Shave Ice Community Web Board

Here is a series of common problems that may occur with the Fujimarca shave ice machine.

Q.) My machine does not start, what should I do?

A.) Please check to see if the machine is plugged correctly. If plugged into a wall socket, make sure the socket is working. If using a generator, make sure the generator has enough capacity. The Fujimarca needs a minimum of 5 amps to operate. If you have used the correct generator and outlet, please check to make sure the power cord is not worn out.
Possible causes: failed power switch, bad power cord, inadequate electricity feed, motor failure.]

Q.) No matter how I adjust the blade, it will not produce the fine texture that I need.

A.) Please check to make sure the blade is sharp. Normal bladed need to be changed or resharpened every 1000 cups of shave ice. Remove the blade and try cut a sheet of paper from the top down. If your blade is sharp, it should cut the paper with ease. Check to see the blade is installed correctly. Remember to have the "Fujimarca" logo on the blade facing towards the "left" when you reinstall it. Check gear pressure to see if it is tight. Loose gear pressure will cause the ice to slip thus not pressing against the blade properly. If all fails, check shaving plate. Uneven shaving plates may also affect ice consistency.
Possible causes: dull blade, incorrectly installed blade, poor gear pressure, uneven shaving plate.

Q.) Machine is performing very sluggish and slow, what is going on?

A.) First thing to check is the belt. Using a flashlight, go towards the side of the machine and look underneath the grey head cover. Look for visual signs of tearing and age. If the belt is torn and lost its tension, the motor is unable to generate the power from the motor pulley to the machine pulley. A belt change will be required.
Possible causes: Worn belt, possible dieing motor.

Q.) The 3 prong handle on my machine is very tight/loose, what should I do?

A.) If your machine is over 2 years old or you have served over 5,000 cups of shave ice, you may need to change your tension spring. Please refer to our article about adjusting tension or changing gear assemblies.
Possible causes: Worn tension spring.

Q.) I always need to hold the handle down in order for the ice to grab, or else it won't shave.

A.) As noted above, when tension springs are worn, the gear assembly does not have enough tension to hold the ice down and press it against the blade for a shave. Please use a smaller piece of ice.
Possible causes: Worn tension spring.

Q.) I dropped my machine! What should I do?

A.) Check to make sure there is no damage done to the motor. Then do a visual check around the machine to see if there are any cracks. Pay special attention towards the base, neck, and spine of the machine. Depending on the degree of the drop, someparts will be easily replacable such as the base. If the spine or the neck is damaged, you may need to bring your machine to our shop for repair. Do not attempt to repair on your own unless you have had previous training repairing Fujimarcas.

Q.) Am I able to repair the machine on my own?

A.) Yes. The machine is fairly to repair aside from any structural changes. With simple tools, you can change the blade, motor, belt, gear assembly, shaving plates, and any other part that is attached to the machine. Please leave structrual changes to us. The reason for this is the machine requires a certain balance in order for it to work properly, unless you know the right balance, we would not recommend repairing structural parts yourself.

Q.) What kind of maintanence do I need to do on the machine?

A.) After each day of use, please wipe the machine down with a clean cloth and sanitizer. Regrease the gearing(main worm shaft, gear assembly) as well as use WD40 to oil the shaving plate tension spring and the blade adjustment knob.

Q.) There is a grinding noise inside the machine, what is causing it?

A.) Grinding noises are usually caused by bad gears inside the gear box. The teeth on the gears may be eaither worn or broken. You can check the condition of the gears by opening up the gear box which is accessible from the front plate on the machine.
Possible causes: Worn main gear or donut gear.

Q.) My machine does not shave ice ice correctly, there seems to be no rotation at all of the ice.

A.) This could be caused by numerous factors. As stated above, the main culprit would be the belt. However there are other possible causes. If your belt is looking fine, the motor is working great, the last thing that will come to mind is the machine pulley. All Fujimarca's contain a green pulley on top of the machine that is attached to the belt. On rare occasions, the small clip inside the pulley that helps control the rotation of the main worm gear may be worn or damaged thus causing the machine not able to shave. To check if your pulley clip is worn or not, try twisting the main worm gear (the long gear that goes straight through the machine) and see if there is any tenstion. You should not be able to turn it, if it is turnable, then that means your pulley clip is worn.



Q.) There is a crack on the machine! Am I able to weld it?

A.) Yes, depending on the severity of the crack. If there is just a minor crack on the frame of the machine, then you may weld it, however if the cracking is extensive and all the way through, it would be recommended to change the part completely.

[u]Q.) What type of grease or oils should I use on the machine?[/u]

A.) You may use machine grease, food based lubricants, and WD 40.

Q.) Why does the machine rust?!

A.) The Fujimarca machines are made with cast iron thus they will eventually rust over a period of time. From the factory, the machine comes with sand blasted paint to prevent rusting, however with normal wear and tear, the machine's paint maybe be chipped thus exposing it to rust. Many customers use touch up paint to touch up rusting parts, they may also spray a thicker rust free coating over the machine when they do their major maintenance.

Q.) My machine wobbles alot when shaving and the ice seems like it is going to fly out.

A.) Machine instability is mostly caused by improper ice size. A key to remember is that the recommended size of the ice should be no bigger than 7x7 inches all around. Alot of our customers use a bigger block of ice, we do not recommend it however if you do use it, make sure the ice is cut evenly and the face of the ice is flat and not crooked. Large blocks of ice cause alot of strain to the pressure assembly and is dangerous.

hello i was wondering how i adjust the gear pressure on my HTK Fujimarca MC, it seems to nit shave very good, the blade is sharp but if i apply pressure to the handle it seems to shave a lot better.

Hi, how old is your machine and how many shave ice have you gone through? You can adjust the tension by adjusting the (star) that is located to the left of the machine where the 3 handles are. You would first have to separate the handles from the gear assembly by holding the star in place and twisting the handle off. The handles and its mount is sort of a lock that locks the star and the spring inside it so it would not shift. Once you gotten the handle off, tighten the star by turning it to the right which will compress the spring. Once you did that, you can retighten the handles and lock it in place. However this is only a quick fix, you would most likely need to change the pressure spring, or depending the the age of your machine, the gear assembly as well.

Thanks