12 Operation Of Ice Machine; Ice Making Process; Ice Production - Electrolux UL15IM20RS Use And Care Manual

12 Operation of Ice Machine

Ice Making Process

Your ice machine is unique in how it forms
ice with fractional freezing to form a slab
of ice that is clear and has less mineral
content than the water it is produced from.
This is accomplished by running water over
the cold evaporator plate (Figure 1) which
gradually freezes the water to produce the
ice slab. Pure water freezes first, leaving the
dissolved minerals in the residual reservoir
water to provide clear ice.
When the ice slab reaches the correct
thickness, the ice sheet is released and
slides onto the grid cutter (Figure 2). Here,
the ice slab is cut into squares by the
grid cutter's heated wires (Figure 3). The
water containing the dissolved minerals
is drained after each freezing cycle. Fresh
water enters the machine for the next ice
making cycle.
The ice machine will keep producing ice
until the ice machine's bin is full and will
restart automatically when ice needs to
be replenished in the bin. The ice bin is
not refrigerated, and some melting will
occur. Allow your ice machine to run for
24-48 hours to accumulate ice in the ice
machine's bin.
The bin level sensor is located in the ice
bin, it senses when the ice supply is low
or full and starts or stops the ice making
process accordingly.
If the water supply is turned off to the
ice machine be sure to set the electronic
control to the "OFF" position.
Figure 1

Ice Production

In normal mode the ice machine will
produce about 35 pounds (15.9 kg) of clear
ice in a 24 hour period when installed in
a 70°F ambient temperature with a 70°F
water supply. In "ECO" mode (Controls
section) the energy consumption and
the amount of ice produced in a 24 hour
period will be reduced by approximately 23
percent.
"Initial" ice production and ice
accumulated in the storage bin will vary
significantly. This is normal. During the
first 24 hours of operation the unit will
produce about 30 lbs. of ice at the above
temperature conditions, but when starting
with an empty ice storage bin, the storage
Figure 2
bin may only accumulate about 18 lbs.
of ice. By design, the ice storage bin is
maintained at a temperature slightly above
freezing to allow the stored ice to slowly
melt, to preserve the clarity and assure
a constant supply of fresh ice. As ice is
accumulated in the bin, the ice production
rate will overcome the ice melt and the
storage bin will fill to capacity.
Figure 3
NOTE
NOTE