Follett ice machine cleaning with full disassembly. 15 series ice machine.

[@sergeantsillypunches1090]

This video is better than anything on the Follett website.

[@IceMachine411]

👍

[@Hudson12339]

This was a fun one to try to clean for the first time haha..I had to pull up the manual to figure out how to get the front cover off 😂

[@IceMachine411]

Oh man! You’re so right! I know how to do it and still forget about it at times. I find myself shaking that front cover and then looking over my shoulder to see if anyone saw me being dumb. lol.

[@Hudson12339]

@ I played with it for probably 5 minutes before I swallowed my pride and looked up the manual lol

[@MightyMeehow]

Never seen these done this way! Very cool! I usually remove the top bin cover and floor it with nickel safe and scolding hot water and let it soak and keep rinsing with scolding hot water. Super thorough job dude! We have one account that has 6 of these and thats how i clean them 😅 i dunno if i could do all 6 in a day with this method but definitely gonna consider it for some of the more dirty ones if i come across them!

[@IceMachine411]

Six in one location is pretty rough. For some reason these people are feeding their machines with high TDS water. In order to get all the scale out we have to take them completely apart. Soak and rinse is ideal. Jealous.

[@Mike-f2p4r]

Hey guy, this just saved me a lot of work and waiting for tech support! I had to change out the plastic end housing and I didn’t damage any of the insulation. Take care.

[@IceMachine411]

That’s awesome! Glad it helped!

[@gigglebiscuit9647]

I’ve got 27 of these coming up… I’m going to go crazy

[@IceMachine411]

27! Dang you’ll be having fun! 13 at once is the most I’ve seen.

[@johnstinson7495]

Thank you for the video. My system is a little different internally but you got me going! :)

[@IceMachine411]

Awesome! Glad this was helpful.

[@thegirldad976]

At 12:12 when you talk about pulling the auger out, how do you get it to pull out more? I can’t get it to come out anymore to get that metal piece in to screw it down. I took off the plastic housing on the opposite end and tried to push from there. No luck. Tried using a screw driver to pry it out. Doesn’t budge.

[@IceMachine411]

If it’s all put together correctly and the augur shaft won’t allow the little metal piece to slide in you may have a simple alignment problem. Try to turn the augur using a flat head. There’s a slot on the end that works well for this.

[@sherwinalvarez7365]

Not gonna lie this was a great video. I always knew i could clean it deeper. I have been wanting to clean the reservior Thanx for sharing.

[@IceMachine411]

Awesome brother. Hope it helps you out.

[@zekenzy6486]

Great video. Good job and nice work. Thank you for sharing

[@IceMachine411]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidcarmichael6036]

Thank you for making this video!

[@IceMachine411]

You’re welcome!

[@lillao1]

Hey there! I followed your guide for my 7 series at home and it works amazing. By chance, do you know what’s required to add the water dispensing capabilities ? I see the shadow of the button on the touch panel, but there’s a black cap where the spout would be. Thank you! 🎉

[@IceMachine411]

I’m not sure. I’ve never seen one without the water option. Follett tech support may be able to help you out.

[@MeMe-fw5ry]

How do you take calcium buildup inside the water hoses? Thanks for the video.

[@IceMachine411]

I use a pipe brush. For the 1/4 inch hoses I use a pipe brush with the bristles cut off so that it’ll fit in the small hole.

[@mattrevell]

Have you ever encountered one of these units with the auger shaft stuck in the motor? If so, do you have any recommendations on how to get the motor removed? I removed all three hex bolts, and the pieces came out, but the key and the shaft are very stuck. I was going to use some food safe penetrating oil, but it has not yet arrived.

[@IceMachine411]

I have run into this issue a few times. Unfortunately one of those times I had to replace multiple parts and it was expensive. Most of the times I’ve run into this problem I’ve been able to separate the parts by getting a flat head screw driver and using it as a pry bar. There’s a spot between the augur motor and the main housing that the screw driver can fit. There’s styrofoam insulation that’s covering the area and you’ll probably need to break some of it out to get clear access. It’s a pretty rough job and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that. You could also remove the augur motor, main housing and augur from the machine so that you can work on it outside of the machine. The three hex bolts that hold everything to the evaporator can be removed if you break the foam insulation out of the way. Don’t hit the end on the augur shaft with a hammer. It’ll mushroom and make it more difficult. Best of luck. 🤞

[@mattrevell]

@@IceMachine411 Thanks for the quick response. Nothing is moving with a pry bar so I will need to wait for the oil to come to encourage it to release. Hopefully, it will start to move.

[@mattrevell]

@@IceMachine411I finally got everything disassembled and it looks like the gear motor bearing has been leaking as there was corrosion holding everything in place. The worst part is that these motors are $1250 for a new one from Follett as getting this one rebuilt does not seem like an option. Quite a bummer all around.

[@IceMachine411]

So sorry. That’s tough.

[@emilianovela9609]

Hey do you have any installation videos for a follett ice water machine?

[@IceMachine411]

Not yet. Sorry.

[@thomasklennert7163]

I only wish I got to these before they broke down due to never being cleaned. I have to keep a roll of 1/4” tube on my van since there’s no cleaning those lines by the time we get to them. That’s what happens when the customer is more reactive instead of proactive. I love working on those things

[@IceMachine411]

These are one of my least favorite.

[@Visw]

I have the same machine - it keeps telling me to empty the drip tray, but it is empty. I can't find a sensor anywhere. Any advice?

[@IceMachine411]

There’s two different sensors. One in the front on the left and one in the middle in the back. You’d have to remove the panels to see them.

[@brianzolares4573]

What about the compressor not turning on ? The machine turns on and even dispenses water but won't start making ice. Connections are correct and parts were replaced and cleaned properly.

[@IceMachine411]

Hmm. 🤔. If you look at the lights on the control board what tights are on?

[@romana1865]

Great video! We have 6 NEW units like that. Installed December 23.. basically after 3 months 3 ice makers start having issues soft ice. (slushy ice)... low ice production. After nigth, 12 hours been just 50% full. By the manual bin should be full in 4 hours. Water pressure and temperature good ...filters 3 months old.. refrigerant capillary tube has ice on it... Can ice maker be clogged and cause soft ice? Or looks more like refrigerant leak issue? Follet techs not really helping… they Just looking for non warranty issues.

[@IceMachine411]

These little guys need a lot of attention to keep them up and running. I have multiple that I have to clean on a regular or they stop working. That frosting cap tube sounds like a charge issue. The machines are under warranty. Call a service company to see if they can fix the problem. Good luck!

[@romana1865]

Thank you for response. Follet contractor was here 3 times. No luck. I guess I fix it today. Your video help a lot. Piece of tube sealed from one side about 1 inch long was inside in a drain tube... I guess they using on a factory this piece of tube to plug evaporator. Possibly it was working like that when I was trying to drain it it's draining fine but when it's trying to feel evaporator with water it's creating restriction.

[@sselhtuR07]

​@romana1865 Hey Romana I'm having this same issue with the cap tube frosting over a lot. I had assumed it was a charge problem but could you tell me where you found that tube seal that fixed the problem for you? Thanks

[@IceMachine411]

I guess I forgot to add that the cap tube frosting could be because the evaporator is not getting enough water. Just had an issue where the water probes were dirty and telling the machine it had water when in fact it did not have water.

[@kreed8253]

Would you advise customers to get a treatment system before just slapping on of these in? No cleaners were required? I work on alot of flakers and curious, Should I try to bill out for a tear down and clean or nickel safe good enough? Great video and saved to my HVAC list!

[@IceMachine411]

Low tds is key to keep these clean. Give the customer the option. Tell them the two options. Pros and cons of each and let them decide.

[@globecomputers1]

Once again awesome information. Is the Follett series 7 the same when it comes to cleaning and sanitation?

[@IceMachine411]

The process is the same for both of them.

[@davidcarmichael6036]

I worked on one of these the other day and found a lot of black particulates all over the ice bin. Customer was complaining that there was black specks in the ice. The water reservoir was caked in it. When I flushed the system out with water, it had a lot of debris in it. Has anyone seen this before? I am wondering if a seal had failed causing grease or something from the machine to dirty the ice.

[@IceMachine411]

Kinda sounds like the water filter may have failed.

[@davidcarmichael6036]

Interesting that you brought that up. There is no water filter installed. I told the customer that we need to install one. He agreed. I also found out that the customer uses a water softener. Follett tech support said that the salt in the water can cause damage to parts in the ice machine. Hey I value your experience. Thanks for taking the time to reach out. Let me know what you think. One last thing, I tried my hardest to get the gearbox and motor off the evaporator but it was not coming off. So unfortunately I couldn't see how the seals were doing.

[@IceMachine411]

That’s actually pretty good information to know. I had no idea about the water softener. Oh and I’ve totally had troubles with removing the gear motor.

[@2969566]

Wow disassembled everything, how much does this cleaning cost?

[@IceMachine411]

Some where close to $300

[@2969566]

@@IceMachine411nice job

[@sherwinalvarez7365]

600 in NYC.

[@muzikman74]

These are the biggest pieces of junk. Installed one in 3/23….after 2nd PM it kept leaking where grey hose connects under ice bin where the two screws are on both sides. Tried calling Follett tech support, on hold for over an hour, they’re useless, nobody ever picks up.

[@IceMachine411]

They need pure water and regular maintenance.

[@sselhtuR07]

​@@IceMachine411Agreed. If you keep it clean yourself and don't rely too much on Follet for help then these things are actually pretty great little ice machines for home or small office use. Harder water will devastate however and if you aren't willing to learn this cleaning process then they can be pretty frustrating.