FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to ice making appliances, and more particularly to stand alone ice making appliances that produce clear ice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Icemaker appliances generally include an ice maker that is configured to generate ice. Ice makers within icemaker appliances are plumbed to a water supply, and water from the water supply may flow to the ice maker within the icemaker appliances. Icemaker appliances are frequently cooled by a sealed system, and heat transfer between liquid water in the ice maker and refrigerant of the sealed system generates ice.

In certain icemaker appliances, stored ice within the icemaker appliances melts over time and generates liquid meltwater. Commonly, the icemaker appliances are plumbed to an external drain (e.g., connected to a municipal water system) to dispose of the liquid meltwater. While effective for managing the liquid meltwater, external drain lines have drawbacks. For example, external drain lines can be expensive to install. In addition, external drain lines can be difficult to install in certain locations. Additionally, cleaning such icemaker appliances can be burdensome and time consuming.

Accordingly, an icemaker appliance with features for operating without an external drain line would be useful. In particular, an icemaker appliance with a cleaning system would be useful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an icemaker appliance is provided. The icemaker appliance may include a cabinet forming an ice storage compartment, a first reservoir provided within the ice storage compartment, and a circulation system arranged within the first reservoir. The circulation system may include a first circulation conduit, a first pump connected to the first circulation conduit to pump liquid through the first circulation conduit, and a nozzle downstream from the first circulation conduit to dispense the liquid from the first circulation conduit. The icemaker appliance may further include an ice maker provided within the first reservoir to dispense ice into the ice storage compartment, a second reservoir in fluid communication with the ice storage compartment, a return line conduit connected to the second reservoir and the first reservoir to direct melt water from the second reservoir to the first reservoir, a second pump provided at the second reservoir to pump melt water through the return line conduit, and a cleanout line having a first end connected to the second reservoir and a second end exposed outside of the cabinet.

According to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an icemaker appliance is provided. The icemaker appliance may include a cabinet forming an ice storage compartment, a first reservoir provided within the ice storage compartment, and a circulation system arranged within the first reservoir. The circulation system may include a first circulation conduit, a first pump connected to the first circulation conduit to pump liquid through the first circulation conduit, and a nozzle downstream from the first circulation conduit to dispense the liquid from the first circulation conduit. The icemaker appliance may further include an ice maker provided within the first reservoir to dispense ice into the ice storage compartment, a return line conduit connected to the ice storage compartment and the first reservoir to direct melt water from the ice storage compartment to the first reservoir, a second pump provided in the ice storage compartment to pump the melt water through the return line conduit, and a cleanout line having a first end connected to the second reservoir and a second end exposed outside of the cabinet.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

