Ask the Experts: Why Isn’t My Ice Machine Producing as Much Ice as It Normally Does? -

It’s almost 6 o’clock, reservations are booked to the brim, and you can feel the night’s rush beginning to simmer. Behind the scenes, your ice machine is grinding away at a sluggish pace, not producing nearly enough ice to meet your needs for the evening. What gives?

Chances are if your ice machine isn’t producing as much ice as it normally does, there’s an environmental issue at hand impacting the ice maker’s functionality. Before you reach out for assistance from your trusted ice machine handyman, here are a few key things to check before having a meltdown.

If you’ve browsed the commercial ice machine installation checklist, you know that a proper drain is one of the main components required. Over time, these drains can become neglected and overlooked, filling with gunk and other debris. The consequence? Your ice machine gets backed up, slowing production and hurting your machine.

Memphis tends to experience power outages out of the blue. If your establishment’s power has been turned off—or flickers—there could be an issue with the breaker.

Similar to your power supply, ensure that your water flow hasn’t changed either.

Ice machines are like plants; they need the right temperature in their environment to reach their full potential. Ensure that the space your ice machine is installed in hasn’t been getting too hot or too cold. Ice machines need to be in an environment with a temperature in the 70s.

The same way that ice machines need the right temperature, they need room to breathe. By ensuring that nothing is blocking the passage of airflow through the ice machine’s vents, you can know that that’s not the problem. Blocked airflow means debris buildup. Debrid buildup means a struggling machine.