Ice Cubes and Tubes

[moogradod]

You can buy Ice Cubes packed in small plastic bags at every 7/11 or Family Mart for THB 8.--. The shape of the ice is most of the time somewhat gross. One needs to break up the bigger pieces into smaller ones.

 

Now some restaurants sell their drinks with uniform smalll ice tubes, about the length of a small finger with a hole across the length of the cylinder. Because of the greater surface, they produce a much more colder drink.

 

I am wondering if a private person could buy these Ice Tubes and where. If anybody knows, please enlighten me. Thanks.

[KhunLA]

Not in the quaintly you'd really want, if for home use.  Do you not have a freezer with ice cube trays, or simply forget to refill them.

 

7-11 ice are also cylinder w/holes, I think.  Have to pay attention next time buying.

[VocalNeal]

30 minutes ago, moogradod said:

I am wondering if a private person could buy these Ice Tubes and where.

One adage when visiting Thailand is never accept ice without a hole. Why? Because ice with holes is made in a factory, with in theory clean water and not in someone's shed.

 

Almost every town has an ice business who will deliver a bag to your house. You simply need a large enough freezer to store it.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by VocalNeal

[warrima]

https://bit.ly/3ltp5Xp

 

You can buy these ice makers for home. A mate has one and it makes ice in the hollow cylinder shape you describe. Awesome little piece of kit. 

[digbeth]

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

One adage when visiting Thailand is never accept ice without a hole. Why? Because ice with holes is made in a factory, with in theory clean water and not in someone's shed.

 

Almost every town has an ice business who will deliver a bag to your house. You simply need a large enough freezer to store it.

 

have you seen the state for some of these local 'factories' might as well be some machine in a shed, never minding how it was transported to the restaurant/bar in fertilizer bag on the back of pickup trucks

[moogradod]

1 hour ago, warrima said:

https://bit.ly/3ltp5Xp

 

You can buy these ice makers for home. A mate has one and it makes ice in the hollow cylinder shape you describe. Awesome little piece of kit. 

We actually have such a machine  but did not use it for a long time. We brought it from Switzerland as part of our container load. The 2 problems in Thailand are: 1. You need to buy high quality expensive water (we only use Mont Fleur) and since it takes quite a while to produce enough ice 2. it uses up a lot of electric energy, again expensive. In Switzerland you just use tap water (it is exquisite) and electricity is as well far cheaper than here.

[n00dle]

2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

One adage when visiting Thailand is never accept ice without a hole. Why? Because ice with holes is made in a factory, with in theory clean water and not in someone's shed.

 

Almost every town has an ice business who will deliver a bag to your house. You simply need a large enough freezer to store it.

 

 

you certainly seem to know your way around iceholes.

[moogradod]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Not in the quaintly you'd really want, if for home use.  Do you not have a freezer with ice cube trays, or simply forget to refill them.

 

7-11 ice are also cylinder w/holes, I think.  Have to pay attention next time buying.

 

You may be right. 7/11 ice has as well holes in it. However, the pieces are much more bigger (=smaller surface, less cooling effect). I love ice and cool drinks. Our fridge is actually quite big, but it could be bigger but we do not have enough space to put such a large second one somewhere.

[n00dle]

6 minutes ago, moogradod said:

You need to buy high quality expensive water (we only use Mont Fleur)

for the love of god, the things people tell themselves

[youreavinalaff]

12 minutes ago, moogradod said:

You need to buy high quality expensive water 

Why?

[lopburi3]

Automatic ice makers are very inexpensive (about 2,500 baht now for units that should last a year or two 24 hours a day - have been using various models for last decade - and cheap Chinese seems to be as good a imported from Europe).  And any drinkable tap water can be used - this is not a steam iron. 

 

But we have extended family so it is used often - for a couple probably not worth running full time (but designed for party use so would work for that).  Currently use ESUN (although many names for same items) and seems to work very well for the low price.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/esun-ice-maker-eim-15a-i2660533678-s9572520508.html

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, n00dle said:

you certainly seem to know your way around iceholes.

best thing to do with ice holes is to ignore them????

[moogradod]

7 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Why?

A question of taste obviously. Thailand really offers a large selection of drinkable water, but we never use the cheap only filtered, osmose and with bacteria killing light treated water. I believe that Mont Fleur is one of the best tasting Thai water you can buy.

 

But with everything taste-related you have to try it. Buy 5 different brands and make a blind test by yourself. Then you might know why we favour Mont Fleur and nothing else (from the Thai water).

[moogradod]

7 hours ago, n00dle said:

for the love of god, the things people tell themselves

See my post above. Amen.

[james.d]

8 hours ago, moogradod said:

We actually have such a machine  but did not use it for a long time. We brought it from Switzerland as part of our container load. The 2 problems in Thailand are: 1. You need to buy high quality expensive water (we only use Mont Fleur) and since it takes quite a while to produce enough ice 2. it uses up a lot of electric energy, again expensive. In Switzerland you just use tap water (it is exquisite) and electricity is as well far cheaper than here.

Just to be clear...

 You have an ice machine that you brought from Switzerland, you prefer Mont Fleur. However, the cost of electricity is expensive and the time to freeze water is long..

Also the shape of local ice is gross...

(Don't take offense)

 

[Damrongsak]

My Dad used to have an ice crusher with a crank handle if he wanted a lot of small ice.  Usually he'd just whack a large rectangular cube with the back of a tablespoon.

[james.d]

7/11 have 'Rock lce' that certainly may be an option for you.

[youreavinalaff]

16 hours ago, moogradod said:

A question of taste obviously. Thailand really offers a large selection of drinkable water, but we never use the cheap only filtered, osmose and with bacteria killing light treated water. I believe that Mont Fleur is one of the best tasting Thai water you can buy.

 

But with everything taste-related you have to try it. Buy 5 different brands and make a blind test by yourself. Then you might know why we favour Mont Fleur and nothing else (from the Thai water).

The ice that you like, and would like to buy, in restaurants.......what water do they use ? I can guarantee it won't be Mont Fluer. 

 

In fact, they likely buy ice from the local factory. That factory will probably use water from a bore that has been through a carbon filter. Exactly the same water they sell in the 5 gallon bottles for 15 baht.

[moogradod]

52 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

The ice that you like, and would like to buy, in restaurants.......what water do they use ? I can guarantee it won't be Mont Fluer. 

 

In fact, they likely buy ice from the local factory. That factory will probably use water from a bore that has been through a carbon filter. Exactly the same water they sell in the 5 gallon bottles for 15 baht.

You are right. I was just used to Mont Fleur (which has the best taste from the Thai "drinking water"). We make tea and coffee with it and this will remain as is. But for the ice tube production probably overkill.

 

I wish every contributor to this thread a nice day. Some of the posts are useful. Thanks.

[moogradod]

16 hours ago, james.d said:

Just to be clear...

 You have an ice machine that you brought from Switzerland, you prefer Mont Fleur. However, the cost of electricity is expensive and the time to freeze water is long..

Also the shape of local ice is gross...

(Don't take offense)

 

I do not take offense, but your post is quite the opposite of clear. In fact it is downright wrong in some aspects. All I want is to buy the small finger-shaped ice tubes they sometimes offer you in restaurants. That sums it all up. But thanks for trying (what actually ?)

[Henk Langeweg]

Isn't there a plastic mold to buy so you can make them yourself? 

[JayClay]

On 2/10/2023 at 1:41 PM, moogradod said:

We actually have such a machine  but did not use it for a long time. We brought it from Switzerland as part of our container load. The 2 problems in Thailand are: 1. You need to buy high quality expensive water 

No you don't