Imagine you are drifting off to sleep in your hotel room after a day of air travel, meetings and a client dinner. You are exhausted but then you hear a big humming noise from the hall kick in and then a sudden “BOOM!” reverberates through the room. Tossing and turning ensue as you hope to get back to sleep before the commercial ice maker in the hall has another episode. The sleepless night is an ugly episode but every traveler has faced it. When a commercial ice machine is making ice, you have compressors, fans and condenser working and creating noise. In addition, when the ice cycle is ready to harvest and drops into the ice bin, the ice falls onto other ice makes a bang noise.
So, What can be done to have a Quiet commercial ice machine operation that allows guests to enjoy their stay more. Consider these actions:
- Remote your Condenser to outside the Building – A remote cooled commercial ice machine can take the fan, condenser and compressor and have it located outside the building to cut down on noise. Scotsman’s Eclipse Cuber does just this and creates a much more quiet environment.
- Water Cooled Condenser – By having a water cooled condenser, you can completely relive yourself of the fan noise. When you are not able to remote your condenser, water cooled is a good way to go and uses less electricity. Beware though that they are not energy star approved because they use lots of water.
- Timing of Production – Brands like Scotsman and Manitowoc allow you to time when your ice machine is working the hardest. For example you could time your machine to work only 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM thus giving your guest a quieter period of sleep. However, know that you will have less ice for your guests in the morning.
- Baffling and Insulating – Make sure your next commercial ice machine has some type of sound shield inside that helps reduce the noise level. You can always open the front cover of an ice machine to see how much the manufacturer invested into baffling and insulation your ice maker.
A well-rested guest is a happier guest who could return again. Good Luck with your commercial ice machine operation. Let us help you specify the right commercial ice maker for you. Contact lisa@dietaryequipment.net if we can help!
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