Manitowoc: Nickel-plated copper evaporator

An ice machine is an equipment that combines a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator to freeze water into ice cubes. There are numerous variables that influence the time and quality of ice production, and one of the most important influencing factors is selecting the appropriate type of evaporator. Although evaporators can be built of practically any food-grade metal such as stainless steel and nickel-plated stainless steel, not all evaporators are created equal. One significant disadvantage of stainless steel is that it does not conduct heat well. It requires more time and energy to cool the evaporator in order to generate ice, and it takes up a lot of space in a small kitchen.

Manitowoc has been using nickel-plated copper as the evaporator in their ice machines. Copper has a relative conductivity of 386 while stainless steel only has a relative conductivity of 16.3, implying that copper can transport heat 25X more efficiently than stainless steel. Furthermore, Manitowoc is aware of copper’s intrinsic propensity of quick thermal transfer which makes copper is an excellent choice for producing a large amount of ice, chilling swiftly for freezing, and heating quickly for harvesting. This can be further enhanced by adopting a proprietary angle grid design to freeze ice from five sides rather than producing ice on a single stainless steel. In addition, Manitowoc nickel-plated copper evaporators are designed to handle varied water conditions, and the nickel plating provides resistance to oxidation and corrosion. At last, when it comes to copper evaporators, there is no time to dispute, and nothing compares to the natural benefit of copper, with its superior thermal transfer and resistance to corrosion and wrapping. Copper is at the heart of every Manitowoc ice machine.

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