Ice Machine Service Support
Diagnosing A Manitowoc Water Pump January 22 2015, 4 Comments
Every commercial ice machine has a water pump, so Manitowoc ice makers are no different. The water pump works by taking the water from the water trough, pushing up through the tubing, out and over the evaporator through the distribution tube. It’s important for the water pump to be strong enough to push an even flow of water, but not too strong to cause the stream of water to miss cascading down the evaporator. To troubleshoot a Manitowoc water pump, follow this guide for signs you may need a new ice machine part.
Water pumps consist of 2 main components, the motor and the impeller. The motor turns, spinning the impeller, and sucking water out of the trough. The force then pushes water to the top of the ice machine, which allows Manitowoc to make ice with a vertical evaporator.
Proper voltage must be supplied to the water pump for it to work efficiently. If too low of voltage is supplied, the motor will not be strong enough to pump the water. However, too high of voltage could cause the motor to burn up. Checking to make sure you have the proper voltage at the ice machine is important for not only the water pump, but all electrical ice maker parts.
New Year Ice Machine Maintenance January 12 2015, 0 Comments
Happy New Year! Now is the time to start taking action and reduce the cost of owning your commercial ice machine. To do this, plan a maintenance schedule right now, which includes cleaning your Manitowoc or Koolaire ice machine at least once every 6 months. Depending on your location, you may need to do this more often, ideally once per quarter.
An ice machine has a foodzone, just like your grill, so keeping it clean is important. There are things to help with keeping the ice machine free of mold and scale, like adding a water filter or Guardian Sachet to reduce slime. However, nothing beats taking components apart, putting the ice machine into clean mode, and using nickel safe cleaner to scrub that evaporator.
Manitowoc Ice Machine Installation Checklist February 14 2014, 0 Comments
After purchasing a Manitowoc ice maker, installation needs to be performed by a trained service professional. However, if you feel comfortable making all the electrical and plumbing connections yourself, there are a few items that you will want to make sure are covered before turning on the ice maker.
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
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