In common with all other types of flake ice, scale ice consists of irregular flakes of ice. In the case of scale ice, these flakes are very thin and flat. Another feature of scale ice is that unlike the chip type, it is sub-cooled down to -7°C to make it brittle enough to harvest cleanly from the drum.
It is used extensively for certain applications:
- Packing fish
- Concrete cooling
- Reactor cooling