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engineerdave

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Okay fellas... What's the word on these guys? www.kold-draft.com
Looks like a cadillac to me, haven't worked on any of them. Good machine?
 
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WOW! I haven't worked on a Kold Draft in over 15 years. I didn't even know they were still in business. Back then I worked on a lot of cubers. Those machines had WAY too many moving parts and were in need of constant servicing. I wouldn't know if the design is even the same anymore.... Good luck.
 
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I worked for a hvac contractor in the late 60's that was the area rep for kold-draft . They made ice faster than any machine at that time Not to hard to repair I have only worked on one with the electronic controls . I hope they are still made in the us. One of the best machines made Got my vote even if the ice is is made upside down
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
I worked for a hvac contractor in the late 60's that was the area rep for kold-draft . They made ice faster than any machine at that time Not to hard to repair I have only worked on one with the electronic controls . I hope they are still made in the us. One of the best machines made Got my vote even if the ice is is made upside down
They're made in PA. Word on the street is they've actually turned down opportunities to use Outside manufacturing in favor of keeping the work at home, not sure how much truth is in that rumor, but if it's true then RIGHT ON.
 
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They need to be installed properly and not just hooked up.
Best machine for dirty water IMO.
 
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If, they have made improvements to the mechanical portion,such as a hold back valve,suction accumulator and a proper sized orifice feed controled sensible heat hot gas valve,then thats cool.

The quick rise in amp draw from end of cycle say 9 amps to peak of harvest amps of say 14 amps were compressor eaters.

And yes they are an excellent hard water machine.
 
So how does this machine work? It has a flat plate that gets cold and some kind of webbing for cube seperation. After freeze it goes into harvest and motor lowers the plate and ice slides off? Is that right?
 
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WOW! I haven't worked on a Kold Draft in over 15 years. I didn't even know they were still in business. Back then I worked on a lot of cubers. Those machines had WAY too many moving parts and were in need of constant servicing. I wouldn't know if the design is even the same anymore.... Good luck.
Haven't worked on one of those in a long time either. Haven't even seen one in years. The plate for the evap would move up and down.That was the only machine Jack in the box was using back in the 90's they stacked them two high..Pain in the butt to work on.
 
Ok, i think i got it. The evap stays stationary and the water plate is what moves.:) We actually have a customer that has one of these things. It's new and hasn't broke yet. Thank God!:D
I was talking to the manager about it. And i said, "this thing must be old!"
And he was like, "actually it's brand new".:eek:
KB
There not that hard but like anything else there is a learning curve. Download the manual for there machine and read it. It will come in handy.
 
They are one of the most efficient ice makers ever made. They freeze quickly and have a very fast harvest. And their ice quality is among the best.

The downside...too many moving parts. Once they got to a certain age, they needed a refurbishing or they'd give constant trouble.

Back in the day, I was quite an expert on these babies.
 
They are one of the most efficient ice makers ever made. They freeze quickly and have a very fast harvest. And their ice quality is among the best.

The downside...too many moving parts. Once they got to a certain age, they needed a refurbishing or they'd give constant trouble.

Back in the day, I was quite an expert on these babies.
LOL Did you have that KD parts bag,stuffed with parts,and always looking in the bottom of the bag for your last roll pin ?
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
This has been some interesting feedback. The guy that operates the Downtown Cocktail Lounge here in Las Vegas said he had thoroughly researched ice quality before deciding on the Kold Draft 4 years ago. He said even though the purchase was more expensive, he's never regretted it. It's good to hear that this is one mfr whose claims actually seem to pan out.
 
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Do they still have a water bottle hanging from a micro-switch to initate harvest?? Krystal Hamburger chain in n/w Florida used them in early 1980's. They were like working on somthing your crazy Grampa built in the basement. The R-502 ones would kick some serious ice making Butt........ Who needs O-zone anyway???:patriot:
 
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This has been some interesting feedback. The guy that operates the Downtown Cocktail Lounge here in Las Vegas said he had thoroughly researched ice quality before deciding on the Kold Draft 4 years ago. He said even though the purchase was more expensive, he's never regretted it. It's good to hear that this is one mfr whose claims actually seem to pan out.
That seems to be their market.

They got those HUGE CUBES where one fills the whole glass.

Put the machine in the back with plenty of space to work on it.

I wouldn't want to see one on to of a fast food drive thru dispencer any time soon :angel:
 
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I was the General Manager for the 2nd largest Kold-Draft distributor and did the
service school at RSES meetings. At trade shows we would put food colouring in the sump and the ice would come out clear. The vertical evaporator machines make the purest ice. I still do warranty work though sales are very slow and are mostly replacement units where Kold-Draft is the only unit that will fit. The current design is similar to the original and the only major difference
is that K-D uses a liquid level control using continuity to signal that ice has been made and is ready to harvest. There is still and actuator and cold water thermostat (except in the GT35X models) and there are now two pins to break.
I would suggest that applications like Subway Sandwich, where there is a huge bacteria problem, would be well served to put a Kold-Draft on top. In the 80's we always got the hotel kitchens even if we didn't get the floors because the Kold-Draft woul work fine in the most inhospitable conditions.
 
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