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  • Ice Maker Harvest Probe on Scotsman.

    Posted by olivero on October 10, 2019 at 9:13 pm

    Hey Guys.

    I had a bit of an odd one yesterday on a smaller Scotsman ice machine, the unit was triggering error code 8 which is Thin Ice. 

    Looking at it, I noticed even when the unit was not doing anything, it was showing “Ready To Harvest” so I start messing with the probe and for some reason, even though none of the metal was touching the evaporator, it was triggering the harvest.

    I put a new one in and the problem went away.

    So what on earth could cause that? It was as soon as the offset screw for adjusting the thickness was touching the plastic it sits on, then it would read, or if I touched the metal part with my body parts only touching plastic parts.

    It was a bit confusing and I’m curious as to what happened.

    olivero replied 4 years, 5 months ago 2 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • fixbear

    Member
    October 11, 2019 at 8:12 am

    It happens more often than not on the Scot’s.  Proper cleaning and often is the key.  You can not see the organic film that builds on that probe,  but it is there and it is conductive.  You don’t need to replace it, just clean with Scotsman cleaner, rinse well, and dry.  Basically the high moisture mist around the probe is a ideal area for a type of fungus to grow. You can sometimes feel it in the tank as a slime. Not a fan of that probes design, but it makes for constant calls every 2 to 6 months for cleaning.  Depending on water quality.

  • olivero

    Member
    October 11, 2019 at 8:40 am

    Wow, really. I would’ve never guessed. 

    I didn’t see anything when I inspected the probe, I noticed a crack on the thickness adjustment screw and thought maybe somehow, that was related.

    That makes sense though, good to know. 

    Thanks Fixbear.

  • fixbear

    Member
    October 11, 2019 at 11:02 am

    That’s why ice machine cleaner is basically Phosphoric acid.  It Kills fungal and bacterial organisms and dissolves calcium. But it is the little additives that each manufacturer adds to there specific cleaner that protects the evaporator plates and sensors that makes it important to use OEM.

    • fixbear

      Member
      October 11, 2019 at 11:12 am

      I don’t want to get off on a tangent, but the common food grade acids are acetic, citric and phosphoric.  Citric being the strongest at 2.2 ph.  Municipal sewer systems that have concrete pipes have a problem with acids. We had a 60 inch line collapse 3 years ago under a road from that and it was built in the late seventies.  They like to see 7.5 to 8.0 in any waste water you dump.

      • olivero

        Member
        October 11, 2019 at 11:53 am

        It’s good you go off on a tangent, I learn a lot that way.

        It makes sense, I should’ve thought of it and I didn’t. 

        But now I will, thank you.

        • fixbear

          Member
          October 11, 2019 at 12:46 pm

          I had to install a silver recovery machine and ph adjustment for the waste water in a plate processor (printing industry). Citric acid is expensive stuff. I seem to recall about $350 per 20 pound box. The plate developer was a ph of 12 before treatment.  Personally if I had dumped it in straight they may not of had the pipe decay.  Treatment was 2.5 gallon batches.  Maybe 2 to 3 times per day.  But they still went thru 2 boxes a month.  Still a lot cheaper than buying premixed acid. We dissolved the acid in a 5 gallon bucket with water. Multiple pumps,  peristaltic and centrifugal,  and a controller with sensors that auto rinsed after testing each time. Then added more acid before sending to the recovery cylinder. Weighed about 40 lbs new and 60 to 70 at change out.  A lot of silver.

          One of many neat challenges I’ve had.  Everything from submarine valves to drawbridge repair.

          • olivero

            Member
            October 11, 2019 at 3:03 pm

            Wow, that sounds pretty cool.

            Lot’s of fun stuff.

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