Tuesday, September 16, 2008


Additional Questions to Aid in Choosing a Shaved Ice Machine




The following are a few questions you need to ask yourself when deciding the best ice shaver for your business.

1. Is block ice available in your area? If not, a cube ice shaver may be your best choice. If you still prefer a block ice shaver you can make your own ice blocks using our block ice molds or by purchasing one of our block ice makers. We offer either round or rectangular block ice molds to fit the different types of block ice machines. The round block ice molds fit our Swan and Hatsuyuki Block Ice Shavers, where as the rectangular ice molds fit the New Orleans Snow Block Ice Shaver and the “Olde New Orleans” Block Shaver. Ice that is produced from our round block ice molds is 7 ½” in diameter. Our rectangular ice molds produce ice that is approximately 5 1/2" w x 5 1/2" h x 14 1/2" l. With both types of ice molds, block ice will be produced within 2 to 3 days.

2. What type of ice shavers does your competition use? If your prospective customers are accustomed to ice from block ice shavers you may prefer to purchase a shaved ice block shaver for your business. If your prospective customers are accustomed to ice from cube ice shavers, you may prefer the cube ice shaver.

3. Who will be using the ice shaver? If the ice shaver is being used by a large variety of people, a cube ice shaver may be your best choice. For example, at school athletic concession stands you may have different volunteers from week to week. Thus a cube ice shaver which tends to require the least amount of training will most likely work best in this type of situation. If you have employees that are at your business daily, a block ice shaver should work well. The block ice shavers take a little more skill to operate. Often an hour or two of hands on training are needed to properly train your employees.

4. Who are your customers? A major thing to think about is your customer base. For example, a neighborhood shaved ice stand will be dependent on repeat business. Ideally, customers at neighborhood stands will come back, day after day, week after week. In order to create this loyalty you will have to produce a high quality product. For this, look at the block machines for top quality fluffy snow.
However, if you are mobile shaved ice business and your customers vary are not repeat customers, try a cube ice shaver. An example of this business may be a county fair, parade or festival. Since the repeat business is not as vital to your business, you may not have to rely on the fluffiest ice possible. The cube ice shavers will still produce a good quality product that should be sufficient for mobile locations.

5. How fast do you need to serve customers? If you are at a large festival or carnival and expect a large line of customers, the cube ice shaver may be your best choice. We have cube shavers that can easily serve more than 2000 servings a day. If you needed to serve 2000 people with a block ice shaver you would need 2 to 3 machines.

6. If you business permanent or mobile? Most mobile business use cube ice shavers while most permanent business use block ice shavers. Block shavers are generally much bulkier and heavier than the cube ice shaver counterparts. The cube shaved ice machines are generally much more compact and take up far less space.

By asking yourself these questions and examining your needs and goals for your business, we are confident that you will be able to choose a machine that will benefit your business for years. If you have any questions regarding the best machine for your needs, please feel free to contact us through our website at 1-800-Shaved-Ice.com.

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