In modern city life, it's easy to see ice makers in restaurants, supermarkets, bars, cafes and other places, and there are car ice makers too.

Ice making machine is a kind of refrigeration equipment that uses water cooled by refrigerant of refrigeration system through evaporator to generate ice. It uses a refrigeration system, and water as the carrier, with the power on and by the compressor refrigeration to make ice and remove ice to produce ice.

According to the principle of evaporator and different production methods, the shape of ice is different. People generally divide ice makers into particle ice makers, sheet ice makers, plate ice makers, tube ice makers, shell ice makers, flake ice makers and so on.

Figure 1: Ice cubes and a Kingfisher beer.

1. Ice Making Procedure

Through the inlet valve, water automatically enters a water storage tank. The ice maker then pumps the water to the splitter tube, which evenly flows the water to the evaporator cooled by the low-temperature liquid refrigerant. The water will be cooled to the freezing point, and the water cooled to the freezing point will solidify into ice. And the water not frozen by the evaporator yet will flow into the storage tank again, and the circulating work starts again through the water pump.

When the ice reaches the required thickness, the ice maker will enter the removing state.

The high-pressure hot gas discharged from the compressor is drained to the evaporator through the directional valve to replace the low-temperature liquid refrigerant. In this way, a layer of water film is formed between the ice and the evaporator, which makes the ice separated from the evaporator, and the ice will fall into the ice storage tank because of gravity.

Figure 2: Euhomy commercial ice maker.

2. Icemaker Troubleshooting Problems and Solutions

2.1 Power indicator flashes fast. The machine does not work.

Problem

Open circuit of the water temperature detection probe.

Solution

Open the back cover, open the electrical control box cover above the compressor, and find a three core connector. Check for detachment or poor contact. If there’s poor contact, replug it.

2.2 Three indicator lights keep flashing. The machine does not work.

Problem

Improper ice making and removal.

Solution

Cut off the power supply, restart, first check whether the fan and water pump work normally. If there is any abnormality, remove it first, and then check whether the compressor has started.
If the compressor does not work, check the part near the compressor. If the compressor has been started, judge the refrigeration system problem and repair it according to the corresponding method.

If there is no problem in the refrigeration system, it can make ice normally, but it does not remove and collect the ice all the time. After 90 minutes, the machine works abnormally and stops for protection.
At this time, it is necessary to use a multimeter to measure the water temperature probe group.

When the temperature of the underwater tank is close to 0 ℃, pull out the three core wire in the control box and measure the resistance of the two wires on both sides.
If the resistance is above 27K, it is judged that the controller is broken and should be replaced accordingly. If the resistance is lower than 27K, you need to disconnect any one of the two wires. You can adjust the resistance to 27K to 28K by connecting the resistance.

2.3 The lights flash quickly when ice is full.

Problem

It means that the ice removal time exceeds the specified time, and the machine is automatically protected.

Solution

In this case, restart the machine. If the problem appears repeatedly, check whether the skater plate swings up and down flexibly.

If the two-way solenoid valve is damaged, this phenomenon will also occur. The machine can refrigerate, but when the ice reaches the set thickness and enters the ice removing state, the water pump stops working and the ice does not fall off.

You can press and hold the selection key for 3 seconds to remove the ice by force.
If there is no obvious airflow sound in the ice maker, it can be considered that the two-way solenoid valve is broken. Check whether the power supply of solenoid valve is normal. Replaceable coil test machine, valve body itself can not be opened.

Figure 3: Flake icemaker machine for commercial use.

2.4 There is no water in the water tank, but it doesn't show lack of water. The ice is loose and has impurities.

Problem

The reason is that the water in the water tank will leave impurities after making ice for a period of time. Or the water itself is rich of minerals, which makes scale grow on the surface of the water level probe. The scale will impair the detection sensitivity of the probe.

Solution

Drain the residual water, clean the inside of the water tank and the surface of the probe.

2.5 There is water in the box, but the machine indicates lack of water.

Solution

Check whether the two core and three core connectors in the control box are reliably connected. Replugging can generally solve the problem.

2.6 Water flow in the spray pipe is not smooth. Some ice blocks are incomplete.

Problem

The spray pipe is blocked.

Solution

When keeping the water running, use tweezers or other sharp things to clean the attached debris on the outlet hole of the spray pipe, until the water can flow out of each hole.

2.7 Ice making is normal, but ice removal is difficult or it doesn’t remove the ice.

Problem

Two way solenoid valve does not work or stuck.

Solution

Start the ice maker, press the selection key for 3 seconds to enter the forced ice removing state after the ice is generated on the machine. Touch the solenoid valve by hand. If it doesn't vibrate, it means that the power supply of the solenoid valve is abnormal.

Check the control board and connecting line. If there is vibration, the ice can be removed repeatedly for several times, which can solve the sticking problem of some solenoid valves. If the problem still exists, it’s probably that the solenoid valve is damaged and you need to replace the solenoid valve.