Scotsman CU50PAX-1 Undercounter Ice Machine - 65 lb/Day Gourmet Cube with 26 lb Bin, 15 Inch Air-Cooled

Quick Answer

The Scotsman CU50PAX-1 is a 15-inch self-contained undercounter ice machine that makes crystal-clear gourmet cubes — the tapered "top hat" shape used in premium cocktail service — and stores them in a built-in 26 lb bin. Scotsman rates it at 65 lb per 24 hours at 70°F air and 50°F water, and 49 lb per 24 hours at 90°F air and 70°F water. It plugs into a standard 115V outlet and includes a built-in drain pump, so it can go where a gravity drain cannot. Its limitation is volume: this is a presentation-ice machine, not a volume machine.

Scotsman CU50PAX-1 At a Glance

Who Should Buy the Scotsman CU50PAX-1?

This machine sells on how the ice looks and behaves in the glass, and it should be bought on that basis. Gourmet cube is Scotsman’s tapered top-hat format: clear rather than cloudy, dense, and slow to melt. In a spirits-forward drink that matters — a cube that dilutes slowly keeps the last mouthful tasting like the first, and a clear cube looks deliberate in a way that a crescent or half-dice does not.

It suits cocktail bars and speakeasies, hotel suites and executive floors, fine-dining restaurants with a whisky or spirits list, private clubs, and premium outdoor entertaining spaces. At 14-7/8 in. wide and 34-3/8 in. tall it fits under a standard counter and into a back-bar run, and it is approved for outdoor use, which suits a terrace or pool bar.

Two practical features set this model apart from most compact machines. It has a built-in drain pump with a 10 ft tube supplied, so it can be installed where no gravity drain is available — an island bar, a mid-room service station, a back-bar with no floor drain. The Hoshizaki C-80BAK in the same size class charges extra for that capability. And it carries a water-quality sensor that detects hard-water conditions and reports them on the control panel, which on a clear-ice machine is more than a convenience — water quality is what makes the ice clear in the first place.

Who Should Consider Another Model?

Five situations point away from this machine, and the first one is the one to be honest about.

• You need ice, not presentation. At 49 lb per 24 hours rated, this is the lowest-output machine in this catalog. It costs roughly $75 per pound of rated daily capacity, against about $17 for a conventional undercounter cuber. If clear gourmet cubes are not the reason you are buying, this is an expensive way to make ice.

• Your peak draw exceeds what a 26 lb bin holds. Storage is 53 percent of the rated daily production, and 26 lb is a small absolute number. The arithmetic is below, and for a busy bar it is the binding constraint.

• Running cost is a significant concern. At 11.0 kWh per 100 lb this is by a wide margin the most energy-hungry machine in this catalog. The annual bill is still modest because the output is small, but the cost per pound of ice is roughly double that of a standard cuber.

• You want a long warranty. For commercial installations, Scotsman covers this model for one year parts and labor, with five years parts on the compressor; residential installations carry one year parts and labor. Almost every other machine in this catalog carries three years parts and labor. That is a real difference in risk, and it should be priced into the decision.

• You need a certified capacity figure to size against. Scotsman lists cULus and NSF certification for this model but not AHRI, unlike its cube and nugget machines. Retailers describe the 49 lb figure as "certified" without naming a standard. Treat it as the manufacturer’s warm-conditions rating rather than a third-party-certified number.

Maximum Output vs Real-World Production

Two production figures appear on listings for this machine and they are not interchangeable. The larger is measured under favourable laboratory conditions; the smaller is measured at conditions much closer to a working bar.

The gap is 16 lb per 24 hours, or about 25 percent of the maximum. Scotsman publishes only these two data points, so any figure quoted for an intermediate condition is an interpolation rather than a manufacturer specification. Plan around 49 lb.

A certification note worth knowing. Scotsman lists this model as cULus and NSF certified, but does not list AHRI certification for it — unlike its Prodigy cube and nugget machines, which carry AHRI Standard 810 ratings. Several retailers describe the 49 lb figure as "certified at 90°/70°" without naming the certifying body. This guide treats it as Scotsman’s own warm-conditions rating. It is a perfectly usable planning number; it is simply not third-party certified in the way the figures on a Prodigy cuber are.

What moves production up or down

• Ambient air temperature. An air-cooled condenser rejects heat into the room it stands in. The machine is rated for 50–100°F and output falls across that range. A back-bar behind a hot pass or a sunny terrace sits at the wrong end of it.

• Incoming water temperature. Water arriving at 70°F carries more heat to remove than water at 50°F, and on a clear-ice machine the freeze cycle is already slow by design.

• Water quality and scale. This matters more here than on any other machine in the catalog. Clear ice is produced by freezing slowly and rejecting dissolved solids; scale on the evaporator both slows production and clouds the ice. The built-in water-quality sensor exists precisely because of this relationship.

• Air path and ventilation. The machine rejects 1,965 BTU/hr — the second lowest in this catalog — but a sealed cabinet with no airflow will still choke it.

• Cleaning interval. A machine overdue for descaling makes less ice, and on this model it also makes less attractive ice, which is the point of owning one.

The article on how hot kitchens affect commercial ice machine production covers the ambient relationship in more depth. Daily production cannot be guaranteed for any installation; verify actual harvest after commissioning.

Understanding the Built-In Storage Capacity

The CU50PAX-1 stores 26 lb of ice. On a machine this specialised, the useful question is not how many pounds that is but how many drinks it covers.

How many cubes is 26 lb?

Using the published cube dimensions of 1 x 1-1/8 x 1-1/4 in. and a nominal ice density of 57 lb per cubic foot, a solid block of that size would weigh about 0.74 oz, which puts 26 lb at roughly 560 cubes. Because the top-hat shape is tapered rather than a solid block, each cube weighs somewhat less than that and the real count will be a little higher. At two cubes a drink, a full bin is therefore somewhere around 280 servings held at one time; at one large cube per glass it is closer to 560.

Across a full day the same arithmetic puts the 49 lb rated output at roughly 1,050 cubes, or about 525 two-cube drinks. For a cocktail bar pouring a few hundred spirits-forward drinks a night, that is a sensible match. For a high-volume bar putting gourmet ice in every glass, it is not.

Storage against demand: the arithmetic

Production is how much ice arrives across a full day; storage is how much is available at one moment. At the 49 lb rating, average replenishment works out to 49 ÷ 24 = about 2.0 lb per hour, assuming the machine runs continuously and the bin control has not stopped it because the bin is full.

So a bin full at opening supports 26 lb of draw immediately, plus roughly 2.0 lb for each hour of service — about 34 lb across a four-hour evening and about 38 lb across six. In cube terms, that is roughly 730 cubes across a four-hour service. If your bar pours more than that in gourmet-ice drinks on a Friday night, plan to hold cubes in an insulated transport bin ahead of service rather than expecting the machine to keep up during it.

The pattern to recognise: on the CU50PAX-1 the bin is the constraint during service, not the machine. Storage is 53 percent of the rated daily production, and the replenishment rate of about 2 lb per hour is slow in absolute terms. This is normal for a clear-ice machine — slow freezing is what makes the ice clear — but it means a busy bar should build a pre-service holding routine rather than relying on live production.

One further note: published bin capacities are volumetric ratings rather than measurements of what staff actually scoop out. Ice mounds unevenly and corners go unused, so treat 26 lb as the ceiling.

Installation Requirements

These are the manufacturer-published requirements for the CU50PAX-1. This is the easiest machine in this catalog to install, and the drain pump is the reason.

Electrical

• 115V, 60 Hz, single phase; dedicated 15 A circuit.

• A factory-supplied 6 ft grounded power cord and plug is supplied. No hardwiring is required.

• Plan a dedicated receptacle rather than sharing a circuit with other bar equipment, and confirm it is within reach of the supplied cord.

Water and drain

• Potable cold water inlet via a 1/4 in. compression fitting.

• Supply pressure between 20 and 80 PSIG.

• A drain pump is built in and a 10 ft drain tube is supplied. This is the feature that makes the machine viable in an island bar or a mid-room station with no floor drain — most compact machines in this class require a gravity drain or an extra-cost pump.

• Water quality deserves specific attention on this model. Clear ice depends on it, and the machine includes a sensor that reports hard-water conditions on the control panel. Budget for filtration from the outset rather than adding it after the ice starts looking cloudy.

Location, clearance and outdoor use

• Operating ambient temperature 50–100°F; incoming water temperature 40–100°F.

• Approved for outdoor use. An outdoor listing does not relax the operating limits — ambient must still stay within 50–100°F, and the machine still needs proper utility connections and protection from freezing.

• The door is reversible, so the swing can be set to suit the cabinet run.

• The machine sits on 1 in. adjustable legs. Level it before commissioning.

• At 34-3/8 in. tall the cabinet clears a standard 36-in. counter opening, unlike several larger commercial "undercounter" machines that stand 39 in. on their legs.

Confirm local requirements before you order. Plumbing, electrical, health-department and building-code rules vary by state and municipality, and outdoor installations may bring additional requirements for weather protection, GFCI provision and drainage. Verify what applies at your address with your licensed installer and your local authority having jurisdiction.

Related reading: commercial ice machine electrical requirements, 115V vs 208–230V, and water pressure requirements, PSI, flow and filters.

Operating Cost and Efficiency Considerations

Scotsman publishes two consumption figures for the CU50PAX-1: 11.0 kWh per 100 lb of ice, and 29.8 gal of potable water per 100 lb of ice. A worked example, with every assumption stated:

Substitute your own rates and realistic daily production and the arithmetic holds. The estimate excludes filter cartridges, cleaning chemicals and preventive maintenance labor.

What clear ice actually costs to make

Two things are true at once here, and both belong in a buying decision. In absolute terms the running cost is small — about $375 a year on the assumptions above, because the machine simply does not make much ice. But per pound of ice produced it is the most expensive machine in this catalog by a clear margin, and it is worth seeing why.

On these figures the CU50PAX-1 costs roughly 75 percent more per pound to run than the Scotsman UC2024SAX-1 and about 2.3 times as much as the modular Scotsman NH0422AX-1. That is not a fault in the machine; it is the physics of clear ice. Producing a cube that is optically clear and slow-melting means freezing water slowly and rejecting dissolved solids rather than trapping them, and slow freezing consumes more energy per pound than the fast batch cycle a conventional cuber uses.

The practical conclusion is a pricing one rather than a purchasing one. If gourmet ice appears in a $16 cocktail, an extra fraction of a cent per cube is immaterial and the presentation earns its keep. If the same ice is going into soft drinks or water service, the economics do not support it and a conventional cuber will serve better. Decide which drinks actually need the ice before sizing the machine.

One more point: R290 is a hydrocarbon refrigerant with very low global warming potential and the charge here is small at 4.0 oz. Note that Scotsman does not list this model as ENERGY STAR certified, which is consistent with its consumption figures — do not assume a utility rebate applies. The guide to commercial ice machine operating cost treats filters, chemicals and service as separate line items.

Cleaning and Maintenance

On most ice machines cleaning protects output. On this one it also protects the product, because scale and dissolved solids are what turn clear ice cloudy. Treat the maintenance schedule as part of the reason you bought the machine.

• Use the water-quality sensor. Scotsman fits a sensor that detects hard-water conditions and reports them on the control panel, and states that it helps extend cleaning intervals. It tells you when the water — not the calendar — says it is time.

• Cleaning and sanitizing are separate steps. Descaling removes mineral build-up from the water side; sanitizing addresses biological growth. Both are required at each service.

• Filtration is not optional in hard water. A clear-ice machine is only as good as the water going into it. An ice machine filter with scale inhibition protects both the evaporator and the appearance of the ice, and cartridges are a recurring consumable.

• Bin hygiene. A built-in bin is opened with a scoop through a whole service. Include the bin interior, the door and the scoop in the routine, not just the water system.

• Condenser and air path. Keep the air path clear and the condenser clean; heat rejection is modest on this model but the cabinet is compact.

• Professional service. Sealed-system work on an R290 machine must be carried out by a technician trained and equipped for flammable refrigerants.

Confirm the exact cleaning interval and procedure in the user manual supplied with the machine, and follow Scotsman’s published schedule for your water conditions rather than a generic one.

Warranty and Service Considerations

For commercial installations in North, South and Central America, Scotsman covers the CU50PAX-1 with one year parts and labor on all components and five years parts on the compressor. Residential installations carry one year parts and labor.

This is the shortest parts-and-labor term of any machine in this catalog. Scotsman’s undercounter cube line and its modular cube and nugget heads all carry three years parts and labor; this gourmet model carries one. That is a meaningful difference in exposure on a machine with a specialised evaporator, and it is easy to miss when cross-shopping within the same brand. Price the risk, or ask about extended coverage at the quote stage.

Before relying on the standard coverage, verify five things with the manufacturer or your installer:

• Installation requirements. Coverage on commercial ice equipment is commonly conditional on installation to the manufacturer’s published specifications for electrical, water and ventilation.

• Outdoor installations specifically. Confirm that an outdoor installation at your site is within the terms, and what weather protection is expected.

• Registration. Ask whether registration is required and what the deadline is after commissioning.

• Excluded maintenance. Cleaning, descaling, sanitizing and filter replacement are routine maintenance and are typically not warranty items. On a clear-ice machine, neglecting filtration is the fastest route to a component failure that may not be covered.

• Local service availability. Coverage is only useful if an authorized technician is reachable from your address, and R290 adds a training requirement.

For a general comparison of how the major brands structure coverage, see the commercial ice machine warranty guide.

Comparison With Relevant Alternatives

The first three machines below are compact self-contained units in roughly the same 15-inch footprint. The fourth is included as a reality check on cost per pound of capacity.

Price checked on September 21, 2026. Prices and availability may change. Price per pound of rated daily capacity is calculated by dividing the current price by the 90/70 rated production using the figures published on each product page.

The comparison only makes sense once you have decided what the ice is for. Nothing else in this group makes clear gourmet cubes, so if that is the requirement, the CU50PAX-1 is the answer here — and it is also the cheapest of the three compact machines to buy. If chewable ice is what your customers want, the ICETRO IU-0090-ANP offers three years parts and labor and a built-in pump for $637 more, and the Hoshizaki C-80BAK offers a UL outdoor listing and slightly more storage. Both make more ice than the Scotsman.

The fourth column is the honest counterweight. At about $17 per pound of rated capacity against roughly $75, and at $1.20 per 100 lb to run against $2.10, a conventional undercounter cuber is around a quarter the capital cost per pound and about 43 percent cheaper to operate. That gap is the price of clear, slow-melting, presentation-grade ice. In a cocktail programme where the ice is visible in the glass and the drink carries a premium price, it is straightforwardly worth paying. In general beverage service it is not, and buying gourmet ice for soft drinks is the most common way operators overspend in this category.

Browse the wider range of undercounter ice makers and self-contained ice machines, or see the best commercial ice machines by budget for a broader view of what each price band buys.

Before You Buy Checklist

• Ice format. Confirm clear gourmet cubes are genuinely required. This is the single most consequential decision on this machine, and it drives both the capital and the running cost.

• Which drinks get the ice. Decide whether gourmet cubes go in every glass or only in spirits-forward drinks. The answer changes the sizing.

• Daily ice volume. Calculate your requirement, then compare it against 49 lb, not 65 lb — roughly 1,050 cubes a day.

• Peak-service draw. Work out how many gourmet-ice drinks you pour in your busiest four hours and compare against roughly 34 lb, or about 730 cubes.

• Pre-service holding. If the peak exceeds that, plan an insulated transport bin and a filling routine before service.

• Opening dimensions. 14-7/8 in. W x 22 in. D x 34-3/8 in. H — clears a standard 36-in. counter opening.

• Door swing. The door is reversible; decide which side suits before installation.

• Power. 115V, dedicated 15 A circuit, with a grounded receptacle within reach of the supplied 6 ft cord.

• Water connection. Potable cold water via a 1/4 in. compression fitting, 20–80 PSIG.

• Drain. A built-in pump and 10 ft tube are supplied, so no gravity drain is required — confirm where the tube will terminate.

• Water filtration. Budget for it from day one. Clear ice depends on water quality, and the machine has a sensor that will tell you when it is not good enough.

• Outdoor installation. If it is going outside, confirm weather protection, GFCI provision and that ambient stays within 50–100°F year round.

• Warranty. Confirm the one-year parts and labor term and ask about extended coverage before ordering.

• Service. Confirm an authorized Scotsman technician trained on R290 covers your area.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much ice does the Scotsman CU50PAX-1 make in a day?

Scotsman publishes 65 lb per 24 hours at 70°F air and 50°F water, and 49 lb per 24 hours at 90°F air and 70°F water. Plan around 49 lb, which is roughly 1,050 gourmet cubes.

What is gourmet cube ice?

Gourmet cube is Scotsman’s tapered "top hat" format, measuring 1 x 1-1/8 x 1-1/4 in. It is crystal clear rather than cloudy, dense, taste-free and slow to melt, which is why it is used in spirits-forward cocktails where dilution and appearance both matter.

How many cubes does the 26 lb bin hold?

Using the published cube dimensions and a nominal ice density of 57 lb per cubic foot, 26 lb works out to roughly 560 cubes, and a little more in practice because the top-hat shape is tapered rather than solid. At two cubes a drink that is around 280 servings held at once.

Does the CU50PAX-1 include an ice storage bin?

Yes. Storage is built in — 26 lb. There is no separate bin to buy.

Does the CU50PAX-1 need a floor drain?

No. A drain pump is built in and a 10 ft drain tube is supplied, so the machine can be installed where no gravity drain is available — an island bar or a mid-room station, for example. Confirm where the tube will terminate.

Does the CU50PAX-1 plug in?

Yes. A factory-supplied 6 ft grounded power cord and plug is provided. It needs 115V, 60 Hz single-phase power on a dedicated 15 A circuit.

Will the CU50PAX-1 fit under a standard counter?

Yes. At 34-3/8 in. tall it clears a standard 36-in. counter opening, which several larger commercial undercounter machines standing 39 in. on their legs do not.

Can the CU50PAX-1 be installed outdoors?

It is approved for outdoor use. That approval does not relax the operating limits: ambient must stay between 50°F and 100°F and incoming water between 40°F and 100°F, and the machine still needs proper utility connections and protection from freezing.

Why does clear ice cost more to run?

Clear, slow-melting ice is made by freezing water slowly and rejecting dissolved solids rather than trapping them. Slow freezing uses more energy per pound than the fast batch cycle of a conventional cuber, which is why this machine uses 11.0 kWh per 100 lb against 5.64 for a standard undercounter cuber.

How long is the warranty on the CU50PAX-1?

For commercial installations in North, South and Central America: one year parts and labor on all components, plus five years parts on the compressor. Residential installations carry one year parts and labor. That is shorter than the three-year parts-and-labor term Scotsman applies to its undercounter cube and modular machines, so compare the coverage document rather than assuming it is the same across the brand.

Final Buying Recommendation

The Scotsman CU50PAX-1 is a specialist machine and should be bought as one. It suits a cocktail bar, a fine-dining restaurant, a hotel suite or a premium outdoor bar where the ice is visible in the glass and the drink carries a price that justifies it. Its strengths are specific: the only clear gourmet cube machine in this catalog, a built-in drain pump with a 10 ft tube that frees it from a floor drain, a water-quality sensor that reports hard water before it shows up in the ice, a genuine sub-36-inch undercounter fit, a reversible door, outdoor approval, and the lowest purchase price of the three compact machines reviewed alongside it.

Its limitations are equally specific and all point the same way. At 49 lb rated it is the lowest-output machine in this catalog, and at roughly $75 per pound of rated capacity the most expensive to buy on that basis. At 11.0 kWh per 100 lb it is the most expensive to run per pound, about 75 percent above a conventional undercounter cuber — though the absolute bill stays modest at around $375 a year because the output is small. The 26 lb bin covers about 34 lb across a four-hour service, so a busy bar needs a pre-service holding routine. And the warranty is one year parts and labor, the shortest in this catalog. Before ordering, confirm four things: that clear gourmet ice is required rather than preferred, which drinks actually get it, your peak-service draw against roughly 730 cubes, and your water quality and filtration plan.

Check current price and availability on the Scotsman CU50PAX-1 product page, request a quote or ask about water filtration, extended warranty and installation accessories through the Ice Maker Supply team, and confirm your installation requirements and freight delivery terms before you order. If you are still weighing ice formats, the full range of commercial ice machines is a useful next step.