--- title: "Ice Machine Harvest Repair | IceMachineRepair.center" description: "The hot gas valve, harvest assist, curtain switch and thickness probe that decide when a sheet of cubes is done and make it drop." url: "https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-harvest-repair/" --- # Ice 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. ## What the ice machine harvest repair involves. A cube ice machine makes ice in two alternating steps. During the freeze, water flows over the chilled evaporator and a sheet of cubes grows; during the harvest, the plate is warmed just enough for the sheet to let go and fall into the bin. The controller decides when to switch by reading the thickness probe, a small sensor set a fixed distance from the plate that the water touches once the cubes reach full size, or on some models by a timer and a temperature reading. To harvest, it opens the hot gas valve, which sends warm vapor from the compressor through the plate, and on many machines starts a harvest assist motor or pin that nudges the slab free. The hinged water curtain swings open as the ice falls, and a switch behind it tells the controller the harvest is complete. When any of these parts sticks, drifts out of adjustment or stops reporting, the machine freezes too long and makes a solid block, harvests too early and makes thin cubes, or keeps trying to harvest a slab that never drops. The technician times each step, measures the probe and the valve coil, checks the curtain switch, and sets the bridge thickness the maker calls for. How the visit goes ### What it usually costs Low to moderate · Thickness probe, curtain switch, harvest assist and hot gas valve 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. ### Answers 5 problems Ice Machine Not Harvesting: Ice Stays Stuck on the Plate Ice Machine Cubes Coming Out Thin, Small or Hollow · Ice Machine Making Too Little Ice for the Rush · Ice Machine Running but Not Making Ice · Ice Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You ### Comes up most on Modular ice machine Undercounter ice machine · Ice and water dispenser ### Codes that lead here E2 · D9 red LED flashing fast · D9 red LED flashing slowly · E1 Atosa E2: the ice machine's harvest is taking too long. ## Ice machine harvest repair, step by step. Run several cycles to prove each slab drops cleanly and the curtain resets, then note the cycle time for the record. 01 Watch a freeze and a harvest and time each step against the figures the maker lists for that model and that room temperature. 02 Check the thickness probe for scale and adjustment, and the curtain and its switch for a free swing and a clean signal. 03 With the power off, test the hot gas valve coil, the harvest assist motor or pin, and the wiring that runs to them. 04 Clean or replace the part that failed, and set the bridge thickness on the next sheet of cubes to the maker's figure. 05 Run several cycles to prove each slab drops cleanly and the curtain resets, then note the cycle time for the record. ## The problems it answers. 5 of them, from ice machine not harvesting: ice stays stuck on the plate to ice machine error code or flashing light: what it is telling you. [All problems](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/) Most common ### Ice Machine Not Harvesting: Ice Stays Stuck on the Plate 6 causes, cheapest first Before you call ### Tell us this when you book 1. Whether the ice comes out as one solid slab, as very thin cubes, or stays stuck to the plate 2. Whether the ice machine clicks or hums at the end of a cycle and then starts over without dropping ice 3. Any code or blinking light on the controller, and when the machine was last cleaned 4. Whether the problem shows up only in a warm room or on hot days It also answers - [**Ice Machine Cubes Coming Out Thin, Small or Hollow** 6 causes](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/ice-machine-ice-small-or-hollow/) - [**Ice Machine Making Too Little Ice for the Rush** 6 causes](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/ice-machine-making-little-ice/) - [**Ice Machine Running but Not Making Ice** 6 causes](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/ice-machine-not-making-ice/) - [**Ice Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You** 7 causes](https://icemachinerepair.center/problems/ice-machine-error-code/) ## Low to moderate, on the site's scale. 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. [Read the full cost guide](https://icemachinerepair.center/cost/) | Repair | Relative cost | | --- | --- | | [Full cleaning and sanitizing, condenser filter wash and a fresh water filter](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-cleaning-and-sanitizing/) | | | [Inlet valve, sump float or level probe, supply line and filter head](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-water-valve-and-filter-repair/) | | | **Thickness probe, curtain switch, harvest assist and hot gas valve** | low to moderate | | [Compressor start parts, leak repair, evaporator or compressor replacement](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-compressor-and-sealed-system-repair/) | | | [Condenser cleaning, fan motor, water regulating valve or remote condenser work](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-condenser-and-fan-repair/) | | | [Control board, display, transformer, thermistors and harness](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-control-board-repair/) | | | [Drain line clearing, air gap, drain pump, float and check valve](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-drain-and-pump-repair/) | | | [Bin thermostat, paddle, curtain switch or ice-level sensor](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-bin-control-repair/) | | | [Agitator motor, dispense wheel, chute gate, solenoid, lever switch or sensor](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-dispenser-mechanism-repair/) | | ## Where it comes up most. Most bookings: Modular ice machine, Undercounter ice machine, Ice and water dispenser. [All ice machine types](https://icemachinerepair.center/types/) Codes that lead here - [`E2` Atosa · Harvest and freeze cycle](https://icemachinerepair.center/error-codes/atosa-e2/) - [`E1` Blue Air · Harvest and freeze cycle](https://icemachinerepair.center/error-codes/blue-air-e1/) - [`HI AMPS` Follett · Harvest and freeze cycle](https://icemachinerepair.center/error-codes/follett-hi-amps/) - [`1 beep` Hoshizaki · Harvest and freeze cycle](https://icemachinerepair.center/error-codes/hoshizaki-1-beep/) [All 26 codes that lead here](https://icemachinerepair.center/error-codes/#family-harvest) Often the same visit - [**Ice machine diagnostic visit** 4 problems in common](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/diagnostic-visit/) - [**Ice machine condenser and fan repair** 4 problems in common · low to moderate](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-condenser-and-fan-repair/) - [**Ice machine water valve and filter repair** 3 problems in common · low to moderate](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-water-valve-and-filter-repair/) ### Modular ice machine ### Undercounter ice machine ### Ice and water dispenser ## The makes we see it on. 20 makes on this site, and the ice machine harvest repair on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 20 brands](https://icemachinerepair.center/brands/) ## Ice machine harvest repair, where we come out. The kitchen, the climate and the building all change how the ice machine harvest repair goes. These notes are about that, metro by metro. [All service areas](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/) [Tampa Bay](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/) FL · 31 areas When a Tampa Bay summer heats a kitchen past what its ice machine was sized for, the hot gas valve and the harvest assist work harder to release each batch, and a machine that stalls between freeze and harvest has both of them tested. - [Hyde Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/hyde-park/) - [Davis Islands](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/davis-islands/) - [Palma Ceia](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/palma-ceia/) - [Westchase](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/westchase/) - [Carrollwood](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/carrollwood/) - [Belleair](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/belleair/) - [St. Pete Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/st-pete-beach/) - [Palm Harbor](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/palm-harbor/) [Orlando](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/) FL · 30 areas Orlando's big hotels and banquet kitchens run modular ice machines at full output for days during conventions, and a slab of cubes that hangs on the evaporator instead of dropping is traced to the harvest assist, the hot gas valve or a thickness probe set wrong. - [Winter Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/winter-park/) - [Windermere](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/windermere/) - [Dr. Phillips](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/dr-phillips/) - [Bay Hill](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/bay-hill/) - [Lake Nona](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/lake-nona/) - [Heathrow](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/heathrow/) - [Celebration](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/orlando/celebration/) [Miami / South Florida](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/) FL · 47 areas In South Florida humidity a water curtain that sticks open or a thickness probe coated with scale can stop a harvest halfway, leaving a sheet of cubes bridged across the evaporator; the visit cleans, adjusts and tests each part of the harvest. - [Brickell](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/brickell/) - [Coconut Grove](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/coconut-grove/) - [Coral Gables](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/coral-gables/) - [Pinecrest](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/pinecrest/) - [Key Biscayne](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/key-biscayne/) - [Aventura](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/aventura/) - [Sunny Isles Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/sunny-isles-beach/) - [Bal Harbour](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/bal-harbour/) - [Miami Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/miami-beach/) - [Golden Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/golden-beach/) - [Weston](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/weston/) - [Boca Raton](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/boca-raton/) - [Palm Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/south-florida/palm-beach/) [New York Metro](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/) NY · 75 areas Busy New York bars notice a harvest problem as a bin that is empty by midnight, and the technician watches the machine through several harvests, checking that the curtain swings, the probe senses the sheet and the hot gas valve opens on time. - [Upper East Side](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/upper-east-side/) - [Upper West Side](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/upper-west-side/) - [Tribeca](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/tribeca/) - [SoHo](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/soho/) - [Greenwich Village](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/greenwich-village/) - [Battery Park City](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/battery-park-city/) - [Brooklyn Heights](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/brooklyn-heights/) - [Park Slope](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/park-slope/) - [DUMBO](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/dumbo/) - [Forest Hills](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/forest-hills/) - [Great Neck](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/great-neck/) - [Southampton](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/southampton/) - [Scarsdale](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/new-york/scarsdale/) [Houston](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/) TX · 36 areas Houston heat slows the harvest of an air-cooled ice machine whose condenser is already fighting the room, so the visit separates a true harvest problem, a hot gas valve or a harvest motor, from a machine that simply needs more air around it. - [River Oaks](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/river-oaks/) - [Memorial](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/memorial/) - [Tanglewood](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/tanglewood/) - [Greater Heights](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/greater-heights/) - [Kingwood](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/kingwood/) - [Bellaire](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/bellaire/) - [Bunker Hill Village](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/bunker-hill-village/) - [Piney Point Village](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/piney-point-village/) - [Hunters Creek Village](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/hunters-creek-village/) - [Sugar Land](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/sugar-land/) - [Cinco Ranch](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/cinco-ranch/) - [The Woodlands](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/the-woodlands/) - [West University](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/houston/west-university/) [Chicago](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/) IL · 50 areas A Chicagoland machine with its condenser on the roof may harvest poorly in deep cold, when too little heat returns to the evaporator, and the visit checks the head pressure control and the hot gas valve before the sealed system is suspected. - [Lincoln Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lincoln-park/) - [Near North Side](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/near-north-side/) - [West Loop / Near West Side](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/west-loop-near-west-side/) - [Wilmette](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/wilmette/) - [Winnetka](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/winnetka/) - [Glencoe](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/glencoe/) - [River Forest](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/river-forest/) - [Oak Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/oak-park/) - [Hinsdale](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/hinsdale/) - [Lake Forest](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lake-forest/) - [Highland Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/highland-park/) - [Gold Coast](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/gold-coast/) - [Lakeview](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lakeview/) [Los Angeles](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/) CA · 95 areas Los Angeles restaurants filling party orders expect cubes on demand, and a harvest that drags or drops half-formed ice is checked at the thickness probe, the harvest assist and the cleanliness of the evaporator plate. - [Beverly Hills](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/beverly-hills/) - [Bel Air](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/bel-air/) - [Holmby Hills](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/holmby-hills/) - [Brentwood](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/brentwood/) - [Pacific Palisades](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/pacific-palisades/) - [Santa Monica](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/santa-monica/) - [Hancock Park](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/hancock-park/) - [Studio City](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/studio-city/) - [Calabasas](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/calabasas/) - [Manhattan Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/manhattan-beach/) - [Palos Verdes Estates](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/palos-verdes-estates/) - [Pasadena](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/pasadena/) - [San Marino](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/san-marino/) - [Malibu](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/los-angeles/malibu/) [San Diego](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/) CA · 31 areas Mild San Diego weather hides harvest trouble until a heat spell, when an evaporator lightly coated with scale or slime holds its cubes too long; the visit cleans the plate and times the harvest again before any part is ordered. - [La Jolla](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/la-jolla/) - [Carmel Valley](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/carmel-valley/) - [Point Loma](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/point-loma/) - [Del Mar](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/del-mar/) - [Rancho Santa Fe](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/rancho-santa-fe/) - [Coronado](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/coronado/) - [Encinitas](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/encinitas/) - [Solana Beach](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/san-diego/solana-beach/) [San Francisco Bay Area](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/) CA · 74 areas Nugget ice machines in Bay Area offices do not harvest in batches but push ice up through an auger, so a harvest call here is often a squeal or a stall in the auger and gear motor, while a restaurant's cube machine is checked at its hot gas valve. - [Pacific Heights](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/pacific-heights/) - [Presidio Heights](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/presidio-heights/) - [Russian Hill](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/russian-hill/) - [Noe Valley](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/noe-valley/) - [Sea Cliff](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/sea-cliff/) - [Hillsborough](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/hillsborough/) - [Atherton](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/atherton/) - [Woodside](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/woodside/) - [Palo Alto](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/palo-alto/) - [Los Altos Hills](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/los-altos-hills/) - [Tiburon](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/tiburon/) - [Piedmont](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/piedmont/) - [Marina](https://icemachinerepair.center/locations/bay-area/marina/) For the heart of your home. ## Questions about the ice machine harvest repair. ### Why is my ice machine making one big slab of ice? The sheet should break into single cubes along thin bridges. A slab means the freeze ran too long, usually because the thickness probe is scaled or set too thick, or the harvest came late. A cleaning and a probe adjustment to the maker's bridge thickness usually cure it. ### Can I knock the ice off the plate to get it going again? Please do not. Prying at the evaporator scratches its plating and can bend the plate or the probe, and the panels around it cover live wiring. Switch the machine off at its own switch and book a visit; waiting does it no harm. ### Is a stuck harvest the same as an ice machine that makes no ice? Not quite. A machine that builds a full sheet and cannot drop it has a harvest problem; one that never builds a sheet has a water or cooling problem. Telling us what you see on the plate through the bin opening helps the technician before the visit. --- **[Read on the site: Ice Machine Harvest Repair | IceMachineRepair.center](https://icemachinerepair.center/services/ice-machine-harvest-repair/)** **[Book a visit with IceMachineRepair.center](https://icemachinerepair.center/schedule/)**