Ice Maker

Overview

A countertop ice maker freezes batches of bullet-shaped ice directly from a small water reservoir using a self-contained vapour-compression refrigeration loop, with no plumbing connection required. The mechanism sits inside the insulated Housing, and the cold is produced by the sealed Refrigeration Circuit circuit.

How it works

The refrigeration circuit follows the standard vapour-compression cycle. The Compressor pressurises R600a refrigerant vapour, which the Condenser Fan then cools in a fin-and-tube condenser until it liquefies, shedding heat to the room. A capillary tube meters the liquid into the Evaporator, a set of cold metal probe fingers, where it boils back to gas and pulls heat away.

To make ice, the Water System pumps water from the reservoir up over the chilled evaporator fingers. A small Water Pump keeps water cascading across the probes so that a shell of clear ice grows around each one for several minutes. When the bullets reach size, the Ice Harvest sequence runs: the system briefly reverses to warm the fingers so the ice releases, and the cubes drop into the catch basket above the water tray, where any unfrozen water drains back to be reused.

The whole cycle is sequenced by the Main Control Board, whose microcontroller drives the compressor and pump relays, times the freeze and harvest stages, and reads sensors that detect when the basket is full or the reservoir is empty, then halts and signals the user. Because nothing connects to a supply line, the unit simply needs the reservoir topped up and the melt water recirculates between batches.