This ice maker is just what I needed. Compact, low power consumption, makes plenty of ice for drinks. I had been buying a bag of ice every week or so for years, since my fridge doesn't have an ice maker, and I'm far to lazy to use ice trays. I had seen and used other peoples' portable ice makers before, but I never wanted to spend the money for one. This unit is made my Edgstar and is part of their Koldfront brand. On Edgestar's website it retails for over $200. So I think under $100 on Amazon is a great deal. It does exactly what it was described to do. There are a couple things you should know about these and other portable ice makers, though. The first couple of batches of ice will smaller, wetter, cubes. As the system continues to run, the refrigeration cycle gets to it's optimum pressures and temperatures, and it will make better, more solid, larger cubes of ice. I think the cold from the ice also chills the water in the basin allowing it to freeze better than room temp water. It does not keep the ice frozen forever once it's produced. The unit does not store the ice in a refrigerated chamber. It is well insulated, but don't turn the machine off and come back 2-3 hours later to have a glass of iced tea. Leave it on and as the ice melts, it will make a batch of ice about once an hour to keep the basket full. It makes one batch of ice every 6-7 minutes. So, in half an hour you have plenty for a couple 16oz tumblers of refreshing beverage. With a full basket (1.8 pounds) of ice, I can easily make drinks for me and my friends, and when it's time for round 2, it has topped up with fresh ice again. I turn it off at night, and turn it back on in the afternoon about a half hour before I want to use the ice. It uses such a small amount of power that I don't feel bad about leaving it on for several hours a day when I'm using ice. It draws 1.7 amps with the compressor and fan running and spikes to 2.1 amps for about 15-20 seconds while using the heating element to release the ice. I'll be doing a power usage test with my Kill A Watt, but in my estimation it uses about .7 kWh per day, using enough ice to keep it running periodically throughout the day. This company also makes a larger model which produces slightly more ice, but for my purposes, the smaller size, less weight (only 20 lbs) and 26 lbs per day production, this "cool" little guy does the trick! The small amount of power consumption is great for RV's running on solar or boondocking without a generator, or just anyone who's energy conscious. *Common sense tip! Clean it before using, especially if you get an "open box" unit like I did. It wasn't super dirty, just dusty and had a tiny spider in it.*
I wanted to post an actual timetable for what you can expect out of this machine. The description states "wait up to 15 minutes to enjoy fresh ice" which is incredibly misleading. The actual unit itself is great, which is why I am giving it 4 stars, but I am taking one off because they make it sound like you're going to have a bin full of ice in 15 minutes, but that is nowhere close to the truth. You'll have enough ice for a drink or two in that time, sure, but expect to run this machine for 6 hours non-stop if you need a gallon of ice.
Here is what you can expect ( tested on Large Ice setting ):
1. One complete cycle creates 1 quart ( 4 cups ) of ice
2. Once complete cycle takes just over 90 MINUTES to complete
3. There are 10 batches of ice per cycle, with each batch taking between 9-10 minutes.
I freaking love this ice machine! I love to eat ice (I know, bad habit), and this ice machine has been excellent for me. My entire family uses it and it has saved me time and money. Summer time is here and we plan on using this machine to keep our drinks cool.
Love this ice maker. We have lots of parties, and were spending too much on ice at the store. This definitely paid for itself after one summer full of pool parties. Keeps up well; we also run it for a couple days before a big party and stockpile ice in the freezer. Make little ice cones with long impressions in the middle. Not Sonic ice, but no big deal. It's frozen water, which is just perfect.
We absolutely love this ice maker. Besides making ice whenever you want, you can take it with you. It's great for a camper. I'm writing this review a full year after the purchase, and am now adding some comments since someone sent me a question about the machine. Yes, it does come with a scoop. Plus there is a nice plastic basket that catches the ice cubes. It's quick and efficient. You fill it with the water--you don't need a water source. I've been using bottled water because our tap water is from the well and has some calcium in it that could possibly accumulate on the mechanism and cause it not to work. I saw that a couple other people had complained that their unit quit working. I'm wondering if maybe they also have calcium in their water. Calcium builds up in faucets and pipes and is what caused the ice maker in our refrigerator to stop working. Rather than pay over $300 to fix the refrigerator's ice maker, we bought this one. We liked that we would be able to make it double for our camper as well as our house. This machine makes ice fairly quickly. NOBODY paid me to say these things. I bought it full price after researching several. Also, you can purchase an extended warranty on it if you want. We bought the extended warranty, but it doesn't look like we needed to. Over a year later, I'm very happy with this purchase. Plus the cool thing is if you Amazon Prime, the shipping's free.
Feature Product
- Convenient, compact design is ideal for use in small kitchens & other compact spaces like RVs, boats & more
- Produces 26 pounds of ice a day - never run to the store for a bag of ice again
- Offers an easy-to-use LED control panel that allows you to choose from 2 ice size settings
- Portable ice maker requires no installation - just plug in unit, add water & wait up to 15 minutes to enjoy fresh ice
- Flawless design boasts a excellent reputation, offering consistent & dependable ice production that has been continually perfected
Description
Be prepared for any party or gathering, planned or spur-of-the-moment; with this Compact Ice Maker. This Black ice maker is perfect for outdoor activities and entertaining. The portable design lets you enjoy a cold, refreshing drink anywhere you go. Featuring two cube sizes so you can customize your ice to your drink; and a 2.3 quart reservoir so you can make plenty of ice ahead of time to have on hand. Electronic controls with an LED indicator means you can put in your ice order with the touch of a button and be ready to serve soda, lemonade, cocktails and more.
I bought this as a gift for my Cycling Shop 3 Years Ago & its Still Going Strong! I stop in on my daily rides to refill my water bottles and its nice to have this cold ice to go in. This has worked perfectly for 3 years now and has no problems. I just wish it had a bigger ice receptacle to allow more ice to be stored. That is its only draw back. Great functionality for such an expensive device...
We live full-time in a camper & my neighbor had one of these. I love ice in my water all the time but hated having to use ice trays. The Igloo counter top ice maker is terrific & I always have ice available. It makes it quick & like the fact that you have your choice of 2 different size cubes. We leave ours plugged in outside in our screenroom & it never fails us.
Got this for our RV/trailer since the fridge freezer is so small. Makes Ice fairly quickly. Once you have the first batch made, if we just keep it going we can replenish drinks as fast as 4 people need ice. When used on the large cube setting, the cubes are a good size, with thick walls, so they don't melt too fast. The small cube setting gives thinner ice cubes and they melt faster, so we don;t really use that setting. Have also found it handy to have for the house as well since our ice maker recently broke.
Works great, probably not intended to be in a moving vehicle all the time, but does the job regardless !!
Only lasted about 3 months, not detracting a star because it MAY not be intended for use in a vehicle(?)
Vibration seems to do something real bad to these TYPES of ice makers...not just this brand !!
I received this rather slowly, but after unpacking it, it was extremely simple to operate. No guesswork, and only a few buttons.
I plugged it in, filled it with a couple of quarts of water, selected "small cubes" and in about 8 minutes the first batch was delivered, and every 8 minutes after that until the bin was full and "ice full" lit up on the control panel. I emptied the bin into a freezer container and pushed "start" again. It takes about an hour and a half to fill the bin, which is equal to about two ordinary ice cube trays, which is about a quart of water, so in three or four hours, you have the equivalent of four ice cube trays to store in your freezer.
The "large" ice cubes are about 50% bigger than the "small." Neither is really large, but I prefer the small size. They also work better in my ice crusher (Hamilton Beach) for even finer ice for super cold drinks.
This machine does make a little noise from the fan and when it empties the ice into the bin, but it's a kind of reminder that it's on, because if you leave it in the ice maker, it will melt and then make the same ice over and over, which is terribly wasteful. It is not a freezer. You have to get some plastic bins from 99 cent store or Walmart and then find a place in your freezer.
Occasionally the ice will be melted slightly, causing it to stick together in your plastic containers. If you get a metal ice scoop you can break the ice apart with that. Even better is a meat tenderizer mallet which will break it apart in just a couple of whacks.
This is small enough to fit in an out of the way place (on a low table, for instance) yet big enough and fast enough to make plenty of ice for everyday use or parties.
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