Before you commit
Ice machine
repair cost,
band by band.
Bands rather than prices, because the same repair costs differently on a freestanding unit and on a built-in. What does not change is the order — the cheap causes are also the common ones — or the rule that decides repair against replace.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- 9 priced jobs
- 5 bands
- Price in writing first
Book a visit
Three short steps, about a minute.
or call (844) 410-9163
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An ice machine is priced once it has frozen, harvested and been tested inside.
These steps compare ice machine jobs with one another; they are not a quote for your machine. A head that makes little ice could have scale on its plate, a clogged condenser, a slow inlet valve, a sticking hot gas valve or a compressor losing its strength, and no one can tell those apart over the phone. The machine is run through a freeze and a harvest, its code history read and its parts measured with the power off before any figure is given. The price comes before any tool touches the repair, and going ahead is your call alone.
The bands, job by jobWhen you book, ask what the ice machine visit costs and how that fee is handled if you go ahead with the repair.
The figure for your ice machine is given in front of it, once it has cycled and its parts have been tested, and nothing is fitted without your agreement.
When an aging machine is not worth the money, the technician says so plainly; that advice is part of the visit.
What a repair
usually costs.
Weigh the repair against what a new ice machine of the same kind would really cost you, delivered, set on its bin or into its opening, plumbed, drained and wired, not only its catalog price. A head sits on a bin that fits it, an undercounter unit fills an opening built for its size, and a remote-cooled machine has line sets and a roof condenser already in place, which tips most jobs toward repair. Cleaning, valves, probes, fan motors, drain parts and a bin control are small beside a new machine, and a board or a harvest part is usually still worth it. The real exception is a compressor or an evaporator on an old machine charged with a gas no longer made: there the technician lays both totals side by side and the choice is yours.
| Repair | Relative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full cleaning and sanitizing, condenser filter wash and a fresh water filter | lowest | A scheduled cleaning of a head on a bin or an undercounter unit, with the curtain, tube and probe cleaned by hand, is the smallest job here. Heavy scale that needs a second pass, a large bin, or slime deep in the drain lines adds time to it. |
| Inlet valve, sump float or level probe, supply line and filter head | low to moderate | A cleaned inlet screen or a new filter cartridge sits at the bottom of the band. A new inlet valve, a level probe, or a supply line and filter head replaced together make up the fuller job. |
| Thickness probe, curtain switch, harvest assist and hot gas valve | low to moderate | Cleaning and setting the probe, or a new curtain switch, costs little beyond the visit. A harvest assist motor is a step up, and a hot gas valve whose body has to be replaced inside the sealed system sits at the top of the band. |
| Compressor start parts, leak repair, evaporator or compressor replacement | highest | A start relay, capacitor or overload is a small part at the low end. Finding and repairing a leak with a new charge, or replacing a compressor or an evaporator, is the dearest work on any ice machine, and an R-290 machine adds the time its safe handling calls for. |
| Condenser cleaning, fan motor, water regulating valve or remote condenser work | low to moderate | A coil cleaning and a washed filter are near the bottom. A new fan motor or a water regulating valve is a step higher, and work on a remote condenser on the roof adds the time it takes to reach it. |
| Control board, display, transformer, thermistors and harness | moderate to highest | A loose or wet plug, a thermistor or a transformer that made the board look guilty is modest. A new control board with its display, set up for the model, is among the dearest parts in the machine, and some take time to arrive. |
| Drain line clearing, air gap, drain pump, float and check valve | low to moderate | Flushing and sanitizing a slimed drain line, or restoring its slope and air gap, is the lighter end. A new drain pump with its float and check valve, fitted behind an undercounter unit, sits a step higher. |
| Bin thermostat, paddle, curtain switch or ice-level sensor | low | Cleaning and adjusting the control is a short job, and a new thermostat or paddle switch is an inexpensive part. An electronic level sensor, or a control that has to be relocated after a head moved to a new bin, adds a little. |
| Agitator motor, dispense wheel, chute gate, solenoid, lever switch or sensor | low to moderate | Freeing fused ice and clearing a sticky gate or a clogged tray drain costs little beyond the visit. A new agitator gear motor or a touchless sensor assembly, with the hopper cleaned and sanitized afterward, moves the job up a step. |
What the diagnostic
visit covers.
The first visit decides what the repair actually is. The fee, and whether it is credited against the repair, is said when you book, before anyone comes out.
The diagnostic visitThe ice in the bin looked at, a freeze and a harvest watched and timed, and the controller's codes and cycle history read.
The shutoff, the filter, the inlet valve and the sump, the condenser with its fan or water valve, and the drain from the bin to its air gap.
The pump, valves, probe, bin control, board and the compressor's start parts tested with the power off at the disconnect, and a remote condenser checked when the readings point there.
One part named, with the work and its cost, or a plain verdict that a new ice machine will serve you better than this one.
What moves
the price.
Five things decide where in its band a repair lands. None of them is known for certain until a technician has seen the ice machine.
The typesModular, undercounter, nugget or dispenser
An undercounter unit or a dispenser is worked on where it stands, though an undercounter one may have to be slid out with its water, drain and power freed first. A head on a bin is reached at shoulder height or above, and a heavy one may need a second person to lift it off.
Air, water or remote cooling
An air-cooled machine is serviced entirely in its room. A water-cooled one adds a regulating valve and a coil that scale up, and a remote-cooled one adds a condenser on the roof or an outside wall, with the ladder, the access and the time that come with it.
Which part gave out
A cleaning, a probe, a bin control and drain work sit at the low end. Inlet valves, harvest parts, fan motors and dispenser mechanisms are a step up. Boards are higher, and compressor and evaporator work in the sealed system is the dearest.
Water quality and the cleaning record
A pump, a valve or a probe that failed under a crust of scale means the scale is cleared along with the part. Hard water with no filter, or a machine that missed its cleanings, adds a full cleaning and sanitizing to most repairs.
Make, model, gas and parts
Parts for widely sold commercial heads arrive quickly. Boards and panels for premium home units, and parts for an older machine on a gas no longer made, may need ordering, and that can settle the question alone. A photo of the data plate sent when you book lets the parts be checked first.
Not every ice machine
breaks the same way.
A modular head makes ice on top of a separate bin or dispenser and can be air-, water- or remote-cooled, an undercounter machine freezes and stores its ice in one cabinet under the bar, a nugget machine presses soft chewable pellets out of an auger, and an ice and water dispenser pours both from a lever on the counter. Which one is yours?
All ice machine types
Modular ice machine
An ice-making head set on top of a separate storage bin or drink dispenser, cooled by air, water or a condenser on the roof, turning out hundreds of pounds of cubes a day.
Undercounter ice machine
A self-contained ice machine that makes and stores its own ice under a bar, a service counter or a kitchen island, from commercial units to clear-ice models in large homes.
Nugget ice machine
An ice machine that freezes a thin layer inside a chilled cylinder and pushes it out with an auger as soft, chewable nuggets, for clinics, offices, hotels and large homes.
Ice and water dispenser
A countertop or floor-standing unit in a hotel hallway, an office or a clinic that makes and stores ice and hands it out with water at the touch of a lever, a button or a sensor.
Every kind we serviceAll ice machines, side by side
The archive puts the 4 types against each other: how to tell which you own, what fails on each, and which manufacturers build them.
How to tell yoursWhat fails on eachWho makes them Open the type archive
Questions about
the price.
What does the ice machine diagnostic visit cost?
Why are ice machine repairs shown in bands instead of prices?
Can I decline the ice machine repair after the diagnosis?
Could the ice machine bill grow after I agree?
Back to your everyday
Let’s get your ice machine working again.
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