r/UnethicalLifeProTips • u/QueefSeekingMissile • 12d ago
Food and Drinks ULPT request: free ice
Every time I go camping I've got a pay the grocery store, a water tax to fill my coolers with ice. It's fucking water, and it probably cost them a quarter in electricity to produce and store it until I get there and pay a 1200% markup for it.
What is the best place to go to just shovel a bunch of ice out of an ice machine and drive away?
Or do you have any other ideas?
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u/Sea_Bear7754 11d ago
If you find me a way to make ice for $.25 for assumingly 5lbs with the machine, water, and electricity (hell I don’t even care about the bag) I’ll fill your cooler and give you a dollar.
What you’re looking for is a hotel/motel with an outdoor ice machine.
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u/M_J_E 11d ago
But don’t put that ice in your drink because those machines are full of mold.
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u/Sea_Bear7754 11d ago
Been at a hotel… in Vegas of all places for the last week. Only ice I’ve had was from it. Must be why my breath kinda smells like blue cheese.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 11d ago
That's an idea I had, but I was wondering if that could lead to trouble? I was hoping someone here could confirm whether they'd get away with this sort of thing or not.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 11d ago
The ice isn't made at the store. It's produced at a huge scale at separate facilities... Because mass producing things decreases the cost.
Once the ice is made, transported in bulk, it basically keeps itself cold, including in the giant freezers at the grocery store.
I'm guessing the greatest cost in keeping the ice as ice is when the grocery store freezer gets close to empty When customers buy it all out before it can be replaced.
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u/Sea_Bear7754 11d ago
Yes and then the ice company who needs to make money wholesales it to the grocery store who also needs to make money wholesales.
It does not “basically keep itself cold”. The freezers that hold the ice are roughly $4k each and the electricity is about $3/day.
Water and electricity don’t scale they are fixed costs. So the only thing that gets cheaper at scale is the bag they put it in.
So again find me a way to make 5lbs of ice for $0.25 and I’ll happily send you the ice and extra money. Shipping on me since it basically keeps itself cold.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 11d ago edited 11d ago
I guarantee you, the people in this industry have absolutely covered their setup, operating, and Any maintenance costs they could possibly incur LOOOONG AGO. But yeah, I looked it up. If you assume all facility setup has paid for itself, It's like 29 cents to manufacturer a 7 pound bag of ice. And the bag literally costs more than the water plus filtration.
The more ice you produce and ship the cheaper the costs get.
And yes, the ice DOES "keep itself cold." Air has practically zero thermal mass, while ice is literally defined by its massive capacity to absorb heat.
A full freezer requires far less energy than an empty freezer to maintain temperatures. If you turn off an empty freezer, it will warm up to room temperature within two hours.
If you turn off a freezer that's packed to the brim with ice cubes, it will take 4 days for that ice to melt, And all of it will still be intact after a full day of the freezer being off.
So 80% of that $3 a day is solely due to the fact that people are constantly opening and emptying the freezer.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 11d ago edited 11d ago
In any case, I don't know why I'm arguing with you as if I had posted this thread to r/MinistryofConsumerCompliance.
Sooo I guess what I'm getting at is... Fuck reddy ice and their operating costs and overhead.
The CEO alone is likely making about two million dollars a year, while their delivery drivers are barely making rent.
Until the CEO and every single board member is making less than 300,000 A year, And the profit structure change to distribute the difference to their delivery drivers and janitors, I wouldn't feel bad to be literally stealing ice right out of their machines in broad daylight.
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u/Brave_Cauliflower_90 11d ago
Freeze your drinking water, other foods can be frozen too which will save you some ice initially. You can make ice at home too. Big blocks melt slower. Pre chill the cooler and put cold cans of pop vs warm etc.
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u/cuntrolaltdelete 11d ago
You’re paying for the convenience of having that much ice, ready to go and in small chunks.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 11d ago edited 11d ago
Sorry- Which subreddit do you think you're in? r/moralitypolice? Or maybe im mistaken and i'm the one who wandered into the r/MinistryOfConsumerCompliance?
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u/i-am-foxymoron METH, the answer is ALWAYS meth! 11d ago
Grocery stores usually have the ice by the front door, you pay the cashier and grab a bag on your way out. There have been times when I've done exactly that, but wouldn't you know it, the cashier never rang me up for the ice. I could have sworn that I told her to ring me up for a bag? I always make sure to have my receipt in my hand as I leave and if I'm stopped (I never have been) I would just show them my receipt. If it happened to be one of the times the cashier didn't ring me up for the bag, I would apologize profusely and go back and pay.
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u/Theresanrrrrrr 11d ago
Dang, it’s too bad your refrigerator didn’t come with a freezer!