SEA WATER ICE
The Sea Ice concept is similar to the natural formation of Sea Ice at the North and South poles, where ice forms underwater on the underside of ice floes.
In the Sea Ice design the ice forms under water on a refrigerated surface and is harvested by a rotating blade. The harvested ice is guided up above the water level where it is ejected for use. Like the polar ice it is in the form of very fine crystals of pure ice.
The Sea Ice design is so simple that it does not even have seals for refrigerant or water yet can be opened up in minutes for inspection.
The ice is ejected from the machine in a soft form which is approximately 70% frozen and 30% concentrated brine. The brine drains away leaving behind dry pure ice with a temperature of 0 degrees C. The ice is very dense and has intense cooling properties. Unlike other forms of sea water ice where the salt is frozen in, it will not damage fish. Reports indicate that this is a superior ice for seafood.
Trawler Ice Machines
The majority of our sea water machines are used onboard fishing vessels, however some are used on shore to make similar ice from a mixture of salt and water for specific uses such as in fluid ice.
For this purpose we produce an air cooled version of the sea water machine with an enclosed ice maker to keep the cooling air flow and wet components apart.
FRESH WATER ICE
The ice from our Industrial machines is in the form of randomly sized flat flakes of 3mm thick and approximately 40mm square. It is not frozen dry or subcooled. It is not sharp or hard. As it is at freezing point it will not solidify further into a hard lump but can be stored exposed to atmosphere for days and will always remain loose and easily handled. The flakes are hard enough to maintain the form during handling but will crumble easily. The ice can be packed tightly around high value fish without causing damage to the skin.
FLUID ICE
The seawater ice from our machines as it leaves the machine is actually in the form of a very thick fluid ice, it is solid but soft. It will mix with water easily to produce a slurry of a thick or thin solution.
A typical use is to make a thin slurry to fill the fish hopper to receive the catch as it comes onboard. Another use is for a dipping stage in the fish handling system to remove the heat from the fish before it is packed in ice for storage onboard and eventual road transport to market.
In conjunction with our Norwegian associates we can also offer a storage and mixing system which will store the ice as it is produced from the machine in a very thick form without the addition of water. This mixture which we describe as ice porridge can be pumped to the fish or other point of use, is probably the thickest version of pumpable ice available, approximately 70% frozen.
Salmon Aftercooling, Fluid Ice Conveyer
One of the more innovative uses for fluid ice is to simultaneously cool and convey slaughtered salmon as in this Norwegian plant. Sea water ice is simply made into a channel of circulating sea water, it becomes a moving slurry carrying the product which is cooled rapidly as it passes through.There are 3 of our machines in this installation. Similar uses on Norwegian vessels include dipping fresh and cooked produce for rapid cooling prior to packing.
SELF INSTALL
Our Ice Machines are completely built and tested in the factory ready for installation.
Successful installations have been carried out by vessel and factory owners using local general engineers or electricians.
Our machines are operating in many remote locations where there are no agents for other ice machines.
Supplied with instructions.
Carriage and Goods in Transit Insurance included.
NORFISH 2004 Trondheim, Norway
PARTNERS
In Norway we have been represented by Marine Fish International who worked very closely with us to offer a similar level of customer care to that provided in Ireland by Sea Ice.
In March2019 Mr Misje retired. We will continue to provide sales and service directly to our clients in Norway. We use Trans Europe Express to collect and return the machines to and from our workshop. See https://www.tee.co.uk/
They take care of all paperwork for customs allowing us to provide a high standard of maintenance on the machines.