I find it disgusting that these restaurants are allowed to not clean these machines regularly. That machine is literally a bacteria farm in the condition it is, but I know this is not your fault and you are at the mercy of the restaurant owners. Other than that, I love these videos. Thanks Chris.
Yea i was shocked to see the black dots in that water tube. It is guaranteed mold and other nasty stuff. even tho it is not nice if i was him i would do my job there and then later call the health inspector cause that is just waiting for someone to get terribly sick bcs their immune system is weak.
What do you think your main water lines look like coming from the street? Most are lead pipes. If you grew up playing in the mud and outside. This is nothing.
@@Freonleon Maybe, but this is something that should be treated at least every 6 months. I had customers who wanted them cleaned every 3 months, time-consuming to do, but if they wanted to pay my rate I was ok with it. We can't do anything with the pipes within the ground or the building, that is taken care of by the water company with the use of chlorine or chloramines. That machine has not seen any love in quite some time, saying that I have seen much worse.
I am aware that there are places somwhere that still use lead pipes but i can assure you that most of lead pipeworks have been replaced. At least here in germany and water is one of our most controlled goods. unless your house has not been renovated in the last 80 years there is a chance for lead pipes in your house but since many houses are renovated in a city that chance is very low. reason why im not concerned about water quality and mainly just clean machines. @@Freonleon
great video Chris. I work on a lot of Hoshizakis and Manitowocs. That 3 beep alarm is a challenge most of the time. I know I'll be there for at least 1.5 hours or more. Thanks for sharing. I really do enjoy your lessons, instructions and thought process.
A big cause of 3 beep alarm is that darn float switch. First thing I check is pull that rubber cup off the bottom of the float switch, and see if it's choked with lime. Just had this happen at one of my customers this past Sunday, the water they have there is very hard, and the whole thing was like CAKED with lime deposits. Had to soak the float and rubber cup/tube in some very strong phosphoric acid ice machine cleaner, the thing foamed like a baking soda/vinegar volcano science experiment! What happens is, once a freeze cycle is started, Hoshi's look for that float switch to open. If it doesn't open by the max freeze time setting on the DIP switches on the board, it will beep two times, and go into harvest. Once you get two 2 beep errors in a row, the machine shuts down and you get the 3 beep alarm. Another pesky problem with Hoshi's is the dump check valve seat and spring, a lot of the time that flimsy spring gets weak, the spray header tube holes at the top of the evap get clogged up, this increases the back pressure at the water pump which forces more water down the drain thru that dump valve. Remove ALL the plastic water distribution piping and clean thoroughly. Clean the area where the rubber disc sits, and replace the seat and spring. I like to stretch the spring a bit, and set the DIP switches for a pump out cycle only every 10 batches. Those machines flood the water reservoir with so much excess water during harvest it's not necessary for a pump out every cycle. However check the book, some particular models like the KM1100's etc need to have a pump out every cycle. The KM1300 and KM1600 like in this video will work just fine with a pump out every 10th freeze cycle, as long as the water quality is reasonable in the area.
I don't work in the HVAC industry, I don't even have any choice over the AC in my apartment (VRF system), I don't even live in the US - yet somehow, I always look forward to these videos, and watch them from start to finish, every time. Maybe it's just the process I enjoy, or maybe just appreciate everything you do for the HVAC industry. Keep up the good work, Chris! Even I have been learning things about both HVAC among many other life skills from your videos!
Great video, I work maintenance in a nursing homein the IE and it's great to see videos and you explain everything great. I've learned a lot watching these thank you!
Yet another good reason to say "no ice, please." That and goopy tables and dishes mummified in calcium deposits seem to be a common theme at most chain restaurants. Nothing says satisfaction like having to pry your cup of toilet water off the table to take a sip.
If this is what the ice machines look like at restaurants, I shudder to think what the ice machines look like at fast food joints (where the care factor is even less)
@@jfwfreo the same. Managers are the ones who schedule people for shifts but also don't train for the cleaning tasks. Good luck getting the manager to even touch these machines outside of grabbing ice. Fast food is a different field from restaurants but they all operate on the same premise: out of site out of mind, the next shift can deal with it. Repeat. That and the faster they get food out the more money is made and they'll just spend that money to pay off healthcare departments instead of any preventative maintenance or cleaning supplies. Lots of places don't even stock chemicals, always a last minute order when they are already out. If you work just one shift at any restaurant, you'll see why these machines get this way
I think a lot of people just aren't given the time or inventory to clean the amount of dishes they go through in a thorough fashion in time to be used again. I have been yelled at for hand-washing bar glasses while closing, when the difference was something like 10 minutes.@@slimm420
I literally just had to do that exact repair. Plates on the left AND right bank of the evap were separated. Repair is easy but time consuming. Awesome video as always, Chris!
@@quietone610 we ordered both evaporator sections from hoshizaki (as 1 piece). I only had to make 4 different welds (braze joints). And yes, I use 15% silver solder.
@@cancorp29 Yeah but what's the lead time on new evaps? Did they send you those plain copper ones with no nickel plating? Last year they were sending out solid copper evaporators which were awful, and leaked in like a year, and turned green and crusty. I will not buy another new Hoshizaki machine until they fix their terrible design flaws. I love the crescent cubes and so do a lot of my customers, but they're quite unreliable unless get a good machine. At one of my bigger restaurants, they have 3 KM1600's remote cooled, and one has been great, and is the only 1 out of 3 that's still going strong at the 10 year mark. The other one I had to replace the float switch, both TXV's, water pump, water fill valve, both condenser fan motors, clean it twice. Tested it out, and even with setting the DIP switches to give maximum harvest time, after about a week, it had a big freeze up. I think the problem is on that machine the evap plates are quite bent from freeze ups that happened about 4 years ago, when the pump started acting up intermittently started squealing and I shut that machine down and it sat for pretty much all of the Covid nonsense from winter of 2019 until about 2023 when they had the funds to look into seeing if that machine could be brought back to life. The 3rd machine is trashed, I've robbed a lot of parts from it over the years, the evap is completely bent out of shape like warped so bad the water spray rails don't sit properly in the channels on top of the evap, and the aeroquip fittings at the condenser one has a slow leak on the discharge side. Not enough to set off the leak detector, but always has a drip of oil on it, when I go up on the roof to do PM's. So that machine is a basket case, but I thought the machine that was shut down since June of 2019 could be rebuilt and saved since it only had like barely over 6 years of run time on it. So I'm keeping that machine as a spare ready to go. Made sure machine was clean and bin cleaned, and empty of water, and with new Hoshizaki water filters on it, left breaker on checked crankcase heater to make sure it's keeping the compressor hot. So if the machine that's running well quits, I can go over, or have the manager flip it on, and I know it'll at least make good ice for a week or so, and buy some time to fix the good machine or look into replacing one of the three. Which brings me back to my original point. I have a customer with a Manitowoc machine from 2005, it's extremely old, and literally the only thing I've done to it in the last 6+ years is replace the water fill valve, one time it decided to not close and was flooding the bin with so much water it melted all their ice! I think I might have also replaced the dump valve on that machine, and also replaced the little Clean/Off/Ice rocker switch, but that's like a $20 part. The water pump and everything else is still original. Got another customer with a very old QuietCube Manitowoc machine, and the only problem with it since 2018 was a dump valve, and one of the ice curtain switches died, so robbed that from a dead machine there, there is another even older QuietCube machine there from 2005 that never worked, was just there when the current owner took it over, it's completely empty of gas so I'm assuming it had a catastrophic leak somewhere and they don't need it, so never bothered to look into it. Manitowoc has their issues too, seen some on TH-cam with loose ice cube mold plates too that solder joints have cracked. I myself haven't seen one like this (yet), the newer Indigo machines have their control board, and temp sensor issues, very old Manitowocs have issues with that stupid fan cycling switch that they couldn't put on a Schrader valve, but that can be eliminated and just bypassed most of the time, if it's in a warm kitchen area. If not, I just bypass it with a normally closed relay that has the coil piggy backed onto the power supply to the hot gas valve, so as soon as the machine goes into it cuts power to the condenser fan, and brings the fan back on instantly when harvest is finished. This actually makes the machine work more efficiently and makes it a lot simpler to fix in the future if that relay goes bad; it's a lot easier to replace a simple relay, than recover the charge, sweat in a new fan cycling pressure switch, and evac and recharge the ice machine you're going to be there all day when there's 10 other calls to get to. On the other hand I've replaced Manitowoc machines that were in use for 14 years, and were never cleaned by previous people, or any repairs done at all, the machine just ran until the compressor wore out, and that one I replaced was still making a small batch of ice once an hour, but the suction pressure would never get below 50psi, because the compressor valves were just that worn out. A good ice machine should only need water filters, clean condenser if air cooled, clean the machine inside as often as needed, and it should just run without needing a single repair until it's time for a new one. So if a 2013 Hoshizaki with good city water, plus a 3 cartridge Hoshizaki brand water filter system (those are very expensive to replace 3 water filters) can only run 6 years before having a lot of massive problems, there's an issue here.. Overpriced junk.
Magníficos y onestos pensamientos Chris reflejan tú sencillez además de tus conocimientos sobre los equipos, esto en conjunto reflejan buenos trabajos. Gracias por compartir. Saludos desde Coacalco Edo de México.
I so enjoy your videos... (Encouragement...) I learn so very much and without fluff, you do an excellent job in your videos. You have come a long way as I went back to some of your first ones, LOL... You display good workmanship and tradecraft which is rare these days. I am not a tech, but rather a person that is interested in everything (I call myself jokingly "a polymath in training"). I have used things you have shown on my own equipment (residential). I used some Viper to clean both my expansion and condensing coils. I was surprised how dirty they were. I do know my limits, but I so love to learn. Best to you and more blatant encouragement. Kindest Regards, Marshall
Also, I have noticed from your old videos to newer ones, equipment is not improving... Some things seem to be better, but "BIG PICTURE", like the Manitowoc delay debacle, just should not happen.
hard to be certain from the video, but I believe the headmaster valve on that system operates based on ambient temp (OROA), not on system pressures like a ORO or ORI valve. Thats what the small tube on the head of the valve would indicate. Love your vids, keep em up !!
Your not wrong, I guess I just think its not inaccurate to say that the dome pressure (effected by ambient temp) has more to do with valve operation that discharge pressure differential, hence Low Ambient Control. it may be an oversimplified view of it but its the way my brain understands it. Admittedly though, I have seen on rare occasions, a very hot liquid line can indicate a low charge due to the valve essentially bypassing the condenser. Caught me off guard once or twice :) @@HVACRVIDEOS
I appreciate all your videos, Chris. They have been an invaluable source of knowledge and despite the nasty work schedule, they are what encouraged me to get into commercial refrigeration.
The newer crushed ice machine of this brand I have dealt with. 2022 model 3 beeps means its over heating. This was a liquid glycol cooling ice machine. I would have to go in the ceiling and switch it to emergency operation. Which was running city water through it non stop down the drain!!
If doing the evap. While open. Replace the harvest solenoid valve. I have had a hand full fail open and give me long freeze, 20 years maybe 5 total. Making hot water and humidity.
we had an issue with the same model and found the temperature probe was the culprate not reading proper temps and the ice getting too thick and the flaps preventing ice from dropping cuz the weight of the ice pushing down put the flaps in behind that lip and not letting the ice fully drop into the ben.
I'd look more into that float switch, the float switch dropping out is what initiates the harvest on Hoshizaki's. The temp sensor is looking for 70 degrees on the return gas temp during harvest. Once the temp reaches 70, it starts a timer set by the DIP switches to terminate defrost cycle. Ice getting too thick is the float switch not terminating the freeze cycle at the right moment in time, you can adjust the float switch by loosing the philips screws slightly and move up or down a bit to adjust where the harvest cycle starts. Also that small rubber tube must be free and clear into the reservoir or it won't read the water level in the machine accurately. FWIW, I've never ever had a temp sensor go bad on many Hoshizaki machines, I've thrown away toasted machines that just about every part on the machine was fried, and most of the time the only things that are still working on the dead Hoshizaki's are the control board (never ever had one go bad or the harvest temp sensor). As a matter of fact, I've yet to even replace a bin full sensor, every one that I suspected might be bad, passed the ice water bath test. The flaps are another silly thing, The KM1100's 1300's and 1600's I've worked on here locally don't have those, wonder if on later model (2012-present) they did away with those things?
When I had a hoshi at home with massive plate separation I just made acrylic wedges to press the plates to the evaporator coils. The poor machine was nearly a solid block of ice when I bought it cheap. Worked great until I gave it away and it made perfect ice with normal cycles. The previous owner told me they just had the compressor replaced on it - likely would have been avoided if the last technician looked at the evaporator. Would be nice if hoshi changed their design to avoid this. I loved the ice it made but it wasted too much water to have it on a well.
They do dump a lot of water during harvest cycle. The smaller Manitowoc's don't dump hardly any water at harvest, so at least 80-90% of the water used actually goes into making ice. Also there's always some loss from the ice naturally melting in the bin.
You can usually see separation in my digital probes monitoring the head pressure or the sat temp particularly the line will get squirrely showing the waves of temperature change across the evaporator because the heat exchange is variable
When I hear the freeze timer beep I start with the evaporator on these Hoshizakis. I have replaced several evaps under warranty but most people would rather replace the unit depending on the size. I wish Hoshizaki would fix this issue.
I don’t miss diagnosing these machines… Hoshizaki machines are pretty good, but their cycles are so long in comparison, you gotta plan to stick around a couple extra hours compared to others. At least in my experience. And with that, if you notice the water distribution tube off the discharge of the pump, the mold forming, and the crud on the plastic, it’s amazing I still order ice at these restaurants 🤣 They never have a solid cleaning schedule on these things… You have to “sell” them when you find it super dirty, and I’ve literally had customers tell me not to worry about it 🤮
Working on dirty ice machines myself. Turned me completely off with getting ice in my drinks. Most restaurant staff don't know how to clean their own ice machines. #NoIcePlease! 🤢😂
Plate separation and water dripping on the ice. Could it be that some frost is pushing the plate up causing only freezing around the evaporator instead of where it should be? Which then causes partially melted ice to drip down on the harvest as the heat hits the ice directly, partially melting it and causing soggy ice to hit the bin? Explains the long freeze too if where the sensor is, was not attached to the plate and thus couldn't produce ice.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
It's just a stain, some kind of discoloration in that clear rubber tubing they used to use. I think on all the late model Hoshi's they've gone to a black rubber, which hides that very nicely 🤣
They all do that from that era, I've tried everything to remove it, cleaning, soaking in ice machine cleaner, straight commercial strength bleach, it's some kind of embedded stain, and nothing gets rid of it, so I think it's just cosmetic more than anything.
We just going to skim over the neurodivergent? Lol my wife has been learning a lot about it lately with her counselor, when it comes to her and our kids. It’s been very helpful to figure things out. On a side note, Thanks for all of your videos, especially the ice machine vids. I’ve been diving into those pretty heavy since we went to the level 3 manitowoc training
Ive been researching the neuro divergent brain stuff lately too and it answers so many questions, as I learn more about it I will be talking more about it... Ive always started conversations when trying to explain my actions to people with "my brain works differently" and it just helps me to be ok with my way of doing things and my way of thinking
@@HVACRVIDEOS I think you'll find that most people in technical fields are neurodivergent. Some of them just don't know it yet. Lots of good resources out there these days (especially on FB). "Neurotribes" by Steve Silberman is a good one.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
Everyone complaining about what the ice machines look like you all need to know you are breathing in more bacteria and mold from the air you breathe than the condition this ice machine was in if you don't believe me go home and look at your air filter on your HVAC system where do you think it the filth come from we should not worry about what can be seen it is what we can't see that should concern us...
It Looks Like it hasn't Been Cleaned for A while looking at them hoses I Work In maintenance and I Change the Water Filters regularly and We Clean our Machines Regularly.
Great video Chris. In your mind, is it worth it to replace the evap? I’ve never replaced one nor quoted one. Seems to me like putting lipstick on a pig.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
@@HVACRVIDEOS I suppose it might be worth it because of the current disgusting situation where nobody seems to have ice machines in stock. But no, with the machine that ugly looking there's no way I'd put an evap into a KM1600. Nothing lasts forever, and it's better to just put the money towards something new and nice and shiny. However that philosophy that's worked very well for me over the last 20+ years is starting to look like trash, because a lot of new stuff especially things rushed out the door during Covid, the QC has gone down the tubes, too much stuff made in China anymore too. But, evaps and compressors are where I draw the line. Or if it's got a leak somewhere in some area that's impossible to access. Like you said a lot of self contained refrigeration appliances the charge is critical (not so much on a remote cooled KM1600 those have a 25# charge), and nobody has time to go around to 50 different machines and constantly keeping 'topping things off'.
@@HVACRVIDEOS How's the availability of Hoshizaki evaps? Last time I asked about a KM1600 that I have at one of my customers its not separated I think, but it's all bent think from a previous bad freeze up about 4 years ago when the water pump failed. I was told by my rep last year was like 8 month back order, and the price was crazy high. Plus they were sending out uncoated plain copper evaporators with a TSB on resetting the DIP switches for a much longer harvest time etc to make the uncoated evaps work. This was a non-starter for me, I couldn't imagine how bad not having them nickel plated would be as far as cleaning etc. Plus the longer freeze cycles, lower ice production per day, too much money, too much labor didn't make much sense to me. I heard from a couple other local guys those uncoated evaps they were sending out even on brand new Hoshizaki machines shipped in fall 2022/spring 2023, were having multiple issues such as green copper corrosion (same kind of patina like on a copper building roof, it's copper carbonate from the CO2 in the water from it constantly splashing around and picking up high CO2 from being in a restaurant kitchen with lots of people and lots of gas fired cooking equipment etc, and getting dozens of tiny pinhole freon leaks in the evap from no nickel coating.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
That's discoloration of that type of clear rubber hoses. The newer Hoshi's I think went to a black rubber tube so that you won't see those black dots. Every machine I work on with those clear soft rubber hoses has those black dots, it's some kind of stain, even though the rest of the machine is spotless. I even took all the hoses off one KM1600 and soaked them in some very hot water mixed 50/50 with industrial bleach that stunk to high heaven, and didn't do a darn thing to that black discoloration. So, being satisified that they were very sanitized, I just put them back on the machine, after a thorough rinsing.
It’s mold though it gets into the pores in the soft rubber.. i have the same thing on my floor squggies they are soft rubber like that and they get the same mold dots… we had it tested at a lab and its mold.. we also had it on our seal bars in our Vaccum chamber machines…
Chris evaporator separation is generally not a problem on these machines especially happening to all the plates. I Suspect the cleaning valve is leaking when closed or the micro switch that prevents ice machine operation when open is not working and someone ran the machine with the valve open. This would allow water to enter between the plates freeze and blow the plates off the tubing.
@gordonrockafellow1211 evap seperation is a huge problem with hoshizaki right now, they have thousands of machines with evap plates on order.... its borderline a class action issue......
Chris I was about to say the same thing glad you covered it because he obviously either works for Hoshi or he knows nothing about the quality control issue they have had since Covid
It’s form before Covid, they changed their bonding method for the more efficient evap plates and that was a few years before Covid but I will agree it has gotten worse since covid
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
I have yet to find a pair of camera glasses that can record in 4k and have image stabilization . The meta glasses are the closest but they only record for 60 seconds at a time
@HVACRVIDEOS what ever works for you, they have some on the popular delivery company the name starts with an A I can't say the name because I will get flagged
When you get the glasses and you can not see clearly just take them to an optical store and the can install the proper lens for you for under 50 dollars, that's what I did
They need a new machine, don't replace the evap. The compressor and everything else in that machine is old, it's just wore out. If I can get 10 years out of a Hoshizaki without any major repairs then at any point after that if it needs something major, like a compressor or evap, just replace it. Not worth it to the customer to dump a whole bunch of money into a machine and only get a couple more years out of it. The bad part is, Hoshizaki availability of new machines is terrible, but so are replacement evaporators. The thing is, it's the evap's that's the major bottleneck in getting new machines out the door at Hoshi, so I see their point of view in that, why should they sell replacement evaps when they need all they can get to get new machines out the door? Last time I talked to my Hoshizaki rep last summer, they had customers waiting 8 MONTHS for a new machine. It's getting better maybe, but it's still terrible. Another really bad thing about Hoshi is they're sending out plain copper evaps, and you have to change a bunch of DIP switch settings to work right with the non-coated bare copper evaps, and they're absolutely trash. Lower ice production, higher energy costs, and they turn green and start leaking gas thru tiny pinholes in no time.
If you look at the edge of the tube fusion you can see they're skimping on braze alloy. Thinner walled copper to get 'increased efficiency' and cutting on braze alloy are cost cutting measures that hurt the customer, economy, and environment.
Eeeewwwww, I sure hope that is a drain hose with all the mold build-up in it. If not, that restaurant is getting their customers sick with the contaminated ice coming from that machine. I guess one never knows what they are getting when it comes to restaurants today. I guess for me its "No ice please" with my drinks. 🤢
I’m not an HVAC person, but I find the engineering in these machines amazing… very clever
I find it disgusting that these restaurants are allowed to not clean these machines regularly. That machine is literally a bacteria farm in the condition it is, but I know this is not your fault and you are at the mercy of the restaurant owners.
Other than that, I love these videos. Thanks Chris.
Yea i was shocked to see the black dots in that water tube. It is guaranteed mold and other nasty stuff.
even tho it is not nice if i was him i would do my job there and then later call the health inspector cause that is just waiting for someone to get terribly sick bcs their immune system is weak.
The black dots in the tube are discoloration. They don't come out even when cleaning. The rest is nasty however.@@FeralDayASMR
What do you think your main water lines look like coming from the street? Most are lead pipes. If you grew up playing in the mud and outside. This is nothing.
@@Freonleon Maybe, but this is something that should be treated at least every 6 months. I had customers who wanted them cleaned every 3 months, time-consuming to do, but if they wanted to pay my rate I was ok with it. We can't do anything with the pipes within the ground or the building, that is taken care of by the water company with the use of chlorine or chloramines. That machine has not seen any love in quite some time, saying that I have seen much worse.
I am aware that there are places somwhere that still use lead pipes but i can assure you that most of lead pipeworks have been replaced. At least here in germany and water is one of our most controlled goods. unless your house has not been renovated in the last 80 years there is a chance for lead pipes in your house but since many houses are renovated in a city that chance is very low.
reason why im not concerned about water quality and mainly just clean machines.
@@Freonleon
great video Chris. I work on a lot of Hoshizakis and Manitowocs. That 3 beep alarm is a challenge most of the time. I know I'll be there for at least 1.5 hours or more. Thanks for sharing. I really do enjoy your lessons, instructions and thought process.
Thanks
A big cause of 3 beep alarm is that darn float switch. First thing I check is pull that rubber cup off the bottom of the float switch, and see if it's choked with lime. Just had this happen at one of my customers this past Sunday, the water they have there is very hard, and the whole thing was like CAKED with lime deposits. Had to soak the float and rubber cup/tube in some very strong phosphoric acid ice machine cleaner, the thing foamed like a baking soda/vinegar volcano science experiment!
What happens is, once a freeze cycle is started, Hoshi's look for that float switch to open. If it doesn't open by the max freeze time setting on the DIP switches on the board, it will beep two times, and go into harvest. Once you get two 2 beep errors in a row, the machine shuts down and you get the 3 beep alarm. Another pesky problem with Hoshi's is the dump check valve seat and spring, a lot of the time that flimsy spring gets weak, the spray header tube holes at the top of the evap get clogged up, this increases the back pressure at the water pump which forces more water down the drain thru that dump valve. Remove ALL the plastic water distribution piping and clean thoroughly. Clean the area where the rubber disc sits, and replace the seat and spring. I like to stretch the spring a bit, and set the DIP switches for a pump out cycle only every 10 batches. Those machines flood the water reservoir with so much excess water during harvest it's not necessary for a pump out every cycle. However check the book, some particular models like the KM1100's etc need to have a pump out every cycle. The KM1300 and KM1600 like in this video will work just fine with a pump out every 10th freeze cycle, as long as the water quality is reasonable in the area.
I don't work in the HVAC industry, I don't even have any choice over the AC in my apartment (VRF system), I don't even live in the US - yet somehow, I always look forward to these videos, and watch them from start to finish, every time. Maybe it's just the process I enjoy, or maybe just appreciate everything you do for the HVAC industry. Keep up the good work, Chris! Even I have been learning things about both HVAC among many other life skills from your videos!
Thats awesome, im glad you enjoy them
That first batch of new ice must taste yummy!
Great video, I work maintenance in a nursing homein the IE and it's great to see videos and you explain everything great. I've learned a lot watching these thank you!
Right on bud I’m glad they help you!
Love your videos and I hope to be an HVAC technician one day
Thanks bud
Yet another good reason to say "no ice, please." That and goopy tables and dishes mummified in calcium deposits seem to be a common theme at most chain restaurants. Nothing says satisfaction like having to pry your cup of toilet water off the table to take a sip.
@mysock351C you'd be surprised at how 'clean' their clean dishes are. Some won't ever clean the machine and washing by hand is beneath them
If this is what the ice machines look like at restaurants, I shudder to think what the ice machines look like at fast food joints (where the care factor is even less)
@@jfwfreo the same. Managers are the ones who schedule people for shifts but also don't train for the cleaning tasks. Good luck getting the manager to even touch these machines outside of grabbing ice. Fast food is a different field from restaurants but they all operate on the same premise: out of site out of mind, the next shift can deal with it. Repeat. That and the faster they get food out the more money is made and they'll just spend that money to pay off healthcare departments instead of any preventative maintenance or cleaning supplies. Lots of places don't even stock chemicals, always a last minute order when they are already out.
If you work just one shift at any restaurant, you'll see why these machines get this way
I think a lot of people just aren't given the time or inventory to clean the amount of dishes they go through in a thorough fashion in time to be used again. I have been yelled at for hand-washing bar glasses while closing, when the difference was something like 10 minutes.@@slimm420
I literally just had to do that exact repair. Plates on the left AND right bank of the evap were separated. Repair is easy but time consuming. Awesome video as always, Chris!
Wait...without spilling any tech. secrets, what do you do?
@@quietone610 refrigeration for a large gas station chain
my bad; I meant, what technique for repairing plates? Is it a melted solder?
@@quietone610 we ordered both evaporator sections from hoshizaki (as 1 piece). I only had to make 4 different welds (braze joints). And yes, I use 15% silver solder.
@@cancorp29 Yeah but what's the lead time on new evaps? Did they send you those plain copper ones with no nickel plating? Last year they were sending out solid copper evaporators which were awful, and leaked in like a year, and turned green and crusty. I will not buy another new Hoshizaki machine until they fix their terrible design flaws. I love the crescent cubes and so do a lot of my customers, but they're quite unreliable unless get a good machine. At one of my bigger restaurants, they have 3 KM1600's remote cooled, and one has been great, and is the only 1 out of 3 that's still going strong at the 10 year mark. The other one I had to replace the float switch, both TXV's, water pump, water fill valve, both condenser fan motors, clean it twice. Tested it out, and even with setting the DIP switches to give maximum harvest time, after about a week, it had a big freeze up. I think the problem is on that machine the evap plates are quite bent from freeze ups that happened about 4 years ago, when the pump started acting up intermittently started squealing and I shut that machine down and it sat for pretty much all of the Covid nonsense from winter of 2019 until about 2023 when they had the funds to look into seeing if that machine could be brought back to life. The 3rd machine is trashed, I've robbed a lot of parts from it over the years, the evap is completely bent out of shape like warped so bad the water spray rails don't sit properly in the channels on top of the evap, and the aeroquip fittings at the condenser one has a slow leak on the discharge side. Not enough to set off the leak detector, but always has a drip of oil on it, when I go up on the roof to do PM's. So that machine is a basket case, but I thought the machine that was shut down since June of 2019 could be rebuilt and saved since it only had like barely over 6 years of run time on it. So I'm keeping that machine as a spare ready to go. Made sure machine was clean and bin cleaned, and empty of water, and with new Hoshizaki water filters on it, left breaker on checked crankcase heater to make sure it's keeping the compressor hot. So if the machine that's running well quits, I can go over, or have the manager flip it on, and I know it'll at least make good ice for a week or so, and buy some time to fix the good machine or look into replacing one of the three.
Which brings me back to my original point. I have a customer with a Manitowoc machine from 2005, it's extremely old, and literally the only thing I've done to it in the last 6+ years is replace the water fill valve, one time it decided to not close and was flooding the bin with so much water it melted all their ice! I think I might have also replaced the dump valve on that machine, and also replaced the little Clean/Off/Ice rocker switch, but that's like a $20 part. The water pump and everything else is still original. Got another customer with a very old QuietCube Manitowoc machine, and the only problem with it since 2018 was a dump valve, and one of the ice curtain switches died, so robbed that from a dead machine there, there is another even older QuietCube machine there from 2005 that never worked, was just there when the current owner took it over, it's completely empty of gas so I'm assuming it had a catastrophic leak somewhere and they don't need it, so never bothered to look into it.
Manitowoc has their issues too, seen some on TH-cam with loose ice cube mold plates too that solder joints have cracked. I myself haven't seen one like this (yet), the newer Indigo machines have their control board, and temp sensor issues, very old Manitowocs have issues with that stupid fan cycling switch that they couldn't put on a Schrader valve, but that can be eliminated and just bypassed most of the time, if it's in a warm kitchen area. If not, I just bypass it with a normally closed relay that has the coil piggy backed onto the power supply to the hot gas valve, so as soon as the machine goes into it cuts power to the condenser fan, and brings the fan back on instantly when harvest is finished. This actually makes the machine work more efficiently and makes it a lot simpler to fix in the future if that relay goes bad; it's a lot easier to replace a simple relay, than recover the charge, sweat in a new fan cycling pressure switch, and evac and recharge the ice machine you're going to be there all day when there's 10 other calls to get to.
On the other hand I've replaced Manitowoc machines that were in use for 14 years, and were never cleaned by previous people, or any repairs done at all, the machine just ran until the compressor wore out, and that one I replaced was still making a small batch of ice once an hour, but the suction pressure would never get below 50psi, because the compressor valves were just that worn out. A good ice machine should only need water filters, clean condenser if air cooled, clean the machine inside as often as needed, and it should just run without needing a single repair until it's time for a new one. So if a 2013 Hoshizaki with good city water, plus a 3 cartridge Hoshizaki brand water filter system (those are very expensive to replace 3 water filters) can only run 6 years before having a lot of massive problems, there's an issue here.. Overpriced junk.
Magníficos y onestos pensamientos Chris reflejan tú sencillez además de tus conocimientos sobre los equipos, esto en conjunto reflejan buenos trabajos.
Gracias por compartir.
Saludos desde Coacalco Edo de México.
I enjoyed the video Chris! it's always so cool to see how you diagnose and repair systems!
That, my friend, was a good diagnosis.....thank you for sharing.....Augusta, Ga.!
Goes to show it's just like you always say, gotta look at the big picture
I always enjoy to watch you! Great job!
great find, cant wait for PART2
I always loved ice machine days. A lot better than being up on the roof in the rain and snow or melting roof tar.
I so enjoy your videos... (Encouragement...) I learn so very much and without fluff, you do an excellent job in your videos. You have come a long way as I went back to some of your first ones, LOL... You display good workmanship and tradecraft which is rare these days. I am not a tech, but rather a person that is interested in everything (I call myself jokingly "a polymath in training"). I have used things you have shown on my own equipment (residential). I used some Viper to clean both my expansion and condensing coils. I was surprised how dirty they were. I do know my limits, but I so love to learn. Best to you and more blatant encouragement. Kindest Regards, Marshall
Also, I have noticed from your old videos to newer ones, equipment is not improving... Some things seem to be better, but "BIG PICTURE", like the Manitowoc delay debacle, just should not happen.
Great job Chris had evp issue before also good ice machine for the most part.
Awesome video
Thanks bud
hard to be certain from the video, but I believe the headmaster valve on that system operates based on ambient temp (OROA), not on system pressures like a ORO or ORI valve. Thats what the small tube on the head of the valve would indicate. Love your vids, keep em up !!
No the small tube is where they charge the power head. The valve works off of system pressure it is an Lac head pressure control valve from sporlan
Your not wrong, I guess I just think its not inaccurate to say that the dome pressure (effected by ambient temp) has more to do with valve operation that discharge pressure differential, hence Low Ambient Control. it may be an oversimplified view of it but its the way my brain understands it. Admittedly though, I have seen on rare occasions, a very hot liquid line can indicate a low charge due to the valve essentially bypassing the condenser. Caught me off guard once or twice :) @@HVACRVIDEOS
Great Video. Thank you for sharing. Have a nice weekend
Thank you! You too!
I appreciate all your videos, Chris. They have been an invaluable source of knowledge and despite the nasty work schedule, they are what encouraged me to get into commercial refrigeration.
Thanks, Im glad your getting some use of them
The newer crushed ice machine of this brand I have dealt with. 2022 model 3 beeps means its over heating. This was a liquid glycol cooling ice machine. I would have to go in the ceiling and switch it to emergency operation. Which was running city water through it non stop down the drain!!
Great job.. handling it
Awesome vids learned alot
You have to adjust float switch by cube size, most cubes take 34-36 in Ca temp
If doing the evap. While open. Replace the harvest solenoid valve.
I have had a hand full fail open and give me long freeze, 20 years maybe 5 total. Making hot water and humidity.
we had an issue with the same model and found the temperature probe was the culprate not reading proper temps and the ice getting too thick and the flaps preventing ice from dropping cuz the weight of the ice pushing down put the flaps in behind that lip and not letting the ice fully drop into the ben.
I'd look more into that float switch, the float switch dropping out is what initiates the harvest on Hoshizaki's. The temp sensor is looking for 70 degrees on the return gas temp during harvest. Once the temp reaches 70, it starts a timer set by the DIP switches to terminate defrost cycle. Ice getting too thick is the float switch not terminating the freeze cycle at the right moment in time, you can adjust the float switch by loosing the philips screws slightly and move up or down a bit to adjust where the harvest cycle starts. Also that small rubber tube must be free and clear into the reservoir or it won't read the water level in the machine accurately. FWIW, I've never ever had a temp sensor go bad on many Hoshizaki machines, I've thrown away toasted machines that just about every part on the machine was fried, and most of the time the only things that are still working on the dead Hoshizaki's are the control board (never ever had one go bad or the harvest temp sensor). As a matter of fact, I've yet to even replace a bin full sensor, every one that I suspected might be bad, passed the ice water bath test.
The flaps are another silly thing, The KM1100's 1300's and 1600's I've worked on here locally don't have those, wonder if on later model (2012-present) they did away with those things?
Would you also quote to replace the bypass valve, too, as a precaution?
Great job 'Chris!
Thanks!
Wow, these ice machines are way more complex than I realized.
When I had a hoshi at home with massive plate separation I just made acrylic wedges to press the plates to the evaporator coils. The poor machine was nearly a solid block of ice when I bought it cheap. Worked great until I gave it away and it made perfect ice with normal cycles. The previous owner told me they just had the compressor replaced on it - likely would have been avoided if the last technician looked at the evaporator. Would be nice if hoshi changed their design to avoid this. I loved the ice it made but it wasted too much water to have it on a well.
They do dump a lot of water during harvest cycle. The smaller Manitowoc's don't dump hardly any water at harvest, so at least 80-90% of the water used actually goes into making ice. Also there's always some loss from the ice naturally melting in the bin.
Great video
Thanks!
You can usually see separation in my digital probes monitoring the head pressure or the sat temp particularly the line will get squirrely showing the waves of temperature change across the evaporator because the heat exchange is variable
When I hear the freeze timer beep I start with the evaporator on these Hoshizakis. I have replaced several evaps under warranty but most people would rather replace the unit depending on the size. I wish Hoshizaki would fix this issue.
I don’t miss diagnosing these machines… Hoshizaki machines are pretty good, but their cycles are so long in comparison, you gotta plan to stick around a couple extra hours compared to others. At least in my experience. And with that, if you notice the water distribution tube off the discharge of the pump, the mold forming, and the crud on the plastic, it’s amazing I still order ice at these restaurants 🤣 They never have a solid cleaning schedule on these things… You have to “sell” them when you find it super dirty, and I’ve literally had customers tell me not to worry about it 🤮
The first thing that needs to be checked is to make sure it dumps the water first, a lot of times the spring is bad
Great video, like always, like always disgusting ice. Btw I noticed you switched to iPhone/iPad, how difficult was the transition?
Not too bad it's a slight learning curve
Working on dirty ice machines myself. Turned me completely off with getting ice in my drinks. Most restaurant staff don't know how to clean their own ice machines. #NoIcePlease! 🤢😂
Plate separation and water dripping on the ice. Could it be that some frost is pushing the plate up causing only freezing around the evaporator instead of where it should be? Which then causes partially melted ice to drip down on the harvest as the heat hits the ice directly, partially melting it and causing soggy ice to hit the bin? Explains the long freeze too if where the sensor is, was not attached to the plate and thus couldn't produce ice.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
14:40 you’re smarter than the average bear
Thanks bud
Is that mold in that clear waterline going to that pump?
It's just a stain, some kind of discoloration in that clear rubber tubing they used to use. I think on all the late model Hoshi's they've gone to a black rubber, which hides that very nicely 🤣
They all do that from that era, I've tried everything to remove it, cleaning, soaking in ice machine cleaner, straight commercial strength bleach, it's some kind of embedded stain, and nothing gets rid of it, so I think it's just cosmetic more than anything.
We just going to skim over the neurodivergent? Lol my wife has been learning a lot about it lately with her counselor, when it comes to her and our kids. It’s been very helpful to figure things out.
On a side note, Thanks for all of your videos, especially the ice machine vids. I’ve been diving into those pretty heavy since we went to the level 3 manitowoc training
Ive been researching the neuro divergent brain stuff lately too and it answers so many questions, as I learn more about it I will be talking more about it... Ive always started conversations when trying to explain my actions to people with "my brain works differently" and it just helps me to be ok with my way of doing things and my way of thinking
@@HVACRVIDEOS I think you'll find that most people in technical fields are neurodivergent. Some of them just don't know it yet. Lots of good resources out there these days (especially on FB). "Neurotribes" by Steve Silberman is a good one.
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
is that mold i see in that clear pipe?
What is that hoshizaki orange book? What table you are using.
I mean, I cant be the only one that gets major icks with the hoses looking like that
Seriously lol. First thing I see when the video starts. Nope, don't want the ice. Thanks. 🤮
Everyone complaining about what the ice machines look like you all need to know you are breathing in more bacteria and mold from the air you breathe than the condition this ice machine was in if you don't believe me go home and look at your air filter on your HVAC system where do you think it the filth come from we should not worry about what can be seen it is what we can't see that should concern us...
It Looks Like it hasn't Been Cleaned for A while looking at them hoses I Work In maintenance and I Change the Water Filters regularly and We Clean our Machines Regularly.
Enjoyed the video thanks are y p u going to film the replacement of those evp coil
I plan on it
Is that mold spots tube in middle or bugs
That plastic tube in the middle has mold in it.?
Great video Chris. In your mind, is it worth it to replace the evap? I’ve never replaced one nor quoted one. Seems to me like putting lipstick on a pig.
its totally worth the evap they are pretty easy to change takes two guys about 4-6 hours if you dont run into problems
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
@@HVACRVIDEOS I suppose it might be worth it because of the current disgusting situation where nobody seems to have ice machines in stock. But no, with the machine that ugly looking there's no way I'd put an evap into a KM1600. Nothing lasts forever, and it's better to just put the money towards something new and nice and shiny. However that philosophy that's worked very well for me over the last 20+ years is starting to look like trash, because a lot of new stuff especially things rushed out the door during Covid, the QC has gone down the tubes, too much stuff made in China anymore too.
But, evaps and compressors are where I draw the line. Or if it's got a leak somewhere in some area that's impossible to access. Like you said a lot of self contained refrigeration appliances the charge is critical (not so much on a remote cooled KM1600 those have a 25# charge), and nobody has time to go around to 50 different machines and constantly keeping 'topping things off'.
@@HVACRVIDEOS How's the availability of Hoshizaki evaps? Last time I asked about a KM1600 that I have at one of my customers its not separated I think, but it's all bent think from a previous bad freeze up about 4 years ago when the water pump failed. I was told by my rep last year was like 8 month back order, and the price was crazy high. Plus they were sending out uncoated plain copper evaporators with a TSB on resetting the DIP switches for a much longer harvest time etc to make the uncoated evaps work. This was a non-starter for me, I couldn't imagine how bad not having them nickel plated would be as far as cleaning etc. Plus the longer freeze cycles, lower ice production per day, too much money, too much labor didn't make much sense to me. I heard from a couple other local guys those uncoated evaps they were sending out even on brand new Hoshizaki machines shipped in fall 2022/spring 2023, were having multiple issues such as green copper corrosion (same kind of patina like on a copper building roof, it's copper carbonate from the CO2 in the water from it constantly splashing around and picking up high CO2 from being in a restaurant kitchen with lots of people and lots of gas fired cooking equipment etc, and getting dozens of tiny pinhole freon leaks in the evap from no nickel coating.
My has 1 beep every night , 2nd day I came in
So why are the plates separated? Age? Lack of maintenance? Weak design?
Thats a good question, I will try and discuss that further on the Live Stream Monday
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
And what those plates 6 months out from factory
What are you currently suspecting is the cause of the water ingress in the bin?
Water dripping off the separated build plates on the evaporators
I will try to discuss this a bit during my live stream Monday
Do you ship to the UK
All the black mold made me hungry
That's discoloration of that type of clear rubber hoses. The newer Hoshi's I think went to a black rubber tube so that you won't see those black dots. Every machine I work on with those clear soft rubber hoses has those black dots, it's some kind of stain, even though the rest of the machine is spotless. I even took all the hoses off one KM1600 and soaked them in some very hot water mixed 50/50 with industrial bleach that stunk to high heaven, and didn't do a darn thing to that black discoloration. So, being satisified that they were very sanitized, I just put them back on the machine, after a thorough rinsing.
It’s mold though it gets into the pores in the soft rubber.. i have the same thing on my floor squggies they are soft rubber like that and they get the same mold dots… we had it tested at a lab and its mold.. we also had it on our seal bars in our Vaccum chamber machines…
It’s in the public water supply unfortunately that water coming in isn’t as clean as you think…
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Im sure you know, but companies will share your videos as company training instead of teaching techs themselves 😂
Yeah companies and schools do that
As soon as it warms up,and the bin is full,it will be questioned a 5k repair.
Wouldn't you just replace the whole unit? Thats what my boss says. Especially on older units
Chris evaporator separation is generally not a problem on these machines especially happening to all the plates. I Suspect the cleaning valve is leaking when closed or the micro switch that prevents ice machine operation when open is not working and someone ran the machine with the valve open. This would allow water to enter between the plates freeze and blow the plates off the tubing.
@gordonrockafellow1211 evap seperation is a huge problem with hoshizaki right now, they have thousands of machines with evap plates on order.... its borderline a class action issue......
Chris I was about to say the same thing glad you covered it because he obviously either works for Hoshi or he knows nothing about the quality control issue they have had since Covid
It’s form before Covid, they changed their bonding method for the more efficient evap plates and that was a few years before Covid but I will agree it has gotten worse since covid
I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 2/19/24 @ 5:PM (pacific) on TH-cam come on over and check it out. th-cam.com/users/livepKGBUo3z3xM?feature=share
Seeing you using an iPhone and iPad is so weird lol
6 years old ice machine?Hoshizaki doesn't last long anymore.
Watching the videos it looks like they are all junk
that ice machine is making people sick
When did you switch to Apple products?
Typical hoshizaki stuff haha
Hey boss try to get some video glasses for you work to make it easier for you to work and record videos
I have some touch control glasses
Rip and ghieo touch control glasses
I have yet to find a pair of camera glasses that can record in 4k and have image stabilization . The meta glasses are the closest but they only record for 60 seconds at a time
@HVACRVIDEOS what ever works for you, they have some on the popular delivery company the name starts with an A I can't say the name because I will get flagged
When you get the glasses and you can not see clearly just take them to an optical store and the can install the proper lens for you for under 50 dollars, that's what I did
That one tube is moldy as fuck
That machine is nasty geesh
Maybe it's me but, that ice machine looks disgusting and dirty!!
The vast majority of restaurants
They need a new machine, don't replace the evap. The compressor and everything else in that machine is old, it's just wore out. If I can get 10 years out of a Hoshizaki without any major repairs then at any point after that if it needs something major, like a compressor or evap, just replace it. Not worth it to the customer to dump a whole bunch of money into a machine and only get a couple more years out of it. The bad part is, Hoshizaki availability of new machines is terrible, but so are replacement evaporators. The thing is, it's the evap's that's the major bottleneck in getting new machines out the door at Hoshi, so I see their point of view in that, why should they sell replacement evaps when they need all they can get to get new machines out the door? Last time I talked to my Hoshizaki rep last summer, they had customers waiting 8 MONTHS for a new machine. It's getting better maybe, but it's still terrible. Another really bad thing about Hoshi is they're sending out plain copper evaps, and you have to change a bunch of DIP switch settings to work right with the non-coated bare copper evaps, and they're absolutely trash. Lower ice production, higher energy costs, and they turn green and start leaking gas thru tiny pinholes in no time.
Never eat ice lol or soda machine
Yea 2 evaps and an good cleaning company. This is gross
615 Thumbs uP
I've seen a lot of hoshizaki evaporator failures recently.
Disappointing
If you look at the edge of the tube fusion you can see they're skimping on braze alloy. Thinner walled copper to get 'increased efficiency' and cutting on braze alloy are cost cutting measures that hurt the customer, economy, and environment.
Eeeewwwww, I sure hope that is a drain hose with all the mold build-up in it. If not, that restaurant is getting their customers sick with the contaminated ice coming from that machine.
I guess one never knows what they are getting when it comes to restaurants today.
I guess for me its "No ice please" with my drinks. 🤢