Ice Machine service

[return fan]

Just wondering how long you guys spend performing an ice machine service. i have a customer that paid but questioned why it took 5 hours on a hoshizaki cuber that the evaporator had frozen up. after i removed the iceberg from the unit, i did what the service manual reccomended and basically cleaned everything, and i put in a new float switch. it runs with out any issues now. im just starting to do more ice machines, with the cleaning and dumping the first two harvest after cleaning, and checking everything out i thought i did ok with 5 hours.

[DoctorIce]

I only work on ice machines and have been on both sides of the hours question. Before Kold-Draft had a labour warranty we covered labour calls. We got bills for 8 hours for changing an actuator thermostat and the like. A really frozen up Hoshizaki takes around 1.5 hrs. to defrost if there is a readily available hot water source. Cleaning is around .75 to 1.5 hrs. depending on how thorough you are.
Changing the ice level control, if you have it in stock, is worth .25 hrs. Then you have to sit around for .75 hrs to see if everything works. That comes to about 4 hrs. If you have to travel to get the part another hour is not unreasonable. Now for last 16 years I have been doing outside service. I would charge one of my typically broke bars around 3 hrs. so I have at least have a chance of getting paid. For someone who could afford it I charge my actual time. A good guide for reasonable hours would be the labour hours allowed under warranty from Scotsman, Manitowoc, or Hoshizaki.

[wannafreeze]

Last year I spent that much time for the same scenario,the difference was though the store was at an airport.Everytime I had to go to my truck it took a good 20 minutes to come back.while dumping buckets of hot water on to the evap I splashed water on the board somehow.So I had to do one extra trip for my nitro tank.Anyway the customer was a cheep one anyway.Didn't service him again.But under normal conditions I would expect a customer to get upset with a $500-600 bill for that job,so I would either be faster or eat up little bit.:)

[primmers]

sometimes customer stupidity can cost a bunch..(letting it run that way)
i did the same thing on a hozi.

[the mojo]

sometimes customer stupidity can cost a bunch..(letting it run that way)
i did the same thing on a hozi.

You got that right and hit the "nail" on the head with a sledge hammer.

[MikeySq]

Ice machine Minimum 4 hours, lol

I don't even start troubleshooting untill after a 3 hour clean up!:D

[Diceman]

The problem with ice makers is that even after you get them cleaned and fixed you have to watch em for awhile.
I mean on A/C or furnaces, after ya fix it you know if it's working.
On ice makers, you never know.:D
I try not to even bill the customer for a least a week, just in case.

[pherman]

I'm with Dice. I like to leave them running for at least a day then return and bill them. (Unless they're far from our normal service area.)

[OregonYeti]

I would have told them or at least wanted to tell tham, turn it off, wait til it thaws and let us know and then I will work on it.

[gastech]

De-ice it and clean it and replace the float switch. Chk operation of the bin stat by putting pump into wash. Put in freeze mode and chk temps by touchy feely. Let 'em fall and chk bin stat in a freeze. All looks good. Give 'em a bill and head to the next one. 2.5 hr. Thats how I do it.

[freezdried]

Iam with DICE on this watch an wait.. On mani,s dont even think of leaving untill 3 pluss batches have kicked out . also show up next day to collect after checking 1 last time . and bill t&m .

[OregonYeti]

Maybe set up something to warm it up quicker, go take care of something else, and come back in a while. I try to make my hours pay off for the company I work for.

Sometimes watching a system run is the best thing to do. But I don't want to sit for hours watching ice melt :^)

[ndfrozen]

Just wondering how long you guys spend performing an ice machine service. i have a customer that paid but questioned why it took 5 hours on a hoshizaki cuber that the evaporator had frozen up. after i removed the iceberg from the unit, i did what the service manual reccomended and basically cleaned everything, and i put in a new float switch. it runs with out any issues now. im just starting to do more ice machines, with the cleaning and dumping the first two harvest after cleaning, and checking everything out i thought i did ok with 5 hours.

That sounds about right for a hoshizaki unit. Trouble is most think all you need is a couple of hours and thats it. What I do now is just get it cleaned enough to get it running, and thats it. I inform the customer unit has been cleaned enough to make ice but it won't pass an "health dept. inspection" that'll be another 2-3 hours depending on the crap I have to go thur cleaning it up. They sign off and intial my disclamier on my job ticket. Sometimes my job tickets look like legal documents, but I've done the CYA stuff long enough to know what works and what doesn't.

The best you can do is forewarn the customer about the time element and get their ok on paper before starting, that will solve those billing problems.
I just spent a little over 6 hours on a dammed manitowoc "E" model the other day, for intermitten problems, if I didn't stay to watch for 3 cycles (20 min. each) we would have been bitten for call backs on the unit. Customer was not telling me everthing that was going on with unit. Said, I didn't think that was a problem, it is, if the unit doesn't work. I think they do this so they can claim you should of fixxed it the 1st time you where out here and get it fixxed under warranty. That will be $600.00 please check or cash. Hopefully he gets a new unit in the next year.

[wannafreeze]

That sounds about right for a hoshizaki unit. Trouble is most think all you need is a couple of hours and thats it. What I do now is just get it cleaned enough to get it running, and thats it. I inform the customer unit has been cleaned enough to make ice but it won't pass an "health dept. inspection" that'll be another 2-3 hours depending on the crap I have to go thur cleaning it up. They sign off and intial my disclamier on my job ticket. Sometimes my job tickets look like legal documents, but I've done the CYA stuff long enough to know what works and what doesn't.

The best you can do is forewarn the customer about the time element and get their ok on paper before starting, that will solve those billing problems.
I just spent a little over 6 hours on a dammed manitowoc "E" model the other day, for intermitten problems, if I didn't stay to watch for 3 cycles (20 min. each) we would have been bitten for call backs on the unit. Customer was not telling me everthing that was going on with unit. Said, I didn't think that was a problem, it is, if the unit doesn't work. I think they do this so they can claim you should of fixxed it the 1st time you where out here and get it fixxed under warranty. That will be $600.00 please check or cash. Hopefully he gets a new unit in the next year.

What was the intermittent problem? What was it that the customer did not tell you that was going on with the unit? How did that effect your diognosis?