Heat transfer phenomena during melting process of the phase change material (ice) was studied by numerical analysis and experiments. In a horizontal ice storage tube, the natural convection caused an increase in melting rate. However, the reduction of the heating surface area caused a decrease in melting rate. Therefore, during the melting process of ice in a horizontal cylinder, the reduction of the heating surface area should be considered. Under the same heating wall and initial water temperature condition, the melting rate became higher for $V_s/V_tot/=0.545 ;than ;that; for; V_s/V_tot$/=1.00 due to the difference in the reduction of heating surface area. A modified melting model considering the equivalent thermal conductivity of liquid phase and volume reduction was proposed. The results of the model were compared with the measured values and found to be in good agreement.