Ice Maker Concepts

[whirlcool]

Last month I replaced an ice maker in a GE Refrigerator for a friend. I bought a new GE icemaker with the proper part number for this refrigerator.

I installed the new one. It made ice but doesn't flip it out of the icemaker. So I returned that one and got a new one from a different vendor. Same GE model number. It makes ice but only flips it half way out of the ice maker.

In the instructions it mentions that you have to take off the "scrapper" from the new one and install the one that was on the old ice maker on the new one. The problem is that the old icemaker made 8 cubes per batch and the new ice maker makes 7 cubes per batch. So the old scraper won't fit on the new ice maker.
I called GE and they were less than useless. All they could tell me was that it is the correct replacement for the old ice maker in that model refrigerator.

My question is, how do the mechanicals work in an GE ice maker? You got that top piece with the little poles on it that rotate around with the ice is ready to be dumped. Then you have those plastic pieces that looks like a comb on the top/side of the ice maker. Is this piece stationary? Or does it move?

It seems pretty odd that two different ice makers would have the same problem.
The cord on the original ice machine was about 6" long, the cord on this new one is about 1 foot long. I wonder if it is getting in the way of the comb like thing on the ice maker.

And I thought this was going to be a remove the old one and install a new one deal!

Any ideas? I think it would be very weird to have two machines from two different sources that would have the same problem.

 

[arbilab]

Got one just around the corner in a Hotpoint. It makes 8.

The "comb" just sits there. It's to keep the crescents from flipping over and going back into the freeze chamber instead of the tray. The comb spaces are narrower than the crescents are wide. Without the comb a wayward crescent could fall sideways and stall the mechanism.

Do you mean that the 'new' is the same dimensions as the 'old' but makes 7 instead of 8, each being incrementally wider? And that the comb is not part of the supplied assembly? What the H were they thinking? Why F with a design that goes back to the original Servel patent?

If they have changed the spacing of the rotating fingers and don't supply a matching comb, I don't see a resolution.

 

[rp2813]

odd that two different ice makers would have the same proble

When you're talking GE, nothing would surprise me.

 

Perhaps the third time will be the charm, considering you made some progress with the second one.

 

[frigilux]

Allen, Allen, Allen.  Did you learn nothing from the chorus of curmudgeons who advised you against these 'good deed' repairs for friends and neighbors after the Kenmore dryer debacle?!  Will a group of us have to come to Texas and stage an intervention?  I strongly urge you to find a support group that specializes in combatting "Good Neighbor Syndrome" as soon as possible.

 

: )

 

[whirlcool]

Actually this GE belongs to a very good friend of ours who has the patience of Job.
And he's very appreciative that I am helping him out with this icemaker. This is my last job, I promise!

The original problem was that the icemaker wouldn't make it. So I replaced the water fill solenoid on the back of the refrigerator and that fixed it, but then a few weeks later the icemaker stopped working. Not a comment at all from the owner.
So then we bought a replacement icemaker. It filled and froze the water but it wouldn't dump the ice when made.

So we returned the first ice maker and bought a second one. The instructions said that you must change out the scraper with your old one. But it doesn't line up because the old ice maker made 8 ice cubes and the new one makes only 7 equal sized ice cubes. So I called GE and they said all they could do is to verify that I have the correct part number for that refrigerator model number, which I did.
They also said to just use the stirrer and scraper that came with the new icemaker.

The latest ice maker fills, freezes and pops the ice 1/2 way out of the tray before it quits. Do you think I have a defective ice maker?

BTW, this guy does not live in our neighborhood. He's nothing like that crazy neighbor lady we had. He was the one with the other GE dryer I cleaned out that is still working properly.

Do you mean that the 'new' is the same dimensions as the 'old' but makes 7 instead of 8, each being incrementally wider? And that the comb is not part of the supplied assembly? What the H were they thinking? Why F with a design that goes back to the original Servel patent?

Yes, the new icemaker is the same size as the original but only makes 7 cubes at a time. Yes, the new icemaker came with a comb designed for it. I think the problem is that this is a "universal fit" ice maker. All the mounting screw holes line up with the mounting brackets in the freezer and the power plug fits too, even though they give you a bunch of different power connectors in the package the icemaker came with.

This has become harder than it really needs to be. I mean what's so hard about replacing an ice maker, screw out, screw in should have completed the job.

 

[mrb627]

Ice Size

When it does make ice, are the cubes full size?

 

Malcolm

 

[volvoguy87]

GE ice makers.

Nearly all of the GE ice makers sub to the GE WR30x10093. It has a horizontal paddle that slides left and right to sense if there is ice in the bucket. There are generic versions, but at my store, we sell the GE version all the time, and almost never sell a generic. Is yours the real deal by GE, or is it a generic by ERP or one of their competitors?

Dave

 

[DADoES]

 
Allen, would the batch of cubes left not-fully-dumped (sitting atop the comb piece?) fall on into the bin on the next dump cycle?

 

[frigilux]

Glenn--Ding-ding-ding! You are absolutely correct. I stay at Candlewood Suites whenever I'm in Minneapolis. The rooms have GE refrigerators with ice makers. I always dump out the first batch of ice, as I don't know how long it's been sitting there. I'm pretty sure those cubes are sitting on the comb and another batch is in the "tray", freezing.

 

[whirlcool]

The Icemaker and instructions came in a sealed plastic bag and the instruction manual was marked GE complete with GE's help line phone number.

I'm waiting to hear from the owner to see if the ice machine made more ice overnight.

 

[arbilab]

I get the "park the crescents and not dump them" syndrome if I lift the sense arm after it has gone up and down the first time. It does this once per revolution of the teeth and a full cycle consists of 2 revolutions. During the time the cam raises the sense arm, a microswitch on the cam jumpers the sense switch so that rotation continues. But when the sense arm is down and you raise it manually, rotation stops. If that override microswitch were bad you'd get the "park" effect. Or if the arm were not falling back to the down position.

With the crescents in the park position, another full revolution is required for the fill valve to operate. So no, it's not making the next batch with the crescents parked. Unless the cam has been redesigned to operate in one revolution. Unlikely, as the crescents would be not quite out of their slots when the fill valve actuated and the wet crescents would stick together or freeze onto the fingers.

Anything is possible. What the H was the point changing the number of crescents? Save water?

 

[whirlcool]

This ice maker is the revised electronic model. It doesn't have that bar on the side that you raise to stop ice production and it has an ON/OFF switch on the side.
It has some kind of paddle on the bottom of it I guess to sense if the ice bucket is full.

Is there any way to force this ice maker into a cycle to ensure that power is getting to the unit in the first place (continuous, not intermittently)?

Why they changed the number of cresents is beyond me. The space for 7 is the same as it was for 8.

The refrigerator model number is TFX22GRBCWW

Here is a photo of the type of icemaker is installed: (P/N WR30X10093)

 

[arbilab]

I'll have to bow out then, I had no idea they had been so extensively redesigned. The one I have now is the same as I had in the mid 70s. Which is probably why mine doesn't need replacing.

 

[smartdrive]

Here is a link to the service manual for the electronic ice maker.

http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/ge-hotpoint/13425-ge-electronic-ice-maker-service-manual.html

 

[whirlcool]

Thanks for the link! I read the Service Manual and while it's for a similar ice maker it's slightly different than the one I have. There is no LCD pilot light on the ice maker to alert you to what it is doing.

One problem is the round 4 pin plug. The original fit just fine. The replacement is the same proper plug but the production quality of the plug is so poor it barely fits.

I tried to initiate a forced harvest operation, but no such luck.

So now here is what we have: An icemaker that fills with water, freezes and doesn't do anything else like "harvest" the ice. How does the refrigerator fill valve know when it is time to add water to the icemaker? Is this communicated from the icemaker itself?

 

[magic_clean]

Is the

freezer cold enough? Usually an ice maker in this application won't go into a harvest unless the freezer is +5F or less.

 

[whirlcool]

Everything is frozen in the refrigerator. I am going down there on Monday with a proper thermometer to check the freezer to see how cold it is.

I suspect that the icemaker is not getting any power. How would I check the socket that the icemaker plugs into for proper voltage? I have a link to the refrigerator service manual and I have a voltmeter.

 

[applianceguy47]

OK,
who wants to place bets that GE dryer guy has kitchen cabinets filled with the pelts of dead Police men who were 5'10" or less?

 

[arbilab]

I know I recused myself, not knowing there was even such thing as "electronic icemaker". But how could it loft the crescents (half harvest) if it had no power?

The IM juzbout has to command the valve. What else would know when it was time to add water? The valve is the other 2 pins on the plug. What else would they be?

The "analog" IMs would not initiate a harvest cycle until the thermostat was satisfied. If reading correctly, yours DOES initiate, it just doesn't complete.