Proper care is essential to ensure effective operation and longevity of your soft serve machine. By choosing Spaceman, you’ve already invested in high-quality, reliable equipment, setting the foundation for long-term use, but that all means nothing without proper maintenance. Following specific maintenance procedures will keep your machine running smoothly for years to come and prevent issues like cooling failures, malfunctions, or breakdowns. Continue reading to learn the regular maintenance required to keep your Spaceman soft serve machine performing at its very best.
Daily Care
We recommend cleaning your soft serve machine daily. While cleaning frequency may vary by state and local regulations, cleaning it more often is never a problem. Even if local codes require cleaning three times a week, doing it daily won’t hurt. For major cleanings, flush out the mix, store it in a food-safe container in the fridge, and rinse the machine with water until it runs clear. Disassemble and scrub all of the parts, lubricate the moving parts, then reassemble the machine and run food-safe sanitizer through it before re-adding the mix.
For minor cleanings, use the Spaceman-provided brushes to clear air tube holes, sanitize star caps, and clean the drip tray to prevent pest attraction. These tasks should be performed several times a day, and will only take a few minutes. Also, regularly check for foam or solids in the hopper to avoid clogs and freeze-ups, and wipe down the machine’s exterior multiple times a day to maintain cleanliness and prevent contamination.
Quarterly Care
Daily and quarterly maintenance for your machine serve different purposes. Quarterly maintenance focuses less on cleaning and more on replacing worn parts. We recommend changing out the machine’s wearable parts like scraper blades, star caps, o-rings, and beater guides every three months to ensure optimal performance. Our Spaceman Tune Up Kits include these components, which you can find for your specific model here. For machines with heavier usage, you may need to replace these parts more frequently. Check them regularly for wear and tear.
Annual Care
Annual maintenance for your soft serve machine should not be a hassle if you follow daily, weekly, and quarterly care routines. We recommend scheduling a yearly service with a certified technician to clean the condensing units, check belt tension, and assess overall performance. While many parts can be replaced by the operator, tasks like cleaning the internal condenser are best handled by a professional.
If you are properly maintaining your Spaceman machine daily, quarterly, and annually but still find yourself running into equipment issues, please send us an email at success@spacemanusa.com and we will do our best to troubleshoot so that your machine is working optimally. Cheers!