Your commercial ice maker is one of the most important components of your business. If it were to stop working, your business would come to a halt. There could be several reasons contributing to that and it is important that you be prepared for them beforehand with best practices recommended by commercial appliances repair experts. We are going to discuss some potential problems not allowing your ice-making machine to work along with fixes. Let’s begin!

Not Dispensing Water Or Ice

Perhaps the most common problem amongst commercial ice-making machines is that they will stop dispensing water or ice. To diagnose the appliance, you should first check if it is receiving a sufficient amount of water. It might be that someone accidentally turned off the valve and the machine is not receiving enough water to make ice cubes.

Then, check the feeler of the ice maker or if the machine has been switched off. The feeler is the component that pushes the cubes to the outer tray and it can sometimes be blocked. Additionally, if too much ice tends to pile up, the feeler will stay lifted, prevent it from dispensing more ice. If the machine is receiving water but the pressure is not enough, the water will not flow into the ice maker. In this situation, you will need to call in a restaurant appliances expert.

Not Making Any Ice

In some cases, you will observe that your ice dispenser is not dispensing any ice at all. To diagnose the issue, first, check if it is turned on. Next, check if the thermometer is adjusted to the right temperature. If you observe that the appliance is still not making ice while it is turned on and at the correct temperature, it means the culprit could be a clogged water line. In such a situation, you need to switch off the machine and defrost it. Once the machine is defrosted, turn it back on. If it still doesn’t make any ice, you should call a professional for repairs.

Leakage

Leaking is yet another common problem amongst ice makers. If you are met by a leaking ice maker, you can easily fix the issue in most cases. First of all, you need to check if the machine is resting in a leveled position. More often, business owners tend to ignore this fact but an ice-making machine installed on an unlevel surface will most probably lead to a leak.

Then, you need to check the water pipes nearby. If there are water pipes inside the machine, you will need to check them too. Even though these pipes are made to last long, you never know when they could go wrong.

Frozen

If you notice that the water freezes before it enters the icemaker mold, your ice maker will freeze up. To rectify this issue, you will need to adjust the thermostat to the recommended temperature. If the thermostat is already set to the recommended temperature and the water is still freezing before getting to the mold, you should consult a professional about it. It might be that the thermostat needs calibration.

Making Strange Noises

If you own an older commercial ice-making unit, do not be surprised if it starts to make weird noises. This could be a warning sign that can eventually turn into a big problem later on. The reason we stress it is that the majority of homeowners wait for the noise to go away by itself. However, while running a food business, you cannot accept your ice-maker going out even for a few minutes. Therefore, as soon as you hear unusual noises from the ice maker, you should switch it off and look for problems.

Dispensing Smelly Cubes

Yes, ice-makers can sometimes dispense smelly cubes as well. This can really hurt your clientele. The only reason behind smelly ice cubes is a dirty filter. You should follow the manufacturer’s recommendation regarding the replacement of the filter. Ideally, you should change it every six months just to be on the safe side.

Final Word

Even though commercial ice makers will run for years before developing problems, sometimes several external factors can contribute to certain problems. Make sure that you follow a maintenance schedule and keep an eye out for problems that could lead to expensive repairs or replacements down the road. And don’t hesitate to call in commercial ice maker repair McLean services to have the appliance working again in no time.