Ice machine curtain getting stuck.

[beef]

Odd stuff. Maybe someone hit the front and warped it. Possible the panel was improperly installed.  Got me stumped lol

[fixbear]

Usually that from the ice sheet harvest hanging at the bottom from scale.  The bottom hangs as the top tips forward and sometimes bridges till it melts and pushes the cover way out.   Make sure to check the evaporator plate to be dead level vertically.  Also let the evaporator dry and check for scale or pitting.  And that the divider plates are all the way down and do not have any gaps for the ice to get under. When it’s wet you can’t see it.  Shows up big time dry.

Heck, the machine is just saying clean me.  LOL

[olivero]

Okay, I could see that, lol.

Have you had that happen where it gets stuck on an actual plastic part?

I’ve had the sheet break before and a cube or so would get stuck in the curtain but never seen it where it gets stuck on the plastic, even on machines with broken grids or pitting.

[ectofix]

fixbear replied:
Also let the evaporator dry and check for scale or pitting.

The point there being that you can’t see the scale when the plate is still wet, but it’s readily visible when it’s dry.

I’m not sure about machines made in the past 8+ years, but ice machines generally go into a harvest when they’re initially powered up. 

So, to quickly dry out the evap plate:

Turn off the water to the machine, then turn the machine OFF and back ON again.  That initial harvest cycle will heat up the plate and dry it out quickly.  Then you can do your visual inspection of it for scale, pitting and separated dividers.

[fixbear]

If the machine has the proper bridge, and the evaporator the proper complete ice sheet, it should slide out at the bottom first as one piece and start breaking as it crosses the deflector.  With the newer machines the bridge has to be right because of the harvest assist. Otherwise the plunger just pokes a hole. 

The cover sticking out on the mount is due to one side pushing and twisting the cover. Again, comes  down to cleaning and a hanging of the sheet.

[fixbear]

You can also “feel” the scale with your little finger in the larger cube machines..  Not possible with the small dice.  At least not with my fat fingers. 

[olivero]

Okay cool, good to know. It’s a 8 or 9 year old machine so It’s done it’s due. 

Probably due to replace soon.

[olivero]

Sounds good, if I end up back in front of this machine, I’ll make sure to do this.

Thank you guys.

[isitfridayyet]

I’m guessing that’s a Prodigy. If it’s an older machin, it may have a one piece plastic curtain & they were notorious for hanging up like your description. The replacements are hinged 2 piece curtains so that doesn’t happen. May want to check that.

[olivero]

It is an older style, probably 10 years or more older.

Solid piece of plastic.

Is that the one that was notorious for this?

[isitfridayyet]

Sounds like it. The plastic warps when it gets cold and hangs up. If you replace the curtains that problem goes away.

[olivero]

This is the one currently on it.

https://www.partstown.com/scotsman/sc02-4100-32

[isitfridayyet]

Hard to tell from the pic, but there’s a good pic of the one I’m referring to on Heritages website pt#02-4611-21. That’s the style we have on our prodigies, & haven’t had them hang up since replacing them.

[fixbear]

That part number comes back to the standard one her.

But it’s not a two piece that I can see.

[fixbear]

The bottom does look like it flexes a bit.

[olivero]

Huh, it does look like that hinges at the bottom

That seems to be what was getting hung up, I wonder if replacing that curtain would just be a good measure at this point.

[isitfridayyet]

I may not be describing quite right calling 2 pieces, but basically it’s hinged towards the bottom.when the ice drops the curtain barely swings out, drops almoststraight into the bin. I would check with Scotsman tech support, my experience with them has always been fantastic. They support their product very well in my opinion.

[olivero]

Sorry for the delay.

The problem kept on coming and going and so I eventually ordered that new style of curtain and I haven’t had a problem in 3 weeks, so that did it.

Thank you for recommending that.

[formant78]

My costway ice maker (https://wisepick.org/best-ice-maker/#product_6) stopped working properly. The ice freezes and gets stuck up in the ice maker unit part of the machine and will not release and fall into the ice bin. I have tried everything but nothing seems to work.

[ectofix]

Sticking ice is usually due to the formation of lime scale on the evaporator plate.

Refer to your machine’s manual for cleaning instructions and use the chemicals the manual states.

https://www.costway.com/88-lbs-portable-heavy-duty-built-in-commercial-ice-maker.html

[fixbear]

Format78; What you have is actually a domestic machine that has a minimal amount is support and is normally sold one line or through Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Sears. You will not find a true commercial machine below $1200. I’ve found them to last about 2 years before having issues.

Now the common thing is water quality. If you don’t have a water filtration system installed on any ice machine it will have problems. Depending on your location, it may be more prominent than in other locations. Ice machine cleaners are normally some form of a buffered acid that is made to now eat the components of the machine. This varies by manufacturer. Why we always try to use each producers cleaner instead of a generic. Sometimes pricey up front, but cheaper over the life of the machine.

Not knowing the style of cube you have, I really don’t know how your machine is built. But all cubers have a common design in that they freeze a cube former, then reverse the hot gas side of the refrigeration cycle to heat the forming molds for harvest. Controls, sensing and safeties are where brands differ greatly.

But here is what I’d be evaluating if it was in front of me.

1, Is it fully charged? making ice even over the whole former. 2, Is it going into harvest correctly? Do you feel the ice making plate, former inlet getting hot? When it goes into harvest you will hear a click of the hot gas bypass solenoid opening. 3, Is it in harvest long enough? This varies with control design and sensing.