U-Line Ice Maker/Steamer...

Upon powering up the icemaker in the new boat we noticed it sadly does not make ice. But it does manage to make a heck of a steam bath.
Its a U-line ULN-SS1095FC-03 115v only. Should make about 20lb of ice a day. Its not a cheap deal at 1800.00 for a replacement, but it is dated.

Anyone have any tips or tricks? I will start looking up anything I can find on U-line.

I’ve had good luck having mine repaired. Find a local tech and I bet fir a few hundred bucks it will be good as new. Best to remove it from boat and bring it to their shop. That will save ya a hundred bucks.

Looked at built in ice makers. And lost interest at the inflated prices. Bought a new magic chef ice maker. Produces the first ice in under 7 mins. We have never been out of ice since. (Over 2 years of faultless performance) $160.

Martin J said:

Looked at built in ice makers. And lost interest at the inflated prices. Bought a new magic chef ice maker. Produces the first ice in under 7 mins. We have never been out of ice since. (Over 2 years of faultless performance) $160.

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Thank you, I did not even know they existed!

We finally removed our built-in U-Line ice maker to make more storage space, but prior to that I had repaired the unit by installing and replacing the cooling unit. Parts were available and the innards are not very complicated to disassemble and fix. IMO they are way overpriced for what they are, and take up to much space for the amount of ice produced. They are also prone to Winter frost damage because U-Line states not to flush with antifreeze, just to blow out the water feed line. How do I know - before I knew that I did damage the unit with RV antifreeze!!

How would rv antifreeze damage an ice maker? Just curious. We have one too but rarely use it.

Our icemaker turned into a cabinet for our new LiFePO4 house bank batteries this winter. We never used the icemaker and I needed a place cooler than the engine room for the lithium batteries so the icemaker had to go. No loss since in 5+ years we had never used it.

I do not remember the details about the antifreeze damage. Like you, I did not expect an issue apart from the need to flush thoroughly in the Spring. The U-Line manual does not reference antifreeze but does specify blowing out the unit. As I best recall I used to disconnect the water supply before the solenoid and flush that feed line with antifreeze, as part of the overall freshwater system.

Lookup U-line and they list repair shops.

I have one. Although it does make good ice, after in for a couple of repairs, I will turn the water off and put some ice trays in it. I will also use it as a backup freezer. On thing I have discovered is these unit suck lots of power if you are on an inverter.

Usually, they start to drip or create ice dams in the ice bucket. The culprit being either the inflow tube at the back isn’t directed into the tray, cube size too big(overflows) or (most common) the metal tray develops a crack. I just replaced my tray assembly and it is now very reliable. There is a heating element in the assembly that activates to release the cubes -likely causing the steam if there is no compensatory cooling. I would focus on the cooling side 1st.

kthoennes said:

How would rv antifreeze damage an ice maker? Just curious. We have one too but rarely use it.

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Standing liquid causes the coating on the ice mold tray to peel. Leaving the icemaker laid up with water in the mold tray will also be hard on it. When it's out of service for more than a couple days you should vac out the mold tray and let it air dry. (Per tech support).



BTW, the OP's issue sounds like it's a timer motor not advancing the harvest cycle. These aren't rocket science, and they're very repairable. As another post suggested, take it out of its cubby and deliver it to the repair shop. Will save a big chunk of the cost.

Thank you everyone, I have found a local guy "United Refrigeration" that said he would take a look if I pulled it out of the boat for him. He stated many of the same items you guys did, and even flat out said your $$ to buy a countertop model vs paying me. But I would like it to work again, so I will pull it out.

RonR said:

Thank you everyone, I have found a local guy "United Refrigeration" that said he would take a look if I pulled it out of the boat for him. He stated many of the same items you guys did, and even flat out said your $$ to buy a countertop model vs paying me. But I would like it to work again, so I will pull it out.

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Noticed you are in the Seattle area.

Sure Marine is the shop for U-Line products. They do a great job.

https://www.suremarineservice.com/

I'm about to pull mine out as we don't use it. Is there a market for these used? Cheap? Not sure what the make is, I'll report back.

With their bulk and weight I think your only chance is a local buyer. Too costly to ship for what they are worth, unless you plan to give it away.

I am a fan of the built in icemakers such as U-line. I do have a countertop icemaker in my motorhome but for the boat I love the U-Line. Have owned a number of them and generally have not had any problems. The few repairs were not expensive relative to any other boat items. The $80 countertop from Costco does a good job but I like the convenience of always having a lot of ice in storage and countertop space on the boat is too valuable to us. Additionally I like to know I can leave the dock with minimal prep and this just adds another item that needs to be stored just in case of rough conditions. If I did not have the U-Line I might not be willing to install one but as long as I have one already installed I will plan to keep it running. If anyone in SoCal wants to give away a working one in decent condition I am happy to take it off their hands as a spare!