Ice Makers

An Ice Maker is an appliance for making ice. It may be used inside a freezer or an industrial device for large scale ice production or a free standing machine.

History of Ice Makers

Before 200 years or so, ice was not seen at all during warm climates. People used to cut ice from lakes during winter and store it for use in summer. In 1850, a scientist by name Dr. John Gorrie received a patent for demonstrating an ice maker, but he did not produce them commercially.

Later, in 1853 and 1855, patents were granted to Alexander Twining and James Harrison respectively for ice makers. None of these were commercialized. However, Thaddeus Lowe invented the first commercial ice maker in the year 1866. A company by name Servel launched a refrigerator with a built-in ice maker in the year 1953.

How Ice Maker Works

Ice makers make use of a motor, a water valve and a heating unit for its functioning; all of these are operated electrically. The ice maker is hooked up to a plumbing line to facilitate water supply. The hookup and the ice maker are interconnected through a pipe with a valve. When the ice maker is unfilled, a knob is triggered which causes the valve to open. Water now flows through the open valve into the ice trays kept in the ice maker. The valve closes once sufficient water is let out.

The water in the tray solidifies as the temperature decreases gradually. The ice maker uses electricity to heat up the base of the cubes in order to prevent the ice cubes to stick on to the molds. As soon as the ice is set to go, a sequence of tabs come out of the molds and pushes them in to the case of the refrigerator; this functions similar to conveyor belts.
The cubes stack up in this way and obstruct the handle switching off the signal for more ice production. This is how ice is produced using an ice maker.

Types of Ice Makers

The most common types of ice makers and a brief overview is given below

• Freezer Ice Makers: These are widely present inside the freezers of refrigerators. Ice cubes are formed in ice trays by filling them up with water. Freezer ice makers are meant for domestic purposes.
• Portable Ice Makers: This kind of ice makers are the most compact ones available in the market and can be placed on a table. These are quick in forming ice but do not prevent ice from melting. However, water is recycled to produce more ice.
• Free-standing Ice Makers: These can be used as stand alone units or at a bar counter. The ice cubes have an opaque appearance since the freezing process is faster than that in clear ice makers. The cloudy look of the cubes is due to the minute air bubbles getting trapped within.
• Industrial Ice Makers: are used for commercial and large scale production of ice. Industries use running water to produce superior quality ice. These ice machines can produce ice of different sizes like crushed ice, flakers, cubes, etc.