There’s a soft serve ice cream machine for sale near you, and perhaps you’ve been considering getting one to allow you to offer something new to customers or increase revenue. A soft serve machine is a great way to do that. Here’s what you need to know about upkeep and maintenance before you make that decision about a soft serve ice cream machine for sale.

• Maintenance ensures that any refrigeration equipment runs right. Whether it’s the soft serve ice cream machine for sale or your home air conditioning unit, refrigeration equipment needs regular cleaning and maintenance to work properly. For this type of equipment, the vast majority of service calls are due to dirty, unmaintained equipment causing failure of the compressor or some other component. If you get that soft serve ice cream machine for sale, make sure you’re committed to cleaning and maintaining it on schedule. This means carefully taking it apart to clean and lubricate all the parts with a food-safe oil. Then you can avoid expensive service calls that aren’t necessary.
• Don’t forget to replace important parts on schedule. That soft serve ice cream machine for sale that you found is going to be running pretty constantly if you buy it, so the o-rings, the alignment bushings, the scraper blades, and the collars are going to need to be replaced on schedule. Most of the parts that need to be replaced regularly are not that expensive, so replacing them on schedule means that your machine will work for a long time to come and without needing constant service calls.
• Always follow instructions for mixing. Not only will mixing correctly extend the life of your machine and make sure that sanitation and cleaning methods work as intended: it’ll also protect your bottom line. If your mix is too watery it will be poor quality and you can guarantee people won’t come back for ice cream at your stop. If the product is too rich your profit margin takes a hit and you may not be able to make enough off each cone or bowl to make it profitable.
• You have to put the machine in the right place. It’s crucial that there be a clear path for plenty of air to get through the condenser. The air needs to be cool, too, so never place your machine where the air is too hot and humid, or in the path of heated air being vented from some other machine. Forcing the compressor to run in really hot temperatures will not only mean you waste a lot of money on power consumption, but it will also greatly shorten the life of the compressor, which isn’t a cheap item to replace.
• Take that extra moment to make sure everything is in good shape. When you buy that soft serve ice cream machine for sale, you’ll notice that it comes with a recommendation about how often to completely disassemble it. For most machines, this is going to be every day. When that’s done, take a moment to clean and lubricate everything, but also check that the machinery compartment and condenser coil are both clean. Adjust any drive belts to make sure they’re sitting properly.

If you do buy that soft serve ice cream machine for sale, you’ve got a great way to make some extra money and attract people to your place of business. However, you’ve also got a potential money pit if you don’t take care of it correctly. Make sure you’re committed to taking the time you need to properly care for ice cream machine and you’ll be making money off it for a long time to come.