Loading…

Our ice machine conked out during dinner rush and I nearly lost it | Behind the Headlines - Vivisector

Our ice machine conked out during dinner rush and I nearly lost it

It was last Saturday night at 7:30, right when the dinner crowd really hits, and our ice machine just stopped making ice. I run a small diner on Main Street in Austin, and that thing is the backbone of the soda fountain and iced tea station. We had about 40 people in the restaurant and suddenly I'm running to the gas station two blocks away buying bags of ice at $3 a pop. The repair guy came Monday morning and said the compressor fan motor burned out, and the whole system had buildup from not being cleaned monthly. I had no idea you're supposed to do that deep cleaning every 30 days or the thing chokes. Has anyone else dealt with a restaurant appliance failing at the worst possible time and what did you do to handle the chaos?

4 comments

4 Comments

jessica9215mo ago

Keep a backup chest freezer and bagged ice stash for exactly this reason.

miller.diana5mo ago

@jessica921 I mean, a whole backup chest freezer just for ice when your machine breaks once a year? Seems like overkill unless you're running through bags daily.

hannahcraig5mo ago

Keeping bagged ice as backup is smart but that freezer space is precious in a small diner. I started rotating a few bags of ice in our walk-in freezer every week after a similar breakdown. The real trick is staying on top of that monthly cleaning schedule like it's a bill you can't ignore. Set a phone reminder or put it on a laminated checklist by the machine so nobody forgets. Also consider getting a spare compressor fan motor off Amazon for under 50 bucks, the repair guy showed me how to swap it in ten minutes. Have you thought about keeping a small parts kit for your most temperamental equipment?

colescott5mo ago

I read somewhere that restaurant owners swear by color coding their cleaning checklists by month so nothing slips through the cracks during a busy week. That spare fan motor idea is solid, your mileage may vary on the Amazon quality but for under 50 bucks it's worth a shot.