--- title: "Ice machines" description: "JennAir ice machines: two machines in the current line, both undercounter, both 15 inches, and most of what goes wrong with them is water rather than…" url: "https://jennairmiami.support/appliances/ice-machine/" date_modified: "2026-08-24" Appliance type: "Ice machines" --- # JennAir ice machines ### Two machines, and what they are for Both current ice machines are undercounter, 15 inches wide, and made for a bar run, an island or an outdoor kitchen rather than for the freezer of a refrigerator. That distinction matters: the ice maker inside a refrigerator is part of that cabinet and is repaired on the refrigerator page, while these are complete appliances with their own sealed system, their own water supply and often their own drain. ### What actually goes wrong - **The water in.** The supply valve, the inlet valve, the filter and the line. A machine starved of water makes less ice long before it makes none. - **Scale in the water path**, which is what this city’s water does to any appliance that boils, freezes or sprays it. - **The harvest** — the release that lets finished ice drop into the bin. A machine that freezes and will not let go is a harvest problem, not a cooling one. - **The drain**, on machines that have one, which is where the water under the cabinet comes from. - **Airflow at the grille**, which is the free thing to check on any undercounter appliance and the reason a good number of them underperform. - **The bin sensor**, which decides when to stop, and which produces both of the opposite complaints. ### Outdoor installations, which this city has plenty of An ice machine in an outdoor kitchen is doing the same job in a much harder place: higher ambient temperature, salt in the air on a coastal property, and a water supply that may run through a line sitting in the sun. If yours is outside, it is worth saying so when you book, because the diagnosis starts in a different place — and because the maker’s own warranty excludes corrosion caused by “high salt concentrations, high moisture or humidity”, in those words, which is a good reason to keep the exterior maintained rather than a reason to worry. ### What to have ready when you call The model number, whether the machine is plumbed to a drain, whether it is indoors or outdoors, and when it was last cleaned. That last answer is the one that most often settles it. Undercounter · 15" · Gourmet ice · Panel-ready · Drain and drainless Ice machine repair Making less ice than it did, or ice that is cloudy and soft A machine that fills and never harvests Water under the cabinet, or a bin that will not stop filling Two machines, and what they are for Both current ice machines are undercounter, 15 inches wide, and made for a bar run, an island or an outdoor kitchen rather than for the freezer of a refrigerator. That distinction matters: the ice maker inside a refrigerator is part of that cabinet and is repaired on the refrigerator page, while these are complete appliances with their own sealed system, their own water supply and often their own drain. What actually goes wrong The water in. The supply valve, the inlet valve, the filter and the line. A machine starved of water makes less ice long before it makes none. Scale in the water path, which is what this city’s water does to any appliance that boils, freezes or sprays it. The harvest — the release that lets finished ice drop into the bin. A machine that freezes and will not let go is a harvest problem, not a cooling one. The drain, on machines that have one, which is where the water under the cabinet comes from. Airflow at the grille, which is the free thing to check on any undercounter appliance and the reason a good number of them underperform. The bin sensor, which decides when to stop, and which produces both of the opposite complaints. Outdoor installations, which this city has plenty of An ice machine in an outdoor kitchen is doing the same job in a much harder place: higher ambient temperature, salt in the air on a coastal property, and a water supply that may run through a line sitting in the sun. If yours is outside, it is worth saying so when you book, because the diagnosis starts in a different place — and because the maker’s own warranty excludes corrosion caused by “high salt concentrations, high moisture or humidity”, in those words, which is a good reason to keep the exterior maintained rather than a reason to worry. What to have ready when you call The model number, whether the machine is plumbed to a drain, whether it is indoors or outdoors, and when it was last cleaned. That last answer is the one that most often settles it. ### Why is my ice cloudy and soft when it used to be clear? Cloudy ice is usually a slower freeze or a dirtier water path rather than a temperature problem. On a machine that makes clear ice, the water is frozen in layers so air and minerals are pushed out; when the flow through that path drops — scale, a partly blocked line, a filter nobody has changed — the ice traps them instead. It is a cleaning and a water problem far more often than it is a repair. ### It fills with water and then just sits there. That is a harvest problem: the machine has made ice and cannot let go of it. On these units the harvest is a heated release combined with a mechanical push, and either half can be the reason. It is also, occasionally, simply a machine that has been asked to work in a cabinet that is too warm or too tight for it to shed heat. Worth checking that the grille at the bottom is clear before booking. ### Does it need a drain, and does mine have one? Some of these machines are plumbed to a drain and some are drainless, collecting meltwater and evaporating it. It matters because the failures are different: a drained machine puts water on your floor when the drain blocks, and a drainless one simply stops keeping up. If you do not know which yours is, it is usually visible under the cabinet — a second small line leaving the machine, or nothing. ### How often does it actually need cleaning? More often here than the manual assumes, because of the water and because these machines live in warm cabinets. Twice a year is a reasonable rhythm for a machine in regular use, and the honest reason to bother is that most ice machine service calls in this city are a cleaning that was postponed until it became a symptom. A cleaning is cheaper than a visit, and both are cheaper than a pump. --- **[Read full article: Ice machines](https://jennairmiami.support/appliances/ice-machine/)**