Ice-O-Matic GEMU090 Series, Service Manual, Page: 7 / 25

Water System
The auger is driven at about 11 RPM by the gear
reducer. The gear reducer is a sealed component
and does not require lubrication, as it contains a
charge of grease. The auger motor drives a set of
gears that all together reduce the motor speed to
the 11 RPM output speed and correspondingly
increasing the torque. The output shaft of the gear
reducer is hollow to accept the square end of the
auger.
The auger is one of the key components in this
product. It is a precision machined part cut from
solid stainless steel bar stock. It fits the inside of
the evaporator tube very closely and is aligned by
the gear reducer at the bottom and a self
lubricating bearing at the top.
As ice is made and forced up the evaporator, the
auger is being pushed down. That thrust is
supported by the bearings in the gear reducer.
Those bearings also provide alignment for the
bottom of the auger, keeping it centered in the
evaporator tube. The top bearing provides auger
alignment at the top.
Water is kept from leaking out the bottom of the
evaporator by the water seal. The water seal is the
type of seal called a face seal, with the outside
diameter of a stationary half pressed against
the inside of the evaporator tube and a
rotating half attached to the bottom of
the auger. The sealing action takes
place where the faces of the two
halves rub together.
Water is the raw ingredient of
ice and it enters this machine
through the compression fitting in
the back. That leads to the float
valve and reservoir. When the float is
not supported by water, the float arm
is down and the attached float valve
is open. As water enters the reservoir, it
also flows into the reservoir’s outlet
tubing which leads to the
evaporator water inlet, filling the
evaporator. The float rises as
the water level is increased until
it has lifted high enough to force
the water valve to close, stopping
the flow of water. When the machine
is making ice, the water level will drop
slightly and water will flow into the reservoir
through the partially open float valve. It will flow in
continually as ice is made.
Water quality. Nearly all water supplies contain
some impurities or minerals. When ice is made
those minerals can remain behind in the ice
machine and coat its surfaces with a hard, stone
like substance known as scale. This scale must
occasionally be removed by scale remover. Scale
remover is a food grade acid that will dissolve the
scale so it can be washed away. Note: it is
important to ALWAYS dilute the scale remover
when using it on this machine. Never use undiluted
scale remover.
Some water treatment devices make very clean
water, Reverse Osmosis is one of those and this
machine may be used with RO water as long as
the conductivity is greater than 10
microsiemens/cm. Use of de-ionized water is not
recommended and will void the warranty.
Page 5
GEMU090
Service
Float Valve
and Reservoir
Hose to drain
Hose to
Evaporator
Inlet
Water Level
Evaporator
Inlet
Water Sensor