, which settles where it can live. And whether a failing machine should be repaired or retired, which depends on its history and its size as much as on the broken part. Each guide draws on the makers' own installation and service manuals and on federal buyer guidance from the Department of Energy and ENERGY STAR, and cites them beside the claims they back. When one maker's figure differs from another's, both are given, with the series each applies to. None of this replaces a look at the site. The drain run, the water supply, the power circuit and the space around the vents often decide more than the brochure does, and a short visit before ordering can prevent a machine that fits the budget but not the room. [Not sure where to start?](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Cube, Nugget or Flake Ice: Two Ways of Freezing and the Job Each One Suits Cube, nugget or flake ice comes from two kinds of machine. ### The short answer Air-Cooled, Water-Cooled or Remote: Where an Ice Machine Sends Its Heat An air-cooled or water-cooled ice machine differs in where its heat goes. ### The short answer Repair or Replace an Ice Machine: Scale, Sealed System and the Ice You Actually Need To repair or replace an ice machine, weigh three questions: whether cleaning and a single part will restore it, whether the cooling system itself has failed on an older machine, and whether it still makes enough ice for the business. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://icemachinerepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 One cycle, watched closely 2. 02 The cause, then the price 3. 03 Parts that travel with us 4. 04 A harvest before we go ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Cloudy, Soft or Wet Ice From an Ice Machine 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Machine Cubes Coming Out Thin, Small or Hollow 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Dispenser Not Dispensing Ice or Water 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Machine Making Too Little Ice for the Rush 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about choosing and comparing. ### Which kind of ice machine suits a small bar? Usually an undercounter or a compact modular cube machine, air-cooled if the bar back has space at the vents. Clear, dense cubes suit spirits, and the undercounter format keeps ice within reach of the bartender. ### Is a self-contained or a modular ice machine better? Self-contained units put the ice-making section and the bin in one cabinet and suit lower volumes. Modular heads sit on a separate bin or dispenser, so capacity and storage can be sized independently and the head can be replaced while the bin stays. ### Does an ENERGY STAR label matter on an ice machine? It covers air-cooled commercial machines and sets limits on both energy and water per 100 pounds of ice. Water-cooled models and ice and water dispensers are outside the program, so the label cannot be compared across them. ### Can you help us choose before we buy an ice machine? Yes. We can look at the room, the drain, the water line and the power supply and tell you which kinds of machine will work there, whichever maker you decide on. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/) What the ice is telling you ### [Common problems](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why an ice machine makes less ice: room heat, a clogged condenser and a slow fill](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/why-an-ice-machine-makes-less-ice/) - [Shallow or hollow ice machine cubes: the trough, scale and the thickness probe](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/why-the-cubes-come-out-small-or-hollow/) - [Ice machine ice that tastes musty, chemical or of the room: from the tap to the bin](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/why-the-ice-tastes-or-smells-off/) Safe checks at the bin and the valve ### [Troubleshooting](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Ice machine checks before booking: power, supply valve, curtain, airflow and the bin](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/ice-machine-checks-before-booking/) - [Reading ice machine lights and codes: status, requests and protective stops](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/reading-ice-machine-lights-and-codes/) - [Finding the ice machine model and serial number on the head, the bin and the screen](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/find-the-ice-machine-model-and-serial/) Habits that keep the bin full for years ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning and Sanitizing an Ice Machine: Descaler First, Sanitizer Second, Never Together](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/cleaning-and-sanitizing-an-ice-machine/) - [Scale and the Ice Machine Water Filter: Purge, Polyphosphate and a Six-Month Cartridge](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/scale-and-the-water-filter/) - [Keeping the Condenser Clean: The Monthly Filter, the Six-Month Coil and the Air Around It](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/keeping-the-condenser-clean/) Keeping the ice, the floor and the room safe ### [Ice hygiene, water and gas](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [Slime and Mold in an Ice Machine: Where It Grows, Why It Returns, What Cleaning Fixes](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/slime-and-mold-in-the-bin/) - [An Ice Machine Leaking on a Busy Floor: Clear the Path, Close the Valve, Then Trace It](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/a-leak-on-a-busy-floor/) - [A Gas Smell Near an Ice Machine: Leave the Room First, Then Call From Outside](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/flammable-refrigerant-and-what-to-do/) Water, drain, air and power ### [Installation and setup](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [The Ice Machine Drain and Its Air Gap: Why the Line Never Touches the Sewer](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/the-drain-and-the-air-gap/) - [Room Heat and Clearance Around an Ice Machine: Give It Air to Breathe](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/room-heat-and-clearance/) - [How to Size an Ice Machine for Your Busiest Day: Output, Bin and Room](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/sizing-an-ice-machine-for-the-day/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Choosing and comparing — Ice Machine Guides](https://icemachinerepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/)** **[Book a visit with IceMachineRepair.center](https://icemachinerepair.center/schedule/)**