How Long Does an Ice Maker Take to Make Ice.
If you only use your ice maker a few times a week, you may not ever think of how long does it take for my ice maker to make ice until you have company over and you run out. Once you run into not having enough ice, it may seem important to know how long it will take to make more.
Do I need to run to the store to grab a bag?
How long will my ice maker take to make more ice?
There questions may be going through your head when you run out of ice.
Typical Ice Making Process
The hardest working compartment of your fridge/freezer is your ice maker.
If you are finding that your ice maker is taking awhile to make ice, this is usually completely normal. To complete a cycle, the tray must fill with water, freeze, and dump into the ice holding tray. This process can take quite a bit of time.
There are a few different factors that can play into how long it will take to make ice. These are how big the tray is as well as how much volume is in each ice cube. Statistically, your ice maker should make 130 ice cubes in 24 hours.
Most common ice holding trays can hold between 4-11 lbs of ice while the typical ice maker can make 3-7 lbs of ice at a time. If your holding tray is full, the ice will sit in ice mold until it is able to be emptied into the tray. The cycle will pause until it can continue on. So, to answer the question on how long will it take for my ice maker to make ice? Well it really comes down to the make and model of your fridge/freezer, the holding tray, and the amount of ice you are removing in a day.
The Average Ice Making Process
Now the next question is "how long will it take to make one batch of ice?" First, we must understand the process of how your ice maker makes ice. Below you can find what a cycle is defined by:
i) Ice tray is filled with water
ii) Water is frozen
iii) Ice is dumped into holding tray
Although this may seem simple, the process to complete one cycle takes a lot of work for your fridge to complete.
To answer the main question, your fridge will take approximately 90 minutes to complete one cycle. If you ice maker makes smaller ice cubes, this process will in turn be quicker. Each cycle will make approximately 8-10 ice cubes.
Troubleshooting a Slow Ice Maker:
If you are finding that your ice maker is taking much longer than 90 minutes to complete one cycle, there may be something wrong. Anytime a cycle is taking greater than 2 hours, try these troubleshooting tips:
Make sure the ice maker has power: Ensure that the feeder arm is flipped into the on position.
Check water filter: If your water filter is clogged, it will reduce the water flow into the ice tray, allowing less water into the tray or completely limiting the maker from being able to make ice.
If these troubleshooting tips have not fixed your slow ice maker, call in our technicians to service your freezer repair.