An appliance for producing frozen food products, such as ice cream or slush drinks, includes a cooling cylinder connected in a refrigeration circuit, the cooling cylinder including a thermally-conductive cylinder wall and end cap closing the distal end of the cylinder wall, the cylinder wall and end cap separating refrigerant on one side from product to be frozen on the other side. A divider member disposed adjacent the cylinder wall forms contiguous evaporator compartments spaced apart axially. Restrictor passages in the divider member permit communication between contiguous compartments and refrigerant first enters the first-cooled evaporator compartment at one of the axial ends and flows in series between the evaporator compartments. For fast, efficient freezing of small batches, the product to be frozen is either driven by the auger, or drains, toward the first-cooled evaporator compartment.

Disclosed herein are a refrigerator includes an ice storage, a transfer member, a transfer motor coupled to the transfer member, and a controller configured to control the transfer motor to rotate the transfer member in a first rotation direction and a second rotation direction, wherein the transfer member prevents the ice cubes stored in the ice storage from agglomerating by rotating in the first rotation direction and the second rotation direction. The controller warns a user of agglomeration of the ice cubes stored in the ice storage in response to no rotation of the transfer motor sensed.

A method for operating a fan of a nugget ice maker is provided. The method includes monitoring a speed of an auger of the nugget ice maker while a motor of the nugget ice maker rotates the auger and the fan of the nugget ice maker runs at a stored speed. A speed of the fan is increased when the speed of the auger stabilizes.

A method for operating a fan of a nugget ice maker is provided. The method includes monitoring a speed of an auger of the nugget ice maker while a motor of the nugget ice maker rotates the auger and the fan of the nugget ice maker runs at a stored speed. A speed of the fan is increased when the speed of the auger stabilizes.

An icemaker includes a casing that receives water from a water supply and is in thermal communication with an evaporator of a sealed system that chills the casing to freeze the water. An auger is mounted within the interior volume and is rotatable to scrape the ice from the casing and urge it through an extruder to form nugget ice. A BLDC motor is mechanically coupled to the auger to selectively rotate the auger. A controller determines a target speed of the auger based at least in part on the ice production parameter, and operates the BLDC motor to rotate the auger at the target speed. The BLDC motor with the speed-closed control loop can provide the constant speed and enough torque to prevent the ice maker from freezing. The controller can adjust the PWM and the voltage will be adjusted slightly, then the torque will be adjusted accordingly.

A countertop ice maker appliance includes a compressor, a condenser, a condenser fan, and a motor assembly. A method of operating the countertop ice maker includes initiating a standard ice making cycle, the standard ice making cycle including a first set of parameters for each of the motor assembly, the compressor, and the condenser fan; receiving, via the user interface, a signal to initiate an adjusted ice making cycle; adjusting the first set of parameters to form a second set of parameters for each of the motor assembly, the compressor, and the condenser fan; and initiating the adjusted ice making cycle according to the second set of parameters.