Finally figured out why my ice machines kept failing in Charlotte

Been repairing commercial ice machines for about 5 years. Last month I had a call at a diner where the same model had been through 3 repair guys in 6 months. Turns out I was overtightening the water inlet valve screws every time. They strip out after a few months. Old timer at a parts counter in Charlotte tipped me off. Anybody else have a simple fix they missed for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

green.jessica5d agoMost Upvoted

Heard from a buddy who runs a repair shop in Atlanta that he had the same exact problem with those valves. Said he switched to using a torque wrench set at like 5 inch pounds and never had a callback since. Makes me wonder how many other simple things like that get overlooked because guys just crank everything down as tight as they can. Did you ever find out if the manufacturer knew about that issue?

nelson.gavin4d ago

Yeah that "5 inch pounds" thing your buddy mentioned caught my eye. That's actually way too low for most valve applications. Most of those little brass valves need something more like 10 to 15 inch pounds to seat properly without leaking. If you go too light you risk them loosening up from vibration or thermal cycling. I'm not saying your buddy is wrong for his specific situation but I've seen guys go the opposite direction and under-torque things just as bad as over-torquing them. The real trick is knowing the spec for THAT exact valve not just guessing a number.