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The evaporator plate inside an open modular ice machine with a full sheet of clear cubes still frozen to it, the ice machine's plastic water curtain hanging just in front.

KoolAire SL#1 light: service limit 1, freeze cycles too long

A KoolAire head ends its freeze when the harvest float switch drops as the trough empties into ice.

(844) 410-9163

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Harvest and freeze cycle
  • Ice machine harvest repair
  • Source: Koolaire

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 410-9163

What SL#1
actually means.

A KoolAire head ends its freeze when the harvest float switch drops as the trough empties into ice. If that takes too long, the board starts a harvest anyway and counts it. Three in a row make SL#1 flash once a second; six in a row stop the machine with SL#1 on steadily. Low water flow, scale, a hot or dirty condenser and a weak sealed system are the common reasons.

Koolaire ice machine display

What to do when SL#1 shows on the ice machine

Kind of codeHarvest and freeze cycle

A freeze ran longer than the board allows, or a harvest started and the ice never fell. Scale on the evaporator holds the sheet to the plate, a thickness probe crusted with minerals never signals, a hot gas valve that does not open leaves the plate cold, a harvest assist that does not push, or a water curtain that swings without tripping its switch all end in this family. A cleaning cycle run by the manual often clears it; a valve or a probe is a technician's job.

Usually leads toIce machine harvest repair

The hot gas valve, harvest assist, curtain switch and thickness probe that decide when a sheet of cubes is done and make it drop.

Shows up asIce Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You

An ice machine error code may show as a number on a small display, a pattern of blinking lights on the control board, a colored light on the front, or a machine that stops with one indicator flashing.

MakeKoolaire

KoolAire ice machine service begins with a look at the air filter, the condenser fins and the water trough.

SourceKoolAire K, KP and KT modular ice machines technician's handbook (Part Number 000018624 Rev 00)

KoolAire K, KP and KT Kube heads with the toggle-switch control board. Boards with software revision 3.2 and later cap the freeze at 35 minutes and the harvest at 7 minutes; earlier boards use 60 and 3.5 minutes.

Before you book,
in this order.

Each step comes from Koolaire's own guidance for SL#1 on its ice machines. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.

01

Move the toggle switch to OFF, then back to ICE, and watch which light flashes first; one light alone is SL#1 or SL#2.

02

Check that the water supply valve is open and the air filter in front of the condenser is clean.

03

Let the head run a full cycle; if it stops on SL#1 again, book a visit.

Still there?

It usually turns into ice machine harvest repair. Book with the code and the model number.

What not to do

SL#1 is not the harvest problem, which lights SL#2, and it is not a water shortage, which flashes both lights together. A flashing light on its own, before the machine stops, is only a warning.

What you may
notice with it.

The ice machine problems SL#1 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the ice machine before anyone is booked.

All problems

Before you call

Ice Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You

All 7 causes, cheapest first

It also comes with

Close view of the small dark control panel on the front of a stainless modular ice machine head, one abstract indicator light glowing amber and a few plain unlit dots beside it, the edge of the ice machine's clear water curtain visible through a narrow window below. Problem

Ice Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You

7 causes, cheapest first

Where SL#1 usually leads

Ice machine harvest repair.

Thickness probe, curtain switch, harvest assist and hot gas valve · low to moderate.
Book a visit What the job involves

Koolaire
ice machines.

KoolAire ice machine service begins with a look at the air filter, the condenser fins and the water trough.

Koolaire ice machine repair

More Koolaire codes

SL#2SL#1 + SL#2Clean light flashing

Harvest and freeze cycle on other makes

Atosa E2Blue Air E1Follett HI AMPSHoshizaki 1 beepIce-O-Matic Error 1Manitowoc E01Scotsman 1Sub-Zero ICE flashing
All 25 codes of this kind
A stainless modular ice machine head sitting on top of a wide stainless ice bin in a restaurant back-of-house, the ice bin door lifted to show a heap of clear square ice cubes and a plain white scoop, the ice machine standing against a white tiled wall with a floor drain below it. Koolaire builds this

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.

 A stainless undercounter ice machine built in under a dark stone bar top in a hotel bar, the ice machine door swung open to show a bin full of clear square ice cubes with a plain stainless scoop resting in them, clean glassware on the counter above, soft warm light. Koolaire builds this

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.

In Koolaire's own words

After 3 consecutive 35 minute cycles control board light SL#1 light will flash on/off at 1 second intervals.
KoolAire K, KP and KT modular ice machines technician's handbook (Part Number 000018624 Rev 00) KoolAire K, KP and KT modular ice machines technician's handbook (Part Number 000018624 Rev 00) KoolAire K, KP and KT modular ice machines technician's handbook (Part Number 000018624 Rev 00)

Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. KoolAire K, KP and KT Kube heads with the toggle-switch control board. Boards with software revision 3.2 and later cap the freeze at 35 minutes and the harvest at 7 minutes; earlier boards use 60 and 3.5 minutes.

Koolaire SL#1 ice machine repair,
where we come out.

The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A family filling glasses with nugget ice from an ice machine in a large home kitchen.
For the heart of your home.

Questions
about SL#1.

Can I clear SL#1 myself?
Move the toggle switch to OFF, then back to ICE, and watch which light flashes first; one light alone is SL#1 or SL#2. If it comes back, it needs a visit.
My KoolAire SL#1 light flashes but the head is still running. Should I worry?
It is an early warning: three freezes in a row ran to the cap. The head keeps going until six in a row, so use the time to clean the condenser filter and check the water.
Why did SL#1 come back after I cycled my KoolAire's toggle switch?
Cycling the switch only restarts the head and shows the stored limit. The board keeps it until a long run of normal harvests erases it, and it will stop again if the cause is still there.
Does a dirty KoolAire trigger SL#1?
It can. Scale slows the freeze and filmed floats misread. KoolAire asks for a de-scale and sanitize every six months, more often with hard water.

Back to your everyday

Still showing SL#1?

A booking with a code goes further when it carries the light or code copied as it appeared, the model and serial off the data plate, and a word on whether cubes still fall into the bin. With those three in hand, our office can match the probable part to your machine the same afternoon.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 410-9163
(844) 410-9163 Schedule a repair