What is the difference between a soft serve machine and a hard ice cream machine?

A soft serve machine freezes the mix and dispenses it in one continuous step at about −5 to −8 °C, so the product is served immediately and never hardened. A hard ice cream machine is a batch freezer: it churns a batch, which is then scooped into a display case or moved to a freezer. Our catalogue publishes soft serve output in litres per hour (18 to 60 L/h) and batch freezers either in L/h (20 to 24) or per batch (6 L on the ICE 6L mini).

Can I sell gelato from a soft serve machine?

No. Gelato is churned then served at around −11 to −14 °C from a display case, where it is scooped; soft serve is dispensed at about −5 to −8 °C and eaten within minutes. You need a batch freezer plus a gelato display case — in our range, a YKF hard ice cream machine and a WBQ case.

How many cones per hour does a commercial soft serve machine make?

Work it from the published figure rather than a marketing claim. A 60 L/h machine freezes 60 litres of mix per hour; with a typical 35 % overrun that is roughly 81 litres of finished product, and at 140 ml per cone about 580 cones per hour theoretical. In real service, allow 60 to 70 % of that, so 350 to 400 cones per hour. Size on your peak hour, not your daily total.

Do I need three-phase power for an ice cream machine?

For a small counter machine, no: our GHJ range at 18 to 35 L/h and the ICE 6L mini at 600 to 900 W run on 220 V single phase from an ordinary circuit. Larger soft serve machines draw 2 200 to 3 600 W, and several YKF models are also offered in 380 V three phase, which is the better choice when the shop already has it or when two machines run at once.

Is a slush machine the same as a granita machine?

They do the same job: hold a sugared drink at roughly −2 to −6 °C while a scraper keeps ice crystals forming in the tank, so the product pours from a tap. Our XRJ line covers 3 to 15 litres per tank with one to three tanks at 300 to 600 W. It is not a frozen dessert machine — it never produces a scoopable product.

Home › Buying guides › Soft serve, hard ice cream, gelato or slush: which machine a shop actually needs

Selection notes from our catalogue / 2026-10-04

Soft serve, hard ice cream, gelato or slush: which machine a shop actually needs

These are four different machines, not four names for one machine. Picking between them is a question about your counter, your staff and your weather, not about which brand is cheapest.

Key answers

A soft serve machine freezes and dispenses in one step, at roughly −5 to −8 °C at the nozzle, and the product is eaten immediately. It never needs a hardener.
A hard ice cream machine (batch freezer) churns and then must be moved out: into a display case for service or a freezer for storage. Its output is a batch, not a continuous stream.
Gelato is the same family served warmer — around −11 to −14 °C against −16 to −18 °C for ice cream — which is why it needs a display case at serving temperature, not a deep freezer.
A slush machine never freezes solid: it holds a drink at −2 to −6 °C while scraping it into crystals. Our XRJ line is 3 to 15 litres of tank per unit at 300 to 600 W.
Our catalogue publishes soft serve output as 18 to 60 L/h (GHJ and YKF series), hard ice cream batch freezers as 20 to 24 L/h, and the mini batch freezers as 6 L per batch.
L/h means litres of mix frozen per hour, not litres of finished product. With a typical 30 to 40 % overrun the finished volume is larger than the mix figure — see the worked calculation below.
A soft serve machine above 2 kW is a circuit decision, not a plug decision: our YKF line runs 2 200 to 3 600 W and several models are also offered in 380 V three phase.

The four machines side by side

What you are comparing	Soft serve	Hard ice cream / gelato	Slush	Snow ice (bingsu)
What comes out	Frozen dessert, dispensed directly into a cone or cup	Churned batch that is scooped or displayed	Ice-crystal drink from a tap	Fine shaved/milky ice from a drum
Serving temperature	About −5 to −8 °C, eaten now	Gelato −11 to −14 °C; ice cream −16 to −18 °C	About −2 to −6 °C	Served immediately, −2 to 0 °C
Needs a display case?	No	Yes for service, or a hardener for storage	No — the tank is the display	No
Our published output	18–35 L/h (GHJ), 26–60 L/h (YKF)	20–24 L/h (YKF hard); 6 L per batch (ICE 6L mini)	3–15 L per tank, 1–3 tanks	60–180 kg/day (ZB-XBJ)
Power as published	2 200–3 600 W	1 400–2 000 W; mini 600–900 W	300–600 W	360–1 200 W
Typical buyer	Cafe, quick service, cinema, street kiosk	Gelateria, dessert bar, supermarket counter	Bubble tea, juice bar, canteen	Dessert cafe, Korean or Chinese sweet shop

The cups-per-day arithmetic, shown in full

This is the calculation buyers most often get wrong, so here it is with every assumption visible. A regular soft serve cone takes about 120 to 150 ml of finished product. Machine output is published as litres of mix frozen per hour; air whipped into the mix (overrun) typically adds 30 to 40 % of volume.

Step	Working	Result
Machine	YKF-8260, published at 60 L/h of mix	60 L/h
Finished volume	60 L × 1.35 (35 % overrun)	about 81 L/h of product
Cones per hour, theoretical	81 000 ml ÷ 140 ml	about 580 cones
Sustained rate, real service	at 60–70 % of theoretical, allowing for cleaning, empty hoppers and queue gaps	about 350–400 cones/h
A 300-cone day	300 ÷ 380	under an hour of freezing — a mid machine is enough
A 1 500-cone day in a 6-hour window	1 500 ÷ 6 = 250/h sustained	one large pump machine, or two mid machines on separate circuits

The 60 to 70 % factor is our working rule from repeat orders, not a laboratory number. If your volume is a hard constraint — a stadium, a theme park, a ferry — tell us the peak hour, not the daily total, because the peak hour is what breaks a machine.

What else you have to buy, and often forget

Mix. Powder plus water is the usual start; a liquid pasteurised mix gives a better product and needs a fridge. Tell us which you will use, because it changes the hopper cleaning routine.
A refrigerated cabinet for the mix. Mix that sits at room temperature between services is a food-safety problem, not a taste problem.
Water and drainage. Most soft serve machines need a water feed for the hopper and a way to drain the cleaning flush. A kiosk without plumbing is a daily bucket routine.
Night storage for gelato and hard ice cream: a display case holds product for service for a limited number of hours; stock lives in a freezer.
Spare parts that actually fail: beater seals, o-rings, nozzle gaskets, air-pump filters, and one full set of blades and plates for the batch freezer.
For a hot, closed shop: ask about the condenser. Air-cooled machines reject their heat into the room they stand in, and a 40 °C back room with no airflow will cost you output before it costs you a repair.

How to choose between the models we sell

If you are...	Start here	Why
Opening a cafe or bubble tea bar with dessert as an add-on	GHJ-16 or GHJ-22	18–35 L/h covers an add-on line without a three-phase supply
Running a dessert shop where ice cream is the main product	YKF-8238 to YKF-8260	45–60 L/h, two or three nozzles, and a 380 V option on some models
A gelateria that must show the product	A hard batch freezer (YKF-7218 / YKF-116 / YKF-618) plus a WBQ display case	The freezer makes it; the case sells it at −11 to −14 °C
Testing the market from a stall or a home kitchen	ICE 6L mini batch freezer	6 L per batch, 600–900 W, ordinary socket, two-tank versions available
Selling drinks with ice crystals, not dessert	XRJ slush machine, 10–15 L per tank	300–600 W, one to three tanks, and the tank is the display
Running a Korean or Chinese sweet shop	ZB-XBJ snow ice machine, 60–180 kg/day	Purpose-built for shaved milk ice, not a substitute for a soft serve

Tell us the product, the peak hour, and what is at your door — voltage, water, drainage. We will tell you which of these model codes fits, and what the machine will not do for you.

Request a Quote Browse all →

The catalogue, by family

Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine YKF Series 11 models · Soft Serve Machine · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p8

Model / Capacity	Capacity	Power	Size W×D×H (mm)
YKF-830	30 L/h	2300 W	—
YKF-8228	28 L/h	2200 W	—
YKF-8228H	28 L/h	2200 W	—
YKF-8118	26 L/h	2200 W	450x760x800
YKF-8238	45 L/h	3600 W	540x770x1445
YKF-8230	30 L/h	2450 W	540x627x1400
YKF-8245	48 L/h	2700 W	580x700x1500
YKF-8260	60 L/h	3500 W	580x700x1500
YKF-8260H	60 L/h	3500 W	580x700x1500
YKF-8218	28 L/h	2200 W	540x590x1360
YKF-8218T	28 L/h	2200 W	540x710x815

Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine GHJ Series 4 models · Soft Serve Machine · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p63

Model / Capacity	Capacity	Size W×D×H (mm)
GHJ-16	18 L/h	500x790x850
GHJ-22	25 L/h	540x720x850
GHJ-L22	25 L/h	540x720x1380
GHJ-32	35 L/h	540x720x1380

Commercial Hard Ice Cream Machine YKF Series 4 models · Hard Ice Cream Machine · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p12

Model / Capacity	Capacity	Power	Size W×D×H (mm)
YKF-7218	24 L/h	2000 W	500x795x790
YKF-7218H	24 L/h	2000 W	500x795x1200
YKF-116	20 L/h	1400 W	525x490x640
YKF-618	20 L/h	1400 W	530x500x700

Mini Hard Ice Cream Machine ICE 6L Series 4 models · Hard Ice Cream Machine · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p31

Model / Capacity	Capacity	Power	Size W×D×H (mm)
ICE 6L-digital	6 L	600 W	260x420x740
ICE 6LX2-digital	6 L	900 W	470x420x740
ICE 6L-touch	6 L	600 W	260x420x740
ICE 6LX2-touch	6 L	900 W	470x420x740

Gelato Ice Cream Display Freezer WBQ Series 6 models · Gelato Display Case · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p63

Model / Capacity	Size W×D×H (mm)	Voltage
WBQ-10	1030x1130x1250	220V/50Hz
WBQ-12	1190x1130x1250	220V/50Hz
WBQ-14	1380x1130x1250	220V/50Hz
WBQ-16	1550x1130x1250	220V/50Hz
WBQ-18	1730x1130x1250	220V/50Hz
WBQ-20	1895x1130x1250	220V/50Hz

Commercial Slush Machine XRJ Series 19 models · Slush Machine · catalogue source: FH制冷设备.pdf p23-30

Model / Capacity	Capacity	Power	Size W×D×H (mm)
XRJ12LX1	12 L	400 W	220x490x810
XRJ12Lx2	12 L	500 W	430x510x770
XRJ12Lx3	12 L	600 W	610x510x770
XRJ12Lx2T	12 L	500 W	430x510x770
XRJ12Lx3T	12 L	600 W	610x510x770
XRJ12Lx2M	12 L	600 W	380x620x760
XRJ15Lx1	15 L	300 W	290x560x760
XRJ15Lx2	15 L	400 W	420x560x760
XRJ15Lx3	15 L	500 W	600x560x760
XRJ10Lx1	10 L	300 W	290x560x760
XRJ10Lx2	10 L	400 W	420x560x760
XRJ10Lx3	10 L	500 W	600x560x760
XRJ15LX1N	15 L	400 W	270x580x790
XRJ15LX2N	15 L	500 W	470x580x790
XRJ15LX3N	15 L	600 W	660x580x790
XRJ10Lx1N	10 L	300 W	270x580x790
XRJ10Lx2N	10 L	400 W	470x580x790
XRJ10Lx3N	10 L	500 W	660x580x790
NANO 3Lx2	3 L	380 W	370x330x430

Q&A / Questions buyers ask us

Questions buyers ask us

What is the difference between a soft serve machine and a hard ice cream machine?: A soft serve machine freezes the mix and dispenses it in one continuous step at about −5 to −8 °C, so the product is served immediately and never hardened. A hard ice cream machine is a batch freezer: it churns a batch, which is then scooped into a display case or moved to a freezer. Our catalogue publishes soft serve output in litres per hour (18 to 60 L/h) and batch freezers either in L/h (20 to 24) or per batch (6 L on the ICE 6L mini).
Can I sell gelato from a soft serve machine?: No. Gelato is churned then served at around −11 to −14 °C from a display case, where it is scooped; soft serve is dispensed at about −5 to −8 °C and eaten within minutes. You need a batch freezer plus a gelato display case — in our range, a YKF hard ice cream machine and a WBQ case.
How many cones per hour does a commercial soft serve machine make?: Work it from the published figure rather than a marketing claim. A 60 L/h machine freezes 60 litres of mix per hour; with a typical 35 % overrun that is roughly 81 litres of finished product, and at 140 ml per cone about 580 cones per hour theoretical. In real service, allow 60 to 70 % of that, so 350 to 400 cones per hour. Size on your peak hour, not your daily total.
Do I need three-phase power for an ice cream machine?: For a small counter machine, no: our GHJ range at 18 to 35 L/h and the ICE 6L mini at 600 to 900 W run on 220 V single phase from an ordinary circuit. Larger soft serve machines draw 2 200 to 3 600 W, and several YKF models are also offered in 380 V three phase, which is the better choice when the shop already has it or when two machines run at once.
Is a slush machine the same as a granita machine?: They do the same job: hold a sugared drink at roughly −2 to −6 °C while a scraper keeps ice crystals forming in the tank, so the product pours from a tap. Our XRJ line covers 3 to 15 litres per tank with one to three tanks at 300 to 600 W. It is not a frozen dessert machine — it never produces a scoopable product.

→ / Equipment this guide points at

Shop by product line

Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine YKF Series

CE50/60Hz

Soft Serve Machine

Product lines

Solutions

Buying

Soft serve, hard ice cream, gelato or slush: which machine a shop actually needs

Key answers

The four machines side by side

The cups-per-day arithmetic, shown in full

What else you have to buy, and often forget

How to choose between the models we sell

The catalogue, by family

Questions buyers ask us

Shop by product line

Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine YKF Series

Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine GHJ Series

Commercial Hard Ice Cream Machine YKF Series

Mini Hard Ice Cream Machine ICE 6L Series

Gelato Ice Cream Display Freezer WBQ Series

Commercial Slush Machine XRJ Series