Everything has a life, including your ice machine. Is yours a hand-me-down? Perhaps it has some tasteful wood-paneled features? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be wondering how much life force is left in your machine.
On average, you can expect an ice machine to last about ten years. Of course, many things can affect its lifespan: regular maintenance, brand, and initial investment. With a lot of TLC, some lucky ducks can see their machine going strong well past the ten-year mark. Want to be one of the fortunate few who nurse their ice machines into old age? Well, we’ve got some tips for you!
The absolute most important thing to do to keep your ice machine running (in general, and in extending its life) is regular maintenance–we cannot stress this enough! It makes sense, right? The better you care for your car, the longer it will run. The better you care for your skin, the longer you’ll ward off wrinkles. The same principle applies to that ice machine!
What does regular maintenance look like for an ice machine? Well, this is something you may see us around a lot for if you take advantage of our maintenance plan here at Tri-Point. We’ll start with the most important part of maintenance to get you started: cleaning.
With any commercial food-grade equipment, cleaning and sanitizing are a must. Freezers, fridges, fryers–they all need to be properly cleaned, and frequently, too. The same thing goes for your ice machine. You may be thinking, “well, it’s just water and ice sloshing around in there, how dirty can it get?” The simple answer to this question is that it can get very dirty! Depending on the environment that your ice machine is in, a host of contaminants can fly in and around your machine. This includes things like dust, grease, and even harmful bacteria that can cause many more issues than just a dirty ice machine. At a minimum, ice machines need to be deep cleaned and sanitized once every six months–although we won’t say “boo” if it’s done more often! With regular and thorough cleanings, you can make sure that important parts of your machine, like the condenser, are in tip-top shape and still going strong.
Another way to prolong your ice machine’s life is to make sure that it’s placed in a location that helps it succeed. Ice machines function better in cooler (but not too cold, that’s a different story) temperatures. If placed in an area that’s a bit balmy, your machine may be working overtime, spending extra energy and fluids to make ice, which will slowly wear it down. Keeping your ice machine in an area far from drastic temperature changes (the outdoors, the kitchen) as well as in a space where it can properly ventilate, will allow it to work at the correct capacity without spending unnecessary extra energy.
Being proactive with your machine’s health is also a must. If you know that something is going wrong, having one of our experienced technicians come out to diagnose it might be the deciding factor between salvation and failure for your machine. This segues into the following issue with older machines: repair or replace?
With older machines, you may come to a fork in the road where a quote for a repair might end up being more expensive than an all-out replacement. Whatever the case may be, know that our technicians at Tri-Point have your back and are ready to assist in your decision on whether or not to pull the literal and figurative plug on your ice machine.
Need help with keeping your machine going strong? Start right here by giving us a call here at Tri-Point Refrigeration and we would be ecstatic in helping you! We’re excited to help you along the way, and with regular servicing, we can keep your equipment running smoothly and healthily, while also extending the reach of your dollar.
For a direct line to any of our employees ready on the line to help you, please call…(512) 651-4565 for our Austin, Texas community (806) 686-0050 for our Lubbock, Texas community. Or check out our website at https://www.tripointrefrigeration.com
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