undercounter ice maker drain question

13 years ago

Hi!
I'm in the planning stages for a new kitchen (new construction home) and I'm considering a 15" undercounter ice maker. I know that they typically need a floor drain, and I can put that in, but I'm wondering if the icemaker drain line could be tied into the adjacent sink drain line somehow? It just seems strange to me to have this open drain pipe in the floor. If you have an icemaker, how have you handled the drain line pipe? Thanks!

Featured Answer

will2kz

13 years ago

I'm being referenced without my knowledge....

Yes all ice machines need to drain melted ice. If it goes by gravity then you must have a p trap, which can be difficult if the drain outlet on your machine is only 6 inches from the floor. If this is not an option then you are stuck with a pump. Some nicer units will have a sealed pump system. In this case, if the pump fails, it will send a signal to shut off the icemaker which would prevent overflow of waste water. Less nice systems basically sell you a "condensate pump" that is a box that you drain water into, then when it gets full it pumps it out, into a drain stack like your dishwasher drains into. If these fail, there is no way to keep your ice machine from trickling waste water into and then flooding out of them.
My Hoshizaki drain pump is virtually silent, but this may not be the case with all of them. BUT if you are going to tolerate the noise of an ice machine, then a drain pump is no big deal.
If doing new construction, then definitely plumb in a gravity drain to save the hassle and risk.

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Comments (13)

deeageaux
13 years ago
Will2kz just put in top shelf ice maker in his "Kitchen Stadium". Thread below in link maybe you can ask him.

I think the answer to your question is yes you can connect into the sink drain but you will need the optional pump to pump the water up & across and into the sink drain

edit: Attributed kitchen to wrong member.

Here is a link that might be useful: Will2kz's Reveal Thread

This post was edited by deeageaux on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 0:52
deliciousguacamole
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks deeageaux!
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xedos
13 years ago
The "optional" pump deeageaux talks about will add cost to an icemaker and it will also be more noisy than a gravity drain.
geoffrey_b
13 years ago
The drain needs a trap.
deeageaux
13 years ago
will2kz,

You think internet forum protocol demands I shoot you an email if I reference your thread?

People link and cross reference all the time.
will2kz
13 years ago
I was joking.... In my field, we reference each others work, its how we grow our CV's..... thanks for thinking of me, I hope I helped answer the question.
deeageaux
13 years ago
eh, sometimes it is hard to infer humor in a post

without being hit over the head with an obvious lol or :)

BTW I am ok with installing a Thermador dishwasher in Kitchen Stadium. Everyone is allowed one mistake and still have a kitchen considered top notch. LOL :) LOL :)
wrliii
12 years ago
Hi everyone - i know this thread is old but I was wondering if I could get some advice from those of you with experience. I have just installed an ice maker in my house. The ice maker is a 2005 Kitchenaid that was given to me. The plumber who installed it put in a condensate pump that connects to the garbage disposal for drain. All that is well and good, but I am concerned that if the pump fails (as it must, evenutally) or if there is an extended power outage where I am not home to empty the ice, then my house will be flooded.

Is there any way to create a closed system so that the melting ice stays in the machine? Or is there any other alternative to this risk?

As it stands now I will have to remember to turn off the ice machine whenever I am leaving the house for more than 24 hours.

thanks for any advice you can give.
xedos
12 years ago
The pump has a reservoir that'll hold a bit of water.

Ice melt is gradual - the unit is insulated so the whole mound of ice isn't going to melt in a few hours. With a power failure , no more ice will be produced till the pump is back on line so you are pretty safe.

Long term outage could present a problem. I'd call the manufacturer and ask them the capacities, and options. You are not the first person with this dilemma.

Best solution is always gravity drain.
mgoyne
11 years ago
Realizing that it is a year later, I also have a KitchenAid under counter ice maker and the pump has failed on it. The repair man came out and said that parts and everything would run around $700 to repair, but that the pumps fail quite often. He said that he converted his personal machine to gravity fed drain. Does anyone have any familiarity with doing this conversion? Not seeming to find any luck online finding examples. There is actually a place in the floor right behind the unit that would be perfect to run the drain to a crawl space that a plumber could tie in to the drainage system. Just looking to see what kind of things need to be disconnected and or reconnected. The repairman checked to see that the machine could run without the pump and it checked out.
wrliii
11 years ago
mgoyne - the pump on my unit is external to the ice maker. The drain is a hose that comes out of the back of the unit and than can then go directly to a gravity drain in the floor. Mine is instead connected to a pump that pumps the water to a drain that is higher than would be required for a gravity drain.

I understand that some ice makers can be ordered with an integrated pump but I would assume that pump could just be removed and there should be a place to connect a hose that would then be directed toward the drain. I don't think this would be hard to do. If the repair man checked and said that it could run without the pump then he must have disconnected it at least temporarily to do so. Seems like an easy step from that point to attach a drain hose?
mgoyne
11 years ago
Thanks for your input. I actually ended up fixing the pump myself. When I took it apart I found the screen inside the pump for filtering was completely clogged. I am still having a drain put in through the floor to drain there so if I do have to convert to gravity fed drain later I can.