My ice machine decided to die at the worst possible time

Our main ice machine gave up last Saturday right before the dinner rush, and I had to run to the corner store for bags of ice three times. Turns out the compressor fan just needed a $12 capacitor, but I spent 2 hours diagnosing it with a multimeter. Anyone else keep a spare capacitor kit around for emergencies?

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andrew8543mo ago

My 20 year old Scotsman died at 5pm on a Friday last summer. Same exact issue, capacitor was blown. I keep a small box of common capacitors now, the 35uF and 40uF ones cover most ice machines and walk in coolers. They cost maybe 8 bucks each. Took me an hour the first time because I kept checking the wrong things first. Now I always check the capacitor before anything else. Saves a lot of running around.

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tyler4923mo ago

Jumped headfirst into that same trap myself a few years back. Spent almost two hours tracking down a bad capacitor on an ice machine because I was dead set on the compressor being the culprit. The thing is, most guys don't realize that capacitors on these old units can fail for all sorts of weird reasons, not just age. I had one die because of a tiny spider web bridging the terminals (weird, I know) and another from a power surge that didn't trip any breakers. Checking capacitors first is solid advice, but I'd also say keep an eye out for moisture or corrosion around the terminals, especially on older units that might have had a leak at some point. Little stuff like that can kill a capacitor way faster than just normal wear and tear.

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