Ice Machine

[jimL]

Uline

Turtle Blues - can you elaborate on your last post please? Our 2.5 yr old U-line works, except the gizmo that automatically shuts off the production of ice no longer works. We have to stuff a tall Yeti in there to hold the bar up when we want to shut off the production of ice, and still keep the ice maker cold. Any insight is helpful.

JimL
M/V Lemon Drops

 

[Turtle Blues]

When you remove the cover of the faceplate there is a small hole in the upper right that the end of the shutoff bar should be seated in. It is possible that the bar has been pushed to the rear far enough to dislodge it. If you can remove the faceplate far enough to reset the bar this should align it properly with its microswitch. If it is a faulty switch I have attached a photo of the replacement assembly.

 

[Comodave]

When we buy our next boat, I want to buy it from somebody who dusts the tops of his fuel tanks.

After I dust the tanks I usually wax them…

 

[Comodave]

We don’t use a lot of ice, except our dog loves ice so we carry it on board for him. We use a bit in our Yeti cups and it lasts all day. We have taken out the big icemakers in our last boat and current boat. In our current boat it was a combo icemaker and undercounter fridge. Only ran on 120 so it wasn’t of much use. Also to get to the secondary fuel filter you had to pull the icemaker and open a hatch under it to get to the filter. I gave the whole thing away even though it still worked. We just buy a bag of ice and it lasts about a week.

 

[Turtle Blues]

At the risk of thread drift...
Dave, does that constitute fuel polishing?

 

[Comodave]

Our current boat uses fuel so fast that it really doesn’t need any polishing…

 

[BDofMSP]

I wonder how many Uline ice makers are still running strong. Like with many things TF attracts the reports of problems. I would like to report my 31 year old Uline is still working.

Mine was working strong until for over 20 years until last August. The solenoid gave out so it would keep ice, but not make any ice. Replacement was $300 and it's been working great ever since.

My only issue with it is that I don't have it on an inverter, so every time I leave the dock the ice melts, and then freezes into a solid mass when I get home. But that's my fault, not the machine's.

BD

 

[SteveK]

My only issue with it is that I don't have it on an inverter, so every time I leave the dock the ice melts, and then freezes into a solid mass when I get home. But that's my fault, not the machine's.BD

Mine is on the inverter circuit. worth getting the jumper wire done behind the panel. Be sure to trace the neutral and move that to the inverter neutral bus bar.

 

[catalinajack]

Because we had spare space on the aft deck of our DeFever 44, I installed a Scotsman commercial icemaker, useful only while on shore power or genset, but, no matter, it made so much ice that we simply bagged ice and kept some in reserve in our chest freezer.

There is also a difference in the quality of the ice. The Scotsman makes crystal clear ice. The countertop products make ice permeated with air. That sort of ice does not do well in mixed drinks or soft drinks. It melts way too fast and waters down whatever is in the glass too quickly for my taste. Also, if used in a cooler, that ice doesn't last nearly as long as clear ice does.

We were very happy with our choice, but each of us have different needs, wants, and budgets. Also, having a separate, high-output icemaker enabled us to install reefers without those space-hogging, pretty much useless (opinion) freezer compartments. But, we had the luxury of plenty of space on board for that ice-maker and a chest freezer.

 

[Mengering]

We got two of these. Less than 200 watts so we never even start the generator and they make ice in about 10 minutes
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8S1VN...1-1-9e67e56a-6f64-441f-a281-df67fc737124&th=1

 

[jimL]

Good to know in the event our ULine that is just 2.5 yrs take a crap.There are options.

JimL

 

[Wings]

I’ve machine

We replaced the uLine ice maker on our sundeck. With some space modifications were able to fit mini fridge with small fan and vents on side and above. Love our counter top ice maker, especially that melt water is reused rather than discharged. Run both on inverter or generator when cruising

 

[man7sell]

I have a small one for cocktails. It makes ice but does not keep it so the ice has to go into the freezer to get it cold. At home our refrigerator ice maker went bad so I bought a better ice maker that will keep ice. It is larger, Frigidair. Really great ice maker. Now we have replaced our home refrigerator with ice makers we no longer need it. My decision now is what one to keep, smaller one for the boat, or the larger one for the boat. Space matters in a 30' tug.

 

[Choices]

We have a counter one and love it. It keeps up with us no problem. Way more convenient than a built-in.

 

[Hippocampus]

Have an ice machine as a separate unit. Now have the bar which tells it to make ice restrained in the up position. Use it as a secondary freezer. For drinks have the stones you put into the freezer and can reuse. They don’t water down drinks. You can sneak in quite a few among the stuff in your freezer(s) so save a lot of room. Have grown to prefer this set up. Less fresh water use. Always have “ice”. More storage room. My single malt isn’t watered down.

 

[jimL]

U-Line update: We had the "ice maker" replaced in September for a total cost of $700 or so. The arm that stops the production of ice stopped working in the automatic mode. So we are back to using a tall Yeti to keep the arm lifted when we don't need any more ice. I contacted the company that replaced the "ice maker" and they have a 90 day warranty. The issue is we are now near JAX not Albany NY. I said that we expect to be near Albany NY next Aug/Sep and they agreed to cover it under warranty when we get there. It will end up being a small freezer - which we already have. We are not happy about this.

 

[Turtle Blues]

So first two possibilities; either the arm disengaged from the faceplate or the microswitch is bad. If you remove the plastic front cover you can easily observe the first and by moving the arm listen for the second, it clicks when the arm contacts it. Not uncommon for the front of the arm to come out of the faceplate it's rather a loose tolerance.

 

[SteveK]

So we are back to using a tall Yeti to keep the arm lifted when we don't need any more ice.

What is a tall yeti, a beverage container used to hold up the wire shut off as the the detent part failed to keep it locked up?

 

[Turtle Blues]

Or a very small abominable snow person.
The lift arm is easily pushed to the rear by mounding ice. The cycle lifts it, dumps ice, and then lowers it under pressure. If the pan is extremely full this action by itself can pull the front end of the arm out of the hole of the mounting plate and clear of the micro switch.

 

[jimL]

We'll check it out. We are 10 months from Albany NY and we are hoping this (next late summer) will be our last there. Thanks for your advice. JimL