LEC Icemaker

[Andy AC]

Can anyone tell me how those nasty little LEC woodgrain effect icemakers work? What starts the harvest cycle?
Does the guts come out ?
what does the arm do?
Fridge circuit appears to work but not a lot of action

Paddy the irish barman said it wasn't working - not plugged in since last summer !
Bar manager didn't know it was an icemaker but asked me to have a quick look after fixing his bottle cooler - he knew what that was !

I took the electrics cover of and it looked a bit of a state - lots of corrosion
If i knew how this type of machine should work i might be able to do something with it any help / advice would be greatfully appreciated

[Brian_UK]

Hi Andy, can you help us a little more with the model reference.

I'm not sure that "Nasty little woodgrain effect" is shown in their catalogue:D

One thing to remember on the H&S side if you get it going is to make sure the beast is disinfected before going into ice production for the paying public.;)

Anything like the one below??

[Andy AC]

Yep thats the one

[rbartlett]

Yep thats the one



long long ago but-,the front cover comes off 3 screws allows the innerds to come out.
there is a small round stat on the side of the evap which starts the cam motor, this turns the arm with the 'fingers' and also instigates a harvest via a cam as it does so the arm rotates it pushes the ice up and out the tray.as it continues to rotate it activates the fridge,water sol and refils

if it freezes but the motor doesn't turn it's usually the stat -err actually it's usually always the stat but be careful some of these switch on the netural!!



cheers

richard

[rbartlett]

http://applianceandair.com/Icemaker/icemaker.html
http://groups.msn.com/Appliantology/icemakers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=509
http://groups.msn.com/Appliantology/icemakers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=510

http://applianceandair.com/Icemaker/icemaker.html#troublesh

cheers

richard

[old gas bottle]

hi matey, i have had the displeasure of being the LEC engineer upto 5 years ago and know theese very well, firstley,the evaporator needs to get down to temperature before anything else happens with the shut of bar in the down position,the fingers in the mould should start and finish in the 1/4 to 9 position, then when the stat triggers it should rotate through the cycle letting the water in at near to the cycle end,let me know what its doing.cheers.

[slingblade]

hi matey, i have had the displeasure of being the LEC engineer upto 5 years ago and know theese very well, firstley,the evaporator needs to get down to temperature before anything else happens with the shut of bar in the down position,the fingers in the mould should start and finish in the 1/4 to 9 position, then when the stat triggers it should rotate through the cycle letting the water in at near to the cycle end,let me know what its doing.cheers.



Spot on. long time since ive had the displeasure of seeing one of these. the stat breaks at 19 deg F from memory {full or empty} and starts the motor and heater which is underslung on the evap. the cam motor will run -stop if the ice has not freed and reverse 1/4 inch then start again- as the ice drops the sol valve opens and fills. the arm lifts and the ice drops under it, then falls right at the end so if the bin is full the arm stays up and unit stops. these units are horrible because there is no way to beat the stat and start a harvest, standing watching an ice maker for 40 mins when your busy is bad news.

Bin it. buy a k20. i just tell people they are scrap when they ask it save both parties time and money.

[Brian_UK]

Bin it. buy a k20. i just tell people they are scrap when they ask it save both parties time and money.Best answer so far, any advance :cool: ;)

[Abe]

Bin it. buy a k20. i just tell people they are scrap when they ask it save both parties time and money.


Thats the best advice you will ever get it.
BIN IT

Its not worth time or effort
Sell him a new Porkka, Scotsman or Hozhi

[rbartlett]

there is nothing wrong with this ice maker -once you have spent time they work correctly and operate well. cycle times are short and problems few and far between.

It's usually because the 'engineer' hasn't the brains to suss them properly so he justs condemns it..the K20 isn't any better or worse and has problems of it's own. -cutter grid wires, prone to scaling etc etc. the LEC (or whirlpool etc) doesn't suffer from either.



cheers

richard

[Abe]

Richard

Thx for reminding me how stupid I am !!

[Andy AC]

I have now got the pile of junk at home so i can have a good look at it. Motor was stuck as it hasn't been used since last year. Motor freed up but about 10-15 seconds after the compressor stops, it starts freezing again not giving the heater any chance of making any impact, motor continues to turn but keeps hitting the ice not budging as it is being frozen again. I haven't yet seen the motor turn a full revolution and activate all the processes.

[old gas bottle]

i agree with that, LEC sliped up by making them too expensive to buy,after all its just the ice production unit that costs a bit,allthough its just the same as in american fridges,i have fixed hundreds [literaly] and think there as good as any ice maker can be,thing that no-one can beat is all the water that goes in comes out as ice,no drain needed,small and ideal for small pubs/resturants etc.

[slingblade]

there is nothing wrong with this ice maker -once you have spent time they work correctly and operate well. cycle times are short and problems few and far between.

It's usually because the 'engineer' hasn't the brains to suss them properly so he justs condemns it..the K20 isn't any better or worse and has problems of it's own. -cutter grid wires, prone to scaling etc etc. the LEC (or whirlpool etc) doesn't suffer from either.



cheers

richard


Lec ice machines are turds. pound for pound money is far better spent on a phillips as they produce ice faster and far more easy to work on, brains or no brains.

Given that nothing happens at all with Lec units untill the stat reaches 19 deg F the amount of time spent watching it can be ridiculous especially in warm ambient conditions. i as a customer would not be impressed at a bill for say £90 for two hours to find that the stat has gone or the pot has slightly bent valves and the unit will only produce ice in winter. whereas the pulldown on a k20 is much faster (15 mins as opposed to 30/45 mins) and visible to the naked eye. the stat can be manually adjusted to initiate a defrost making diagnosis times much much faster. a k20 is also a far more robust unit in terms of build quality and wont rust to tin worm inside three years in a pub cellar.this is why its the market leader.

I think you are just being deliberatley obstinate in your views, either that or the O'brien lunatic is pulling your strings.

[rbartlett]

Lec ice machines are turds. pound for pound money is far better spent on a Phillips as they produce ice faster and far more easy to work on, brains or no brains.

Given that nothing happens at all with Lec units until the stat reaches 19 deg F the amount of time spent watching it can be ridiculous especially in warm ambient conditions. i as a customer would not be impressed at a bill for say £90 for two hours to find that the stat has gone or the pot has slightly bent valves and the unit will only produce ice in winter. whereas the pull down on a k20 is much faster (15 mins as opposed to 30/45 mins) and visible to the naked eye. the stat can be manually adjusted to initiate a defrost making diagnosis times much much faster. a k20 is also a far more robust unit in terms of build quality and wont rust to tin worm inside three years in a pub cellar.this is why its the market leader.

I think you are just being deliberatley obstinate in your views, either that or the O'brien lunatic is pulling your strings.

I see you're struggling with the basics. If you want to prove the stat on a LEC just stop the water and it will reach temp very quickly....

Why you silly silly little monkey,your beloved K20 is not without problems -leaky evaps being one and corrosion of the cutting grid wires leading to the ice stacking up being another -oh and the ice not sliding due to scale and the pump failing and....

The LEC is a simple machine which will harvest very quickly it's not an ideal machine but has advantages -see OGB- however it is not the machine for a busy pub/club or restaurant, it's lack of a rinse cycle is against it health wise and it can't produce clear ice which customers prefer..

Thus for that you should consider a Hoshizaki and bypass Phillips completely (not that I have anything against them especially since when Ignis changed the internal layout many moons ago)



On a more sober note regarding your final comment- I hope this is of some assistance to you as it's getting out of contol...

http://discover-your-mind.co.uk/2-social%20approval.htm


Cheers

Richard

[Abe]

It's usually because the 'engineer' hasn't the brains to suss them properly so he justs condemns it..the K20 isn't any better or worse and has problems of it's own. -cutter grid wires, prone to scaling etc etc. the LEC (or whirlpool etc) doesn't suffer from either.

cheers

richard

Its not that this so called hyphenated suspect, " engineer"
hasnt got the soft stuff to suss it out, by condeming it. the condemnation is arrived at having ascertained a host of criteria, age, costs of repairing, etc

Its a question of economics,

Do you fiddle and fart with this poxy , pesky thing, or do you install a shiny water spraying type....and walk away with a smile on your face, and one happy customer.

I do not touch the Whirpool/ Phillips type either.

[rbartlett]

Its not that this so called hyphenated suspect, " engineer"
hasn't got the soft stuff to suss it out, by condemning it. the condemnation is arrived at having ascertained a host of criteria, age, costs of repairing, etc

Its a question of economics,

Do you fiddle and fart with this poxy , pesky thing, or do you install a shiny water spraying type....and walk away with a smile on your face, and one happy customer.

I do not touch the Whirpool/ Phillips type either.

Quote:
Originally Posted by: slingblade



Bin it. buy a k20. i just tell people they are scrap when they ask it save both parties time and money.

and this is your response.



Thats the best advice you will ever get it.
BIN IT

Its not worth time or effort
Sell him a new Porkka, Scotsman or Hozhi


dare I suggest there is a lack of here consistency with regard to this issue??

plus some people do not have drainage available.

I know the these machines have a bad name in the game but I still contend it's because the 'engineer' hasn't fully understood the modus operandi and takes the easy way out 'fixing' it.

Cheers

Richard

[Abe]

I understand the ( modus operandi" of the beast very very well indeed, enough not to want to tinker with it.

Saying that, I can understand, appreciate your view that too often we condemn stuff through lack of comprehending how to get to the root issue and attempt a repair.

I do however detest when the poster assumes the one who has condemmed the kit is duff, he may not be a dunce after all, that is just heresay and bordering on insult

However, in the case of the Lec, I wouldnt give it the time of day

[slingblade]

I see you're struggling with the basics. If you want to prove the stat on a LEC just stop the water and it will reach temp very quickly....


LOL. now read this very carefully its only coming once.

A LEC ice maker starts off with no water in it, at the end of a cycle it will fill. if a machine is started from dry it will take nearly as long to pull down as when its full due to the fact that they are very borderline on duty against the load they are designed to freeze - less than 1/2 a pint of water- and as such a high ambient can cause a double of cycle time. FACT.



Why you silly silly little monkey


I see no need for ridicule. converse correctly and you and Marc may learn somthing without the need for everyone to dismiss your posts.



your beloved K20 is not without problems -leaky evaps being one


That was a common fault on the K40, the K20 has no such problem.



The LEC is a simple machine


Agreed. well done on posting at least one fact.



which will harvest very quickly


Wrong. it does not. the stat breaks at 19 F if the cabinet is warm or the ambeint temp. the cycle time is exponentially increased due to the flawed design of this unit.



however it is not the machine for a busy pub/club or restaurant, it's lack of a rinse cycle is against it health wise and it can't produce clear ice which customers prefer..



Youre just making this easy for me.
Like i said pound for pound the k20 or scotsman or anything else will be a more economicaly sound investment for someone who needs ice for retail purposes than the Lec.



(not that I have anything against them especially since when Ignis changed the internal layout many moons ago)


Agreed. technology does progress, which benifits everyone. why is it then that the Lec is the same unit which was in production from day one. it was poor then and its poor now.



On a more sober note regarding your final comment- I hope this is of some assistance to you as it's getting out of contol...

http://discover-your-mind.co.uk/2-social%20approval.htm





LOL.


Regards


Slingblade.

[old gas bottle]

getting a bit heated here chaps,good old ice makers,i,am not out to slate anyone,sounds like everyone has had the same experience of stood down a cellar waiting for the click !!,well i only did that once, for me its streight in the van, sort it on the bench,leave it running over night and drop it back in the morning,job done, i got to like them because of the sheer numbers i had to fix but understand the pet hates,only one thing i would say is that lec "WAS" a british family company,strugled for research and investment but still made some good stuff,dont even know if there still going,the ice maker had reached the end of its develovment potenciel and still remains the same unit in the american fridges as it was only supplied under licience to lec as far as i am aware, happy days.

[rbartlett]

The Purley family owned LEC for donkeys but got sold and sold again.. However they seemed to be the budget end of fridges

dave the son drove F1 and was well rated

http://www.asag.sk/bio/purley.htm



cheers

Richard

[Abe]

Ive got a rental property and it has a built in Lec fridge dating back to the 60's.

Must have been the rage at that time.

Ive left in in situ, and once in a while I will switch it on, and it still works!!

I will take a pic of it next time Im there, and post it.

Who knows, if Lec hear of it, they might be interested in paying me some money for it!!

[Toolman]

Thats the best advice you will ever get it.
BIN IT

Its not worth time or effort
Sell him a new Porkka, Scotsman or Hozhi

Good one ;) Yeah

[old gas bottle]

i had a 1956 one upto a couple of years ago with the old pancake pot on, never broke down,needed a door catch for it so asked lec as a joke , yep you got it,still had one in stock! sorted, dont think there worth alot as there was loads about,i stoped doing work for them when the donkey of a service manager insisted that i braze on R600 systems in the customers houses, i promply told him to find another mug, shame that another uk company cant hack it though.

[robertohaxey]

have problem with 1770 lec heater does not work when supposed to and arm gets stuck all swicthes ok thermostat ok element ok can someone help with the problem thanking you in advance robertohaxey

[old gas bottle]

more than likely the little drive motor gone weak with age, bit to old to get the bits for now,time for a new one.;)

[Andy AC]

LEC don't do the parts for them now - obsolete

Andy

[robertohaxey]

ok thanks does anyone have the wiring diagram of the lec ice maker so at least i can check the wiring

[jackfrost2]

are you still looking for a wiring diagram I have both wiring and operating instructions for lec ice maker they are not a bad Machine but I must admit having to waste a lot of time waiting for a cycle but you can make a wiring short cut to operate machine for servicing jackfrost2

[B G Scott]

Ref to LEC ice machine, these were not great but you can still get a better machine from the States called U Line, has the same Whirlpool ice production unit. The up side is that the cabinet has full wrap around evap and does reduce to design temp quickly.
But don't trash the system it functions 1000's of domestic fridges in the States and in the UK now.
Also remember for all its faults it is a domestic appliance even though LEC sold it as commercial, U Line are sold into the White Goods market, they are I am sure not large enough for commercial applications