Installation
Water
The water supply for this ice machine has been in
contact with many materials since it fell from the
sky as rain. All rain is slightly acidic, and tends to
dissolve the materials it comes in contact with.
During water’s journey to the ice machine, it has
flowed over and through the ground, been picked
up by a municipal or private pump, forced through
a series of pipes of differing construction and may
have been treated by the municipality providing
the water.
The water supplied to this ice machine will then
contain a variety of substances that will likely show
up as solids during the ice making process. These
solids are similar to those found when water is
boiled out of a saucepan. Only the water boils
away, and the minerals that were in the water
solidify in the pan. During ice making only the
water is frozen into ice, the minerals stay behind in
the reservoir. This machine dilutes the water in the
reservoir every cycle to minimize the amount of
minerals in the water system, but after time the
minerals will appear and have to be dissolved by
ice machine cleaner, then flushed away during the
cleaning process.
An ice machine is a food manufacturing plant; it
takes a raw material, in this case water, and
transforms it into a food product, ice. The purity of
the water is very important in obtaining pure ice
and in maximizing product life.
The water to the ice machine should be filtered.
Water filters vary greatly in ability and function.
Install one that filters out suspended solids to a
dimension of 5 microns or less. The finer the filter
the better, but finer filters may plug-up sooner than
course ones. It may be necessary to add a course
filter ahead of the fine filter to prolong filter life.
Even though there isn’t one filter that will cure all
water problems, a good filter combined with a
polyphosphate feeder gives about the best overall
performance.
Have the water tested. Acidic water or alkaline
water will both cause corrosion. Dissolved solids
cannot be filtered out. Check with a water
treatment specialist regarding testing, treatment
and filters.
Space is required for service access at the sides
and utility connections at the back. 6 inch
clearance is recommended.
The ice machine is not designed for outdoor
use. It must be installed indoors, in a
controlled environment. The air and water
temperatures must not exceed rated limits.
Pre-installation:
1. Inspect the place where the ice machine is to be
installed. Check for:
••
space for the cabinet,
••
water supply,
••
drain availability
••
and electrical power supply.
No extension cords are allowed. The building drain
inlet must be lower than the drain outlet of the ice
bin. The water supply must have a hand shut off
valve accessible when the unit is installed.
CME650R
October 1994
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