# My ice cubes kill the fizz in carbonated drinks



## wahoowad (May 30, 2011)

My ice maker produces ice cubes with a lot of trapped air - you can see the white air inside the ice. Pouring soft drinks over it causes lots of fizzing and it eliminates the carbonation and turns the drink flat. Somehow the ice from stores and restaurants don't do this. Any idea why this is happeneing and if there is anything I can do to improve it?


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## fireview2788 (May 30, 2011)

Rinse them with water and then pour your pop.  


fv


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## homebrewz (May 30, 2011)

Back in my day, we made ice in a device called a tray. I am not certain if they still exist. Maybe I can make some out of wood. 

What does ice from other ice makers look like? Perhaps there is a conduit or small hose that refills the water reservoir of the ice maker, and perhaps there is a small hole or crack in it allowing air to become involved in the ice making process.


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## jimbom (May 30, 2011)

Clear ice is a product of three primary factors:
1 - The water used;
2 - Freezing rate;
3 - Degree of washing of the interface between the already frozen and the water-to-be-frozen.

Water is full of harmless dissolved minerals and compounds.  The first speck frozen is pure water, and this pushes the dissolved materials into the boundary fluid between the frozen and water-to-be-frozen.  If the freezing rate is slow enough, this process continues, and you get only pure water ice.  However, the interface or boundary needs to be flushed or washed to carry away the build up of the dissolved material.

So a well engineered machine will freeze at the proper rate while flushing impurities from the freeze boundary, thus giving you clear ice.  Batch cycles work better than continuous cycles.  My suggestion would be to try hot water in an ice tray in a not so cold part of the freezer and then wash the cubes to flush the surface layer before use.  If than doesn't work, try distilled water in an ice tray.


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## CJ-SR4ever (May 30, 2011)

Maybe you should try pouring water in the ice trays and putting them in the freezer.   Thats what I do and have had no issues.  Maybe the ice maker is pouring the water to quickly?  Do you have any adjustment in the settings for the ice maker?


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## wahoowad (May 30, 2011)

No settings that I know about. It is a standard GE make. I will try hot water in ice cube trays. Thanks!


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## heat seeker (May 31, 2011)

If you have an aerator on your faucet, that may be compounding the problem by mixing air into the water. You might try sitting some water in the fridge or on the counter for a while, then pouring it into the trays.
An icemaker freezes the water pretty quickly, so will entrap air and minerals in the ice.


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## fishingpol (May 31, 2011)

Ice sculptors get their blocks from producers that circulate the water while freezing, preventing air from binding to contaminants in the water.  Carving ice is pretty clear.  Hot water contains more air in it, it will probably not be any better.  Certain stores sell freezer blocks and balls that are plastic with some liquid inside.  One magazine had small granite blocks about 1" square that you freeze and put in your glass.  I think it was for scotch though.  GE icemakers run out of the fill tube, down a plastic funnel device and into the tray, so it is probably aerating on the way down.


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## semipro (May 31, 2011)

You could install a reverse osmosis water filtration system and plumb the output to your fridge (and sink if you like).  We've done this.  It worked great. 

From what I've read in this thread it must have been the dissolved minerals that caused our cloudy ice.  In our case it improved the taste too because much of what was removed was salt.


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## midwestcoast (May 31, 2011)

Hmm, not a full fix, but hows about adding the cubes (slowly) after pouring the drink?


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## blujacket (May 31, 2011)

Are some of the cubes coming out hollow? That usually indicates a restriction in the water supply, most likely where the saddle valve is attached to the copper pipe.


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## Highbeam (May 31, 2011)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> Hmm, not a full fix, but hows about adding the cubes (slowly) after pouring the drink?



+1, adding the ice after the drink is poured seems to greatly reduce the fizzing. Just like adding ice cream to root beer is way way smarter than adding root beer to ice cream. 

I use trays for my ice. Simply becuase back in the 60s they didn't plumb water to the fridge. I actually like the larger cubes that I get.


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## Delta-T (May 31, 2011)

I'm tough, like leather, I dont use ice cubes...so I have no advice, other than to not use ice cubes. All this other stuff sounds like good ideas though.


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## CJ-SR4ever (May 31, 2011)

Delta-T said:
			
		

> I'm tough, like pink leather, I dont use ice cubes...so I have no advice, other than to not use ice cubes. All this other stuff sounds like good ideas though.




Likewise


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