Ice in a bar bin melts fastest when melt water cannot drain away, when the lid stays open, when the bin sits next to something hot, or when its insulation is damaged. A bin with a cold plate also melts ice on purpose, because the plate chills the drink lines by passing their heat into the ice.
An ice bin holds ice; it does not make or refrigerate it, so the goal is to slow the melt. Whether you run a drop-in bar ice chest set into the counter or a freestanding bin in the underbar run, the checks below cover the usual causes.
1. Melt water is not draining
Ice sitting in its own melt water turns to slush and melts faster, because water carries heat into the ice better than air does. Look at the bottom of the bin during service. If there is standing water, the drain is blocked, the line sags, or the floor sink it empties into is backing up.
- Remove the ice, clear the drain opening and flush the line with hot water.
- Check that the line runs downhill to the floor sink with no low spot.
- Clean the floor sink basket.
Our FSIB-1836 ice chest and the 19 x 24 in. ice chest list 1 in. NPT copper drain tubing, and the FSIB-CP-182412 cold plate bin has a threaded drain tube. Small lines like these clog with scale and slime, so add them to your cleaning schedule.
2. The lid is left open
Our drop-in and freestanding bins come with sliding lids. A lid that stays open all shift lets warm bar air across the ice the whole time. Closing it between rushes is the cheapest fix on this list.
3. Heat around the bin
Bars pack heat into a small space. Common sources, based on common practice:
- A glass washer or dishwasher next to the bin, which puts out hot, wet air.
- A back bar cooler or bottle cooler blowing its warm exhaust toward the bin. Many underbar coolers breathe through the front grille, so check where the warm air goes.
- Hot glasses or tools set on the lid or rinsed over the bin.
- Bar lights, a heat lamp or a sunny window above the bin.
Move what you can, and keep warm exhaust pointed away from the ice.
4. Damaged insulation
Bar ice bins are insulated. Our drop-in ice bin chest lists foamed-in-place insulation, and the FSIB-1836 and the cold plate bin list insulated bowls. If the outside of the bin sweats, the cabinet under it is wet, or the steel is dented or split, water may have reached the insulation and it no longer works as well. Send us the model and photos and we will help you decide what to do.
5. A cold plate is doing its job
A cold plate bin runs soda and water lines through a cast aluminum plate under the ice. The FSIB-CP-182412 has a 7 circuit cast aluminum cold plate under a 15 x 22 x 12 in. bowl. Each drink poured through the plate takes its heat into the ice, so a busy soda gun means more melt. Plan to refill more often on busy nights, and keep the drain clear, since a cold plate bin makes more melt water.
6. The bin is too small for the rush
A small bin is refilled more often and runs low between refills, and a shallow layer of ice melts faster than a deep one. Our drop-in bins come in 18 x 12, 18 x 24 and 18 x 30 in. sizes, and the FSIB-1836 ice chest has a 34 x 15 x 15 in. bowl. Size for your busiest hour, not your average one.
7. Bottles and cans are stored in the drink ice
Warm bottles pulled from a case and pushed into the bin melt the ice around them, and they create a food safety problem too. The FDA Food Code (section 3-303.11) says ice that has been used to cool the outside of packaged foods such as canned beverages may not then be used as food. Section 3-202.16 says ice for use as food or as a cooling medium must be made from drinking water. Virginia’s adoption uses the same rules (12VAC5-421-520 and 12VAC5-421-390). Keep packaged drinks in a cooler or a separate bin, not in the ice you serve. Your local health department has the final say on how your bar handles ice.
Quick checks during service
- Is there standing water at the bottom of the bin?
- Is the lid closed when nobody is scooping?
- Is anything hot blowing at the bin or sitting on it?
- Is the outside of the bin dry?
- Are any bottles or cans sitting in the drink ice?
What to buy
Compare drop-in, freestanding and cold plate models in underbar ice bins, and stations that combine a sink and ice in cocktail stations and workstations. To get bottles out of the ice, see coolers in bar refrigeration, and for drainboards and the rest of the underbar run, see bar equipment. Freight to the 48 contiguous states is included in the price.