Stop 14 of 14 The undercounter ice machine
The Drain Pump and Drain Line
| Blamed | Found |
|---|---|
| The ice machine, because there is a puddle | A drain line kinked or looped behind it, often where the machine was pushed back into its opening. |
| The drain pump, the moment water stands in the bin | A gravity line lying flat along part of its run, so water backs up instead of falling away. |
When the complaint is water round the foot of an undercounter ice machine, or standing in its bin, what we usually find is a drain that cannot keep pace: a line with a kink, a loop or too little fall. Less often, on a machine built with one, the drain pump has stopped. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell traces which it is before anything gets replaced, (206) 202-2799.
- Drain pump and drain line, in one line
- The route melt and rinse water take out of an undercounter ice machine, by gravity or, on models ordered with one, through a pump. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell checks the whole route before blaming the pump.
- Filed
- Written by
- Marta Fennimore
- Works on
- ice systems and water supply
- Years at it
- 12
- Holds
- EPA 608 certified
A drain that never rests
Unused ice melts all day, each CLEAN cycle adds its rinse water, and the drain is never idle, so a small fault in it shows as a wet floor, not as missing ice.
Gravity model or pump model
Sub-Zero builds the UC-15I both ways. On the gravity model the line is everything: the installation guide asks horizontal runs to drop a quarter inch per foot, expects an air gap in most installations, and accepts a standpipe with a trap below. A stretch that sags or lies flat holds water and pushes it back into the bin. The pump model suits a room with no drain low enough, and adds one more moving part.
When the pump itself has stopped
Line clear, fall correct, bin still flooding on a pump model: we run the pump and watch it. No price band covers drain pump work, so it is quoted after the $89 diagnosis, and a slow house drain goes to a plumber.
Check it yourself, or call
| Check | Who | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Drain line free of kinks and loops | You | Sub-Zero lists this first when water stands in the bin. |
| A gallon poured into the empty bin | You | From the installation guide: all of it should be away inside sixty seconds. |
| Pump run and watched while it clears the bin | Technician | On a pump model, shows whether the pump runs and whether water actually leaves. |
| Anything behind a panel, and any wiring | Technician | Stop there and call Sub-Zero Repair Bothell on (206) 202-2799. |
What it costs
Service call, including the diagnosis $89
$89 gets a technician to the unit and pays for finding the fault; agree to the repair and that $89 is taken back off its price.
Questions about the drain pump and drain line
- Does a Sub-Zero undercounter ice machine always need a drain pump?
- No. The UC-15I is ordered with a drain pump or without one. Without it the machine drains by gravity, which needs a drain lower than the machine and a line that falls the whole way there. Where the room has no such drain, the pump model is the answer. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell, (206) 202-2799.
- Why is water always running down an ice machine drain?
- Because the machine never stops making ice. Its bin is not refrigerated, so the ice nobody takes melts and leaves through the drain day and night. That flow is normal. Water that gathers in the bin or on the floor instead is the sign that the drain has stopped keeping up.
Where this repair is filed
- Repair Sub-Zero Ice Maker Repair in Bothell
- What it costs Water under the unit
