Post-mix ice and beverage dispensers have one or more chutes to dispense ice from the dispenser storage area and valves that deliver carbonated and non-carb beverages. The ice that fills the dispenser storage area is produced by a separate ice maker. Soda valves on the front of the dispenser are connected to syrup and water lines (either carbonated or still, also called “sweet” water). Mixing of the syrup and water occurs in the valves at pre-established ratios depending on the products being dispensed. The valves can be adjusted in a process called brixing to change the syrup/water ratio to deliver properly flavored beverages.

Post-mix ice and beverage dispensers have evolved from small, manually loaded countertop units with as few as four valves to today’s larger capacity multi-valve units to support the increased importance of post-mix beverages in today's restaurants, cafeterias and convenience store operations. Today’s operators routinely offer 8, 10, 12, 16, or even 20 valves or more. And, faced with today’s tight labor market and concern for labor-savings and employee safety, more operators are moving from manually loading the dispensers to automatically loading them from a top mounted or remote ice maker.

Today’s operators have a number of decisions to make before selecting the type of beverage dispenser that will best meet their needs:

• Configuration
• Automatic versus manual load
• Storage capacity and number of valves
• Integral beverage cooling or separate, mechanical cooling system
• Desired location of dispenser
• Type of ice

Configuration
Ice and beverage dispensers are available as counter top units with the ice stored in the dispenser cabinet above the level of the valves, or as low-profile, undercounter units with the ice stored below the counter. In models with undercounter ice storage, the ice dispensing tower and valves extend as little as 20" above the counter.

The decision to select a countertop or undercounter ice and beverage dispenser depends on the level of aesthetics, safety and convenience desired for the operation. Models with undercounter ice storage are generally preferred in those instances where the facility appearance is very important, where the dispenser will be used in the front of the facility or in a beverage island, or where manual loading is preferred.

• Automatic versus manual load
• Manual load

While automatically loaded ice and beverage dispensers have become increasingly popular with many operators, there can be valid reasons for manually loading the dispenser. With manual load applications, however, the dispenser type should be evaluated carefully to maintain efficiency and safety. Consider that a countertop beverage dispenser can be as tall as 38". When placed on a standard 36" high counter, manual loading takes place at 74" (more than 6 feet) above the floor. Loading the dispenser therefore will require a step stool or ladder and is potentially a safety hazard for staff. Employees carrying heavy ice buckets will need to climb the ladder and lift the ice to the top of the dispenser seven times or more to fill a dispenser storing 150 lbs of ice.

Operators who want a manual load beverage dispenser - perhaps because they already have an ice machine in the back room or because high traffic during lunch or dinner exceeds the dispenser capacity - should investigate ice and beverage dispensers that sit in the counter rather than on it and store ice below the counter rather than above it.

Ice and beverage dispensers with undercounter ice storage allow safe, easy manual loading at waist height, eliminating the need for a ladder or stool. Click here to view examples of ice and beverage dispensers with undercounter ice storage.

A cart to transport the ice from the back room ice maker should also be considered to improve employee efficiency and safety. Click here to view an ice transport cart that allows easy transfer of 75 lbs of ice (in three 25-lb ice totes) at one time.

Automatic load
Operators who want to eliminate the need to manually load an ice and beverage dispenser have two ways to automatically load the dispenser with ice. An ice maker can be mounted on top of most countertop ice and beverage dispensers, or the operator can select a Satellite-fill ice maker that will transport ice to a countertop or undercounter dispenser from 20 or more feet away.

Ice makers that can be used on top of dispensers come in a wide range of production capacities - producing from 200 to 1600 lbs of ice in a 24-hour period. Some manufacturers of beverage dispensers have their own line of cube ice makers that will work with their beverage dispensers. Other ice dispenser manufacturers offer top kits that allow another manufacturer’s ice maker to be mounted on top of the dispenser. The ice made by a top mounted ice maker drops by gravity into the storage area of the dispenser and is then dispensed when the lever or button for ice is pushed.

Top mounting an ice maker on the dispenser is an easy solution, but there are some drawbacks. It is often very difficult to clean the dispenser storage area because the ice maker covers the majority of the dispenser top and there is little access room for cleaning. A second drawback is size. The combination of dispenser and ice maker together can result in a unit with a height of 73" or more. When placed on a standard 36" counter, the unit can tower 9 feet above the floor. This means that the dispensers cannot be used in beverage islands without obstructing the view within the facility, nor will this arrangement fit under 8' soffits, often used for merchandising.

To avoid the problems associated with top mounted ice makers, operators can select a Satellite-fill ice machine to fill the ice and beverage dispenser. The ice maker can be located under a counter, in the back room (with the bag-in-box system, for example), or anywhere 20 feet or more from the dispenser. This ability to remotely fill the dispenser provides a number of advantages. Because the ice maker is not physically mounted on the dispenser, the dispenser top is unobstructed, allowing easy, fast cleaning of the dispenser storage area. With no ice maker on top, the dispenser height is much lower, allowing the dispenser to be located anywhere in the facility without detracting from the facility appearance or obstructing the visibility to other areas within the facility. And finally, the heat and noise associated with making ice are removed from the customer area.

Before selecting any ice maker to automatically fill your beverage dispenser it is recommended that you review the section on ice types. There are substantial differences in operating costs and efficiencies between machines that make cube ice and those that make compressed nuggets. These differences have can have a significant impact on the bottom line of the operation.

Beverage cooling
Ice dispensed into the cup maintains drink carbonation, preserves drink taste and keeps the beverage refreshingly cold during the consumption period. For carbonated sodas the water and syrup in the beverage lines must also be chilled to prevent foaming and maintain drink quality. There are two ways to chill the beverage lines - use ice from the storage area of the dispenser (called integral beverage cooling) or use a separate mechanical cooling system. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system.

Integral beverage cooling
Dispensers with integral beverage cooling use either a cold plate or ice-waterbath system to cool the beverage lines. Since both can use up to 50% of the ice in storage to accomplish this, integral beverage cooling must be included in your calculations to determine how much capacity you need. If you expect to dispense 200 lbs of ice into cups during the course of a day, you will also use 200 lbs of ice to chill your beverage lines. Your total ice consumption requirement would therefore be 400 lbs.

Cold plates are the most common type of integral beverage cooling system. Located below the dispenser storage bin, cold plates usually consist of an aluminum plate through which the carbonated water and syrup lines are run before they connect to the back of the soda valves. As ice is dispensed into a cup, ice also drops through a hole in the back of the dispenser storage area onto the plate. Heat transfer occurs between the warm product in the beverage lines and the cold ice in physical contact with the aluminum. Cooling of the lines occurs as long as there is ice on top of the cold plate.

Although simple and inexpensive, there are disadvantages to cold plate systems. Because they require physical contact between the ice and the cold plate surface, uneven cooling and warm spots can result. This usually happens when ice forms a “tunnel” as it melts away from the plate in cooling the beverage lines. New ice falling on top of the “tunnel” cannot reach the cold plate and beverage lines running through that area of the plate are not properly chilled. The result will be a warm, foaming and insipid tasting carbonated soda.

In ice-waterbath systems, ice from the dispenser storage area enters a waterbath located in the dispenser cabinet. All syrup and water lines are totally immersed in this 32° ice and water slurry. A pump circulates the icewater slurry in the bath to ensure that beverage lines are cooled consistently. Each time the dispense lever or button is actuated, additional ice enters the ice-waterbath and an automatic timer agitates the waterbath at intervals when no dispensing occurs. This ensures that the temperature of the syrup and water lines is kept consistently cold.

Separate mechanical cooling systems
In some cases it may be preferable to use a separate mechanical cooling system to chill the syrup and water lines. When using a separate cooling system, no ice from the dispenser storage area is needed to chill the beverage lines, so more beverages can be served from the same dispenser. Mechanical cooling systems that accommodate one or multiple dispensers are available from a number of manufacturers. The primary disadvantages are cost and physical size, but in high volume operations, these systems provide a viable alternative to using an integral beverage cooling system.

Sizing the ice and beverage dispenser
As syrup companies have introduced more flavors, operators have followed their lead and selected dispensers with more valves. Operators obviously prefer to sell dispensed beverages with their 60% profit margin over bottles and cans with only 30% margins. Having a good selection at the dispenser is important to profitability.

If you’ll be manually loading the ice and beverage dispenser, the dispenser storage capacity will probably be determined by how many valves you want and how often you are willing to fill the dispenser. More valves require wider dispensers and that means more storage is available. As long as your backroom ice maker capacity is adequate, you can refill the dispenser as many times as necessary to keep up with demand. Be sure to consider other uses for ice when deciding whether your ice maker has enough capacity to meet your needs.

Before calculating the required dispenser capacity, you will need to determine how many dispensers will be needed. Because no more than 360 people an hour can physically access a dispenser without creating a bottleneck, one very large dispenser may provide adequate capacity but not be able to physically accommodate the number of people required. This is especially important for cafeterias and restaurants with high traffic volume during lunch or dinner. To find out how many dispensers are needed, divide the number of patrons expected during an hour peak time by 360. Then size the dispenser(s) based on the average cup size to be used.

You can calculate your ice consumption by determining your average size cup and multiplying its capacity by .40. Using this formula, a 24-oz cup will use a little under 10 oz of ice. Different areas of the country may have different patterns of use. For example, stores in the South generally use more ice than stores in the Northeast.

To estimate how much ice you’ll need each day, multiply your average cup size by the number of beverages you expect to sell and multiply that figure by .40. Then multiply that figure by 1.2 to give yourself a 20% “safety” factor. This will give you the ounces of ice that will be dispensed into customer cups each day. Divide by 16 to convert it to lbs.

But you're not quite done…

You must cool the syrup lines to avoid foaming and to maintain the quality of the delivered drink. Most operators choose ice in the dispenser (integral beverage cooling) to cool their syrup lines rather than a separate mechanical cooling system. (See beverage cooling section) An integral beverage cooling system - whether a cold plate or an ice-waterbath system - can use up to 50% of the ice in storage to cool the syrup lines. So, if you will not be using a separate mechanical cooling system you must include the beverage cooling requirement in your calculations.

For example, if you expect to sell 200 beverages and your average cup size is 24 ounces, and you’ll be using integral beverage cooling to chill your beverage lines:

• Ice for beverages = 24 x .40 x 200 = 1920 oz or 120 lbs.
• Safety factor = 120 lbs x 1.2 = 144 lbs.
• Integral beverage cooling = 144 lbs
• Total daily capacity requirement = 288 lbs of ice
• Location of the dispenser

Dispensed beverages generally return a 60% profit margin, double that of cans or bottles. Because of this, most operators want the beverage center to be highly visible and easily accessible to promote the sales of dispensed beverages. When considering the type of ice and beverage dispenser to select, consider carefully where it will be located and whether the size of the unit will compromise the aesthetic appearance of the facility and/or restrict visibility. Remember that a countertop ice and beverage dispenser with a top mounted ice maker can result in a height of 73" or more. When placed on a standard 36" counter, the unit towers 9 feet above the floor.

To avoid the problems associated with top mounted ice makers, operators can select a remote ice machine to fill the dispenser. A remote ice maker can be located under a counter, in the back room (with the bag-in-box system, for example), or anywhere up to 20 feet from the dispenser. This ability to remotely fill the dispenser provides a number of advantages. Because the ice maker is not physically mounted on the dispenser, the dispenser top is unobstructed, allowing easy and fast cleaning of the dispenser storage area. Without an ice maker on top, the dispenser is considerably shorter and can be located anywhere in the facility without detracting from the facility appearance or restricting visibility. And finally, heat and noise associated with making ice is removed from the customer area.

Another strategy that will allow the dispenser to be located up front or in an island, is to select an ice and beverage dispenser that sits in the counter rather than on it. These dispensers store ice below the counter rather than above it, are available in manual and automatic load configurations, and can extend as little as 20" above the counter height. This low-profile design allows the dispenser to be placed in an island or in the customer area without compromising the appearance of the facility or restricting visibility to other areas. Click here to view an ice and beverage dispenser with undercounter ice storage.