Does this machine produce the traditional course texture ice for sno cones or is it more fine than?
1445698
As others have stated it is not shaved ice but not as coarse as traditional machines. It is adjustable (the blade).
1445699
I think it depends a bit on your ice. If I use my "drier ice" from my freezer it tends to be finer. If I use bagged ice or ice that is starting to melt just a little bit, you will get the courser ice of traditional snow cones. So you can get either one. You will be happy with this machine.
1445700
It is quite fine and a little bit fluffy. Not quite shaved ice, but not nearly as coarse as some snowcones.
1445701
There are ice crushing machines and then there are shave ice machines. Two totally different types of machines. A shave ice machine creates super fine shaved ice from a block of ice. Ice crushers like this one take cube form ice (not a block of ice) and output depends significantly on the type of ice you use with the machine. Not all ice is the same. Some ice is very crumbly and aerated. Other is is high in mineral content and very hard. What makes this machine stand out from other ice crushing machines is the UL certification and significant warranty provided by Paragon.
177220
Oh I absolutelyove it! Had no problems with the motor or metal shavings as some reviews mentioned. I used bagged ice, ice from my ice maker on my fridge, whatever I could get my hands on. Ice always came out like SNOW! :) I used this for our snow one stand, and it was a hit! I mAde over 200 snow ones in an hour and it worked liked a dream. Only downfall was the water wouldn't drain correctly, so my ice would get watered down. :/ I simply leaned my machine forward slightly (drain is in front) and pointed my hose at a bucket. Would DEFINENTLY recommend this!
966280
I dont think so. We used bagged. I think a shaved ice machine uses blocked ice.
1493564
The ice hopper is not large. You can get two cones per ice batch. It does take regular ice cubes so you don't need to have blocks of ice available. Having an ice bucket is a good idea. The company makes larger models. The ice hopper limitation has never been a problem for us. We use it at home for the kids and their friends.
227252
It's a premium syrup, so it's a lot thicker. If you want to use them for sno-cones, I would suggest putting one pump of syrup into 1/4 cup of hot water and stirring to make it more liquid.
511925
Yes: It does essentially "shave" the Ice with a blade not "Crush" it by impact, However You do have the ability to control the thickness of the ice shavings by adjusting the blade on it's mount.Set it thin and you end with very fine shaved sno-cone ice, set it thicker and end up with little ice chipsperfect for serving shrimp cocktail and the like. You would not know this unless you had it apart far enough to remove the blade. It will do both well provided you set it properly. Unfortunately the manual does not cover this adjustment as I recall.
541440
I believe I read in the description section that it was the upgrade model from the old model. I installed it & I have not had any leaks or complaints about bad tasting ice. It works!
1728992
If you use a harder ice and don't force it thru it does grind it more fine. It is not a snow, but really close
1350755
It only takes seconds for the machine to shave the ice. The ice will start to melt immediately, if you are outside, make those sno cones quickly! Its a great, powerful machine.
1913088
Thin and fluffy. I've never been to Hawaii, but the ice from this machine is nothing like the crunchy crushed ice of a sno cone. It is shaved by a blade.
1727046
J. Joensuu, Yes, you can use regular ice BUT and this is a big BUT remember you will be pressing down on the lid. To get the kind of shaved ice that is typical for snow cones I still think the best bet is to use the molds provided.If you are using ice cubes I would make sure that the ice cubes are all level so that the lid doesn't come down at an angle which could put stress on the blades. Also the ice will probably not be as uniform as ice created with the molds. Hope this helps! -Mark
1907887
You know what? I've only used the ice block a couple of times. We're always in a hurry to have some shaved ice so we use ice cubes (ice maker) from our freezer. We just open the top and throw the ice cubes in there. It works well for us. We love this machine. The quality of the shaved ice is nice. I have learned to put a little empty cub under the opening after we are finished to catch any remainders of melting ice. We don't have to clean it up that way. Hope that helps!
837986
Yes just regular ice cubes work great! The opening is too small for ice blocks actually. The machine works great for the low price!
687640
Ours made "fine" shaved ice. The kind of ice you start with does seem to make some difference. The crushed ice from Costco seemed to make a softer shaved ice than the crushed ice from another store. But both were "fine" shaved ice.
156238
This produces very small chips, the chips would be larger than the crushed ice in a snow cone, but still tiny chips. I hope this helps.
2256620
The top ice chamber shaves the ice and sends it to the bottom. The ice is perfect for snowcones. No chunks. Makes good frozen drinks. Best I've seen for shaving ice, but there may be some more out now as I have had mine a while. You can use ice from your icemaker if you let it set out for 15 minutes, otherwise use bagged ice.
1575762
We freeze our ice in to-go containers, like you would get soup in from Chinese takeout. Using these "blocks" makes the snow cones more like shaved ice. The only down side we have found is ice buildup behind the cutters because it is very fine and can get packed in there.