How to Make Ice Maker Work Faster

Have you noticed your ice maker working slower? Do you have to wait for extensive periods for the ice bin to fill up? Then it’s about time you cleaned out your ice maker.

Ice makers are what keep us going in the summer. But when they break down, the fun is over. Lack of maintenance and the owner’s neglect can lead to sluggish ice production.

So how can you boost ice production in this crippling heat? We’ve compiled a list of 9 ways in which you can enhance your ice maker’s performance. See for yourself.

Turn Down the Temperature:

The simplest way to boost up your ice-making equipment is to lower the temperature. The ideal thermal reading for an ice maker is 0 to 5 degrees F. Check your freezer if it’s within 0 to 5 degrees range. If you find that you’ve set the temperature correctly, but the ice maker is still not working efficiently, then try the other methods. Or you could lower the temperature further and see what happens.

It could be that the thermostat in your ice tray is not reaching the set thermal reading at a nominal rate. In this case, lowering the temperature will help the thermostat reach the desired temperature faster. But be warned: lower temperature means more energy cost in the long run .

Limit Your Use of the Freezer:

The ice tray in the freezer needs to be at a constant temperature for it to work. When you open and close the freezer door too often, you’re letting hot air in. This hot air will not only spoil your food but also melt the ice.

Freezers are relatively better at retaining the coldness. So an occasional look inside wouldn’t hurt. However, when you’re constantly retrieving food from the freezer, the temperature inside can shift. Even a shift of 1 degree can impact how ice forms. Try to reduce the amount of food you put in the freezer. You can do this by using a different freezer compartment or just refrigerating it.

Stock Your Freezer Up:

The more food you put in the freezer, the faster the cold air will circulate . Try to keep the freezer at least half-filled all the time. The cold air will bounce off the frozen food and reach the ice maker from all directions.

This may seem counteractive to the second point I made. Stocking your freezer means you need to retrieve items more often, right? Well, yes. The ideal way to do this is to stock up food that you won’t need as often. This includes food that doesn’t go bad fast, such as water and other drinks. Water bottles will also add to the bulk in the fridge. And due to their cylindrical design, they will circulate air more evenly.

Avoid Placing Hot Food in The Freezer:

It’s recommended to let the food cool down to at least room calefaction before placing it in the fridge. Also, avoid placing the food too close to the ice-making equipment. Room calefaction or not, there’s still some heat in your food that can melt the ice. Your freezer will start to freeze the food in no time. But while it does that, make sure that none of that heat reaches the ice-making equipment.

Get a New Filter:

Many modern freezers use a water filter to make sure that your ice cubes are safe for use. These filters are designed to catch any impurities in the water. But after years or even just months of doing so, the filter can get quite dirty.

A blocked filter can lead to lesser and lesser water going through. This usually results in smaller ice cubes instead of the ice-making device working slowly. But smaller ice cubes mean that the ice bin will get filled slower. And this can lead to the illusion that the ice maker is working slower than usual.

Check the Water Inlet:

The water inlet is the tube through which water enters the ice-making equipment in the first place. A clogged water inlet leads to slower ice production. The inlet is situated at the back of the freezer. So you’ll need to pull the freezer away from the wall to check the inlet.

See if there’s any clogging or kinking in the tube. If there’s any blockage, simply turn off the ice making equipment, remove the inlet, and clean it out. You can turn off the ice maker by closing the water pressure valve. Follow the inlet away from the ice-making equipment to see where the pressure valve is.

Ensure the Valve Is Fully Open:

When you’re inspecting the inlet, it’s a good idea to inspect the water pressure valve as well. This is what controls how much water goes into the ice-making equipment. Ensure that the valve is in the ‘On’ position. Make sure that it’s tight as well. A loose valve will freely move into the ‘Off’ position during operation.

Service the Entire Ice making device:

It’s not just the water inlet or the filter that can get dirty. The ice-making device itself can develop chemical buildup and jamming. Turn the water inlet valve off, remove the inlet, and then remove the ice making unit. Depending on the construction, you may need some special tools to remove the unit .

Thoroughly wash the inside of the ice-making unit with warm water. This will melt over any ice that could be clogging the mechanical parts. Also, wash the mechanical parts such as the sweeper’s arm.
Read the freezer’s user manual or call customer support to know how you can clean the ice-making device. You may end up damaging the sweeper arm if it’s not rust-proof.

Replace The Ice making unit:

If all else fails, consider replacing the ice maker. Call customer support to learn how you can get a replacement . Or you can get a third-party replacement, but it may cost you more. And tampering with the original equipment can void the warranty.
Often, the repairmen will suggest replacing the other components too, such as the valve and the inlet. Follow through the procedure, and your ice making unit should be working fine in no time. You may also need to replace the thermostat.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re serving guests or taking a break from the heat, a piece of faulty ice-making equipment pleases no one. It’s important to know how you can boost up your ice maker to get the best of your machine. There are countless ways to get your ice maker working just like normal again, and we iterated just 9 of them.

So to wrap it all up: ice makers can get slow when they’re neglected. It’s important to continuously check the ice maker for clogs and blockages. Service your ice maker at least once a year to maintain healthy freezer operation.