--- title: "Installation and setup — Ice Maker Guides" description: "Running a water line to an ice maker, what to expect from the first batches of ice after installation, and how to set up an ice maker in a home that sits empty…" url: "https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/" --- Water lines, first ice and a unit left alone # Installation and setup guides. Running a water line to an ice maker, what to expect from the first batches of ice after installation, and how to set up an ice maker in a home that sits empty for weeks at a time. ## Installation and setup, guide by guide. Most of what decides how an ice maker behaves for the next decade is settled on the day it is connected: the tubing behind it, where the shutoff valve taps into the pipe, the water pressure, how much slack is coiled behind the cabinet and whether the room it lives in ever gets cold. These guides are about that hidden setup, and about the times it matters again. [All 18 guides](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/) 5-minute read ### [The Water Line Behind an Ice Maker: Tubing, Valve and Pressure](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/water-line-for-an-ice-maker/) Copper, braided stainless and the plastic tubing makers warn about, saddle valves and local code, the pressure range, slack behind the unit and a five-minute check of a line you inherited. 5-minute read ### [First Ice After Installation: How Long, What to Throw Away, What to Check](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/first-ice-after-installation/) Why a door or freezer ice maker needs most of a day, the batches and glassfuls that go down the sink, the sounds of a new unit and the setup details that keep the bin empty. 5-minute read ### [An Ice Maker in a Vacation Home: Closing Up and Opening Again](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/ice-maker-in-a-vacation-home/) Switching off and closing the valve for a short absence, draining before a winter without heat, the undercounter and countertop shutdowns, reopening in order and leak sensors between visits. ## Water lines, first ice and a unit left alone. One explains the water line itself, from copper and braided stainless to the plastic tubing that manufacturers warn about. One walks through the first day after installation, when an empty bin is normal for hours on a door or freezer ice maker and the first batches go in the sink. The last covers a vacation home, where a line under pressure with nobody in the house and a winter without heat call for a proper shutdown. None of them asks you to tap a pipe, cut copper or open an appliance's water system. They show what should be there, what to look at with a flashlight, and when the job belongs to a plumber or our technician. Figures come from GE, U-Line and other makers' installation instructions, printed beside the section they support. [Not sure where to start?](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer The Water Line Behind an Ice Maker: Tubing, Valve and Pressure A water line for an ice maker is a quarter-inch cold drinking-water supply with its own shutoff valve, run in copper, braided stainless or the maker's approved tubing, with a coil of slack so the unit can be pulled out. ### The short answer First Ice After Installation: How Long, What to Throw Away, What to Check First ice after installation takes 12 to 24 hours on a door or freezer ice maker, according to GE, because the mold must reach about 15°F before it fills. ### The short answer An Ice Maker in a Vacation Home: Closing Up and Opening Again An ice maker in a vacation home should be turned off, with its water valve shut, whenever the house is left for more than a few days. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://icemakerrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Water traced from the valve to the mold 2. 02 A number before the work 3. 03 Everyday ice maker parts already on board 4. 04 Filled, frozen and dropped in front of you ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://icemakerrepair.center/problems/) Water on the floor or near power ### Ice Maker Water Line Leaking Behind the Cabinet 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Maker Making Small or Hollow Cubes 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### No Ice Coming From the Ice Maker 7 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Maker Making Noise 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about installation and setup. ### How long after installation should the first ice appear? On a door or freezer ice maker, GE gives 12 to 24 hours. A countertop nugget unit starts within minutes. Either way, the first batches are thrown away to clear the new line. ### What kind of tubing should feed an ice maker? A quarter-inch cold drinking-water line in copper, braided stainless or the maker's own approved tubing, with its own shutoff valve and a coil of slack behind the unit. Makers warn against generic plastic tubing, which can crack with age. ### What should I do with the ice maker when I close a second home for winter? Empty the bin, switch the ice maker off and close its valve. If the house may freeze, the water inside has to be drained: undercounter units have a shutdown procedure in their manual, and a door or freezer ice maker should be drained by a technician. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/) Why the ice maker is doing that ### [Common problems](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why the ice maker stopped making ice: bin, switch, cold or water](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/why-the-ice-maker-stopped-making-ice/) - [Why ice cubes come out small or hollow, and what the shape says](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/why-ice-cubes-come-out-small-or-hollow/) - [Why the door dispenser won't give ice when the bin is full](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/why-the-door-dispenser-wont-give-ice/) Ice maker checks an owner can safely make ### [Troubleshooting](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [How to reset and test an ice maker, and read what the cycle shows](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/reset-and-test-an-ice-maker/) - [Thaw a frozen fill tube safely, then stop it freezing again](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/thaw-a-frozen-fill-tube-safely/) - [Find and check the water supply valve that feeds the ice maker](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/find-and-check-the-water-supply-valve/) Keeping the ice maker out of trouble ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Changing the water filter on time, and what a late one does to the ice](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/changing-the-water-filter-on-time/) - [Cleaning and descaling an undercounter ice maker](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/cleaning-and-descaling-an-undercounter-ice-maker/) - [Keeping the ice bin clean, from freezer drawers to countertop baskets](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/keeping-the-ice-bin-clean/) Keeping water, wiring and ice safe ### [Water, power and clean ice](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [Ice After a Boil Water Notice: What to Dump, Flush and Replace](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/ice-after-a-boil-water-notice/) - [Water From the Ice Maker Near an Outlet: The Safe Order of Moves](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/ice-maker-leak-near-an-outlet/) - [When to Throw Out the Ice in the Bin, and When It Can Stay](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/when-to-throw-out-the-ice/) Deciding what ice maker to keep or buy ### [Choosing and comparing](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Nugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/nugget-clear-or-crescent-ice/) - [Repair the ice maker or replace the whole assembly?](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/repair-the-ice-maker-or-replace-the-assembly/) - [Undercounter ice maker: gravity drain or drain pump?](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/undercounter-ice-maker-gravity-drain-or-pump/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Installation and setup — Ice Maker Guides](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/)** **[Book a visit with IceMakerRepair.center](https://icemakerrepair.center/schedule/)**