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Sounds like you need a shaved ice machine! Good choice! You obviously understand that shaved ice is much fluffier than snow cones.
Now there are two types of shaved ice machines that you need to choose between. There are shaved ice machines that use block ice and shaved ice machines that use cube ice. Not sure which one you need? Please review the information below, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the type of machine that will work best for you!
The following are a few questions you need to ask yourself when choosing the best shaved ice shaver for your business.
- 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 tubs or you can buy a block ice maker.
- What type of ice shavers does your competition use? If your prospective customers are accustomed to ice from block ice shavers, you may want to choose the block ice shaver to stay competitive. If your prospective customers are accustomed to shaved ice from cube ice shavers, you may prefer the cube ice shaver due the convenience.
- Who will be using the ice shaver? If the ice shaver is being used by numerous people, the cube ice shaver may be your best choice. For example, at school athletic concession stands, the same people may not be operating the ice shaver from week to week. Often volunteers are used at these concession stands. As a result, the person operating the ice shaver will vary. The cube ice shaver requires the least amount of training and will most likely work best in these type of situations. 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 is needed to properly train your employees.
- What do you mean by cube ice? We are referring to any type of chuck ice, bag ice, or cube ice. Please note that the ice does not have to be perfectly square. The most common type of cube ice can be found at your local convenience store. Our cube ice shavers will take almost any type of ice that is less than 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Also, flake ice or crushed ice is not the same as cube ice. Flake ice or crushed ice will not work well with any of our cube ice shavers.
- 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.
- Who are your customers?A major thing to consider 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 need to produce a high quality product. For this, please consider the block machines for top quality fluffy snow. However, if you are a mobile shaved ice business and your customers vary and generally are not repeat customers, try a cube ice shaver. 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 produce a good quality product that will be sufficient for mobile locations.
- Is your business permanent or mobile? Most mobile businesses use cube ice shavers while most permanent businesses use block ice shavers. Block shavers are generally much bulkier and heavier than their cube ice shaver counterparts. The Cube Ice Shaved Ice Machines are generally much more compact and take up far less space.
Review the chart below to see the differences between the two types of ice shavers. After reviewing the chart, please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link for either the cube ice shavers or block ice shavers.
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Features
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Cube
Shaved Ice Shaver
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Block
Shaved Ice Shaver
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Type of Ice used
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Uses cube ice only
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Uses
block ice only, ice must be tempered to correct temperature
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Ice Availability
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Cube ice is readily
available in all parts of the country
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Uses block ice only,
block ice is not always readily
available. Look in your local yellow
pages for availability.
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Cost of Ice
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Cube ice is cheaper
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Block ice usually cost a
bit more
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Texture of Snow
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Shaves fluffy snow that is
a bit coarser or more grainy that block shavers, but does a great job!
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Shaves fluffy snow that is
smoother and finer than cube shavers
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Ease of use
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Easiest to use, employees
can learn very quickly.
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Takes some time to get
used to, will take a bit longer to train employees, but overall is very easy
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Durability
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Equal to block shavers
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Equal to cube shavers
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Production
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Shaves ice quicker
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Takes a little, but not
much, more time to shave a cup of ice
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Popularity
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Equal to block shavers
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Equal to cube shavers
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What our customers
are saying...
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Shopping |
Ice Shavers |
Syrups |
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Phone:1-800-742-8334 1-800-Shaved-Ice
1-800-Shaved-Ice
301 Raleigh Street
Newton Grove, NC 28366
Toll Free 1-800-742-8334
Direct 910-594-1691
Fax: (770) 234-6333
email CustomerCare@1-800-Shaved-Ice.com
This site is copyright ©1999-2007 by 1-800-Shaved-Ice.com, Mary Mack's, Inc. All rights reserved. All brand names are protected trademarks of their registered owners and no claim is made otherwise.
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