“THANK YOU FOR SOLVING A LONG TERM PROBLEM! For the last seven years we have had to buy ice every single summer – all summer long. …From the first day after installing the Maximicer at my store, we have not bought any more ice – period.” Jim McComas | Owner | Golden Fried Chicken (franchisee)

How to reduce compressor failures in ice machines

This is the peak season for ice machine breakdowns. By helping your customers reduce their compressor failures, you can also help level your company's workload.

By J.L. Love, Maximicer

The vast majority of all ice machine breakdowns and compressor failures occur during the summer months of June through September. Unfortunately for businesses that rely on ice, the summer months are also the period of peak ice demand.

Technicians recognize that most ice machine problems occur during warm weather, but the causes are not as well known.

One major contributing factor in ice machine failures in warm weather is the increased temperature of the fresh inlet water that is made into ice.

WARMER INLET WATER

The compressor head pressure of an ice machine continues to increase until ice begins to form on the evaporator plate.

Since making ice is nothing more than the removal of heat from water, it will take longer to remove the heat from 90ºF water than from 70º water.

While it takes longer to remove Btus from warmer water, the compressor head pressure also increases. As the head pressure increases, the compressor becomes less efficient. This means it will take even longer for ice to form, which means the head pressure increases even more.

This "Catch 22" situation is the downfall of many compressors in hot weather.

"Head Pressure is very important," said Russell Cooper, marketing manager for Copeland Refrigeration. "Reducing the head pressure by 20 to 35 psi menas more mass flow, lower discharge temperatures, and reduced compressor wear."

Another factor that is frequently overlooked is how water is delivered to the ice machine.

"Most of the water lines we encounter in the field are copper lines," said Christy Neil, former president of Maximicer. "Especially in the South, these lines are often run through the attic and then drop to the ice machine.

"This does not cause a problem in the wintertime, but attics can become extremely hot on sunny days. In hot weather we frequently measure water temperatures in excess of 100º going to the ice machine."

Ice machines are designed for 70º water. Inlet water temperatures above 90º exceed the safety parameters and begin to cause cumulative damage.

You can push a compressor to extremes once or twice, but the life of the compressor is reduced.

It is easy to understand why the summer months cause so many ice machine compressor failures.



Head pressure reduction with commercial ice machines using Maximicer.

SOLVING THE WARM WATER PROBLEM

Several methods have been applied to try to solve the problem of warm water. Usually these efforts have centered around producing more ice rather than reducing repairs.

One method is routing the inlet water through copper coils beneath the ice in the bottom of the bin. Placing coils in the ice bin melts ice that the machine has already produced.

There is a net loss of ice availability, and the location of coils in the bottom of the bin presents additional health problems.

Another means of solving the problem has been to coil the copper water line in the walk-in cooler. This method uses a lot of energy to cool the water for the ice machine and is costly to install.

These water lines are often unprotected and the exposed coils can be troublesome. Another drawback is that the ice machine has to be placed immediately adjacent to the cooler to prevent heat transfer in the lines leading to the machine.

Mechanical chillers are infrequently used because they are a costly solution. Such chillers use large amounts of electricity and can cost as much as a small ice machine.

There is a method of prechilling the inlet water in a specialized heat exchanger being sold under the name Maximicer®. These devices have been sold to companies that include Steak 'N Ale, Bennigan's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.

Maximicer utilizes the cold sump water, which is purged during the harvest cycle to prechill the inlet tap water that will be made into ice.

MINERAL BUILD-UP

Similar devices have failed in the past because they lacked the technology to prevent mineral buildup.

This newest product has overcome these problems by applying technology that prevents minerals from coming out of solution in the first place. And, the product is a totally passive device with no moving parts to wear out.

The bottom line is that prechilling inlet water is good for ice machines. The machine will produce more ice and use less energy.

However, probably more important but less known is the fact that the head pressure of the ice machine compressor will be reduced, leading to fewer breakdowns, fewer compressor failures, and a longer life for the machine.

Reprinted from The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News


For more information call 1-800-289-9098 or email sales@Maximicer.com. To place an order now, click here.