Hoshizaki Ice Machines Repair and Maintenance

How to Clean Your Hoshizaki Ice Machine

Hoshizaki is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial ice equipment with a complete line of ice machines.

Hoshizaki recommends cleaning and sanitizing your ice machine annually and more often if necessary. In areas where water is undesirable, more cleaning will be required and external water treatment may be essential. A comprehensive cleaning keeps parts free from buildup of foreign substances and saves you money on Hoshizaki replacements and repairs.

Hoshizaki Ice Machine Cleaning Preparation

1. Remove all the ice from the bin. This will prevent any of the cleaning solution from contaminating the ice.
2. Make sure the water flow to the machine is off and drain anything that’s left in the tank.

**Consult your manual for draining the tank; there are different procedures for different models.

Hoshizaki Ice Machine Cleaning

1. Clean the evaporator. With Hoshizaki’s unique stainless steel evaporator, any commercial ice machine cleaner can be used; a nickel safe type cleaner is not required. Hoshizaki recommends LIME-A-AWAY or Hoshizaki Scale Away, which is available through your local distributor.
2. In a bucket, mix the cleaning solution with warm water and follow the instructions on the rear of the front panel for the correct mixture ratio.
3. Pour the solution inside the sump and move the toggle switch to the wash position. The KM units also have an additional cleaning valve that should be moved to the open or clean position. This will allow the cleaning solution to flow in between the evaporator plates as well as over the ice making side of the plate.
4. The solution should be circulated until the ice machine is clean. This may require a substantial amount of time depending on how dirty the unit is. If it’s not coming clean, manually scrub the inside of the machine, or add more cleaning solution and repeat the cycle.
5. When the inside is clean, drain the solution from the pump and replace all the components. Turn the controls to “Ice” and allow the machine to run for a few minutes to clean the entire pump. Once finished, turn the switch back to “Wash” to circulate clean water throughout the unit.

**Repeat this procedure twice to ensure the cleaning solution has been removed.

Hoshizaki Ice Machine Sanitizing

• Now that your ice machine is clean the unit should be sanitized. The de-scaling chemicals will not clear the algae and bacteria that can develop on the ice machine.
• Run the sanitizing chemical through the unit in the same manner that the cleaner was circulated.
• Be sure that the cleaner and sanitizer are not mixed. Doing so could be harmful.

**After the sanitizing chemical has been removed, discard the first batch of ice you make, to ensure there’s no leftover solution in the ice.

Hoshizaki Ice Machine Maintenance

• Inspect components as you clean to verify that all the parts and switches are working properly.
• Components that have failed due to scale build up or a lack of preventative maintenance are not considered warranty issues.
• If you find anything that appears damaged or requires repair, contact a technician to help you find the equipment to keep your Hoshizaki ice machine up and running.