Lime Scale Formation,Sediment, Objectionable Taste or Odor, Slime Growths,Rough Freezing Surface Cloudy or Milky Ice, or Dirty Cooling Coils
Lime Scale Formation:
Lime scale is a common problem in ice machines. Even though the water is not heated, the hardness minerals tend to concentrate in the water and precipitate out on the freezing surfaces. The ice tends to stick to the scale and this jams the machine. Years of experience with ice making equipment have proven that the best way to solve the problem and reduce service calls is to prevent this scale formation by treating the water with the food-grade polyphosphate, Micromet. Before the treatment is started, however the machine should be cleaned, and possibly sanitized...
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Two things must be done. First, a bleed or dump cycle of the unfrozen recirculating water must be maintained. Second, the make up water needs to be treated with a food-grade polyphosphate like 6R Micromet. Treatment with the phosphate will stabilize the minerals and thereby avoid scale formation.
The polyphosphate may be introduced by passing the make up water through one of two general types of treatment: in-line filtration devices like Micro-Plus or cartridge/housing filtration devices like the NP Series.
The source of the problem is bacteria, and it may be water-born or air-born. One approach would be to sanitize the machine on a regular basis with IMS-II Ice machine Sanitizer after cleaning. This will delay the onset of the slime growth and increase the time between service. Another approach would be to install one of our in-line Ultraviolet Light units on the make up water line. This would expose the water to proper UV light, and it would kill the water-born bacteria. One other approach is to install one of our "Ozonator" on the wall next to the ice maker. This would create a constant source of ozone which in turn will have a controlling effect on bacteria, particularly air-born bacteria.
Both are food-grade acids formulated to remove scale deposits from ice makers. However, when cleaning a machine with nickel-plated evaporators, only the Nickel-Safe product should be used.
