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Ice Requirement For Party Calculator

Work out ice requirement for party instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Ice Requirement For Party Calculator

Ice serves two purposes with very different quantities: about 350 g per bottle or can to chill in a tub, plus roughly 0.5 kg per guest for glasses over an evening. Hot weather increases both by 25-50% because melt losses dominate.

Formula

Ice requirement

chilling = units x 0.35 kg; serving = guests x 0.45 kg x hours x 0.4, both scaled by a temperature factor

Worked example

With the default values below, Ice Requirement For Party Calculator returns Total ice required of 84.38. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Guests
40 guests
Party duration
5 h
Outdoor temperature
26 °C
Bottles and cans to chill
90 units

Results

Total ice required
84.38 kg
Ice for chilling drinks
39.37 kg
Ice for serving in glasses
45.00 kg
20 kg bags needed
5 bags

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Ice requirement
  3. 3Total ice required= 84.38 kg
  4. 4Ice for chilling drinks= 39.37 kg
  5. 5Ice for serving in glasses= 45.00 kg
  6. 620 kg bags needed= 5 bags

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does so much ice get used chilling drinks?

Melting ice absorbs 334 kJ per kilogram, and cooling a warm bottle by 20 degrees takes a substantial fraction of that. Pre-chilling drinks in a fridge halves the ice needed.

What is better than an ice tub?

Ice with cold water added. Water conducts heat far better than air gaps between cubes, so drinks chill in minutes rather than an hour.

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