It’s Time to Change Your Commercial Ice Machine Filter! Here’s How

If you haven’t looked under the hood of your ice machine lately (or ever) it’s time for a tune up. Let’s dive into how to change your commercial ice machine filter. 

This guide will outline how to change the filter on a self-contained air cooled commercial ice machine. If you have a different machine type, we’ve included helpful videos for Ice-O-Matic and Manitowoc ice machines at the bottom of this post. 

For the step-by-step tutorial for your specific model, download your model’s user manual and service guide from Ice-O-Matic’s resources page or Manitowoc’s download center. 

Note: if commercial equipment isn’t your forte, this may not be the time to experiment. We recommend contacting a service technician to perform your ice machine’s filter change to avoid potential mistakes or breakages that could lead to service interruption. 

Related: Ask The Experts: What’s The Difference Between Air-Cooled and Water-Cooled Ice Machines

Before you begin, we recommend assembling the following tools to make the job easier:

• Gloves
• Safety glasses
• Flashlight
• Screwdriver
• Compressed air 
• Warm water
• Degreaser
• Fin comb

1. Disconnect the power to your ice machine at the main service switch. Ice machines house sharp blades internally, so don’t risk an accidental switch flip that could kickstart those blades into action while you’re elbow-deep in an air filter. 
2. Detach and remove the air baffle. To do this, just lift and disengage the fasteners (you’ll probably need your screwdriver for this part).
3. Remove the air filter. You may need to pry, slide, or pull it out. 
4. Wash the air filter. This is where your degreaser and warm water come into play. If your filter has lint accumulation, a little warm water will do the trick. But if your commercial ice machine is installed in a restaurant kitchen, you may have oil and grease buildup to clean. Use your degreaser to cut through the goo. Make sure the filter has plenty of time to dry before you reinsert it. 
5. Optional: Examine your condenser. While your filter is drying, now is a good time to inspect your condenser. Use your flashlight to shine through the condenser and check for buildup between the condenser fins. If your flashlight beam isn’t strong coming through, you’ve got buildup and you’ll need to clean your condenser coil. 
6. Optional: Clean your condenser. The same cleaning principles apply to your condenser coil as your air filter. If it’s grease or oil buildup, use your degreaser. If it’s just lint, warm water will work. You can also use compressed air to dislodge stubborn and hard-to-reach lint particles, along with your fin comb. Once the condenser coil is clean, let it air dry completely before reinserting it.
7. Replace your clean condenser coil and air filter. When you're done, flip the power switch back on.

Here are a few tips that will make it easier to get your ice machine back in action: 

• Make sure you discard all the ice in the bin before you service your equipment so that your ice isn’t contaminated with flying lint, or cleaning chemicals
• Clean and sanitize your ice bin before restarting your machine
• Use caution using water and liquid formulas inside your ice machine and keep moisture away from all electric components
• If your machine has lots of lint buildup, try to service it in a well-ventilated area for your own wellbeing

You should clean or change your air filter every 6 months. Increase the frequency if your ice machine is exposed to extremely greasy air. If this is the case, ideally you should find a better location to install your ice machine to ensure it has a nice long life. If this isn’t possible, routine cleaning is even more important. 

Even if you think the air quality in your business is clean, regularly cleaning a commercial ice machine will make sure internal buildup doesn’t interfere with ice production and your ice machine will last longer.