Water automatically enters a storage tank via a replenishment valve, then is pumped through a flow control valve to a distributor head. There, the water is evenly sprayed onto the surface of the ice maker, flowing like a water curtain across the ice maker's walls. The water is cooled to its freezing point, while any water that doesn't evaporate and freeze flows back into the storage tank through a perforated channel, restarting the cycle.
When the ice reaches the desired thickness (selectable by the operator/user), the hot air discharged from the compressor is redirected back into the ice maker's jacket, replacing the low-temperature liquid refrigerant. This forms a thin film of water between the ice and the evaporator wall. This water film acts as a lubricant as the ice falls freely into the lower tank under gravity. Water produced during the ice harvesting cycle returns to the storage tank through the perforated channel, preventing wet ice from being discharged from the machine.
1. Chilled water in the storage tank is continuously circulated by a water pump through a plate or compartmentalized evaporator.
2. After the compressor starts, the water undergoes a cycle of suction, compression, discharge, condensation (liquefaction), and throttling, before evaporating and absorbing heat in the evaporator at a low temperature of -10 to -18 degrees Celsius. The chilled water, at 0 degrees Celsius, continuously condenses into an ice layer on the even colder evaporator surface. When the ice layer reaches a certain thickness, and the refrigerant evaporation temperature reaches the set temperature of the temperature control, the defrost solenoid valve is activated. De-icing is often performed using a heat pump, and the cycle begins again.
