Ice generator
Encyclopedia
This article is about machines or systems which produce (water) ice.
An ice machine, however, particularly if described as 'packaged' would typically be a complete machine including refrigeration and controls, requiring only connection to utilities.
The term ice maker is a little more ambiguous, with some manufacturers describing their packaged ice machine as an 'ice maker, while others describe their generators in this way.
In 1844, an American physician, John Gorrie, built a refrigerator based on Oliver Evans' design to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients, so can probably be said to be the father of the ice generator. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrefrigerator.htm
Some generators are batch mode, whereby a batch of ice is frozen all at once at pre-determined intervals. Examples of this type would be tube, plate or cube ice generators. This method means that you have to wait for a while, but then get a sudden rush of ice.
Other types of generators are continuous mode, whereby the ice is made slowly and continuously by the generator. Examples of this type would be scale or granular type flake ice
generators.
Definition of ice generator
The ice generator is the part of the ice machine that actually produces the ice. This would include the evaporator and any associated drives/controls/subframe that are directly involved with making and ejecting the ice into storage. When most people refer to an ice generator, they mean this ice making subsystem alone, minus refrigeration.An ice machine, however, particularly if described as 'packaged' would typically be a complete machine including refrigeration and controls, requiring only connection to utilities.
The term ice maker is a little more ambiguous, with some manufacturers describing their packaged ice machine as an 'ice maker, while others describe their generators in this way.
In 1844, an American physician, John Gorrie, built a refrigerator based on Oliver Evans' design to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients, so can probably be said to be the father of the ice generator. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrefrigerator.htm
Ice generator mechanism
There are many different designs of ice-generating device, depending on what type of ice is to be made and what properties this ice should have.Some generators are batch mode, whereby a batch of ice is frozen all at once at pre-determined intervals. Examples of this type would be tube, plate or cube ice generators. This method means that you have to wait for a while, but then get a sudden rush of ice.
Other types of generators are continuous mode, whereby the ice is made slowly and continuously by the generator. Examples of this type would be scale or granular type flake ice
Flake ice
Flake ice is a loose definition of a group of ice types with irregular particle sizes. These types can be roughly grouped into two main types, scale ice and granular ice'....
generators.