Area residents can now buy water by the gallon and ice by the bag at Cypress Ice, a large ice machine installed by Troy Wyne of North adjacent to Bill Hudgins Automotive on Route 17 in Gloucester.
The self-serve machine holds 6,000 pounds of ice in store, said Wyne, and will dispense it in 10- or 20-pound bags. It will also dispense up to 20 pounds of ice in bulk from a chute directly into a cooler placed beneath.
Water from the machine is treated as it’s being dispensed, he said, going through a process that includes micron and activated carbon filtration, ion exchange, and ultraviolet light cleansing. The customer must bring a jug to collect the water, which can be dispensed into one-, three-, or five-gallon containers.
Wyne said there are a lot of such machines farther south because of the demand in warmer climates, but fewer up north, where they’re not typically needed year-round.
The parking lot of Hudgins Automotive was the perfect spot to locate such a machine, said Wyne, becaus...