Overview
One Click Dubai repairs Hoshizaki ice machines across Dubai, with a technician sent the same day and within the hour for a kitchen or bar that has run out of ice. We repair KM crescent cubers, IM cube machines, FM flakers and DCM dispensers, including refrigeration faults, and fit genuine Hoshizaki parts.
Hoshizaki machines are built differently from other cubers, and they tell you what is wrong by beeping. The number of beeps points to a system, and one small part, the float switch, is behind a large share of the calls. This page explains the beeps, the float switch, the faults behind each signal, how the machine is cleaned, and which parts wear.
We also install Hoshizaki machines and maintain them under contract.
Hoshizaki ice machine repair in Dubai: the short answers
Hoshizaki ice machine repair in Dubai from One Click Dubai starts with a AED 100 diagnostic visit, plus VAT. The technician reads the beep code, times the freeze and harvest cycles, checks water, sensors and refrigeration, and gives a fixed price before any repair.
The model and serial number are on the nameplate, on the rear panel and repeated inside the front panel. A model such as KM-650MAH or IM-30CNE-25 tells us the series, the capacity and the condenser type before we arrive.
Hoshizaki ice machine beeping: what the beeps mean
A Hoshizaki ice machine beeping is reporting a fault through its control board. The board sounds a number of beeps, pauses and repeats, and the count identifies which safety has tripped. The meanings below are those commonly published for KM-series control boards. Boards differ by model and year, so check the label inside the front panel of your machine.
Count the beeps and write the number down before anyone presses reset. The reset button on the control board clears the alarm and with it the evidence.
Reset once, then stop
Switching the machine off and on restarts it, and so does the reset button on the board. A one, two or three beep alarm that returns after a reset is a real fault. Each time the machine restarts into the same failure, the compressor runs a long, hot cycle, so leave it off and call.
Three beeps: long freeze cycle
Hoshizaki ice machine 3 beeps means the freeze cycle ran to the backup timer, commonly 60 minutes, without the machine deciding the ice was ready. Either the ice really was slow to form, or it formed and the machine did not notice. The float switch decides which.
Start with the float switch on any three beep call. It takes ten minutes to remove and clean, and it is the cause more often than everything else in the table together.
Two beeps: long harvest cycle
Hoshizaki ice machine 2 beeps means harvest ran to its backup timer, commonly 20 minutes, without the evaporator warming enough to end it. On KM machines the incoming water helps release the ice, so a water restriction causes a harvest fault, which surprises people used to other brands.
Change the water filter before condemning any part on a two beep fault. A filter that has not been changed for a year is the commonest cause, and the cheapest.
One beep and the voltage alarms
One beep means the evaporator became too hot, which only happens in harvest or when hot gas is flowing when it should not be. Six and seven beeps concern the electrical supply, not the machine.
Voltage alarms that appear at the same hours each day usually follow the kitchen's heavy loads switching on. A dedicated circuit of the right size for the ice machine cures most of them.
The Hoshizaki float switch
The Hoshizaki float switch is a small magnetic float in the water tank that tells the control board the water level. As ice forms, the water level falls. When it drops far enough, the float falls, the switch opens and the board ends the freeze cycle. The machine has no other way of knowing the ice is ready.
And close the water supply.
It lifts or unclips from the tank. Unplug its connector.
Remove the retainer and slide the float off its stem. Note which way up it goes, because a float refitted upside down reverses the switch.
Soak and brush the float, the stem and the housing in ice machine cleaner solution until they are free of scale, then rinse.
With a meter, the switch should be closed with the float up and open with it down.
Then run a cycle and watch the freeze end normally.
A float switch that needs cleaning more than every few months is a sign that the machine as a whole needs descaling more often, or that the water filter is not doing its job. A switch that fails the meter test after cleaning is replaced.
Hoshizaki ice machine troubleshooting: not making ice
A Hoshizaki ice machine not making ice, without any beeps, is switched to the wrong mode, short of water, has a full-bin signal or has no power to its board. Check the switch first.
Not making ice after cleaning
A Hoshizaki that worked before cleaning and not after has nearly always been reassembled or switched wrongly. Check that the control switch is on ICE and any service switch is back in its normal position, that the water supply was reopened, that the float switch was refitted the right way up and plugged in, that the spray tubes, water guides and pump hose are all seated, and that the tank drain plug or pump-out tube was replaced. Cleaner left in the tank can also stop ice forming for a cycle or two until it is rinsed out.
See also our guide to a commercial ice machine not making ice.
Hoshizaki machine types and their weak points
Hoshizaki builds several distinct families of machine, and the faults follow the family. The model prefix on the nameplate tells you which you have.
KM machines dominate restaurant and hotel kitchens in Dubai. IM machines are common in cafes and bars that want a slow-melting square cube. Their closed-cell evaporators are more sensitive to blocked spray nozzles, and a single blocked nozzle shows as one missing or half-formed cube in the same position in every batch.
Bin control faults: overfilling, or stopping with an empty bin
The bin control stops a Hoshizaki machine when the storage bin is full and restarts it when ice is taken. Hoshizaki has used two kinds, and they fail differently.
Ice backing up into the evaporator section can bend water guides and curtain parts, so an overfilling bin should be dealt with the same day.
Leaks and water faults
A Hoshizaki ice machine leaking water has a drain fault, a displaced water part or a valve that does not shut. Because these machines take in water during harvest as well as at fill, an inlet valve fault shows up in several ways.
The Hoshizaki water inlet valve has a fine mesh screen at its inlet that catches grit. Where there is no filter ahead of the machine, that screen clogs, the flow falls, and the machine goes into two beep alarms. Cleaning the screen restores it. Fitting a filter stops it happening again.
Hoshizaki spare parts we replace
Hoshizaki spare parts are specific to the model and often to a serial number range, and we fit genuine parts so that the machine keeps its original cycle times. These are the ones that wear.
A control board should be the last part suspected, not the first. Most boards replaced on Hoshizaki machines were reporting a real fault in a float switch, a valve or a thermistor.
Hoshizaki ice machine cleaning and sanitising
Hoshizaki ice machine cleaning is a descale of the water system followed by a separate sanitise, carried out with the products and quantities in the machine's instruction manual. Hoshizaki's evaporators are stainless steel, and the maker specifies its own scale remover, sold as Scale Away, for them.
From the evaporator and the bin. Switch off.
Using the machine's drain or pump-out procedure.
Mix the cleaner with water at the manual's ratio and pour it into the tank.
Set the control to WASH so the pump runs the solution over the evaporator for the stated time, then drain.
Fill and circulate clean water, and drain. Repeat as the manual says.
Float switch, spray tubes, water guides, pump hose and tank. Scale hides in the tubes' holes.
Circulate the sanitising solution at the manual's dilution, drain and rinse.
Liner, door, baffle, scoop and scoop holder.
And change the water filter.
Reopen the water and discard the first batch.
Clean at least every six months, and more often in bakeries, bars and anywhere with yeast in the air. Do not mix the cleaner with the sanitiser. Used together they give off a harmful gas.
Water filters for Hoshizaki machines
A Hoshizaki ice machine water filter matters more than on most brands, because the machine uses incoming water to help harvest. A restricted filter does not just make smaller ice. It stops the ice releasing.
A scale-inhibiting cartridge slows scale. It does not replace the six-monthly descale.
Installation and maintenance contracts
We install Hoshizaki ice machines and maintain them under contract. If you are replacing a machine, we can advise on the series and capacity for your site and fit and commission it.
A maintenance contract schedules the descale and sanitise, filter changes, condenser cleaning and a timed cycle check, with a written record of each visit. The number of visits is set by the site and written into the contract. See commercial ice machine repair for the full list of what a visit covers.
What Hoshizaki repair costs, and when to replace
Most Hoshizaki repairs are small water-side parts. Refrigeration repairs are larger, and on a machine built as heavily as these they are usually still worth doing.
The diagnostic visit is AED 100 plus VAT, with a fixed price given before any work. For other makes see ice machine repair, Manitowoc and Scotsman.
We cover all of Dubai, including Dubai Marina, JBR, Palm Jumeirah, JLT, Downtown, Business Bay, Jumeirah, Al Barsha, Dubai Hills and Deira.
Hoshizaki service center in Dubai
Our Hoshizaki service comes to you. Ice machines are plumbed in and are repaired where they stand, in the kitchen, bar or store room, and only major refrigeration work or small undercounter units go to our workshop in Al Quoz.
Frequently asked questions
Who repairs Hoshizaki ice machines in Dubai?
One Click Dubai repairs Hoshizaki ice machines across Dubai, the same day and within the hour in an emergency. Call or WhatsApp +971 55 209 9785.
Why is my Hoshizaki ice machine beeping?
The control board is reporting a fault. Count the beeps: the number identifies which safety has tripped.
What do 3 beeps mean on a Hoshizaki ice machine?
The freeze cycle ran too long. A stuck or dirty float switch is the most common cause.
What do 2 beeps mean on a Hoshizaki ice machine?
The harvest cycle ran too long. A clogged water filter, a scaled evaporator or a hot gas valve fault are the usual causes.
What does 1 beep mean?
High evaporator temperature, usually from a hot gas valve or thermistor fault.
How do I reset a Hoshizaki ice machine?
Switch it off and on, or press the reset button on the control board. If the beeps return, leave it off and call.
What does the float switch do?
It senses the falling water level as ice forms and tells the board when to end the freeze cycle.
Why is my Hoshizaki not making ice after cleaning?
The control switch is still on WASH, the water is off, or the float switch or water parts were refitted wrongly.
How often should a Hoshizaki ice machine be cleaned?
At least every six months, and more often in bakeries and bars.
Do you fit genuine Hoshizaki parts?
Yes.
How much does the repair cost?
The diagnostic visit is AED 100 plus VAT. The repair is quoted at a fixed price once the fault is found.
Is the repair guaranteed?
Yes, for one month on parts and labour.
Book a Hoshizaki ice machine repair
Call or WhatsApp +971 55 209 9785 at any hour, or use the booking form. Give us the model, the number of beeps and what the machine last did.