Hurricane Season Ice Machine Playbook for Tampa Bay Restaurants

Tampa Bay restaurants live with hurricane season from June through November. The ice machine isn't the biggest piece of your storm plan, but if you handle it wrong you spend the first week after the storm without it — exactly when surrounding neighborhoods need a place to eat.

Pre-season checklist (do this in early June)

• • Schedule a PM cleaning — machines that go into storm season clean recover faster after
• • Replace the water filter
• • Verify the surge protector at the wall — replace if 3+ years old
• • Confirm generator capacity if you have one (see sizing below)
• • Photograph the machine, model and serial, and store off-site (insurance)

Generator sizing for an ice machine

The mistake operators make is sizing the generator on continuous draw alone. Ice machine compressors have a startup load 3-5x continuous. A 400 lb/day undercounter unit that runs at 7 amps continuous can pull 35 amps for a half-second at startup.

• • 200-300 lb/day machine: continuous 4-6 amps, startup spike to 25 amps
• • 400-600 lb/day machine: continuous 7-10 amps, startup spike to 40 amps
• • 800-1,200 lb/day machine: continuous 12-18 amps, startup spike to 60+ amps

Size your generator capacity above the startup spike, not the continuous draw. A 7,000-watt portable handles most undercounter and small modular units. Anything larger wants 10,000+ watts.

Pre-storm (48-24 hours before landfall)

• • Top off the bin so you have maximum stored ice
• • Shut down the machine using the toggle, not the breaker — proper shutdown saves the compressor
• • Unplug from the wall once it's powered down
• • Shut the water supply valve under the machine
• • Move portable units away from windows and exterior walls if possible

Post-storm restart

Order of operations matters here:

1. Confirm grid power is stable for at least 30 minutes (no flicker, no brownouts)
2. Confirm potable water is restored and no boil-water notice is active
3. Plug the machine back in, open the water valve
4. Power on, then immediately discard the first 24 hours of ice — don't serve it
5. If a boil-water notice was active at any point, run a full sanitization cycle first

When to call for service vs DIY restart

Call us if: the machine clicks but won't start, you see water leaking, the unit was submerged or saturated, or you smell burning. Don't keep trying — you can damage the compressor. Read our cleaning frequency guide for post-storm sanitization detail.

What Crystal Ice does for customers during named storms

Crystal Ice customers get priority post-storm service. We pre-stage techs and parts when the cone of uncertainty hits Tampa Bay. Lease customers don't get an emergency call surcharge — service is included like always.

Frequently Asked Questions