What’s Water Got To Do With It? How Water Quality Affects Commercial Ice Machines

Water quality can have a major impact on the functionality and longevity of your commercial ice machine. Poor water quality can result in more frequent breakdowns, scale buildup, increased energy consumption and an overall shortened lifespan. Let’s take a look at how different water impurities affect ice machines…and what you can do about it.

Sediment

Sediment refers to solid particles that make their way into drinking water. If your water supply is heavy with sediment, your ice machine will suffer. Sediment will coat the ice machine’s internal parts and can eventually cause breakdowns if left unchecked. 

A heavy concentration of sediment can also cause an unpleasant taste and discolored ice. A quality water filtration system will fix this issue.

Minerals (Hard Water)

The most common minerals in tap water are Calcium and Magnesium, but other minerals such as Iron, Zinc, Sodium, Fluoride, Potassium, Manganese, Barium and Aluminum can be found as well. The “hardness” of water refers to the concentration of dissolved minerals present. More minerals means harder water. And while hard water can be (and most often is) perfectly safe to drink, it can be quite the problem for your commercial ice machine in the form of scale.

Scale is simply the residue left behind from the minerals in hard water. Unfortunately, scale can build up inside pipes and within the internal parts of your ice machine. This makes your ice machine less efficient as it has to work much harder than necessary to move water through the system.  

Low pH (Soft Water)

Naturally soft water can pose an entirely different set of problems than hard water. Naturally soft water has a low pH, which means it’s acidic. Soft water also lacks the dissolved minerals found in hard water. Even though a high concentration of minerals will cause scale, these minerals can also act as a barrier from acidic corrosion. This means the more acidic soft water can begin to cause corrosion damage rather quickly. For your commercial ice maker, it means more frequent repairs to parts that can be affected by corrosion.

Note: this refers to naturally soft water–not water that has been treated through a softening process. Hard water that has been softened does not have a low pH like naturally soft water does and will not have the same corrosive qualities.  

If hard water is bad…and soft water is bad…what should you do?

Water Testing 

Water quality varies greatly from location to location. Testing your water for mineral content, pH and other impurities will allow you to create a plan to best address your specific concerns. Most commercial ice machines come with filter recommendations by the manufacturer. However, we still recommend water testing to find out exactly what is in your water and how acidic it is. Testing your water is relatively inexpensive and will allow you to create a game plan to best address any issues found. 

Remember, it's not just your ice machine that uses the water in your shop! Water heaters, coffee makers, dishwashers and washing machines can all be affected by poor water quality, unbalanced pH and mineral buildup. 

Regular Cleaning 

Regular cleaning and descaling will go a long way in preventing ice machine problems. If your water has a high concentration of minerals, you will need to make plans to descale more often. If you choose not to address water quality concerns, know that you may experience more frequent repairs on your ice machine as time goes on.  

To schedule ice machine service or maintenance in Lubbock and Austin, TX, contact us at 512-651-4565 or email info@tripointref.com

Austin, Texas Location

Tri-Point Refrigeration, Inc

118 Iron Road Suite 100,

Hutto, Texas 78634

(512) 651-4565

Lubbock, Texas Location

Tri-Point Refrigeration, Inc

13805 Avenue P Unit B

Lubbock, Texas 79423

(806) 686-0050