This is my second ice maker. My first was an Ivation (the older model, not the terrible one they have available now). It worked great for about a year, then started making a horrible grinding noise right before it bit the dust.
This ice maker is very similar except the buttons are on the lid, instead of behind it on the actual machine. No big deal there.
I wish these machines included some kind of holder for the scoop. If you leave it inside where the ice drops, it will make the ice level higher and the machine will stop making ice (there's a sensor for when the tray is full). I put mine on top of the machine behind the lid, but it's not the best place for it.
Anyway, after reading many reviews for these machines, and after my first one kicked in under a year, I decided to get the warranty with this one. None of these machines really hold up to the test of time. They are plastic with moving parts. The warranty was $12 for 4 years, that's only $3 a year. Way better than trying to justify $100 per year just to have ice on demand.
I think it's worth shelling out a few extra bucks now for peace of mind later, because it will eventually break.
Good product, but make sure to clean it well before using, and throw away the first several batches of ice, or you might get sick using the first batch of ice made.
We previously had the Ivation IVA-ICEM15SIL ice maker, and it served us for two years of continuous operation before eventually suffering a mechanical failure that I was unable to fix. Instead of buying another Ivation, I went with this Costway model, hoping that it would be easier to clean than the Ivation was. See, in that ice maker, the whole upper-rear area where the ice cubes are formed was really gross and basically impossible to clean. I couldn't get any rags or brushes back there to wipe it, so there was always this gross red film in certain areas of the machine's insides.
Well I was very surprised to find that this Costway machine is nearly identical to the Ivation, not only in size and features, but also the problematic ice-making area. The only real difference between the two models is that the Ivation's controls are on the back of the main unit whereas the Costway's controls are on the lid. Everything else is the same. I don't know who's ripping off whom here, but it's kinda crazy. I took side-by-side pics of the two ice makers (the broken Ivation's on the left.)
I know I’m going to love this thing. My 20+ year old freezer’s automatic ice maker has been busted for years. I’ve had it with ice trays. After reading all the reviews, I decided to buy this and I’m so glad I did. First, it makes ice so quickly. Much quicker than an ice maker inside your refrigerator/freezer. I started at 11AM and by 4:30PM (5 ½ hours), I had filled two one-gallon freezer bags.
I’m lucky I’m retired and have the free time to deal with making large batches. Since today is my first day of operation, I hovered over it for the first set on the ‘large’ setting. It took just under 8 minutes for the first cubes to come out. There were 9 of them. I ate one (chewed, actually) and it tasted fine so I decided not to discard the first few batches as some recommend. Then I set my i-Phone timer for 40 minutes and then I would empty that batch of ice into a one-gallon freezer bag and put it in the freezer. After another 40 minutes, I’d grab the bag out of the freezer and use my wooden mallet/meat tenderizer and give the ice a few light taps with the flat side to separate the cubes that had frozen together. Then I’d dump my next batch of ice into the freezer bag and place it back into the freezer and repeat my steps every 40 minutes. It only took a little over 2 hours to completely fill a one-gallon freezer bag.
Throughout this whole process I kept refilling the water after two 40-minute batches and never let it get empty. Only once did the ‘Ice’ indicator come on because it got full (I let it go about 50 minutes or more). But, no problem. I just emptied the ice bucket and it resumed normally.
People talk about the ice being ‘wet ice’ and that it will melt inside the unit. Well, it is sort of wet but it never melted enough to reduce the size, not with me attending the process as I did. And it did not drip across my kitchen floor for the few steps it took to get the ice basket from the unit to my sink where I dumped the ice into the freezer bag.
The first picture I included shows how full the ice basket is after 40 minutes. The next shows the full 1-gallon freezer bag and the mallet I used to break up any ice that froze together. The next picture is of a single large cube next to a quarter. I don’t think I’ll be using the small size option as the large size suits my needs. I’m just really hoping for longevity because this is really one of my favorite kitchen appliances I’ve ever bought. It’s easy to operate. Just read and follow the directions and you’ll be fine.
It’s just after 5PM now. Time for bourbon and coke with my new ice.
Update: I didn't take this advice until a week after use, but it really does make a difference if you begin by filling with cold water from the refrigerator. I noticed it's making significantly more ice if I fill/refill with refrigerated water. So plan ahead and refrigerate the amount of water you plan to use overnight.
So far we are about a week into owning this ice maker. We've used it at home and now it resides on our sailboat and has been tirelessly making ice almost nonstop during the day. You have to understand that these icemakers make ice that is not extremely cold - probably around 26 degrees, so it is best to drop it into a freezer to get it down close to 0. I refer to it as "wet ice" although it's not really wet. It's just not as cold as ice that you would make in your freezer.
That said, it is what I expected and is working really well so far. One of the faster of its type.
Feature Product
- 【PORTABLE & COMPACT ICE MAKER】The portable and compact design make it possible to work anywhere, such as party, bars, gathering, RV, bars, cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants or kitchen.
- 【SAVE TIME AND EFFORT】With 1.5 lbs capacity of ice cube basket, you can make plenty of ice ahead of time to have on hand, and save space in your freezer for other food. You can create ready-to-serve ice in an average of 8 minutes.
- 【LARGE PRODUCTIVITY】The ice maker can continue to work without interruption during 24 hours. It is able to make up to 26lbs in 24 hours. And you'll never have to deal with pesky ice trays ever again.
- 【LIGHT INDICATOR】When the water level in the reservoir runs low, you'll be alerted to add more water. When the ice bucket is full, you'll be alerted to remove them so more ice could be created; CONTROL PANEL: Easy to use, visible function touch display setting.
- 【MODERN CHIC DESIGN】Able to see through window for process monitoring & ice level checking. Our ice maker with stylish design and neutral color fit with anywhere
Description
Description: The ice maker is perfect for party, gathering, RV, boat, or kitchen. The portable and compact design makes it convenient for you enjoy a cold, refreshing drink anywhere you go. And it saves time, power and space. This counter top ice machine features the compressor cooling system and operates at low noise. With it, you will enjoy your leisure time. Specification: Material: ABS Voltage/Frequency: 115V/60Hz the power wattage:100Wthe amps:3.15A Operating cycle: 6-13min Ice making capacity per cycle: 9pcs Weight of each ice: 7-9g Ice shape: bullet Ice capacity: 26.5lbs/24h Water tank capacity: 0.58gal Ice basket capacity: 1.5lbs Refrigerant: R134a 2.25oz/0.14 Product size: 9.5"x14.0"x12.9"(LXWXH) Net weight: 17.5lbs Package include: 1 X black ice maker 1 X Ice Scoop 1 X User Manual
I purchased the Costway Portable Electric Ice Maker because I now have limited room in my freezer and I use a LOT of ice. I wanted a way to make ice without having to store and empty ice cube trays. This unit does that nicely (although I did have to give up some counter space--but the trade off suited me).
When I set this up originally, I had it on a low shelf out of the way and away from the kitchen sink. Then I read the directions and found out they recommend you empty out the water reservoir every 24 hours (for food safety reasons). That's when I moved it to my counter--out of the way but not somewhere that I had to lift it from a bending position. (I'm 67 and pretty fit, but I certainly don't need to strain my back emptying this device.)
First impressions when I made my first batch of "large" cubes: 1. Hmmm...those (?) are the "large" cubes--I'd hate to see the small ones; 2. the bin is pretty small, so you'd need to empty it often as ice is making; 3. fills the bin fairly quickly--although I haven't timed it, but I managed to fill my 13" x 4" x 3.75" ice bin in a matter of a couple hours or so; 4. if you're not around to empty the bin when it fills, the ice starts melting--make ice while you're around to empty the bin frequently until you make the amount you need.
Second impressions: 1. This is a great unit for 1-2 people. Makes a decent amount of ice quickly without much hassle. But for a party? Just buy a bag or two of ice. 2. I really like the size of the cubes--and since they melt a bit and stick together until you break them apart, they sort of function like larger cubes; 3. Get yourself a quality ice pick. You'll need it. Even if you empty the bin as soon as the "Bin Full" light comes on, the wetness of the cubes will cause them to fuse together once in your freezer. I purchased the Anejo Deluxe 8" Ice Pick (3-prongs)--haven't received it but it got good reviews and I'm sure it will be fine. Beats using a 3-claw hammer! 4. When I've filled my freezer bin, I shut off the machine and don't turn it back on again until I need more ice. I make ice every other day now. 5. It's pretty quiet, no worse then what you hear when your automatic ice maker in your freezer dumps ice.
All in all, I really like this ice maker. It looks nice, serves my purposes and I would highly recommend it for 1-2 person use. I hope this review was helpful.
Thought ice would be larger, but I've found the large size is perfect. For best results, put cold water in the unit instead of room temperature. Be prepared for the 1st few cycles to not be as big or thick as the designed size. Take about 5 hours to fill an ice-cream bucket. Good for the value. Don't expect ice for a gathering readily made. Works best to store it up.. It doesn't make it that fast for constant use. Compared to a refrigerator IM, it is comparable bc it takes 90 mins to make one round of ~7 cubes and 24 hours to fill a bucket. These are smaller but same quality and time.
This machine works tirelessly over 16 hours a day and never falters. It is fantastic. My husband and I had surgery over the past two months and it has provided all the ice for our Polartec Ice therapy machine. It is efficient and works without a hitch. It is easy to use and has light prompts to let you know when to empty the ice or add water. Another plus is that we do not have an ice maker on our refrigerator due to the fact that we are on well water and our water is not chlorinated. We fill this machine with bottled water and it is wonderful for ice for drinks. This would be a great product to take on vacation or camping or anywhere you need ice. Love this product and can't say enough.
I bought this when the ice maker in my refrigerator stopped working. As luck would have it, the day after I ordered it, the ice maker in the refrigerator started working again. My feeling is, if it happened once, it could happen again so I’m keeping the countertop one. I had to make sure it worked so I followed the easy set-up instructions and decided to set up an ice challenge. I dumped the ice from the refrigerator and added water to the countertop ice maker and let the games begin.
The ice from the Costway has 2 sizes to choose from...I chose the large. Once it makes ice it has to be put right into your drink, freezer, container, whatever, when you hear it drop into the basket; it’s an ice maker not an ice maker/storage machine. Approximate every 10 minutes it dumps ice into the basket so it’s a fast process.
If you fill the reservoir to the water mark, in a couple of hours you’ll have 2 bowls like these in the photo full to the brim with ice.
I am recovering from knee surgery and I can't get up and go in the kitchen. So Now I have my own ice maker. I love this thing so much.
I make ice all day and now I am drinking a gallon of water a day. This is what my Doctors want me to do. But it doesnt feel like a hard task because the ice is so soft I eat half of it. I am very happy with this purchase.
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