An ice maker, ice generator

Ice generator

This article is about machines or systems which produce ice.-Definition of ice generator:The ice generator is the part of the ice machine that actually produces the ice. This would include the evaporator and any associated drives/controls/subframe that are directly involved with making and...

,or ice machine may refer to either a consumer device for making ice

Ice

Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

, found inside a home freezer; a stand-alone appliance for making ice, or an industrial machine for making ice on a large scale. The term "ice machine" usually refers to the stand-alone appliance.

Freezer ice makers

Home ice makers are often found inside modern freezers and produce crescent-shaped or crushed ice. The crescent shape is created by the water being frozen in an ice tray that has crescent shaped divots.

Portable ice makers

Portable ice makers are units that can fit on a countertop. They are the fastest and smallest ice makers on the market. The ice produced by a portable ice maker is bullet shaped and has a cloudy, opaque appearance. The first batch of ice can be made within 10 minutes of turning the appliance on and adding water. The water is pumped into a small tub with metal pegs immersed in the water. The pegs have a heating and cooling system inside that freeze the water around them and then heat up so the ice slips off the peg and into the storage bin. Portable ice makers will not keep the ice from melting, but the appliance will recycle the water to make more ice.

Built-in/freestanding ice makers

Built-in ice makers are engineered to fit under a kitchen or bar counter, but they can be used as freestanding units. They produce crescent-shaped ice like the ice from a freezer ice maker. The ice is cloudy and opaque instead of clear, because the water is frozen faster than in clear cube ice makers. In the process, tiny air bubbles get trapped, causing the cloudy appearance of the ice.

Industrial ice makers

Commercial ice cube makers improve the quality of ice by using moving water. The water is run down a surface that is constantly at 0 degrees C (32F) because only water without impurities will freeze at this temperature on a surface. Water with impurities requires lower temperatures to freeze and will continue to wash down the surface and through the drain of a commercial ice maker. Air and undissolved solids will be washed away to such an extent that in horizontal evaporator

Evaporator

An evaporator is a device used to turn the liquid form of some chemical into its gaseous form. For example, an evaporator is used in an air conditioning system to allow the compressed cooling chemical to evaporate from liquid to gas, absorbing heat in the process.-Uses:As stated above, an...

 machines the water has 98% of the solids removed resulting in very hard virtually pure, clear ice. In vertical evaporators the ice is softer, more so if there are actual individual cube cells. Commercial ice machines can make different sizes of ice like flakers

Flake ice machine

Flake ice machine is a type of ice making machine, widely been applied in the industrial field.-Flake Ice:Flake ice is made of the mixture of brine and water , in some cases can be directly made from brine water. Thickness between 1mm-15mm, irregular shape with diameters from 12mm to 45mm...

, crushed, cube

Cube ice maker

A cube ice maker is a machine or system which can produce ice cubes.-Cube Ice Machine:Cube ice machines are classified as small ice machines, in contrast to tube ice machines, flake ice machines and other ice machines. Normally, its daily capacity ranges from 30 kg to 1755 kg...

, octagon, and tube

Tube ice

Tube ice is a type of solid ice and water mixture in tube shape. It is made by a tube ice generator. It can be used in the cooling process, such as temperature controlling, fish fresh freezing, beverage bottle freezing, etc...

.

When the sheet of ice on the cold surface reaches the desired thickness, the sheet is slid down onto a grid of wires, where the sheet's weight causes it to be cut into the desired shapes, after which it falls into a storage bin.

Popular brands of industrial ice machines include Manitowoc

Manitowoc

Manitowoc may refer to:* Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, a county in Wisconsin* Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the city in Wisconsin, county seat of Manitowoc County* The Manitowoc Company, heavy equipment manufacturers* Manitowoc River...

, Cornelius

Cornelius

Cornelius is a Roman family name and a masculine given name. It could be derived from Latin cornu "horn". People, places and things named Cornelius include:-Surname:...

 and Scotsman

Scotsman

Scotsman may mean:* a man from Scotland, in common parlance - see also Scottish people.* No true Scotsman, a common logical fallacy.*The Scotsman, a national newspaper based in Edinburgh, Scotland....

.

History

John Gorrie

John Gorrie

John Gorrie , physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian, is considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. He was born on the Island of Nevis to Scottish parents on October 3, 1802, and spent his childhood in South Carolina...

 was awarded US patent 8080 in 1851 for an ice machine. Alexander Twining received a patent in 1853 for an ice maker, US Patent 10221. James Harrison

James Harrison (engineer)

James Harrison was an Australian newspaper printer, journalist, politician, and pioneer in the field of mechanical refrigeration.-Early life:...

of Australia received a patent in 1855 for an ice maker.

In 1929, Doctor Jurgen Hans from Germany ceated the tube ice machine which can produce edible ice tubes.

External links

• How to Buy an Energy-Efficient Commercial Ice Machine. Federal Energy Management Program. Accessed April 2, 2009.