Ice Cream Machine

Keeping your ice cream machine running efficiently is simple, if you follow the manufacturer's guidelines for cleanliness and maintenance.

If you're a food service professional, I expect you understand the health risks associated with contaminated and bad milk products, so I won't go into the details here but I will remind you to please, always be conscientious about the cleanliness of the machine and the utensils used to handle the product.

Do you have a 5 foot tall, double barrel commercial ice cream machine?

Maybe a heavy-weight Taylor ice cream machine?

Or are you operating a compact, counter-top soft serve ice cream maker?

No matter what type of machine you're operating, the concerns for cleanliness and maintenance will be similar.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions about how often to disassemble, clean, inspect, lubricate, and sanitize the machine, and follow the instructions step by step.

How does this help the machine run more efficiently, help reduce power consumption; and also help provide a premium quality product?

When the scraper blades start wearing out, they don't scrape all the cold product off the wall of the freezer barrel, so it takes longer for the product to freeze.

This reduces efficiency and can increase power consumption.

When the alignment sleeves or bushings start wearing out, the beaters won't hold the scraper blades against the wall of the freezer barrel correctly, which can affect the machine's efficiency and product quality; and if the tolerances between the freezer wall and the stainless beater arms are close, the beater arms can start hitting and damaging the freezer walls.

The air mixing tubes found in almost all ice cream machines help increase your profits by mixing air with the product, which increases its volume, so it's in your own best interest to make sure they're clean, and installed according to the manufacturer's instructions.

What about the recommended lubricant?

This lubricant is food safe, and doesn't only reduce friction and prolong the life of the parts; it also acts as a seal to prevent product from leaking, so follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

Some other other important things to keep in mind:

Don't install your ice cream machine in direct sunlight.

Direct sunlight is a heat load that can decrease the efficiency of the machine.

Another thing that will decrease the efficiency of the machine is hot air from other appliances or cooking equipment being vented into the condensing coil.

Check the condensing coil on a regular basis, make sure it's clean, and make sure that nothing is blocking air flow through it.

A dirty coil, blocked air flow, or a bad condenser fan will cause the compressor to run at high pressures that will reduce its efficiency, and possibly even break it.

Install your ice cream machine correctly, clean it carefully, and maintain it according to the manufacturer's guidelines; and you should be able to expect years of profitable operation.

I hope this page has helped, and please, feel free to contact us with any specific HVAC questions you might have, including questions about refrigeration on Guam, and air conditioning on Guam.