Ice machine is a machine that makes ice cubes. It condenses water into ice of various shapes through a specific mold: flake ice, tube ice, block ice, cube ice, etc. Ice machines are widely used in fisheries, catering, medical, food processing and other industries for consumption, preservation and cooling. This article will explain to you how do ice machines work? Let you understand the working principle and process of various mainstream ice machines.
How Do Tube Ice Machines Work？
The core of the tube ice maker is the ice making system components, which are necessary for any tube ice machine refrigeration process. The following is the working process of the refrigeration system:
First, the compresses the low-temperature refrigerant liquid into gas and sends it to the condenser. In the condenser, the refrigerant gas releases heat through heat dissipation and becomes a high-pressure liquid. After passing through the expansion valve, part of the refrigerant evaporates into a gas-liquid mixture and enters the evaporator. In the evaporator, it absorbs the heat of the surrounding water and evaporates further. Water enters the tube wall through the nozzle, forming a thin layer of water film. When it contacts the low-temperature tube wall, it cools rapidly and turns into an ice layer.
Finally, the ice layer gradually thickens, the tube ice falls off the tube wall, and is discharged from the ice outlet, completing an ice making cycle and entering the next ice making cycle.
How Do Block Ice Machines Work
Working principle: Direct cooling ice making machine uses aluminum plate as evaporator, and freezes into ice through heat exchange between refrigerant and water in ice bucket
Ice making process: First, water pump transports water to ice making mold and waits for cooling, then refrigerant directly contacts mold and absorbs heat from water in the refrigeration system during compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation process to make water condense into block ice slowly. When ice is completely frozen, refrigeration system stops working, demoulding system starts to separate ice from mold. After completing one ice making cycle, direct cooling block ice machine automatically enters the next ice making cycle.
Working principle: The water on the surface of the flake evaporator is cooled to below 0 degrees by refrigerant. After reaching a certain thickness, it is scraped off by ice knives and the scraped flake ice is collected
Ice-making process: The water supply system transports water to the water pipe, and then the sprayer sprinkles it evenly on the surface of the flake ice evaporator and waits for cooling. Before that, the compressor turns the refrigerant into high-pressure gas and then condenses it into liquid through the condenser and then reduces its pressure through the expansion valve. When the refrigerant evaporates, it absorbs the heat in the flake ice evaporator to freeze the water. After reaching a certain thickness, the rotating ice knives will scrape it off to form flake ice. And repeat this ice-making process.
Ice Cube Machine Workflow
Working principle: The ice cube machine releases and absorbs heat through the refrigerant to condense the water in the mold into ice cubes.
Ice making process: The water source is introduced into the mold through the water supply system. The refrigerant reaches the evaporator after the compressor, condenser, and expansion valve. When the water flows through the evaporator, it begins to cool to the freezing point and forms in the mold. After the ice cube is fully formed, the de-icing program will start and shake the mold to put the ice cube into the storage bin.
Salt Water Ice Block Machine Workflow
Working principle: The salt water ice block machineuses salt water as the heat exchange liquid, and freezes the water in the ice bucket into ice by lowering the temperature of the salt water.
Ice making process: The ice block machine requires manual placement of the mold into the ice maker, and the addition of salt water, so that the refrigerant contacts the salt water to lower the temperature of the salt water to freeze the mold into ice. The de-icing method requires the ice bucket to be hoisted into the ice melting pool, the ice surface melts, and the ice cubes are poured out through the ice rack.
