Water-Cooled Ice Makers

Water-cooled ice machines use a constant supply of incoming water to cool refrigerant used in ice production, which can eliminate much of the noise and heat created by air-cooled units. They also can operate in conditions where air-cooled models cannot, including tight spaces and hot environments.
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Water-cooled Ice Machines Details

Water-cooled ice machines should only be used with a water recirculation system, which typically includes a chiller to bring water temperatures to colder-than-ambient temperatures. Because they can require thousands of gallons of water per day, operating one on a water supply from a utility would be very expensive. Their water demand is so high, typically around 100 gallons of water per 100 pounds of ice produced, some governments have even banned their use without recirculation systems.

Those systems are closed loops that continually cycle a supply of water through a facility and its related machinery, and are typically used in large hospitality and industrial settings. That's why water-cooled units are preferred in bigger hotels and particularly those with sizable foodservice operations; in the right settings, they enable large-scale ice production with lower utility costs. These units also can be used to provide ice machines on guest floors without producing unwanted heat and noise.

Beyond that, water-cooled units do have great uses, including in hot settings, those with large amounts of particulates in the air, and tight spaces where air-cooled models would struggle. Finding the right unit for your operation will require deciding what ice type you want and how much of it you'll need.