Manitowoc Water Inlet Valve Maintenance February 14 2014, 5 Comments

On some occasions the water inlet valve on your Manitowoc ice maker may require maintenance. Although it typically does not require removal for cleaning, if it is malfunctioning, not allowing water into the trough, removing the valve and cleaning may save you the cost of a service call. There are two main symtoms that may indicate you need to remove your water inlet valve, no water coming into the trough or water overflowing the water trough.

First of all, when the ice machine toggle switch is in the OFF position, no water should be entering the water trough. The water inlet valve should be completely closed and stop water flow into the machine. In addition, when the ice maker is in the ON position and calling for water, a steady stream of water should be entering the trough. If you only have a trickle or intermittent water flow, you may need to remove the valve for cleaning. These indicators apply to both the 115v and 208-30v water inlet valves.

To clean the water inlet valve, simply remove the 4 1/4" hex head screws that hold the mounting bracket to the valve. Once the bracket and fitting is removed, you can easily clean the metal screen that filters the incoming water to the valve. It's possible that trash or debris over time will eventually clog this part of the valve. After cleaning, reassemble and test to make sure proper water flow is accomplished.

The metal screen on a water inlet valve will not protect the valve or other parts from hard water build up. Hard water, also known as scale, will clog a water inlet valve and can build up inside the valve itself. To protect your ice maker from scale build up, use an authorized commercial water filter that treats the water with a scale inhibitor.

A damaged water inlet valve will need to be replaced. The two most common Manitowoc water inlet valves are part number 000007965 for 115v applications and 000007966 for 208-230v ice makers.