At Automatic Ice we work on a LOT of Manitowoc Ice machines. Not only do we lease and rent ice machines, but we service ice machines and work on customer owned equipment all across the treasure valley. So what issues do we see most commonly and how do you fix them?

Just remember, if you don't want to worry about trying to fix your ice machine check out our rental program! Our technicians know how to do all of this so you don't have to!

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1. Ice machine doesn't have power or water.

This is way more common than you might think! It seems simple, but so often we get calls on commercial ice machines and we find that the machine doesn't have power, or the water has been shut off. So, before you put in a service call with your local refrigeration or ice machine company check the water supply to your ice machine.

How do you check this?

Power - You can use a voltage meter to check power at the wall. Unplug the ice machine and check the outlet! if you don't have a voltage meter you can just plug something else into the outlet! If your phone can't charge, then your ice machine won't work! If the wall has power, open up the front cover of your ice machine and uncover the control board. These days all newer ice machines have a display board, but even the older model ice machines will have a control board. If there are illuminated LED lights on the board then you have power! Now check and make sure the ice machine is switched to the "on" position.

Water - The best way to check water is to disconnect the supply line to the ice machine. We recommend getting a 5 gallon bucket and running water for 1 minute into a bucket. If your supply line can provide 5 gallons per minute you have good water pressure and this isn't causing an issue for your ice machine.

If you disconnect your water line and do a water flow test and notice your water pressure drops or is running slow, then this is your issue! Often we see the cause of this low water pressure being a plugged or dirty water filter! Check your supply line and ensure your water filter has been changed recently!

If your machine has power, and water, then it's time to put in that service call.

2. Watery or wet Ice

We often get service calls from customers that describe their ice as watery or wet. This may seem silly, but what our customers are often describing is an ice machine that has an out of adjustment Ice thickness control or ITP. This control on Manitowoc equipment isn't hard to adjust and can be resolved with just a few tools.

How do you fix this?

Open the front cover of your ice machine. The part of the ice machine that the ice freezes on is called the evaporator. This is typically covered by a water curtain or splash guard. Remove the cover to your evaporator and you will see an Ice thickness control hanging in front of the evaporator. This part has an adjustment screw and can be changed in 1/4" turns to thicken and thin the ice. To thicken ice turn the screw 1/4" clockwise and then let the ice machine produce ice. If the ice is too thin, turn the screw 1/4 counter clockwise.

3. HPC0 Active

What is HPCO and how do I fix it? Your ice machine is designed to operate in a safe range of pressures. In order to protect your ice machine, when the pressure gets to high your ice machine shuts off on a HPCO to protect itself! All self contained ice machines are cooled by either Air flow, or water flow. We call these ice machines, air-cooled units, and water-cooled units. If you are seeing this sign, it means you are not removing enough heat or pressure from the ice machine system and you need to fix that!

So what do I do?

Air cooled - Check the ambient air temperature around your ice machine. If it's over 100 degrees it is very likely that your ice machine is in too hot of an environment. If your operating temperatures around the ice machine are reasonable you can clean out the condenser and filter on the back of your ice machine. There is typically a mesh washable filter in the back of your ice machine that can be removed and cleaned. After cleaning this filter you can clean the condenser fins by brushing the condenser and spraying it out with water. *Do not brush your condenser against the metal grain, you must go with the grain or you will ruin your machine!

If you do this and the machine still won't work, please put in a service call to your local refrigeration or ice machine company!

Water cooled - Make sure you have good water pressure! We often see customers install their ice machines and hook up a water filter to both the condenser and the incoming water to their ice machine! This is a big issue! Only filter your water feeding the ice machine.

If you have good water pressure, you may have a larger issue and will want to put in a service call to your local refrigeration or ice machine company!

4. Water is pouring into the bin

There are a few issues that can cause this, but the most common is a stuck water valve or bad water level sensor WLP. Your ice machine will have a valve to let water in to feed the ice machine. It will also have a sensor to measure how much ice is inside of the water trough. When your ice machine is running water into the bin it means one of these two parts has likely failed!

How do I know which part failed?

Water level probe: If you turn off the ice machine by switching off power, or unplugging the unit all water should stop coming into the bin.

If water stops pouring into the bin its highly likely that your water level probe isn't registering the water in the trough and is continuing to call for water even though its already full! It's time to replace that WLP!

Inlet valve: If you turn off the ice machine by switching off power, or unplugging the unit all water should stop coming into the bin.

If water continues to pour into the bin then your valve is stuck open, and your inlet valve needs to be replaced!

Just remember! It's perfectly normal for small amounts of water to go into your bin as the ice machine runs, if you see a little water before the ice machine drops ice that's perfectly fine too! The issue is when you see what our customers describe as a water fall into their bin. Your ice machine should not be doing that!

5. I have to keep resetting my ice machine

There are so many things that can cause your ice machine to turn off, but there are a few things you can check before putting in a service call.

Ice machines of all brands have trouble codes, Hoshizaki ice machines have an audible beeping, Manitowoc units have an alert log, and Koolaire have LED lights on the control board. The first thing that you can check is the trouble codes your ice machine shows. The most common errors we see "Long Harvest" and "Long freeze".

In order to protect the compressor and vital parts of your ice machine most equipment have a maximum freeze and harvest time. This means if your ice machine takes more then 1 hour to make a rack of ice, it will shut itself off. If your ice machine takes more then 3.5 minutes to harvest it will shut off. These safety features are put in place to ensure your ice machine isn't damaged when it has an issue.

If your ice machines shows a long freeze or harvest trouble code, its best to call a certified technician that knows your ice machines sequence of operation so they can determine which component in your ice machine is causing one of these error codes to occur.

6. My ice is cloudy and not clear

There is a whole lot of excitement around crystal clear ice, if the ice is clear it must be pure! But clear ice is not a sign of clean ice! So what causes my ice to be cloudy and what can I do?

The most common causes of cloudy ice is air trapped in the ice.

We occasionally see customers with exceptionally high water pressure, as water is let into the machine it will freeze so quickly that the air doesn't work its way out of the cube and as a result you get a cloudy ice cube.

We also see bad water pumps that aren't functioning correctly, this can cause the machine to surge water over the evaporator. When this happens and water is unevenly ran over this evaporator it can cause air to form in the cells causing the ice machine to have cloudy ice.

So what can you do?

Manitowoc has a future that is called Ice-clarity. This function can be turned on and it will call for more water during the freeze cycle of the ice machine. If this function is turned on you can expect a clearer ice cube.

You can request a technician to come out and check your evaporator and water pump to ensure you are getting even water flow across the evaporator.

7. My ice machine just doesn't seem to be working as fast as it used to.

When your ice machine doesn't keep up, we often find its because the ambient temperature is high or the customer is just using more ice. There are situations when this isn't an issue, if this is the case then the next question we ask our customer is when the ice machine was last cleaned or serviced. If an ice machine hasn't been cleaned properly it can slow down production significantly. Manufactures like Manitowoc recommend cleaning your ice machine a minimum of two times per year. But in environments where there is a lot of mineral and calcium in the water supply, it is highly recommended to get set up on quarterly cleanings. If your ice machine ins't cleaning properly it can get calcium deposits on the evaporator and this can cause all sorts of issues with your ice machine.

In conclusion, if you don't want to deal with these issues give us a call! We provide ice equipment for our customers and for a small monthly fee we provide all service, parts, labor, and maintenance cleanings. This ensures you have ice when you need it and no expensive service calls!

If you have a problem with your ice machine don't hesitate to reach out through our contact form so we can help!

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