First of all, no two businesses are alike and ice usage is rarely consistent even within the same industry. Please use this information as a guideline. You know your business better than anyone. One piece of advice is better to err on the side of caution so you will always have ice on hand.
You should determine your ice production requirements based upon your peak needs. For example, a restaurant may have greater needs Thursday through Saturday evening during dinner, while a convenience store may have consistent requirements during rush hour Monday through Friday and more moderate needs on Saturday and Sunday.
ICE USAGE CHART | |
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(This is a guide only. Your actual usage may vary.) | |
Type of Operation | Approximate Ice Usage Per Day |
Food Service | |
Restaurant: | 1.5 lbs. per person served |
Cocktail Bar: | 3 lbs per seat |
Salad Bar: | 35 lbs. per cubic foot |
Water Glass: | 4 oz. per 10 oz. water glass |
Fast Food/ Self Service: | 5 oz. per 7-10 oz. drink |
8oz. per 12-16 oz. drink | |
12oz. per 18-24 oz. drink | |
Bar: | 3-5 lbs per seat |
Lodging | |
Guest Ice: | 5 lbs. per room |
Restaurant: | 1.5 lbs. per person served |
Cocktail Bar: | 3 lbs. per seat |
Catering / Room service: | 1.5 lbs. per person |
Health Care | |
Hospital Patient: | 10 lbs. per bed |
Nursing Home Patient: | 6 lbs. per bed |
Cafeteria: | 1.5 lbs. per person |
Supermarket/ Convenience Store: | |
Beverage Self-serve: | 6 oz. per 12 oz. drink |
10 oz. per 20 oz. drink | |
16 oz. per 32 oz. drink | |
Product Display/ Packing: | 35 lbs. per cubic foot |
Cold Plate Display: | take 50% of your daily usage & ad it to you daily total(e.g. 200 lbs. per day + 100 lbs. for Cold Plate Display= 300 lbs. daliy requirement) |
Packed Bagged Ice: | No of bags sold daily × lbs. per bag( e.g. 6 five-pound bags sold daily: 6 × 5 lbs. = 30 lbs.) |
Schools | |
Cafeteria: | 1.5 lbs. per student |
SALAD BAR / PRODUCT DISPLAY / ICE PACKING Usage Calculation
Ice usage for packing or for a product display, such as for a salad bar or fresh fish display case, is calculated by cubic feet needed during a 24-hour period. This would be length of the display multiplied by the width of the display multiplied by the depth of the ice pack (L x W x D).
Note that since ice depth is often less than 12 inches, depth in inches will need to be converted to feet by dividing by 12 (e.g. ice pack depth of 6 inches is 6 divided by 12 = 0.5 ft.).
DAILY USAGE CALCULATION
Calculate your daily usage based upon your operation and each type of usage: For example, a restaurant has 100 table seats each with 4 guests per day, a bar with 15 seats, and a salad bar 8 ft. by 3 ft with ice pack depth of 6 inches.
100 table seats x 4 guests = 400 meals x 1.5 = 600 lbs. ice.
15 bar seats x 3 = 30 lbs. ice.
Salad bar 8 ft. x 3 ft. x 0.5 ft = 12 cubic feet x 35 lbs = 420 lbs. ice.
Average Usage/Production Requirement Example:
|
Weekly Usage: 3500 lbs.
3500 lbs. / 7 days = 500 lbs. average daily usage
+ 20% (100 lbs) extra as suggested =
600 lbs Average Daily Production Requirement
in this example. (Your needs and usage will vary.)