GR8racingfool,
How often do you guys change the water filters on those things?
Depends on the stores or areas water quality. I have some I replace monthly, I have some every 3 months, and I have many that go a whole year. But regardless, 1 year is the maximum I (we) allow them to go for. They spend some money on those filters for sure, and the clean, clear ice proves the quality.
~F~
so the ice machines bag it themselves or does a person have to be there to do it?
The machines does everything. The Big units up on top are the ice makers. When they harvest, the ice cubes fall out the bottom into a hopper inside the middle section, called the bagger.
There the machine has an arm that comes forward, grabs a single bag off a loaded cassette that holds up wards or 400 bags on it, and then pulls it back, hooks hold it in place while its being filled. Then an auger inside the hopper starts dumping the ice into the bag. First a little bit, about a handful, just enough to open the bag up, and get it centered over the scale. Then there is a timed fill, where its programed into the computer how long to fill the bag for. Then the scape comes up all the way, and then the final fill, where it weighs the bag as it fills it, and can dump a few ice cubes at a time to get it to or close the the set weight I can program into them machine. Most are 10.00lbs even, some are 10.16lbs. Just depends on what the machine likes, as each one has its on personality. All of my machines are female, and like to start fights they cant win.
Then, once the bag is filled and when at weight, another arm comes down, and seals the bag by a zap of electric current pretty much. The the scale will drop the bag on the left or the right side down below in the merchandiser where customers can grab it and go. The stores just stack the ice as its dropped out of the machine to keep it even and running and looking nice by facing the product. The merchandiser has sensors inside it, to where when the ice stacks up so far, and blocks the beam it will shut the bagger off so it doesn't over fill/jamb up.
The cycle continues until the hoppers are empty, in the mean time, the ice makers have already started back up automatically and are in the freeze cycle again making ice.
Just goes and goes and goes. My job is to make sure that last part happens flawlessly, and there are plenty of bags loaded inside the bagger for the machine to use. That way the store doesn't have to do anything but move the ice and keep the machine running/filling bags until its completely full, ready for the next day.
This time of year it slows down for production, so nows the time when we start our preventable maintenance on the machines. Cleaning them, etc. Come summer time...your driving so much, and loading so many bags at each stop you don't have time for problems. But it does happen.
I took me about 2 years to fix all the little problems the previous guy who had my route never bothered with. I have my machines adjusted so good, and keep them working so good, the only problems I have are beyond my control, such as BIG parts that die, or wear out completely.
~F~