Ice storage system

Product description and general properties

Ice storage cost savings and flexibilities

Ice storage system facilities in addition to the pure production of flake ice, professional ice handling devices become increasingly important for the user. He has to deal with the fact that he is time-independent in the supply of ice and flexible by the ice storage remains. Ice must not be over-produced and stored so that it remains in the process of storage for too long. Favorable production costs on the one hand, but also the storage costs and the loss of quality of the ice on the other hand always have to be exactly evaluated. In this context, there are usually many logistical and historical questions regarding building extensions and conversions that have to be integrated in a customised manner.

Minimal use of conveyor technology, as it is very cost-intensive, but also smooth logistics from the initial ice production station to the processing and further processing stations must be guaranteed. Especially when using ice conveyor technology in the form of ice conveyor belts, it may look easy from the outside to get to the pick-up point with a few deflections, but it is precisely in the deflections of conveyor belts that the risk increases that the ice will jam in motion or clump together due to the pressure and be blocked by the conveyance of the following flake ice. All the way to a total standstill in the worst case. Ice can harden like stone as a result of pressure and temperature, as we all know. Experience is needed in the design of these systems.

Sometimes, however, one should take the simplified route of placing the flake ice making machine on an elevated frame, i.e. at height, to convey the ice into portable ice boxes underneath to avoid a complicated structure of ice conveyor belts. A little built in height, circumspection in a simple logistic the point of ice production and taking the ice from there to the next points of consumption. Because of the danger of rapid clumping, always keep the logistics as simple as possible. Complexity can quickly turn against reliability. The end customer wants constant and reliable logistics of ice delivery and this should be guaranteed as stable as possible. Our task is to recognise this functional requirement and solve it based on decades of experience.

Utilisation and added value of the product

Ice storage approach

The ice storage approach must be to supply the process with the necessary quantities of stored ice as needed. Thus to compensate for the current demand as well as specific demand peaks of the production process. Intermediate stored, because if necessary in the peak demand of the customer, more ice must be fed to the process necessarily. Ice machines have to produce according to their temporal and technical performance. It can also be that the customer is able to produce chip or plate ice in times of cheapest electricity tariffs and then to temporarily store this ice, in order to supply flexible to its production process.

Ice storage FIFO method

First in – First out

The filling of our ice storage facility from above can be done via conveyor belts, screws or slips connected to the ice machines. We use the FIFO method (First in – First out). The ice first produced chip ice leaves the ice storage first. It is important to preserve the quality and transportability (risk of freezing) of the ice in relation to subsequent processing steps. As self-contained ice storage silo (storage silo closed from all sides), contamination of the ice is prevented.

What is ice storage system?

How ice storage works in our BUCO Ice Storage Silo

Due to the stable discharge screw on the ground, problems of ice block formation and difficult transport from the ice storage silo are no longer present. The ice discharge is carried out via a rotating discharge screw. Our automated flat-bottom unloading system offers significant advantages over other common ice storage and unloading methods. The automated flat-bottom discharge reduces labor costs of manual ice discharge. Thus, the addition of ice can thus uniformly incorporated into the work process continuously-automatically supplied amount of ice. Any power-consuming and time-consuming manual shoveling or chopping the ice is eliminated. Dosing and weighing processes can be applied after the ice discharge.

Technical properties

Is this something we can tackle using Ice Storage Tanks?

Ice storage advantages

  • First in – first out principle (minimum residence time of the produced ice) ice storage
  • Easy assembly due to segmented structure

Ice Storage system specifications

  • Ice storage silos in sizes from 5 to 50 to
  • Completely made of stainless steel
  • Insulations for outdoor installation optionally possible

Ice storage applications and benefits

  • Ice storage flexibility in ice use whenever needed by the operation
  • Ice remains transportable (does not freeze up) and high quality (closed system)

Areas of Application

  • Concrete cooling
  • Chemical processing
  • Pharmaceutical processing
  • Food cooling, such as the cooling of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit

Photos & examples

Automatic ice storage system
Automatic ice storage system
Ice storage system FIFO (First in - First out) method
Ice storage system FIFO (First in - First out) method