By Lee Davis, CFSP
Like all refrigeration units, ice machines need to breathe. Air drawn into the machine passes over condenser coils and helps to cool the refrigerant. Warm air is exhausted from the machine. If an ice machine is placed too close to a back wall, side wall, or abutting equipment, performance can suffer. Insufficient clearance might even result in the machine drawing in its own exhaust. Trying to cool refrigerant gasses using warm air just doesn’t make sense, and is very inefficient.
“Manufacturer’s always specify how much clearance is required around their ice machines,” said Linda Gregory, Director of U.S. Sales at Ice-O-Matic. “The problem is that six or more inches of space, in a small or crowded kitchen or bar, can be significant. Moreover, we frequently see machines get pushed back against rear or side walls some time after the initial installation.” Ice-O-Matic has responded to this problem with a line of Top Air Discharge Ice Machines. These machines exhaust warm air from the top of the unit, where it is kept:
- away from customers,
- away from food,
- away from other equipment, and
- above the unit where central A/C systems can better handle it.
Ice-O-Matic is the only company that offers Top Air Discharge Ice Machines as a standard model with no extra cost. Other manufacturers offer it only as an aftermarket kit.
Ice-O-Matic’s Top Air Discharge Machines feature zero side-clearance requirements and are a great solution for crowded kitchens, front-of-house applications, and retail. They are signage friendly and considerably less expensive to purchase and install than a remote system.
The 30” top air solution is available on ICE0250 – ICE0606 30” wide cube machines, and on 1500 lb. cube ice machines. It is compatible with all 30”and higher bin options and many 30”+ dispensers. The 22” solution is available on ICE0320 – ICE0520 22” wide cube machines and compatible with beverage dispensers and 22” storage bins. Select the Ice-O-Matic solution that is right for you and both you and your ice machine will breathe easier.
For more information please visit the Ice-O-Matic website at www.iceomatic.com.
Top Air Discharge Ice Machines
Bins & Beverage Dispensers
Signage Friendly
