Makes very little noise except when dumping ice ( you hear that) then it has a slight hum you have to really listen out for.
I'm going to start with the cons:
This ice machine was okay. All of the features were as it said it was except I wasn't thrilled with the ice melts inside too quickly if you're using it outside for camping and such. Which that's the main reason I purchased it because a few other reviews said they liked it for that specific reason. Also I'm not sure if mine was a dud or what, but pouring cold water into the reservoir didn't make ice cubes at all for at least an hour. On here it says 6-8 minutes. No where close for mine. This was also while inside air conditioning.
It is bulky, but the size is listed on here so has nothing to do with this review.
It only makes 8 ice cubes at a time.
The noise is a bit much for my liking, it's so loud, but I don't know if counter top ice machines make noise too. It also doesn't keep the ice cold so once it's full it shuts off, the ice melts, and it kicks back on over and over. As long as you stay on top of emptying it, you should be good.
The ice cubes come out "wet" so if you remove them and freeze, they'll all freeze together and you have to break apart later.
Pros: I like that you can choose large or small ice.
If your ice does melt, the water goes back to the reservoir.
The reservoir is a great size, you don't have to refill very often.
It makes a good amount of ice if you stay on it and keep removing the ice it makes.
I really like the convenience of the ice scoop, no dirty hands digging through the ice.
It measures 9.5 x 13 x 14 inches and is ready to use straight out of the box.
Personally I think if it was insulated more, and somehow made a bit quieter, it would be 5 stars. I would give it 3.5 right now, but we'll go with 4.
Absolutely love this ice maker!! I do not know what took us so long to buy one. We have two fridges in the house with ice makers and neither of them work!! We live in super hot Arizona and have been buying ice for several years. I am guessing we spend about $40 a month on ice for our family of 6. I am so happy with this little machine. It fits on my counter, it looks nice, it is fairly quiet, and it makes ice in two sizes FAST!! It is also super easy to fill. For those that are making ice ahead of time to store I recommend either putting the ice in a bag in your freezer until it refreezes and then you can break it up and add it to another container/bucket or just keep the ice in a bag so you can throw it on the ground to break it apart. When you get the ice out of the machine it is very wet and if you are storing in your freezer you will end up with a big block of ice. You will not have that problem if you are just taking the ice from the machine and putting it directly into your drinks. I like that it automatically stops running when the ice tray is full and as soon as some of the ice melts down a little or you take some of the ice out it will continue working right away. This is just a great product. Thank you hOme for making life easier, it really is the simple things! I am crossing my fingers that the constant use will not effect its performance.
I normally don’t review a product until after I had it a few days or weeks. In this case I am so impressed I am reviewing this ice maker after having it less than one day. However, I promise to update this review if it has some issues later. I ordered this ice maker on 29 January and got it early yesterday afternoon after only two days. I set it up and had my first ice cubes after only 60 minutes. I had to wait that long because the item was placed in my postal parcel locker on its side. Instructions say not to use it until 60 minutes to let the refrigeration fluid settle to the bottom. I used the time to wipe the inside lightly. The first ice was made, after only about 10 minutes but further ice was completed in about six minutes as they said. I flushed this first batch down the sink as a precaution since I wanted the mechanism to be cleaned too.
This morning I used filtered cold water from my refrigerator to make a whole tray of ice. These go into the freezer compartment for later use. I am hoping I can put them in the hopper of my refrigerator ice maker so I can dispense them direct from its built in storage tray. These ice cubes are much smaller than my refrigerator made them so I am not sure whether this will work well. I will update this if not.
I got this potable ice maker because every refrigerator I ever owned needed at least one ice maker replacement. The last time, the repair man put in a whole new unit instead of just replacing the motor. He said this was much cheaper and faster since this was a common problem so most manufactures design the entire unit to be replaced. This saves on labor time. The cost is still about $300 or more! Never again! I was also impressed by the reviews. The few negative reviews got replies from the manufacturer and it appears that most issues were resolved. Homelabs.com also provides a telephone that is answered by a human! Also live internet chat with a human! So far I have not used it.
Added 2 Feb 2018. One minor problem I noticed, as did one other reviewer. As the fresh ice cubes are dropped into the basket, they go through some of the water left in scoop that shoves them in the basket. You have to let them "dry" a little before putting them in your freezer but only if you are NOT going to use them immediately. Even then they are still soft and will stick to the other cubes when they are frozen again. I found you have to shake the container after you put them in your freezer compartment. Do this about 10 minutes later. Yes, maybe a pita for some people, but worth it if you enjoy gazing at your scotch with two beautiful ice cubes in it. Still a five star rating.
Added 29 Aug 2018. I just saw this same machine with another name on TV, HSN. Reminded me of my above review. Thought I would mention that this ice maker is still working flawlessly. I use it almost every weekend. Oh, the price on HSN price was $129.95, with free shipping.
Last summer the ice maker went out on our fridge, my hubby said he would get it fixed by this summer. Well, it did not happen due to other more important problems. Instead of complaining I bought this portable ice maker. I figured that if this machine could get us through the hottest part of this Arizona summer, then it should make a great addition to the bar we are planning on adding to our family room, eventually. We found that the ice maker does make good ice but we also learned that we need to start making lots of ice hours prior to the event in order to have plenty on hand. My son and I have been using the ice maker everyday since and not only has it been providing enough ice for us to enjoy our cold drinks all day long but we also get some ice that I put in a freezer bag for later use. I am very happy with my decision to purchase this unit.
Feature Product
- PORTABLE ICE POWER - This powerful ice maker creates delicious, chewable, bullet shaped ice up to 1.5 lbs at a time and up to 26 lbs of ice per day with its 2.2-liter water reservoir. Measures just 9.5 x 12.9 x 14" - an ideal choice for ice anytime, anywhere
- ICE CUBES DONE QUICK - Features small or medium size options for bullet shape ice, ready in just 6 to 8 minutes. The small ice cube bullets are smooth and cylinder-shaped to easily fit in water bottle openings, and the medium size is perfect for mixed drinks and more
- QUIET and ENERGY EFFICIENT - With a quiet compressor that requires low energy to cool, it's a tiny yet mighty addition to your bar or countertop (NOTE: Use ice shortly after making or store ice batches in freezer if not using right away)
- SMART DESIGN - A water reservoir sits below the ice basket and reuses water from the melted ice to make even more ice. Warning lights and an automatic shut off function are activated once the ice basket is full or when water needs to be refilled
- INCLUDES BASKET and ICE SCOOP - No installation required; just fill the water reservoir, plug it in and wait for the ice to form. This ETL Certified electric ice maker has an easy to use control panel and comes with a removable ice basket and scoop
Description
The hOme Portable Ice Maker is a sleek, high performance countertop ice making machine that produces 26 lbs of ice per day and stores up to 1.5 lbs of ice. In just 6 to 8 minutes, you’ll have beautiful, smooth, bullet-shaped ice cubes that make every drink a pleasure to enjoy! This modern ice maker automatically shuts off when ice is full; it’s simple to fill and drain; and it’s ready to use out of the box — no installation necessary. With a new, easy-to-use control panel, it’s is perfect for kitchens, recreational vehicles, boats, bars, backyards and more! Product Details & Features
- Ice maker size: 9.5 x 12.9 x 14 inches
- Water reservoir capacity: 2.2 liters / 0.58 gallons
- Ice production: 26 lbs of ice per day
- Ice storage: 1.5 lbs of ice
- Ice time: Ready in 6 - 8 minutes
- Power: 100W / 110V / 60Hz
- Smooth bullet-shaped ice cubes
- Auto shut off when ice is full
- Easy to fill and drain water quickly
- Simple-to-use control panel
- Comes with small ice scoop and removable ice basket
- Certifications: ETL, CE-EMC, CE-LVD, FDA, ROHS
We go through ice like crazy in the summertime. I LOVE having a steady supply of ice right at my fingertips. This icemaker fits easily beneath my kitchen counter and makes ice in 6 minutes. As long as I keep the reservoir filled with water, it faithfully keeps me in ice! It’s an attractive appliance and very intuitive to use. My only criticism is that the ice, once made, is a bit damp and the basket that holds the ice doesn’t drain the excess water very efficiently. I understand, though, that the machine has to use water to make the ice and so the presence of dampness on the ice is unavoidable. Basket drain design would help this problem for sure. For this reason, I give this icemaker 4 stars. I’m thrilled with it.
This is definitely my new favorite small appliance. My husband and I have discussed getting an ice machine for a couple of years and just never did it. Now that I have one I wished I had purchased it a couple years ago when we first talked about it. We currently have it set up on our counter and I find myself grabbing ice out of it even though we have an ice maker built into our refrigerator. It makes two different cube sizes and it really does only take 6 minutes. It only makes 9 cubes in those 6 minutes but that’s ok with us because that’s 9 cubes every 6-7 minutes so it all adds up quickly. The small sized cubes are small enough to fit into a plastic water bottle, so if you’re like me and like ice cold water this is awesome. Let’s face it, water bottles don’t stay cold that long and that’s half the reason they just end up being dumped so I call this a win. The reservoir that holds the water is directly below the basket the ice falls into so as the basket doesn't get emptied or the ice doesn't get used it does eventually start melting but it goes right into the holding tank and more ice is then made, genius! The original reason we wanted one was for our camper because we go through so many bags of ice for our cooler, this will pay for itself in a summer. Also, I’m horrible at remembering to fill an ice cube tray so we have ice for drinks when we’re camping so this will solve that problem too! As an added bonus that I didn’t even think about before we bought it was that it can be used during parties. We are having a cookout and we can easily set this on the table next to the drinks where it will continue to make as much ice as we need. I couldn’t be happier with this purchase and I will definitely be recommending it to others.
We did not realize how much smaller this ice maker is than our last one. We wanted to return it for a larger one, but ended up needing it right away so we used it. Unfortunately, it stopped working within a few weeks. I will come back and upgrade the stars depending on how things go with customer service regarding the warranty.
UPDATE: The customer service at hOmeLabs has BLOWN ME AWAY... and that is not easy to do! While I did not have a good experience with the ice machine we ordered, I would have ZERO HESITATION whatsoever to do business with them again, as their customer service is totally committed to making sure we have a good experience. I am upping my review to 5 stars because even if you do receive a random product that doesn't live up to expectations, I am confident they will make it right.
I am pleasantly surprised by how well and fast this little monster works! I makes 9 bullet shaped ices in 6 minutes as advertised. I would like to disagree that it is ready to use right out of the box. If you read the instructions first folks it states wash the tray and scoop in warm soapy water before using. Also if the machine has been in any other position than upright it will need an hour or so for the coolant to settle. Just like a full size freezer needs to be upright for some time before you plug it in. Those who did not read and follow the rules then had observed problems with the machine should blame themselves not the ice maker. I followed all instructions, that is why they are there in the box. Voila! Ice cubes galore. I have filled two ice buckets while cooking this afternoon. If you do not get them into the freezer quickly they do start to melt and then stick together but nothing that cannot be busted apart with the handle of a butter knife. All in all this summers ice tea and rum mixes will be fun! I like the larger ones better as they take longer to melt. But really there is not that much difference in size. I now need a bigger ice container for the freezer!
I've got nothing but love for this ice machine! It works beautifully. First off, I'm extremely impressed with the small footprint of the machine. It fits nicely on my countertop. It's somewhere in between the size of my coffee maker and breadmaker. I let my church borrow it this summer and they used it for their VBS. They use a ton of ice for that and it saved them a lot of money. It takes about six minutes per batch of ice. You just fill up the tank and let 'er rip. Once the ice drawer is full, it automatically stops producing ice which is a nice feature. You can easily load up a quart bag of ice for your freezer. The ice is soft and chewable. It has two sizes of cubes to choose from. It's a low energy machine meaning it won't hit your utility bill hard at all. I love having the convenience and the portability of this ice maker. It's high-quality and looks great! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one – it's a keeper!
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