IceMachineRepair.center (844) 410-9163Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm Book a visit
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.

Undercounter Ice Machine Repair

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.

(844) 410-9163

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • 4 things that fail on it
  • 17 makes build it
  • 6 problems it shows

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 410-9163

Is yours
an undercounter?

An undercounter ice machine puts the whole job into one cabinet about the height of a counter: the parts that make ice sit above or behind a small insulated bin that holds anywhere from a few dozen pounds to a little over a hundred. Commercial versions stand under a bar or a service station and breathe through a front grille; the residential clear-ice models from premium kitchen makers hide behind a stainless door or a cabinet panel in an island, a pantry or a basement bar. Most work like a modular head in miniature: water cascades over a chilled plate or a grid of cells and freezes layer by layer, so the air and the minerals stay behind in the water and the cubes come out clear, then a short harvest drops them into the bin. A few residential units freeze cubes on cold fingers dipped into a water tray instead. The bin is insulated but not chilled, so the ice slowly melts and must leave through a drain, by gravity to a floor drain or standpipe, or lifted by a small drain pump when the nearest drain sits higher than the machine.

A technician in a plain gray work shirt stands beside a stainless modular ice machine on its ice bin in a restaurant back-of-house, holding a small notepad and looking at a handful of clear square ice cubes in a plain stainless scoop, the ice bin door open behind the scoop, the ice machine's front panel in place. What fails on an undercounter ice machine

How to tell

01

The whole ice machine fits under the counter, and the door on its front opens onto a bin of ice, with no separate head on top.
02

Air goes in and out through a grille at the toe or across the front, so it can sit flush with the cabinets on either side.
03

Behind or beneath it run a water line with a shutoff and a drain hose that goes down into the floor or to a small pump box.
04

A home model often wears a door panel matched to the cabinets; a commercial one shows a stainless front with a louvered grille.

Not yours?Modular ice machineNugget ice machineIce and water dispenser

What fails
on this design.

On an undercounter ice machine: front condenser and its fan, drain pump and drain line, water inlet valve and filter, bin thermostat or ice-level sensor.

The problems it shows

Front condenser and its fan

With only the front to breathe through, the condenser collects dust, lint and pet hair quickly. Output falls first in a warm room, and a badly clogged unit can trip its high-pressure cutout or run the compressor hot.

Drain pump and drain line

The pump that lifts meltwater up to a sink drain has a float and a small motor, and both gather scale and slime. When it stops, water backs up into the bin and can spill under the door onto the floor.

Water inlet valve and filter

A spent filter or a scaled valve screen starves the machine and gives small, thin or cloudy cubes. A valve that no longer seals keeps water trickling into the reservoir and straight out the drain.

Bin thermostat or ice-level sensor

A full bin is sensed by a thermostat bulb or an infrared eye in the bin roof. Slime on the eye, or a bulb knocked out of its clip, makes the machine stop with an empty bin or keep making ice onto a full one.

Getting at it,
and whether to.

Most checks start from the front: the bin, the door, the grille and the filter are all reached without moving the ice machine.

What repairs cost

On the visit

  1. Sliding it out means freeing the water line, the drain, the power cord and on a panel-ready unit the anti-tip bracket behind it, so please leave that to the technician.
  2. On the day of the visit, move the ice into a cooler or a clean container and leave the machine running unless it is leaking, so its behavior can be seen.
  3. If it is built into an island or a bar under a stone top, tell us the maker, the model and how tight the opening is, so the right parts come on the first trip.

Repair or replace

An undercounter ice machine is usually worth repairing when the trouble lies in the water, the drain, the condenser or a sensor, which covers most calls. On a residential clear-ice model the cabinet opening, the panel and the plumbing were all fitted to that one size, and that weighs toward repair even for a larger part. The case for a new machine is a failed compressor or a leak in the sealed system on an entry-level commercial unit; there the technician gives both figures so you can compare.

Book a visit for an undercounter ice machine

The problems
it shows.

On an undercounter ice machine, most often ice machine leaking water across the floor or under the bin.

All problems
A stainless modular ice machine head sitting on a wide stainless ice bin in a tiled restaurant back room, a sheet of clear water spreading from under the ice machine bin across the red quarry tile toward a wall outlet with a plugged-in cord, a few loose ice cubes melting in the puddle. Clear the area first

Ice Machine Leaking Water Across the Floor or Under the Bin

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view inside the open bin of a stainless ice machine, the pile of clear cubes sitting in a shallow pool of standing water at the bottom of the ice machine's bin, the drain fitting under the water, a white scoop resting on the bin ledge.

Ice Machine Drain Backing Up Into the Bin

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless undercounter ice machine under a hotel bar with its insulated bin door swung open, the ice machine's bin completely empty and dry except for a white plastic scoop lying in the bottom, the steel counter above holding a row of clean glasses.

Ice Machine Running but Not Making Ice

6 causes, cheapest first

 A heavy rocks glass on a dark bar top filled with milky white cloudy cubes from an ice machine, a few white flakes floating in the water around them, and behind it slightly out of focus a stainless undercounter ice machine with its bin door open showing clumped cloudy ice.

Cloudy, Soft or Wet Ice From an Ice Machine

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view inside the open bin of a stainless ice machine, a scattering of clear cubes in the bottom and a faint pinkish-orange film along the lower plastic wall of the ice machine's bin and around the drain fitting, the underside of the ice machine head just visible above.

Slime or Mold Growing in the Ice Machine Bin

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless modular ice machine head on a stainless storage bin in a hotel service corridor, the bin door propped open and clear cubes heaped high up to the underside of the ice machine head and spilling over the edge of the bin onto the tile floor below.

Ice Bin Full but the Ice Machine Keeps Making Ice

6 causes, cheapest first

Who builds
an undercounter.

17 of the makes on this site build an undercounter ice machine. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 20 brands

Undercounter ice machine repair,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

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
undercounter ice machines.

Why does the ice in my undercounter ice machine shrink in the bin?
That is by design. The bin is insulated but not chilled, so the cubes melt a little and the machine makes more to keep it topped up. Some water under the ice and cubes that fuse at the edges are normal; a bin filling with water points to the drain.
Does an undercounter ice machine need a floor drain?
It needs somewhere lower than the bin for meltwater to go. With a floor drain or a standpipe close by, gravity is enough; without one, a drain pump lifts the water to a sink drain. The installation manual for your model gives the height and distance the pump can manage.
Are commercial and home undercounter ice machines repaired the same way?
The water, harvest and cooling parts work alike, so the tests are much the same. The differences are the controls, the cabinet and the parts supply: home clear-ice models use their maker's own boards and panels, while commercial units share more parts across a line.
How warm can the room around an undercounter ice machine get?
Each maker lists the air and water temperatures the machine is rated for. Above them, output falls and the high-pressure cutout may stop it, so a hot closet, a spot beside a heat source or a bar with no air conditioning at night is worth mentioning when you book.

Back to your everyday

Is it an undercounter ice machine?

Say so when you book — it changes what the technician brings and how the visit is planned.

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