Gel, water and PCM look like three options to line up, but each name describes something different: gel the filling's consistency, PCM heat storage through a phase change, a rigid plate the shell. Water freezing and melting is a PCM too. What decides the job is the temperature at which the pack melts while absorbing heat; that depends on the filling's chemistry and cannot be read from colour or hardness.
| Type | What it describes | Where it works | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gel pack | Soft, thick filling (typically water, a freezing-point depressant, a thickener) | Wrapping product, fitting narrow gaps | The filling's melting range, puncture, shape after freezing |
| Water pack | Filling that freezes and melts at 0 °C | Where a temperature near zero is enough | Whether the product tolerates 0 °C |
| Eutectic plate | Rigid shell, selectable melting point | Regular racks, rails and repeated cycles | Melting point, rack slot, freezing rack |
| Instant cold pack | Single-use product that cools when squeezed | First aid, short local cooling | Not for transport; not refrozen |
GEBHARDT makes its eutectic plates with a polyethylene shell and a non-toxic salt-water solution; standard melting points are -3, -14, -18 and -21 °C, and others are made on request. Because a plate holds its temperature near its melting point while it melts, the point is chosen from the product's temperature band. A plate gives no cold until fully solid, and the freezer must be at least 5 °C below the melting point: a -21 °C plate needs 19 hours at -26 °C.
That is freezing preparation. Transport time comes from GEBHARDT's thermal calculation for the product, the fill level and pre-cooling, and reaches up to 24 hours inside the container. An instant cold pack is a separate product: it sits at room temperature and, when squeezed, a reactant (usually ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate or urea) brings the water close to freezing. It is used once and does not replace a logistics pack that is refrozen and reused.
The order of choice is the product's temperature band, the matching melting point, container and rack fit, and last how the shift freezes and collects the pack. Gather product, container and route inputs in the ice-pack selection guide; for the filling see what is inside an ice pack and for the difference from ordinary ice the comparison. Send Aris Makina the product and route and we select the plate with you.
