Why commercial ice machines stop making ice

Ice production failures group into water supply, cycle control, refrigeration performance and scale or hygiene build-up. Working through them in that order costs nothing and often identifies the problem in minutes.

Start with water: is the supply tap open, is the filter long overdue, does the reservoir fill to its normal level? A machine that never fills will never make ice, and this accounts for a surprising share of emergency call-outs in Rustenburg kitchens.

Next, watch a full cycle. A machine that freezes but never harvests points at a switch, sensor or control fault. A machine that harvests thin, hollow slabs points at water distribution or a weak pump.

Finally, feel the condenser air. If it is hot and the fins are blanketed with dust or grease, the machine is fighting high head pressure and will lose production long before it fails outright.