# Will it harm an ice maker to run it without water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710 "2009-07-29T22:02:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/1 "2009-07-29T22:02:53Z")
My old refrigerator died and today my landlord replaced it. The new one has an ice maker, but there is no easy way to hook up water to it in this kitchen. Will running it without water harm it or the rest of the freezer? There doesn’t seem to be an on/off switch for the ice maker except for the arm that would shut it off when the ice bucket was full. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/2 "2009-07-29T22:08:05Z")
It won’t harm the mechanism. They always have a lever that tells the ice maker not to make more when the ice bin is full. Flip it into the full position and it shouldn’t run. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/3 "2009-07-30T02:22:19Z")
If it won’t stay in the "full"position, tape, string or a pipe cleaner can help things along. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/4 "2009-07-30T03:24:46Z")
If you get frozen cubes of air, you can toss them around the house and save on your air conditioning bill. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/5 "2009-07-30T15:05:21Z")
No, it won’t hurt anything. Most ice makers are smart enough not to trip unless there is a supply of water. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/6 "2009-07-30T15:13:19Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > there is no easy way to hook up water to it in this kitchen. Although your OP has been answered, I’d just ad that hooking up an icemaker is very easy. You can use soft plastic line, and the fittings are pretty much plug-n-play. You snake the line through small holes in your cupboards to the sink, or whatever. And you get all the ice you could possibly want!!! ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/7 "2009-07-30T18:48:26Z")
I’m imagining a kitchen layout in an apartment where the sink is on an opposite wall from the fridge, or something, and the renter has no authority to pull up flooring to run water underneath it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-harm-an-ice-maker-to-run-it-without-water/504710/8 "2009-07-31T13:16:23Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I’m imagining a kitchen layout in an apartment where the sink is on an opposite wall from the fridge, or something, and the renter has no authority to pull up flooring to run water underneath it. I’d still be tempted to go through a wall/floor to an adjacent apartment’s sink. Man, I love my ice maker. Maybe too much.😉