Abstract: The inventive disclosures described herein pertain to an improved irrigation-system-coupling device, with a length-adjustment feature, that is designed to provide a coupling between polymeric irrigation-system hosing/tubing and a water-supply valve, such as solenoid-operated control/supply valves commonly used in automated irrigation systems. The length-adjustment configuration allows for easy installation in the field without the need to splice additional lengths of hosing/tubing in situations where various environmental conditions and/or necessitated repairs to or removal of sections of hoses/tubing has caused an extra gap between a supply-valve manifold housing and the end of the existing hose/tubing.

Abstract: A self-contained ice making machine including a cabinet divided into first and second separate compartments with an ice making head including an evaporator disposed in the first compartment and with a compressor and air cooled condenser disposed in a second compartment. Air from the room surrounding the ice machine is drawn through an air intake in a side of the cabinet and through the condenser into the second compartment by a condenser cooling fan, and a vent pipe having an exhaust fan is connected to an air discharge opening in the top of the second compartment for venting the second compartment outside of the room in which the ice making machine is installed.

Abstract: An ice making machine of the type in which an ice mold is refrigerated and water recirculated from a water receiver over the refrigerated ice mold and back to the water receiver during an ice making cycle, to freeze ice forms on the ice mold, and the ice mold is heated and water recirculation stopped during an ice harvest cycle, to release the ice forms from the ice mold. A temperature sensor senses when the water temperature in the receiver initially drops during an ice making cycle to about water freezing temperature and operates a water supply valve to supply additional water to the receiver to prevent the formation of ice slush in the water recirculation system. The amount of water added to the receiver during an ice making cycle is preferably controlled by volume. The amount of water added during the ice making cycle can also be controlled by temperature of the water in the receiver or by timing the addition of water to the receiver.

Abstract: The method of repetitively making discrete blocks of ice which is performed with apparatus having a plurality of adjacently disposed ice freezing pockets formed with a refrigeration evaporator as the base of each pocket of the pockets, horizontally extending and vertically spaced apart evaporator fins as the sides of the pockets, and horizontally pivotal vertical plates as the ends of the pockets. A refrigeration apparatus is provided to alternately freeze the refrigeration evaporator of the ice freezing pockets and very quickly and very briefly heat the refrigeration evaporator directly to loosen the ice blocks from the freezing pockets. Apparatus is provided to apply a force to the vertical plates until the immediate surfaces of the ice blocks are melted and loosened from the freezing pockets. The vertical plates thereon move the ice blocks within the freezing pockets, then are rapidly returned to an initial position which ejects the ice blocks completely from the freezing pockets.

Abstract: An ice maker in which water runs over a vertical evaporator to form ice cubes formed between vertical and horizontally mounted plates. The cubes are released from the evaporator by simultaneously applying a horizontal force to the plates while heating the evaporator.

Abstract: An icemaker for automatically and continuously producing clear ice in cubes comprising (a) a triple-walled stationary evaporator drum disposed with a plurality of equally-spaced, radially outwardly projecting ridges, (b) a rotary perforated water distribution tube overlying the evaporator drum for delivering a continuous and predetermined amount of water to the freezing surface thereof, a water pump for supplying water to the distribution tube, and a rotary, sequentially-functioning cutter assembly which coacts with the water distribution tube to break, size and remove cubes from the layer of ice formed on the freezing surface of the evaporator drum.

Abstract: An ice maker in which water runs over a vertical evaporator to form ice cubes formed between vertical and horizontally mounted plates. The cubes are released from the evaporator by simultaneously applying a horizontal force to the plates while heating the evaporator.