One of the most fantastic inventions for the kitchen in the twentieth century is the icemaker. The icemaker was introduced in the 1960s and is now part of nearly every refrigerator in every home. No more do we have to use those terrible ice trays that seem to be always empty when you want ice for a cool drink.

No longer do we have to be confronted with the task of constantly filling ice trays, spilling water as you move them to the refrigerator freezer, and prying out the ice when the water has frozen. Now we simply go to the refrigerator and take as much ice as needed and as often as wanted.

The way a refrigerator freezer automatic icemaker works is quite simple: water is poured into a mold, left in the freezer until it turns solid and then the ice cubes are automatically dumped in a holding container and the process starts over again until the holding container is full.

These icemakers work with an electric motor and an electrically powered water valve that is connected to the electrical circuit, which powers the refrigerator. The icemaker is hooked to the home water line so you are constantly supplying fresh water for the ice cubes.

These refrigerator automatic icemakers make life a lot more convenient. They can make ice in approximately sixty minutes rather than the 12-24 hours it took to make ice with ice trays.

Separate from a refrigerator ice maker there are portable icemakers (ice machines) that either sit on the counter top or stand alone as a small appliance. These also allow you to control the size of the ice and the quality of your ice cubes. Most portable ice makers permit the use of either bottled or tap water and a few models even allow you the flexibility of connecting the unit to the home water line. Many portable icemakers are compact enough to be easily transported since they don't have any draining or direct plumbing involved.

But automatic ice makers have had and continue to have problems. At times they can be aggravating, stopping to making ice and then begin again after a few days. At other time the ice doesn’t eject into the holding container after it is frozen. But worst of all, the water may not shut off after the unit refills itself. This can lead to a major disaster.

There has been many horror stories of families waking up in the morning and finding their kitchen floor flooded with water because the ice maker didn’t shut off. Or coming back from a vacation to find the house flooring has been ruined from water saturation.

Most of these disasters can be avoided if the icemaker has a “flood stop” automatic leak detector installed in the icemaker water line going to the icemaker. The “flood stop” system is a leak detector that will instantly detect a leak, sound an alarm, and automatically turn off the water supply to the icemaker to prevent flooding.

You can save yourself a lot of misery and thousands of dollars worth of damage by installing a “flood stop” leak detector on your icemaker. A DIY homeowner can install the system using standard house hold tools. Although the automatic icemaker is a great convince, you can prevent it from becoming a great nightmare.

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