Where do you live?

Where I am, near Tampa, FL, there would be no point to an outdoor ice machine for most of the year; it's just too hot and potable water is expensive, not to mention precious.

B

When we built our home, we were told that Scotsman ice makers were the choice for most commercial applications so that's what we got for our kitchen. But unlike ice makers in a refrigerator where the ice is kept frozen in a refrigerated space, their ice makers dispense the ice into an UNrefrigerated, insulated reservoir where they slowly melt. As the ice pile shrinks, new ice is deposited on top.

In a hot outdoor space, the rate of melting might possibly exceed the rate at which the ice maker can replenish the ice. And even if it can keep up, there a reasonable possibility that it would have trouble producing ice fast enough to meet your needs when you're removing ice AND it's melting faster than it would in a conditioned space.

But there are outdoor bars in the hottest of climates and I have to believe that commercial ice makers are made which can perform under such conditions. I'd start with Scotsman and then do a Google search unless someone here at GW can't give you specific leads. And if you're in an area that gets freezing temperatures in winter, don't forget to find out if it can be effectively winterized to prevent water pipes from bursting.

We have an ice maker in the outdoor refrigerator in our lanai but its capacity is limited. For large gatherings, we typically supplement it using an ice chest filled by our kitchen ice maker's ice. With electricity costing us 36 cents/KWH, it's much easier on the wallet, too.

Bob