Ice Machine Leaking or Draining Slowly in a Restaurant Kitchen

An ice machine touches the plumbing in two places, and either can leak. The supply side brings water in through a line, a filter and a valve. The drain side carries melt and overflow out through a line that, in a food establishment, should end at a floor sink or other trapped receptor through an air gap.

Customers describe it two ways. There is water on the floor around the machine, or the drain pan or floor sink beside it fills and does not keep up. The first usually points to the supply or a loose drain connection. The second usually points to a clogged or poorly pitched drain line.

We open up the connections behind and under the machine and run water to see which one weeps. A drip at the supply fitting or shutoff valve is easy to see. A drain-side leak shows up when the machine cycles or when we pour water through the drain line.

For slow drains, we check the drain line from the machine to the floor sink for clogs, low spots and sag, and we check the air gap. Maricopa County's guide and the manufacturer's instructions both call for an air gap between the drain line and the receptor, and a line that has been shoved down into the floor sink defeats it. Manufacturers specify the gap for their models.

Supply-side leaks are repaired by replacing the failed fitting, line or valve, and testing under pressure. Drain-side problems are cleared by cabling or jetting the line, and re-pitching or replacing a section if it is sagging. We restore the proper air gap if it was lost. A pipe section that has failed is cut out and replaced, and larger repairs get a proposal first.

If the machine itself is leaking from the inside, or the cycle is failing, that is an equipment problem for the machine's service company. We tell you so after we have ruled out the plumbing.

Find the shutoff valve for the machine and know where it is. If the leak is spreading, close it. Note whether the water on the floor is clean or looks like drain water, and whether it appears during a cycle.