How To Install An Ice Machine

The question of how to install the ice machine (properly) comes up every time installation errors have created business problems. The question of HOW to install ice machines needs to be the first question that you ask yourself. The proper installation of the commercial ice machine is equally as essential and starting a business. Every common mistake leads to a loss of ice production, water and electricity waste, and shortened service life, leading to business interruption. Mostly hidden from view are the vast array of everyday health and safety issues that develop because of drainage installation errors.

How to typical steps involved Installing the ice Machine.

In short, follow these steps for a succesful installation. Survey the site. The site must be surveyed for plumbing, electrical, and noise concerns before locating the equipment.

1. If the plumbing in place does not allow for gravity drainage, the installation location MUST be changed. Do not proceed. Ice is food. Inadequate drainage systems quickly amount to unsanitary conditions.
2. Is the floor (preferably) concrete? The commercial ice machine is HEAVY and can fall through wood floors. The ice machine is prone to water leaks during everyday use and routine maintenance. Anything other than a concrete floor leads to floor damage.
3. Does the electrical supply support the electrical ratings of the ice machine? If there is any doubt, hire an electrician to be sure and also to connect the machinery.
4. Water quality. Enlist the aid of a water filtration company to test the potable water supply. Water filtration improves the quality of the ice clarity and taste and extends the service life of the ice machine.
5. Test the ACTUAL production of the ice machine before leaving.

 This sounds like a dismal outlook for the ice machine. Training and becoming informed of the process leads to a much better result, usually with the same effort (labor hours) as doing a misguided installation. More, these steps are critical that service technicians survey at every inspection to ensure continued compliance. Many unknowledgeable technicians have come along and made ill-advised changes to the installation in servicing the ice machine. For instance, one of our favorite observations is leaving cover panels off the machine when it was reassembled after cleaning. The logic escapes us since the factory designed and installed the cover panels when it built the machinery. The cover panels are there for a purpose, and it makes sense to install them all after the installation is completed.
The factory has written installation manuals that convey every issue covering the correct installation. The factory writes these manuals with the idea that the installer and technician have the core knowledge to understand the instructions and other guidance given within. If the technician does not have previous training and understanding of the core concepts, such as refrigeration piping assembly, air flow clearances, and electricity, the instruction might not make any sense. Continuing with the technical aspects of the installation won’t turn out well.

Unboxing

This is an obvious task to pay attention to. Once the box is opened and thrown away, the likelihood of making a case to blame scratches and dents on the shipping company or the factory is closed. Make sure to inspect all cartons and to ensure that you have received all of the boxes. Once the box is opened, inventory the contents to ensure that you have received all of the parts.

Machinery Clearances

Ice machines must be installed in cool areas away from external heat sources from stoves, ovens, and radiant heat. The insulated ice storage bin can only protect the stored ice up to a relatively low temperature before the ice melts, which also affects the clarity of the ice product
The temperature caveat. Since the ice machine is full of water in one form or another, it is prone to freezing. The ice machines must also be protected from temperatures that would result in water freezing.

Air-cooled machinery needs (guess what?) AIR to be cooled.

More than just cooling the machinery, the condenser heat rejection that must take place requires cool air. The continued operation of the machine requires that an open-source of air is available to push through the condenser coil to ‘absorb’ the superheated refrigerant gas. The refrigerant gas in the condenser contains the heat removed from the potable water supply and the internal machinery heat sourced from at least the compressor motor.
When the air exits the air-cooled condenser, it must exhaust into spaces that won’t create the propensity of air being recirculated back through the condenser inlet again. Recirculated air won’t work. The condenser needs a continued source of the lowest temperature air. You can read more about air-cooled condenser efficiency through any refrigeration training course since this is an essential requirement. You can also check out the professional Ice Machine Training coursed developed and sold through eTech.us.com and written by authors with 40+ years of experience.

Refrigeration Piping For The Remote Condenser

If you don’t have the specific adequate training for designing and assembling the refrigeration system, this task is well-above-your-pay-grade. This process involves brazing, nitrogen purging, evacuation, and much more. Refrigerant charging consists of calculating the correct amount of refrigerant to be inserted considering the refrigeration system capacity and line sets lengths, fittings installed, and verticle rise. Once the line sets have been leak-tested and the refrigerant inserted, there is rarely a reason to connect the refrigeration manifold sets.
Besides a heavy skill set, the equipment needed to make this installation exceeds the value of the ice machine. Remember the first line of this article? Because of the drive to ‘save money,’ many business owners still hire someone doing ‘side-jobs to make these installations. The old problem of installations that don’t work continues.

Water Cooled Condensers
Some areas of the world allow water-cooled condensers. A water-cooled condenser uses potable water flowing through the condenser instead of air. This sounds like a great idea since the water temperature is stable and the condenser efficiency is resultantly stable. There are some things to consider.

• Water-cooled condensers use MUCH water to do what they do. Since water is scarce in many areas, it makes sense that local government and utilities won’t allow water-cooled condensers to be installed. Check to ensure they are allowed before buying the equipment. In some locales, the penalty for illegally using water-cooled condenser assessed by the government is severe, including water disconnection.
• Recirculating cooling towers can be used to minimize the water consumed; however, the expense of installing one is high.The water-cooled condenser requires water treatment appropriate to the local conditions to avoid dissolved solids from precipitating and hardening to the coil surfaces, effectively ruining the condenser.

Electrical Supply Requirements

An electrician is required to run the connections to the ice machine and (if equipped) the remote condenser. The installer is responsible for ensuring that the connections and the safety protections (fuse, circuit breaker, GFI) are correct before setting the ice machine into operation. In the case of the equipment change, the technician is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the existing connections are compliant with the local building and electrical codes. Lastly, the connections need to comply with the manufacturer’s specifications found in the installation manual based upon their machinery certifications, such as UL laboratory and AHRI testing.

Water Supply Requirements

Go figure that water is the key ingredient of ice. Since water is the only ingredient, it makes sense that the ice machine needs plenty of it. More, the machine needs plenty of purified water. Nobody likes their drink cooled with ice but flavored with chlorine or other sanitizers used in the municipal water supply.
Some locales require water treatment as well to remove organic impurities and contaminants. Every local water supply is different from another and may change sources from time to time. The best practice is to consult a water treatment company to evaluate a water sample and recommend the best filtration and treatment systems for the specifically intended installation.
Many business owners resist the recommendation to maximize the water quality due to more expenses. These same business owners probably also resist routine maintenance, oblivious to the ramifications of doing so.
Many installers don’t have any idea of where, to begin with analyzing the water sample. As we’ve discussed, water is the only ingredient to ice and needs to be the best it can be.

Drainage

Drainage is needed to collect the melting ice water from the storage bin and purge water used during each (example) complete cycle of the cuber. Drain systems come in several forms.

• An existing installation that does not have floor drains. These buildings have been ‘grandfathered’ into complying with the Plumbing Codes. Being grandfathered means essentially that the installation does NOT meet the current hygiene standards but is hopeful safe enough not to kill anyone through contamination-related issues. Building codes usually have ‘exit clauses’ in these allowances that, e.g., after a specific date or when the business transfers ownership, the grandfathering ends, and the building must be updated. Some buildings cannot be updated due to their construction and might not be allowed to continue food service.
• An existing installation that meets the current plumbing requirement but won’t meet the new ice machine’s requirements. In this case, the capacity or location of the drainage system might need significant improvements.
• A newly constructed building designed for the specific ice machine model and meets all code requirements.

How and when discrepancies are detected by Building and Health officials depends on many factors. When a building permit is opened on a project, the current plumbing system’s impact could be reviewed to work performed. Other times the deficient installation is not detected until a health complaint is made against the business.
We recommend that you take your time and make a proper drain connection since nobody likes any sewage or sewage gas level filtered into their ice.

Start-Up and Performance Measurements

The ice machine startup requires more than turning on the switch and leaving. Every manufacturer provides specific guidance about how their equipment should be started up and checked before declaring the installation complete.

The specific startup sequence is always outlined in the installation manual. Let’s review the general steps.

Remote Condensers
Ice machines built with a remote condenser require specific refrigerant charging modalities. Not the least of which the refrigerant charge must be calculated using the criteria in the installation guide. From there, the charge should be weighed in with the correct equipment. Note that there is no room for the old ‘beer can cold’ method of charging anymore.

After the charge is weighed into an evacuated system, there is no longer a need to ‘add a little more or ‘remote a little bit of the refrigerant charge. If the machine is found to be under-producing after the production check outline below, then the cause should be investigated. Since the refrigerant charge was critically weighed, the urge to begin adjusting the refrigerant charge should be resisted!

Other than the remote condenser, the ice machine should start and run normally. Either way, the next step is the ice production check. Consult the installation guide for the steps that your manufacturer recommends, but in general, the production of 15 minutes of stabilized production is caught in a bucket and multiplied by 4 to get the hourly production. From the hourly production, we multiply by 24 to get the daily production amount. The daily production rate is compared to the expected production rate outlined in the installation guide. If the production is within boundaries, you’re set! Time to collect your tools and move on to the next job.