U-Line Ice Makers

Guys, I no longer have any direct involvement with U-Line, and haven't since 1990. Most of what I've been discussing here has been from memory. Your best bet to find a parts source is to call 'em (800) 779-2547 and ask.
 
David, you've got waaayyy too much time on your hands... [:-bouncy] [:-bouncy]
 
Vic, I now know how my Ice Maker works. What a great write up and description. One other question, When we leave the boat for the week we usually flip up the wire lever so the Ice maker is not making ice since I also disconnect the water from the boat. If we forget to flip up the wire does it do any damage to the ice maker?
 
Bill, won't hurt a thing. Just when the fingers go around, trying to push out ice that isn't there, you'll hear a "buzz" for a couple of seconds when it calls for water and the solenoid valve is activated but no water comes in. Again, won't hurt anything - it'll just remind you to turn the water back on.
 
I have a uline wh95tp and I just finished installing a cold control but it did not help. The unit is cold and everything else seems to be in working order. The only thing left to install is a new motor to spin the fngers to eject the ice. Is that something I can install myself? Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Sure, you can do it yourself; it's a bit of a PITA but you can do it. First check to be sure the ejector fingers are pointing more or less up. Then before trying to change the motor, pull the cover off and put a wrench or a pair of pliers on the hex portion of the small gear that's right on the front. Force-turn the gear 1/4 turn counter-clockwise (you won't hurt anything by doing it). Real old units (I don't know how old yours is) had a small plastic gear, with no hex on it. In that case push the ejector fingers clockwise, about 1/4 turn. If the motor starts to run from there on, you may be good to go; it may have just been "stuck". But if it doesn't run when you do that, motor's bad. Note that the machine must be turned on when you do it.

If the fingers aren't in the "up" position, you may have another problem. There is a one-time fuse (called a "limit switch" in your documentation) that may have popped. It is behind the metal mounting plate (with the gears on it), right smack in the middle of the black mounting box - looks a little like a bimetallic thermostat. For testing purposes it can be jumped out, and the ejector mechanism should run. When this part goes bad, the ejector fingers will stop about halfway through the ejection cycle, and won't go any farther. The machine will be, in effect, dead - nothing will run. If I remember correctly, it's U-Line's part # 109.
 
i have two uline ice makers that i am trying to make 1 outof. one the compressor burned up, and the other the icemaker unit
had gone bad, so i took out the ice maker unit from 1 and put in in the one with good compressor. this unit had worked perfect
until a couple weeks ago and the comp went out. now all hooke bakced up, it will freeze fast, but will not dump the ice. i swapped
the t'sat out, but still will not dump. i can turn the gear and the motor then turns and goes thru its complete cyle, untill time
to dump again, then i have to turn gear again, what should i check next. on above thread it was said the compressor should not get
hot, but this one does, but freezes great.
any ideas
thanks
 
Replace the thermostat - maybe you can swap it from the other unit. If neither one works, you'll need to get a new one. When you contact U-Line, you'll need the model number of the unit, in order to get the correct t-stat (Model 45A, model 95, model 48, etc., etc.) When you can force it into the ejection cycle by turning the gear, everything in the icemaker unit is working alright, it's just that the t'stat isn't activating it.
 
Thanks vic, i did do a swap out on tstats but did not
help. i will order a new one & try.
one post said the compressor should not be hot. is that
correct, this compressor get pretty hot after it has run
couple of hours.
thanks
 
It'll get hot to the touch; you won't be able to keep your hand on it more than a few seconds. But it shouldn't be so hot that you can't touch it at all.
 
I just diagnosed a problem with my uline, another failed cold control. It operates the compressor OK but the contacts do not close for the ice eject cycle. I have had to replace micro switches in the past and the off arm overcenter locking piece of metal is so worn that I cannot keep the arm in the up position. Basically it is wearing out yet the compressor section works fine. I was thinking of just buying a universal Ice maker off ebay for about $ 40.00. I would bypass my fill solenoid and disconnect the cold control connection to the ice maker. Seems like this might work fine assuming that the unit will physically fit (yet to be measured). Has anyone done this in the past?
 
Vic I have a U-line BI 95 ice maker that still works. I only run it a few weeks a year. It has an extremely small leak that needs R12 about once a year and then only a quick puff. I have looked for leaks in the obvious spots, but have decided it must be in the condensor coil. I have tried with a detector, but still have not found anything.

Do you have any thoughts on how to proceed?

Also, U-line said the unit requires 3 oz of R12 and the low side should operate between 1 to 5 psi. This seems low??

Thanks, Paul
 
The most common place for a refrigerant leak (sorry to say) is at the rear of the unit, where the copper refrigerant lines come up the back of the cabinet and are joined to the aluminum tubing coming out of the evaporator. There is a sharp 90 degree bend at this point, and the aluminum and copper tubing are joined via a crimp-type joint. You'll have to cut away the black rubatex insulation in the area of where the refrigerant lines go into the rear of the cabinet (at the top). Then do a leak test with a halogen-type leak detector. I'll bet you a good cigar that you'll find the leak there.

How to repair it? Turn the machine off and leave it off for several hours. When everything has come up to room temperature and is good and dry, cut away the stiff shrink-tubing that covers the joint in question. Then gook up the area with two-part epoxy and let it set up overnight before turning the machine back on. There's a special low temperature epoxy available that's just for that type of repair job. You can get it in places like United Refrigeration. I've used it in the past and have had good results with it. Then replace the black rubatex insulation and turn the machine back on. You should be good to go.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Vic Willman

David, on the bottom of the cover are two notches. You put screwdriver blade in one of them and twist it. Have no fear, you usually wind up cracking the cover when you remove it. But it doesn't actually "break" - it just cracks a little in one of the corners.

The motor is MUCH easier to change out than replacing the whole icemaker unit. It can be changed out in about 20 minutes - you'll need a couple wire nuts to do the job - the factory uses "crimp-on wire nuts" that will be destroyed when you remove them. Orange wire nuts should be the right size - get the small ones, not those with the wings on them. Just two screws to change out the actual motor, and the wire nuts to join the motor wires with the rest of the wires inside.

Changing the whole icemaker unit out will require at least a twelve pack - and maybe a few shots of Jack; also be sure there are no women present within hearing range, and it'll likely take 2-3 hours. [:(!] [:(!] Contrary to what most women seem to think, swearing actually does help...!

Click to expand...
Hey there Vic. Happy New Year to you.

I have acquired a new-to-me boat with the U-Line BI-95. I haven't had a chance to monitor it too closely yet, but it seems that the cubes are not being ejected without my giving the wire arm a little jiggle. It then goes down and appears to start another cycle. Does that sound like a bad ejector motor?

It's an '87 vintage with a few rust spots inside, so I was just thinking about starting fresh with a new icemaker, but it sounds like, given the hassle of replacing it, I should at least give repair a try first-- yes?

Many thanks for your invaluable help here!

Paul
 
Vic, I have the same problem as Navman, above: the water appears to run down the back of the icemaker (on the inside) and freeze along the back wall and under the bucket. Is there a seal that could be leaking? I have tried adjusting the cube size to smaller cubes and it doesn't seem to help.

After running for awhile, there will be a 1/2" of ice on the back inside wall and under the ice bucket.

Thanks, Ted
 
Vic I bought an old u-line ice maker. in order to trigger the action and make it work, or see if it ran i removed the larg gear on the front of the ice maker. I turened the gear and it was off and running, seem to be working great. My question is what possition should the fingers be in when the ice is beeing made, mine is stopping in the straight up possition.
 
Paul, the wire arm opens and closes a microswitch inside that turns on and turns off the ejector portion of the machine. Given that it's 20 years old, I'd guess that the microswitch is hanging up and needs to be replaced. The trick is getting access to it. First, turn off the machine. Then remove the cover from the front of the ice mold mechanism inside the machine (put screw driver in slot at bottom of cover, then twist). Next, remove the 3 screws that hold the metal plate with the gear, etc. on it in place. From the top of the metal plate, bend the metal plate outward like a door on a hinge.

You'll see a little bump on the wire shutoff arm that contacts a switch, mounted inside the "black box." That switch is most likely the the cuplrit. It's a standard micro switch, about $5 or $6 at Radio Shack. Note where the wires go before disconnecting them, as the new switch will have a terminal that doesn't get used. The old one may also have this unused terminal, or it may not, depending on the age of the unit. Remove the switch from the black box, and install the new one. If there is a spacer installed behind the switch, be sure to replace it with the new switch. Reconnect the wires.

Now, slowly push the metal plate back into position, note that the "tang" on the end of the wire arm MUST go through a small hole in the metal plate, and the spring attached to it must be tucked inside the black box - the spring simply presses against the side of the inside of the black box. Then turn the machine on and see what happens. It should now work correctly.
 
Ted, there are two possibilities - let's hope it's the first one.

1) The fill tube at the rear of the ice mold unit may be misaligned and the water is splashing out of the mold as it fills. Locate the fill tube and watch it at the end of the ejection cycle, when the water comes in. If the water is splashing out, grab the fill tube with a pair of pliers and realign it. It is simply held in place with a thick lump of putty, pressed in from the rear side of the cabinet, and is fairly easy to move around.

2) If that isn't the case, it is most likely a burned out mold heater. Listen when the machine shuts off and switches to the ejection cycle. If it takes more than 7-10 minutes to complete the ejection cycle, drop the cubes, add water, and compressor and fan start back up, you've likely got a burned out mold heater. Replacing it will require a service technician and a new mold. The heater is part of the mold assembly, and cannot be replaced by itself.

What happens if the mold heater is burned out, is that the cubes stay inside the mold until the interior of the actual compartment warms up enough that they loosen on their own. The compressor and fan stay turned off until the ejection cycle has completed, regardless of how long it takes - possibly as much as an hour. After the cubes have finally loosened, it will continue the ejection cycle, push the cubes out, add water, then park, and the cooldown cycle will start back up. When this happens, all the frost inside the machine melts, and runs down to the bottom and causes an accumulation of ice there.
 
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