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Atlantic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Inc. Blog

Signs of Trouble with a Commercial Ice Machine

ice-machine.repair

Restaurants and food preparation services in the Dover area often require ice machines to prepare beverages and to provide ice for keeping foodstuffs cool. When those ice machines run into trouble, they can shut down your entire operation: preventing you from adequately serving your customers and even forcing you to close your doors until the problem gets fixed in extreme cases.

Only a trained professional should attempt to repair a commercial ice machine. Without proper training and licensing, you’re apt to cause more damage than you fix and may even injure yourself in the bargain. Once you spot the signs of a problem, you should shut the ice machine down and call in a repair service immediately. But how do you spot those signs of trouble in the first place?

Generally speaking, anything that doesn’t match the expected behavior of the ice machine is grounds for concern. More specifically, you should look for any of these common signs of problems, which can be created by a number of different issues:

  • Leaks can be caused almost anywhere in the system: from the water lines leading into the ice machine to breaches inside the system itself. You can spot the signs of a leak simply by looking for puddles forming around the base of along any of the water lines leading up to it. In some cases, the leak will spill into the ice container itself, resulting in fused or misshapen chunks of ice.
  • Misshapen Ice. Similarly, problems with the water temperature, with air inside the system or with leaks in an inappropriate area can result in misshapen ice coming out of the system. This is problematic because the ice tends to be large and unwieldy, making it difficult to ice in beverages.
  • Short Cycling. Short cycling is the tendency of the ice machine to turn on and off rapidly many times throughout the day. It wastes a huge amount of energy and will slow down the production of ice in the system. It can be caused by a faulty electrical connection, or sometimes an overheating internal component.
  • Low Ice Levels. Ice machines need to be able to keep up with demand, and you’ll likely become very accustomed to its output levels as you use it. When those levels drop, for any reason, it’s usually cause for concern.
  • Low Water Flow. Low water flow is usually caused by a clog in the water line, though leaks and similar issues may be to blame as well. It will result in lower levels of ice produced and a lot of wasted energy.
  • No Power. Sometimes, the biggest problems are the most obvious. If the ice machine doesn’t turn on, check the breaker box to make sure power is still flowing to it. If that doesn’t correct the problem, turn it off – even if it’s not running – and call in a repair service.

For quality commercial ice machine repair in the Bridgeville, DE area, call the friendly pros at Atlantic Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Inc. today!

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