Ice Machine Service Support

Manitowoc Indigo Versus Kool-Aire Ice Machine March 04 2014, 4 Comments

Manitowoc has released a new line of budget commercial ice machines labeled Kool-Aire or Koolaire. This has long been a Manitowoc brand, but was previously only assigned to a small line or reach-in glass door coolers. The new Kool-aire ice machines are now made by Manitowoc, but at a lower price point than the popular Indigo, and manufactured in Mexico.

Find out what the difference is between the Manitowoc Indigo and Koolaire brand ice machines. From service, building materials, and warranty we cover it all here.

Get Free Manitowoc Service Hand Books January 15 2014, 43 Comments

Service technicians at every level rely on special tools to assist with repairing food service equipment. Ice machines can be especially troublesome, considering the mechanics behind freezing and then harvesting a batch of ice. There are service handbooks available for purchase, but you can also download this same manual, for free!

Manitowoc Ice makes the service tech manuals, for every model ice machine, available on their website. You can download the specific model machine you are working on. For example, there are different service books on the under counter models, Manitowoc Q, S, B, and J series ice machines. They even provide a free Indigo model service tech handbook.

Warning, these handbooks are long, so the download may take some time.

To get started:

Visit ManitowocIce.com
Scroll to bottom center of website, under Literature 'Downloads'
Select the drop down for 'Select Document Type', select Service Manual.
Then select the model of ice machine you are working on in the 2nd drop down menu.
Under select document drop down menu, select which language you want to download the manual in.
Lastly, a DOWNLOAD or VIEW button should appear. Select 'download' to save to your hard drive and view offline.

Adobe Reader or comparable application is required to view these documents. However, once downloaded, you can search and have access to all kinds of service information, specific to your Manitowoc ice machine. For example, service tech handbooks include wiring diagrams, diagnostic tips, refrigeration pressures, and ice machine specifications.

If you need help, we provide service support as well, please email sales@icemakerpartsshop.com

Before Replacing A Manitowoc Control Board January 09 2014, 77 Comments

In my experience, the control board on Manitowoc Ice Makers is quite possibly the #1 misdiagnosed component. Service technicians tend to blame the electronics in the control board before properly testing and checking on the various probes that tell the board what to do. Remember, garbage in, garbage out.

Before ordering or replacing a Manitowoc control board, check the following probes.

Water Level Probe – Often times when the water level probe gets dirty from scale build up, it will false read, telling the control board that the sump trough is full. Because the board is being told the trough is full of water, it will shut the water inlet valve off. This will lead to thin or no ice formation on the evaporator.

S Series Manitowoc Water Level Probe 20-0654-9

Q Series and older Manitowoc Water Level Probe 25-1129-3

Ice Thickness Probe – The ice thickness probe on Manitowoc Ice Machines is another common item that will fail due to being dirty. The scale build up from hard water will tell the ice machine that it’s got a full sheet of ice and ready to harvest, when in reality there may be little to no ice formation. Early harvests, with no ice to trip the bin switch, will eventually lead to a safety limit lock out. Clean or replace your ice thickness probe before replacing a control board, your bottom line will appreciate it.

S Series Ice Thickness Probe 20-0802-9

Q Series and Older Manitowoc Ice Thickness Probe 76-2781-3

Magnetic Bin Switch – The bin switch on Manitowoc Ice Makers is the component that tells the machine when the ice has harvested off of the evaporator. When the ice falls it will break the magnetic proximity switch on the water curtain, which tells the ice machine to terminate the harvest sequence and go back into a freeze cycle. This item can be very difficult to diagnose because of being an intermittent problem, the only way to test is to OHM the switch out and look for consistency.

S Series Magnetic Bin Switch 000007888

Q Series and older Manitowoc Magnetic Bin Switch 23-0148-3

Please subscribe to IceMakerPartsShop.com Newsletter for more tips and information on properly diagnosing and replacing parts on Manitowoc ice makers.

Safety Limit #2 On Manitowoc Ice Machine January 09 2014, 133 Comments

When your Manitowoc ice machine shuts down prematurely, it most likely is going off on what’s called a safety limit. On Q Series ice machines there are 2 different safety limits, that will help you diagnose the problem. To check the which safety limit is the problem, simply turn your machine from the off position to ice and count how many times the harvest light flashes. Below are what the 2 safety limits mean.

Safety Limit #1 : If the freeze time reaches 60 minutes, the control board automatically initiates a harvest cycle. If 3 consecutive 60-minute freeze cycles occur, the ice machine stops.

Safety Limit #2 : If the harvest time reaches 3.5 minutes, the control board automatically returns the ice machine to the freeze cycle. If three consecutive 3.5 minute harvest cycles occur, the ice machine stops.

Safety Limit #2 is a more common safety limit and can be caused by the ice maker simply being dirty. A dirty evaporator will hold ice and not allow it to fall until it is mostly melted away. Because there is not enough ice to force the water curtain open and break the bin switch, the machine simply thinks it never harvested.

Assuming your ice machine is clean, there are 2 other areas that are most common for shutting a Manitowoc Ice machine down on a safety limit #2. A missing magnet on the water curtain or your water curtain being broken will cause your bin switch to fail. The magnetic bin switch on a Manitowoc ice machine relies on proximity to the magnet to know when to terminate the harvest cycle. This switch will not read if it does not make proper contact with the magnet. To remedy this issue simply replace the water curtain.

Another culprit, which can also lead to intermittent problems, is a failed bin switch. The only way to properly test a magnetic bin switch is to OHM it out and look for consistency. However, it is possible for the switch to fail on say the 100th time, so if you are experiencing regular Safety Limit #2 lockouts, it might be a good idea to go ahead and eliminate the bin switch by replacing it.

Lastly, never underestimate a good cleaning. Most Manitowoc ice machine problems can be fixed without any parts, simply a good cleaning will return the ice maker back to proper operation. If you have any questions about diagnosing or replacing Manitowoc ice machine parts, ask your question below in the comment section.

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