Although there are many other competitors in the market, Whirlpool has made quite a name for itself as an appliance company. During my days working in the industry (before this blog), my colleagues and I tracked the company’s innovations with great interest, and they haven’t shown any signs of letting up. One appliance category that the company excels in is ice. Whirlpool ice makers come in all shapes, sizes, and feature-sets, but thankfully maintenance is very similar between all the models (and ice-makers in general, with very few exceptions). The only real differences are going to come in the form of ice storage and physical size.
Since a few requests have been made for more information on these devices, I decided to dig in and do a little research since I don’t yet own an ice maker in my own home. Thankfully, a friend of the family had a Whirlpool Gl15NFLTS “Gold” series ice maker, so I was able to take a stroll over to his place and give it a field test as well as thumb through the manual.
The Freezing Cycle
The process by which the Whirlpool unit creates ice is actually pretty cool, and gives a unique insight into how good tasting and smelling ice is created. First, water is introduced to the water tray, and the level rises to a predetermined limit. At this point, the water is left to freeze, forming a flat, thick sheet of ice. The sheet is then deposited onto a cutting grid which takes care of splitting the sheet into evenly-cut cubes, ready to be consumed in your favorite drink. It’s also interesting to note that the system actually rinses itself between clean cycles, ensuring the cleanest possible water each time the ice is made.
So you may be asking how the unit actually gets rid of all the funky tastes and odors. The answer is that minerals are rejected from the water during the freezing proces, itself. This rejected material (the stuff that is responsible for bad taste and odor) is stored in a separate tray which is drained on each freeze cycle. All of this stuff comes together to ensure that the ice is being delivered on time, in a consistent size, and at a regular level of quality that won’t vary too much. If the quality of the water does suffer over time, then it’s probably time to run the system through a full on clean cycle.
Need A Unit That Will Fit In A Tighter Space? Whirlpool Makes Smaller Ice Makers, Too:
How Much Ice Can This Thing Make?
Most importantly, people want to know specifically how much ice this thing makes in a day. I have seen “50 pounds” advertised on Whirlpool’s own site, and this actually ended up being true in practice. As long as your water and power aren’t suffering from any interruptions, the unit should hum right along with its task. If you want to use this ice maker, be sure you have a water supply that operates between 30 and 120 PSI! When the ice maker gets full, it begins to store ice in a separate compartment which wil accommodate 25 pounds of ice. Doing the math, you can have 75 pounds of ice at the ready at any one time, making the Whirlpool ice maker a big winner even for large gatherings of people on a hot day.
Cleaning the Whirlpool Ice Maker
Next on the list is the electronic clean cycle. Rather than relying on the advertising for this feature, I wanted to test it myself so I sat down with the unit and manual in hand. Although the cleaning process seemed a little complex at first, it really just boils down to draining all water and ice out of the system and using an approved cleaning fluid in the ice maker:
- Power down the ice maker, waiting around 10 minutes for all the ice to fall out of the unit and into the storage bin, and then get rid of all that ice.
- Unscrew the drain cap from the bottom of the water pan, letting all the water drain out, and then screw the cap back on firmly.
- Pour a bottle of approved ice maker cleaner into the pan, and then fill that same bottle twice with tap water and pour that into the pan as well. In other words, you are creating a mixture that is two parts water and one part cleaning fluid.
- Hit the “Clean” button and let the electronic cycle do its magic, both washing and rinsing the entire system without you having to lift a finger.
- Once the cycle is done and the button turns green, check out the water pan. Unscrew the drain cap and if any cleaning fluid comes out, run the cleaning cycle again. Otherwise, turn the ice maker back on and allow it to resume making ice!
A Note On Usage With A Reverse Osmosis System
Understandably, many people want to use a water filter not only with their cold water supply, but also with any devices that produce ice. Most Whirlpool units can accommodate a reverse osmosis system, but the company recommends that people only use whole house filters rather than the kind that strap directly onto the faucet. The reasoning for this is simple: Whole house filters generally provide the volume and pressure that are required to feed enough water into a large ice maker like this. If you have any doubts about your existing filter system, make sure to call a licensed plumber! Although this would be an extra cost, it will be worth it in terms of peace of mind and knowing that your system is working at optimum efficiency. If you are going to use a reverse osmosis system to feed the ice maker, here are the numbers that Whirlpool recommends:
- the filter must deliver at least 1 gallon of water per hour to the ice maker
- the output pressure of the reverse osmosis system must be between 40 and 60 PSI
- the input pressure to the reverse osmosis system must be between 30 and 120 PSI
Need The Instruction Manual Or Other Related Document? Here’s a List:
Whirlpool Ice Maker Repairs and Parts
If use any appliance for a long enough period of time, chances are that something might break or need replacement. Luckily, there are a number of sources for Whirlpool ice maker parts, allowing the electronics-savvy consumer to do their own repairs without needing to spend an inordinate amount of cash on a licensed repair person. That being said, please consult a professional if you aren’t absolutely sure what you’re doing. Neither I nor anyone else affiliated with this website can or will be held responsible for any harm that may befall you while attempting such repairs!
That being said, I found a great site for spare parts here: http://www.repairclinic.com/Ice-Maker-Parts
At Repair Clinic, you can enter the make and model of your ice maker and find just about any obscure, small part you can think of. Definitely check it out and do a little research so you understand your options in the case of a major repair.
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