OK, So let's talk about this little Igloo counter top Ice maker. It showed up on my doorstep last Tuesday. It also just happened to be one of the hottest days of 2017 so far in my area. Needless to say. I was super excited. It had sat on my doorstep in the sun most of the day. So needless to say, it and the packaging was a bit toasty. Regardless I brought it in, unpacked it poured water in it, and waited for a cool breeze of ice. FAIL. SO VERY VERY disappointed. Now with all of that being said. Let me tell you an ol saying my grandfather lived by. "Experience is something you get 5 minutes after you needed it." So be the case here as well.
The unit as a whole isn't refrigerated. So pouring hot or room temperature water in it the unit is NOT, I repeat NOT going to end well for you. You will get VERY small cubes, and they will melt almost as fast as they are made. Chill your water overnight before you want to start making ice, then what I do, * and you don't have to do this.* but to keep it cooler in the storage area. The first 2 cycles of ice that are made, I dump down into the reservoir.
This helps keep everything chilled and you will get better results.
Also. another trick I've learned. Don't leave the ice in the catch bin. Once it is about halfway full. Dump it in a one gal zip lock bag. Why a zip lock bag you ask? The ice comes out of the catch bin VERY wet.If you put it in a reg ice bucket then put it in the freezer. You're going to end up with nothing more than a block of ice, and it is difficult to break apart. If you put it in a zip lock freezer bag, it breaks up much easier.
All in all, I am VERY pleased with this. I was a bit concerned about some of the naysayers, and the bad reviews they posted. But with a little thinking on my part, I addressed all of their problems with more than pleasing results. Some people are just a bit too lazy to think, and to fast to complain.
Oh, one more tip. When you are done making ice, dry it out as best you can, then get an old clean sock, and put some white rice in it. Then set it in the holding tank. It will draw out any leftover moisture and prevent any mold
Update. 4 months later, and it still works like a champ.
My wife has a hip injury and prefers remaining upstairs. She uses ice cubes on a daily basis, and our refigerator is downstairs, where it has been grooming me for my role as the iceman [who] cometh. However, as an individual who is not averse to drinking water at room temperature and, moreover, straight from the bottle, I'm no more a fan of ice cubes than our two cats. Solution: a portable, or "counter-top" (though ours is on the floor) ice maker. My wife deserves the credit for coming up with the idea, and then ordering the machine--the first of two that wimped out on us (I should know--these personal conveniences began to seem heavy after carrying them, a second time, from upstairs to the street curb, where the city disposal team picks them up, unless a private citizen (i.e. scavenger) gets there first.
After these two strike-outs, I selected (and paid for) this particular IGloo machine with the LED buttons in a vertical row. I did my "research" (let's be honest and call it by the right word--ie, "shopping"), and I liked what I read about this machine from those whose observations were detailed, specific and realistic (for a hundred bucks you can't expect an arctic miracle machine--it's an "Igloo," not an Ice Palace).
After ten months of daily use this particular Igloo is hitting close to 1000-- knocking out ice cubes that are as big, clear and sparkling as they were on the first day. My wife has had me move the machine from her office to the bathroom--where it not only keeps spitting out the cubes but lowers the temperature of the room by 5 degrees. I prefer warm (which fits my "room temperature" taste). But as long as this machine keeps up the good work, I'm not complaining.
As far as cleaning, I simply wipe the bottom with a sponge now and then. At this point I have no reason to give the machine less than 5 stars. Perhaps my standards aren't as high as other shoppers, esp. after disposing of the first two machines in the first 2-3 months. But for the nice price, a year's worth of trouble-free service seems reason enough to recommend this small over-achiever. Any ice cubes after the first 12 months will be "gravy" (which I hate--so at the first sign of failure, this iGloo goes to the curb and gets replaced by a new model of the same machine.
****UPDATED REVIEW 7/5/18****
Just making it clear, I bought the 48lb/day ice maker, and my review is for that one.
I received this two days ago. It is quite heavy so you may need an extra person to help lift.
In the photos provided, you can see that my ice maker is filled. These ice cubes are large.
This ice maker has been wonderful so far. The ice is wet, and sticks together if the bucket gets full, but its so easy to just break them apart. I toss my basket of ice into a small cooler for my mother, who has trouble walking, and by the time the small cooler is empty I have an entire basket full of ice again.
The first thing I noticed was that, when first starting up, the ice is tiny. I was concerned, but just thought it needed time to properly freeze the ice. After some time, the ice that was coming out was large. So, if your ice maker is producing small cubes at first, just give it time.
The maker creates a humming noise, much like a refrigerator, but it's not bothersome.
After our fridge died from flood water damage, we were buying ice at $5 for 2 bags, multiple times a week. That adds up! If this maker continues to do it's job it will save us a lot of money in the long run.
UPDATE 7/5/18:
I've had this machine since November of 2017. It still works perfect. I've had absolutely no issues with the machine at all. Still continues to make ice, and we haven't bought a bag of ice since getting this. Where I live, bags of ice cost $3 each. Given the amount of ice my family uses, that's a bag of ice every other day. So, counting November and July, I've had it for 9 months; 36 weeks; 252 days. Half 252 (every other day of buying ice)= 126.
So, if I had not had this machine, I would have spent 126x$3.00= $378 on bags of ice in 9 months. $378 minus the cost of the machine at the time I bought it (149.98 rounded up to 150.00) I have saved $228 on ice. Not bad, right?
I'm more than happy with this purchase. It's been nice not having to worry about going to the store because I ran out of ice.
10/10 would definitely recommend and also buy again.
Amazing product. I discovered these while camping with friends. It keeps them fulfilled in drinking ice and the excess goes into coolers for fishing or keeping other things cold. Every 7.5 seconds or less, it drops a batch of small ice bullets, about the size of a thumb. Medium takes about 8.5 and large about 9.5 minutes. There is not a huge difference between large and small size bullets. Not very loud even in a quiet room during operation. I have been experimenting with saving ice. It works pretty well if you fill a gallon ziploc with ice bullets and drop in freezer. During the first hour in the freezer, I punch the bag of bullets a couple of times to keep them from freezing together. So far it's working like a charm. You can use bottled water, or any drinking water I guess, but I'm using filtered water from my fridg at home. I will purchase gallons of pure drinking water for camping with my ice maker. My friends use potable water from their camper and filter it through a Brita pitcher filter before adding it to the ice machines reservoir.
Love this thing, although it developed a defect in the first couple weeks (more on that below). It's already paid for itself since we bought it in Sept of 2017 as we no longer buy bagged ice. We could use ice cube trays, and have, but we go through a lot of ice and keeping the bin full is a chore that never gets done. We could put an ice maker in the freezer, there's mounts for one, but running water under the house isn't easy due to the small area and location so this was a good compromise.
Pros:
- Cheap!
- Looks fairly nice with with the brushed metal housing etc.
- Produces ice quickly and fills the bin quickly as well. We have a bin in the freezer we keep full, but mostly we just take ice right out of the machine.
- Decent size water reservoir.
- The ice gets very soft and crunch after a while as the bin is not kept cold my anything other than the insulation around it. Some don't like that but I call it a bonus.
Cons:
- The ice bin (It comes out / is removable) feels a bit flimsy and I expect it will break at some point, but so far so good.
- The low water indicator/switch stopped working the first two weeks - Didn't really notice it at first because we use so much ice that we are constantly putting water into it anyways so I let this slide, but does seem to be a QA issue that was missed. I don't know if others have had this problem with the model.
Tips/Info:
You have to empty it out and give the water reservoir a good cleaning every now and then as you will start to get a biofilm building up, just the nature of the beast - This also makes me question the internal tubes and such that are not accessible. Something tells me I will have to do some major disassembly and clean out of this thing at least once a year. Good thing is it's always circulation ice cold water due to the melt, so growth is kept to a minimum. You could probably put some kind of cleaner into it occasionally to help like SanStar or a few drops of bleach and let it circulate through.
Overall: I can't really complain except for the quickly broke water level defect given the low price point. Given the amount of ice this house uses it's paid for itself and there is always ice on hand. For the cheap price I can't really complain much.
Feature Product
- Makes 26 lbs of Ice in Two Different Sizes
- 2.3 Quart Reservoir - Soft-Touch Electronic Controls
- Controls with LED Indicators - Built-in air outlet fan
- No installation required - just plug in unit, add water and enjoy a batch of ice
Description
This freestanding portable ice maker makes 26 lbs. of ice per day. Never fun to the store for a bag of ice again. This model fits in effortlessly with your room’s existing décor. It features a see-through window, silver lid and durable stainless-steel exterior. This chic model comes with a white ice scoop and the electronic LED controls make it easy to program. Convenient, compact design is ideal for use in small kitchens and other compact spaces like RV's, boats, dorm rooms and more. This portable ice maker requires not installation, just plug it in, add water and in less than 7 minutes you can enjoy fresh ice. Choose from two ice size settings.
This thing is phenomenal. It cranks out ice like there's no tomorrow and it just keeps recycling the ice through when it doesn't get used. The large ice cubes are the perfect size (I imagine the small ones would melt much too quickly). We have it in an office environment so it gets a lot of use. It's been running non-stop for over 6 months now with no issues.
It's sitting on a large counter so size isn't an issue for us, but for a small kitchen, this would probably take up too much room. The stainless steel looks very nice though.
11/27/18 update: We've been using this machine in a large office for over a year now and it has continued to perform 100% for the past year. We have to fill it with water every day but it just keeps on cranking out ice all day long and this thing is getting a lot of use. I'm very tempted to buy a second, backup machine because if it ever stops working we will really miss it.
I had to wait about a week before I even attempted to write a review. I don't have fond memories with countertop ice makers. In fact I hesitated ever buying one again after my first encounter with a an oversized della that cost twice as much. It IDK it was garbage within the first 3 months because warranties and no knowledge base built for repairs. Tons of these just die out for ridiculous reasons to end up never working the same . HOWEVERI am excited to tell you , at least for me anyway , that this Igloo ice 103 counter top machine is an Ice making monster . I was very surprised at how well this thing works after having one that never worked right from the beginning. Yes I will be afraid to ever unplug it from the wall or to move it at all. (seems those two things manage to kill off a once decent ice maker). I would without a doubt tell you about this ice maker . Della I'm sorry for putting your product down but this product puts one of your best to shame . Until the companies decide to make a freezer ice maker this one with the over size basket will be just fine . Also its making ice so fast and large even the small cube is large and I cant keep up with production. Very fast and constant . be ready with the kool and clean water is best ...Hope this helps
This is a Wonderfully Amazing Machine!!! This is NOT a flimsy little machine. It is a heavy duty ice maker!!! It makes so much ice that I have to turn it off at times because my freezer is small and it gets full quickly!!! This machine has an off and on switch, so you can simply turn it off when you don't need it or when you have enough ice. The small ice cube setting makes a very large ice cube!!! It comes with a nice ice scoop that I keep in a gallon freezer bag in my freezer to dump my fresh ice into so that it will freeze hard. For those complaining about how wet the ice is when it comes out, the ice I buy in bags is wet, too!!! ICE IS WET before it freezes!!! Just put your fresh ice in a baggie, allow it to freeze hard, then break it up by slamming it on your counter, and dump it into your ice bag. At least, you won't have a huge lump of ice cubes all frozen together!!!
This machine is heavy, so take it out of the box close to the table or counter where you plan to use it. You'll want to allow it to sit for 2 hours before using it because the Freon (or coolant) has to settle in the machine. The cleaning instructions are confusing, so I just wiped it down good and filled the reservoir. I threw out all the ice that it made out, drained it, and sopped up all the water, then refilled it. It makes ice very quickly, so soon I was putting ice in the freezer. I am so tickled!!! Now I don't have to remember to buy a bag of ice at the store!!! I am in ICE HEAVEN!!! This is a quality machine, so I don't expect any problems any time soon!!! However, if you are worried about it going out on you, buy the 4 year warranty like I did and then you'll have PEACE of MIND!!!
UPDATE!!! In May 2018, after a year and 2 months of great service, this ice maker died! When I purchased my ice maker, I bought a 4 year warranty thru Square Trade. I have called and they have approved my claim and are going to send me a check!!! I went ahead and bought a new one. I hope that my new ice maker lasts as long as this one did!!!
I've been using this non-stop since I purchased it. People saying you can't store the ice in the freezer without it clumping are correct. However, I store excess ice in ziploc bags and one or two thwacks against the countertop breaks it all free again. So I make ice when I want it, store the excess, and restart the machine when I've run low.
I wish it were easier to drain and clean, but overall I'm very happy.
I have arthritis & emptying ice is murder on my hands. This thing solves my ice problems. It constantly cranks out ice for me.
It makes ice pretty fast. Doesn't have annoying beeps like the other ones I've seen. Holds a lot of water. The 3 size settings don't do as much as I'd like but does make a small deference in size. My dogs love getting ice when ever I get ice now too.
Bottom line... best one & not as expensive as the others I've seen.
I have noticed it some times doesn't know if it's full or not & haven't figured out how it senses that. It's said full when the basket is only half full & a couple of times it's filled all the way to the lid! It seems to figure it out after a little while tho so... hasn't been an issue yet. But it is rather odd.
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