To store and sell bagged ice, you need a freezer set up for ice rather than for frozen food. There are two main options. An ice box (sometimes called an ice merchandiser) is a large, solid-door insulated box with its own freezer unit on top, built to hold a lot of bagged stock. A glass-door ice freezer is an upright display freezer, ordered in its "Ice freezer" version, that puts the bags on show.
In our ice boxes and ice freezers range, both types hold ice at -15°C to -10°C. The choice comes down to how much stock you need on hand, where the unit will stand and whether you want customers to see the ice.
This guide is for service stations, bottle shops, convenience stores, caravan and holiday parks, bait shops, event operators and ice suppliers. If you'd rather make your own ice, choosing the machine is a separate job, covered in our commercial ice machine buying guide.
Ice box or glass-door ice freezer?
Here is how NovaChill's two types compare.
| Feature | Ice box (Model A, B, C) | Glass-door ice freezer (SM range, ice version) |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 1872 to 3024 litres | 400 to 2050 litres |
| Doors | 1 or 2 solid doors, lockable, with an internal safety release | 1, 2 or 3 heated, triple-glazed glass doors, lockable and self-closing |
| Insulation | 100 mm urethane in the walls, roof and floor | 60 mm |
| Inside | Floor grids keep bags off the floor; ribbed wall panels | Adjustable shelves on metal clips; 304-grade stainless steel floor |
| Signage | ICE signage on the freezer unit | ICE display sign, LED sign box and LED door lights |
| Maximum room temperature | 38°C | 43°C |
| Base | Galvanised chassis rails, flat or on adjustable legs | 4 inch heavy-duty castors, front wheels lockable |
| Warranty (NovaChill) | 12 months | 4 years parts, 2 years labour |
Choose an ice box when volume matters. It is a storage freezer first: thick insulation and solid doors suit a large stock of bags, and the doors lock, so stock stays secure out of hours. The trade-offs are that customers can't see the bags, and the box needs a level spot with clear space around the unit on top.
Choose a glass-door ice freezer when visibility and floor space matter. It puts the bags in view inside the shop, under an LED sign box, and takes far less room: the SM400GZ is 650 mm wide and 660 mm deep, while every ice box is 1200 mm deep overall. You can also run both, with an ice box as the bulk store and a glass-door freezer as the display, topped up from the box.
Standard or ice version: same cabinet, different setting
Each SM freezer comes in two versions built on the same cabinet. You pick one in the Version option on the product page, and both cost the same:
- Standard freezer for frozen food, running at -20°C to -16°C on NovaChill's specifications.
- Ice freezer, set to -15°C to -10°C for bagged ice and supplied with an ICE display sign. The model name gains "-ICE", for example SM600GZ-ICE.
Pick the ice version only if the cabinet will hold just ice. If you also want ice cream or frozen meals in it, choose the standard version, because NovaChill sets the ice version for bagged ice, not frozen food. The ice boxes have no standard version: they hold -15°C to -10°C, set on a digital temperature controller.
The NovaChill ice boxes: Model A, B and C
The three ice boxes share the same build and differ in width and door count:
- Ice Box Model A: one door, 1872 litres.
- Ice Box Model B: two doors, 2448 litres. Two doors let you reach both sides of the 1700 mm wide interior without stretching, so loading and restocking are quicker.
- Ice Box Model C: two doors, 3024 litres, the largest in the range.
The freezer unit is a removable monoblock that sits on top, with a weather cover and ICE signage. It runs on R290 natural refrigerant, and a reversing condenser fan keeps the condenser self-cleaning. Cooling is fan-forced rather than cold-wall, with ribbed wall panels to help cold air circulate around the bags. Defrost is automatic, with melt water disposal, which is why the box must sit level (see siting below).
The two-door NovaChill Ice Box Model B, with its freezer unit and ICE signage on top.
The SM glass-door freezers
NovaChill's SM display freezers come in four sizes: the one-door SM400GZ (400 litres, the slimmest) and SM600GZ (590 litres), the two-door SM1300GZ (1320 litres) and the three-door SM2000GZ (2050 litres). All four have fan-forced cooling with automatic defrost.
Power is simple for ice: every ice version is listed with a standard 10 A plug. The one exception in the range is the SM2000GZ standard version, listed at 240 V, 15 A. If you might use the three-door cabinet for frozen food instead, plan for a 15 A outlet fitted by a licensed electrician.
Model comparison
All seven hold ice at -15°C to -10°C and plug into a standard 10 A power point. Energy figures are NovaChill's ratings for the ice versions.
| Model | Doors | Capacity | Overall size (W × D × H mm) | Energy (ice version) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Box Model A | 1 solid | 1872 L | 1510 × 1200 × 2390 | Ask us |
| Ice Box Model B | 2 solid | 2448 L | 1910 × 1200 × 2390 | Ask us |
| Ice Box Model C | 2 solid | 3024 L | 2310 × 1200 × 2390 | Ask us |
| SM400GZ-ICE | 1 glass | 400 L | 650 × 660 × 1930 | 6.20 kWh per 24 h |
| SM600GZ-ICE | 1 glass | 590 L | 685 × 800 × 2115 | 7.78 kWh per 24 h |
| SM1300GZ-ICE | 2 glass | 1320 L | 1382 × 800 × 2115 | 12.76 kWh per 24 h |
| SM2000GZ-ICE | 3 glass | 2050 L | 2079 × 800 × 2115 | 25.57 kWh per 24 h |
At the time of writing (October 2026), the ice boxes cost about $6,500 to $8,200 ex GST, and the SM freezers about $3,300 to $7,300 ex GST.
How many bags will it hold?
Capacity is quoted in litres, not bags, and bag sizes vary between suppliers. Work it out with your own bags:
- Ice boxes: all three are 900 mm deep and 1600 mm high inside, with internal widths of 1300 mm (A), 1700 mm (B) and 2100 mm (C). Mark out that floor area, lay out one layer of your bags and count them, then work out how many layers fit in the height.
- Glass-door freezers: count per shelf. Shelves measure 510 × 480 mm (SM400GZ), 535 × 635 mm (SM600GZ) and 608 × 635 mm (SM1300GZ). The SM2000GZ has 608 × 635 mm shelves on the outer doors and 660 × 635 mm in the centre. The SM600GZ has 6 display levels, and the SM1300GZ and SM2000GZ have 6 per door.
- Leave room for air: as in a coolroom, don't stack bags where they block the evaporator fan's airflow.
- Size for your busiest days, not an average day, and allow for how often your ice is delivered.
Siting: heat, level ground, height and running costs
- Hot sites: keep clear space around the ice box's freezer unit and around the SM cabinet's vents so they can get rid of heat, especially near the 38°C and 43°C room ratings.
- Level ground: because the ice boxes defrost automatically, NovaChill requires them to be installed level so melt water drains away properly.
- Outdoors: the ice box freezer unit has a weather cover. If you plan to put a box outside, tell us about the site and ask us to confirm it with NovaChill before you order.
- Getting it there: all of these units arrive by tailgate truck to the front of your premises, and standard delivery doesn't include moving them into position. For an ice box, check truck access and plan how you'll move it to its spot. For an SM cabinet, check doorways and ceilings. Our guide to buying commercial equipment online covers the general pre-order checks.
- Running costs: the SM600GZ-ICE's 7.78 kWh per 24 hours works out to about 2840 kWh a year if it runs every day. Put your model's figure into our fridge and freezer running cost calculator with your electricity rate.
Our tip: Before ordering an ice box, check the spot with a spirit level and measure the clearance overhead. With the freezer unit fitted, every model stands 2390 mm tall, which can be too high for a low awning or canopy.
Which setup suits your business?
- Small convenience store or café: the SM400GZ-ICE fits ice into 650 mm of wall space.
- Service station or bottle shop selling ice next to drinks: an SM600GZ-ICE or SM1300GZ-ICE on the shop floor, plus an ice box as the bulk store if you take large deliveries.
- Caravan park, holiday park or bait shop: Model A or B, with lockable solid doors and ICE signage on top.
- Ice supplier or event operator holding a lot of stock: Model C, or Model B.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature should bagged ice be stored at?
NovaChill sets its ice boxes and the ice versions of its SM freezers to -15°C to -10°C. Its standard SM freezers run colder, at -20°C to -16°C, for frozen food.
Do ice boxes need a special power point?
No. All three NovaChill ice boxes plug into a standard 10 A power point, as do the ice versions of the SM freezers.
Can someone get locked inside an ice box?
The doors lock, but each has an internal safety release, so anyone inside can let themselves out.
Do the glass-door ice freezers need regular upkeep for the warranty?
Yes. NovaChill's warranty on the SM freezers excludes condenser fan motors on condensers that haven't been cleaned, so clean the condenser monthly. The ice boxes have a reversing condenser fan that keeps their condenser self-cleaning, but the unit on top still needs clear space around it.
Browse all our ice boxes and ice freezers, or the full range of upright freezers if you need frozen-food display as well. If you're weighing up a site, send us the measurements and a photo, or request a quote for several units.
