Countertop Ice Maker: Ice in 8 Minutes? 

I have this very ice maker. The first batch is always smaller because the water is either room temp or tap cold. As you make ice, and it melts, it chills the water and after awhile, the ice gets much larger because of the chilled water. If you want large ice to start, chill the water first so it's nice and cold to start.

If you asked me what was the best splurge I ever made it would be this ice maker. It's perfect for scooping out enough for one drink and ready to go again the next refill. I hated filling ice trays so much. This was a life changer! My family loves this so much I have bought multiple as presents!

I have owned three countertop ice makers, and one of them was this very model. I run the ice maker all day long and refill the water when I hear the pump "whine." Descaling it once a month keeps it free of slime and running well. Ice storage: Our fridge can dispense ice through the door, but it can't make it (that part is broken) so I just dump the ice maker's ice in the storage bin and dispense it from the fridge. Nice if you have this feature. One last thing, two years used daily is just about the life of these things. They aren't family heirlooms for sure.

They are great! I was skeptical at first but I am sold on these. Some tips: They all use the same internal parts with a different body, so find the lowest priced usually around $79 US. Use the scoop! Avoid using your hands on water or ice internally to prevent bacteria which can buildup. If you have a lot of sunlight where you are locating this device avoid the clear top units as sunlight will override the ice full sensor and cause it to keep making ice. (I cover mine in sunlight) I use one of these all day every day and they do the job. Highly recommend for remote rooms or small kitchens, dorm rooms etc..

I've had this Frigidaire model for a year with zero issues. Our freezer ice maker broke (Samsung) and the cost of this unit is cheaper than replacing the one in the freezer. Usually run it twice a week all day for a family of 4. I bought on Amazon for $79 and got the 3 year warranty for another $19 since they are known for breaking after a year or so of heavy use.

I have the costco model. I've never been happier in my life to have an ice maker. I have to go to the store and fill up 5 gallon jugs of water, because my well is all iron and can't afford a filtration for it, but it's worth getting clean water to drink. i'm very happy with this ice maker :) and yes all the ice cubes ARE wet when you put them in the freezer, they just had a bunch of water rain down on top them to make more ice cubes for you...get your aggressions out, put the ice cubes you just made, into a gallon zip lock bag and bang the crap out of them on the counter. easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Been using that type of ice maker for 5 years now (been through 3 of them) The "size" difference is time, the ice builds up on the posts for X amount of time and it's a bit shorter for small so they are slightly smaller diameter since less is formed in a shorter time. Also the first batch or two seem to take a little longer. What goes bad in these is 2 things, 1 is the infrared detector (tells if the basket is full) and second is the plastic gears that do the harvesting.

Love your videos and real life reviews, James!

We have the GE profile opal ice maker. It was quite a bit more expensive but it works very well and is quiet, makes a good amount of ice quickly and the cubes are the smaller nugget ice. The good ice as wifey says. We're happy with it.

Been using a counter-top ice maker like this for about 4 years now. We live in New Zealand where ice makers in fridges not commonplace. I'm an American and I really like ice in my drinks, but the Kiwis don't really use ice as much. Getting this ice maker has been fantastic. Much easier and faster than using ice trays. I make it, bag it, and put it in the freezer. I run it a couple times a week to keep the supply up. As you found, the basket will fill in about an hour. For me, checking it once an hour isn't bothersome. When you put the ice in the freezer they do tend to freeze together, but give the bag a whack on the counter and they separate just fine. Love this thing.

We do have 2 of these, we don't use them all the time but they are awesome to have when needed. Also, if you are someone who likes to eat ice, it makes soft cubes and they are easy to eat. They also melt kind of fast in drinks because they are a soft ice cube. 👋🤠

We have one of these in our house and it's pretty good! My favorite thing about it is the amount of ice it can produce if you are in need of some for later that day, like family coming by or a gathering. The worst part is that because the ice isn't completely frozen in an air controlled freezer while it's being made, when you do transfer the ice for later use, The ice really gets stuck to itself or even past batches if you keep it in a larger container or bin in the freezer. Sometimes I forget it's on while making the ice, it's so quiet!

I also have this machine. Icemaker in my fridge stopped working, called repairman, who was familiar with my brand and the icemaker woes. He told me $300 to get it going again. Spoke to friends about it, and within days one of them called me from Sam's club. They had this unit on sale, and he offered to get it if I wanted. After setup and first run I fell in love with it! It makes more ice than my fridge did. Best purchase in a long time! I run it for a day, put the ice in the freezer, and it lasts me 3 or 4 days before I need to run it again. The added bonus is how well it chills drinks because liquid surrounds one, AND goes into the center as well. If or when it breaks down I will buy another without hesitation!

Great review! I picked up the Frigidaire model at Costco for 79.00 last summer for use in a RV and it has worked perfectly. No more messing around with ice cube trays or having to worry about being out of ice while on the road. Reusable silicone storage bags work great for storing the ice and hold up to being abused when trying to break the frozen together cubes apart. I kept the original packaging for travel and so far the ice maker has withstood bouncing around in the back of the trailer for thousands of miles.

I have this same exact ice maker in my camper. I've been using it for over 2 years and still works great. I love ice in my drinks and it hasn't disappointed me yet.

Been wanting one of these machines for ever. TY for the great review.

I have one very similar to yours and I use it everyday in the summer. We are in winter right now so I haven't used it at all....They are a softer cube which is great, because I love to eat the ice and I don't have to worry about breaking a tooth.....Best "gadget" I have ever bought!👍👍

I have a model that looks very much like this one. Mine works the same and yes, the ice does stick together in the plastic bag. A nice little slap on a hard surface will loosen all of the cubes. After use put those cubes back in the freezer and you don't have to do the slap method again. I set mine up on a Sunday morning and it dumps ice every hour. About 3 bags are good for a week. That takes about 4 hours. By noon I'm done. Nice review.

I do HVAC/R in Vegas and for ice machine the first drop is always off never count the first drop of ice when starting for the first time. I think you should try both out to show what the difference is. Awesome job keep it up.

Another simple but an awesome Freakin Review! 👍

I have been interested in this appliance since I became aware of them last Thanksgiving. Thanks for this review...it just may make my shopping list for September!

I got one very similar (Avera Brand) for my office. It is great to have available ice in a place where you can't have even a mini-fridge, so many of my teammates are very grateful that I got one of those. It makes ice pretty fast, and each batch is more than enough to satisfy a personal glass of (water/ice tea/soda). It is not noisy and the capacity is sufficient to share ice with at least 8 people at the same time. Some tips: It is best to fill the machine with cold water, this helps in making ice quite faster The ice is wet, keep this in mind if you need to use the ice for anything apart from cooling a drink, like putting them in a bag for first aid. When you drain the leftover water, which you should to keep mold from growing, take care to not wet yourself, the water is cold.

We have a ice maker as well and we love ours. Pretty much the same story here. Wish it had an alarm for a full basket or it had a refrigerated storage area but over all very pleased.

I've bought one of those at Costco few months ago for $49.97 & I love it. Actually I've really bought 3 of them. One for the office and one for my manager. Of course I was reimbursed for 2 of them. All 3 are working great. Ice coffee in the office is such a nice treat right now with the 100 °F weather we are having. At home I just put it in the Ziploc bag one basketfull at the time & lay it flat in the freezer. That way it doesn't clump together. When I take the bag of ice out of the freezer & just tap it, the ice cubes are falling apart nicely.

I have this same model. It's been used used every single day since I got it a year ago. Love it.

Thanks for reviewing a countertop ice maker. I have a Crownful ice maker and I love ❤️ it. Mine doesn’t usually melt down, unless the power goes out and being in Florida, there are power outages due to storms. Not too bad though. I never have to put them in the freezer, as it goes right into my Yeti type cup and it lasts me all day. I love the size, too… as I often suck on the ice. Large ice cubes in trays don’t work well for me and there’s little room in my freezer to make ice.

When you put a batch in your freezer it turns into a clump because the cubes are wet and they all freeze together. That was my experience with this. Also it uses a lot of power (1800 Watts) on my model.

We had a model similar to this for several years. Worked great for a family of three and the issue of the ice melting isn't a big deal. There was pretty much always ice. The big issue we did run into is that the "ice full" sensor is just a light sensor across the top and if something gets stuck (or you put the basket in crooked) you can trip that sensor even with an empty tray. I did show up tot the machine a few times with an empty tray because of that. As for why we got rid of it (and upgraded to a bigger model) the unit just died. It was after several years of daily use, but it, it just died without warning. No noise, no indication anything was wrong. So be wary of that. All in all, very happy with it.

I have the exact same ice maker is you do. Well, at least it looks exactly the same but might have a different brand name. Anyway, we love it. It's great when we have a party because we just have to check the water level once and awhile and it just keeps making ice. You can also use it to fill up ice in a cooler or something if you started the day before and put the ice in the freezer right away. Like you noticed, the first batch is always smaller because it has to get warmed up, or maybe cool down, before it reaches Peak efficiency. I also paid right around a hundred bucks at Walmart a year or so ago. When I was researching these, I saw a lot of people say that they love taking them camping. If you get a site and that has an electrical hook-up, you can have unlimited ice for your beverage while sitting around a campfire or use it to replenish your cooler

I own the Frigidaire 40lbs countertop ice maker. It has been fantastic so far. We bought it a little over a year ago. It was our 3rd ice maker. The previous two were off brands on Amazon and both of those failed prematurely. Our Frigidaire shows no sign of slowing down. I did buy it from Walmart with a 3 year extended warranty because of my previous experiences. You definitely get what you pay for with these ice makers. My advice is to buy a reputable brand and make sure you spring for the extended warranty because they can definitely be finicky. So far I have been super pleased with our current machine.

I got this model at W-mart. Wasn't sure about it, but the price & size was right. Been using the heck out of it lately. It does the job, but you gotta be near to empty the basket periodically. We keep a refrigerated Brita filter pitcher to refill the reservoir.

Thanks for posting this review. I have had a similar model for nearly 2 years & it has been in constant use since I got it. I drink a lot from insulated cups/jugs (currenttly using a 320z COLDEST Water Bottle) and a basket of ice fills that once. I have had ZERO Issues with it. Although if I ever replace it, it will be a BIGGER model that allows a 5 gallon water bottle to fill the reservoir.

I had one of these used daily for 6 years until it gave up. Loved it. Yes the cubes melt, and yes they clump if you just dump them in the freezer after the basket is full. I just used a metal scoop to break them back into useable pieces. We lived in a rental home for those years and the provided fridge had no ice maker. On slow days we just wouldn’t even empty it, never more than a couple minutes from a new batch

Thanks for doing this review. I always wondered about these machines because I like ice in my drinks and I don't have an ice maker in my freezer. But I have a small kitchen and do I really want another machine in my kitchen, probably not. What I did not like about this machine is that it is not refrigerated and the cubes because they are hollow would melt really fast in a drink. It was kind of humorous to see the size difference of the small and large cubes (not much). I currently make ice with large sphere molds that I bought at Amazon. There were 6 in the set. I use 2 - 4 of the spheres on any given day. I just fill them up every night before I go to bed and I always have ice. Because they are large, they melt slowly. I put my drinks in an insulated tumbler. Simple and works for me. I know my Dad had an ice maker at his house, but because he lived alone after his wife passed away his ice maker would fill up and jam if he didn't use a lot of ice and he'd have to empty it out frequently and that was a downside. I'll stick with my simple large sphere program. lol! Who knows, maybe I'll order another set. 😃

We have this basic model. We love it. We run it when we have guests, and during the day we fill up zip lock bags. Way more convenient than ice trays.

I have exactly the very same model. You can speed up the process by using cold water to fill up the tank, and let the first two batches fall into the tank. It works nicely in warm weather.

Nice review. I have an ice maker similar to the one you have and its been great. 3 years old

I have the white one of these, slightly smaller and only one cube size. I always keep a 4-cup Ziploc container in my fridge of filtered water ready to make ice. The colder the water, the better. Since the first couple of runs are smaller, just dump them back in the water to get it colder. I’m in Minnesota and I’ve also found that my cubes are “beefier” in the winter because the house isn’t as warm.

I’m just amazed that it works! Cool!

I have had mine 3 years now and I love it. Cleaning it’s a pain in the arse though

We've had one a couple of years & love it. If we are not in the kitchen doing things we set an alarm to go empty the basket. We use filtered water. My only problem is keeping it clean.

Got this same ice maker, the biggest issue is cleaning it. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get this darn thing well cleaned. And after you've had it for a few years it gets gross. We don't use it anymore and just went back to ice cube trays.

Love my ice maker! Have had it for years.

We've used one just like this for years, mostly in the RV. With intermittent use we've had no problems. We've used it at home when the fridge icemaker was down. Would be interesting to see higher end models tested.

We have the similar type, and it works fantastically, I always start with ice cold water in the reservoir, then the first batch is fine, been going strong for years now, and we just use it for home, cheers from Melbourne Australia

Couldn't live without this exact ice maker. Best purchase. Don't regret it.

I've had this exact same ice maker in black for about 2 years now after the built in ice maker in my freezer broke, and your experience is about the same as mine, you have to remember to keep an eye on it, or the ice does melt. I've also noticed that if I keep it in my ice basket in my freezer to keep an ice pick handy to break it apart as they like to clump together, and they don't seem to last as long as the square cubes that come off in sheets I get from my standing larger under counter ice maker I have at work, but for the cost it works well enough. so 👍

I have this ice maker as well. The only issue you didn't talk about, is that the ice is very "wet" So if you put it in the freezer, the cubes freeze to each other. So putting them in a thick zip-lock type bag is probably the best idea, as you can just smack the bag against the counter, to break the ice back up. But if you put them in a container like Tupperware, be warned, when you go to get ice, the cubes WILL be frozen together. Part of the issue is that when it's done, it should stop the water, but keep chilling the ice to an even colder temperature, so the outer walls are totally solid, and not wet. Then the user can just hurry and put the cubes in the freezer before they start to melt, which would cause the ice to not freeze together.

I have the Magic Chef version that looks very similar, works great and fills the basket in under an hour.

We use to have one in our camper used it all the time loved it

I have an ice maker just like the one shown. When we were a family of 6 we kept running out of ice. This solved that problem. Now that there are only 4 of us, I don't use the ice maker daily. If I know we're having company or going to be needing ice for a trip, picnic, etc. I start making batches of ice and store them in freezer bags to use when we need it. I try to keep a couple of pounds of ice in the freezer for "just in case" and this ice maker works great for that. I know I could use ice trays in my freezer but I don't have room and always end up spilling half the water (LOL). I would recommend this ice maker to anyone.

I love mine! You can put them in the freezer, but lay them flat at first because they're still a bit wet. It is very quiet. I only know when it's running because I hear the ice crackling into the bin. It's a fun machine. I like it!

I have one of these and we love it so much. It’s amazing

I just bought mine and I absolutely love it ❤

I have this machine and love it. It might not be refrigerated but the ice is cold enough that you really don't loose any ice capacity. I think at most some will melt into half size. It's insulated enough that it always feels cool with a full ice tray.

I have one of these myself and love it. One thing I did notice with mine is the longer you run it at once, the more deformed the ice becomes (first run versus the fifth run in a row, for example). The flat end starts to do a curve and the ice also becomes less clear (if it was clear to start, your water doesn't seem to be very clear so this may not be a factor). I wonder if this also affects the S/L sizing, but I'm not sure since I've always just stuck with large sized cubes.

I have this one as well..got it when the built-in ice maker when out in 2020 and I couldn't get parts. I have found cleaning it is a pain in the butt. I also found that if I use water that is filtered it takes it longer to need cleaning. I'm using a Zero filter pitcher, that lives in the frige. I still prefer to make 3 rounds of ice and dump it back into the machine.. that way it is colder and makes the ice a bit thicker.. I put my ice in a zip lock as well before placing in the freezer.. as the ice is wet and will freeze together. normally by the time the basket is full, the ice in the freezer is solid.. so i just take the smooth side of a meat mallet and hit it to break it up.

We've had one just like this for a few months now since the ice maker in our fridge is bunk and it's been nice. While it would be nice to have a refrigerated unit, we use the ice often and it fills up quickly enough that it really isn't a problem.

I got one of these (a different brand) for my dad for Father's day this year and he loves it! My parents don't have a ice maker in their fridge and used to have to use ice trays. They use it everyday and even take it camping with them.

We have this exact model. Got it before the summer. It's been running continuously, and we drink more because of the ice. The good thing about the sensor is that as the ice melts it knows when to make more to replace it, so the lack of refrigeration is moot.

I have one similar to this. Probably one of THE best purchases I have ever made in my life. Its sooooooooooooooo good.

I bought one from Aldi, for under 100 bucks. Four years later, best investment I made. Mine comes with a cleaning cycle too.

I have this same machine. Got it for 59 bucks on Amazon in 2020. Use it weekly. Love it!

I have one of these and love it :D I've had mine for over a year and I use it every day.

Hi James I’vebeen waanting one of these GOOD JOB right on time 👍🏻

Hey my good friend has one of these! I love it cause of the texture of the ice but I’ve never been on the review side of it as it always ready upon my arrival. I’ll have to share this video with her.

My Mom has an Igloo brand one of these. Looks almost identical to the one in the vid. She's used it weekly for several years with no complaints.

This would come in handy for someone like me who's in an apartment and have the fridge that came with the apartment. It doesn't have an ice maker and I've always wished it did. I might look into one of these. Thanks for the review James.😊

I've got this same model. We run it once or twice a week, filling bags in the freezer. Very convenient.

4:45 this was my only complaint with ours. I didn’t realize at the start you had the exact same one we did. I love the machine but yeah it doesn’t make very small pellets.. lol

FYI...When it says "basket full" it simply means that the one side of the basket is above the ice full line. If you knock it down & close the lid, the light goes off & it will go back to filling the basket. If you close the lid, the ice stays cold enough to use without completely melting. Even if you pour ice into a bag immediately, it's going to freeze together turning into a lump. The large cubes lasts longer than the small cubes. The difference is in the thickness.

I have the same ice maker and i only use filter water in our ice maker. The first 3 months I used tap water and then began to notice a odd smell coming from it. There was green algae/mold growing at the bottom of the water tank. I took the advice of a friend and drained, poured super hot water with two drop of hydrogen peroxide and cleaned it really good. After that I only used filtered water from my Zero water filter reading 000 TDS and after 2 and half year NO MOLD OR ALGEA has come back, I still clean 4-6 month when I change my zero water filter. Also the ice way clear then when using regular tap water which make white cloudy ice cause of the impurity in the water .

I bought one of these on Amazon a few months ago. It's a different brand, and I think I got it on sale for like $80, but it looks almost exactly like yours. In fact, I think most of these are just about the same. I doubt if brand name makes much, if any, difference. I got similar results as you did, but I've never tried the small cubes even once. It doesn't bother me that there is no alarm or anything, because I don't use it to bag ice. I just use it to fill drinks, and once you fill them initially, it has no problem keeping up. I just ignore the Ice Full message, and eventually, enough ice melts that it makes a new batch to top it off again. Very convenient for my purposes. This was initially bought to replace a broken refrigerator ice maker, and I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Bought this Frigidaire icemaker from Walmart for $88 and also got a plan for three years for another $12 so for 100 bucks this things covered for three years and it makes enough ice and save me three dollars for a 20 pound bag which we were going through every week. Appreciate the video. Keep them coming.

I have this ice maker for 4 years now, it's used every single day!

MOAR OF THESE!! Been thinking about getting something like this as my fridge ice maker sucks. lol

Have a similar one, his review is spot on

I have owned several models of this type of ice maker. As the ice melts, it refills the reservoir to make more ice, so that’s not a huge problem. We live in AZ and our kids go through a ton of ice. This ran 24/7 for about one year. All of ours broke down after 1 year, so buy the extended warranty. Don’t have one anymore, but they were great for households with slow refrigerators.

We have one of these at work and I agree with the wet ice sticking together if you freeze it. I stopped using it because the ice melted too fast and it was awful to clean properly. My husband works on industrial ice makers and he was able to get me some cleaner that got the water scum out but I realized that it was just easier to use the ice maker in my freezor from home because the ice lasts all day.

We have a similar countertop ice maker. Love it and use it almost everyday. After almost two years it's starting to sound like maybe it's the beginning of the end. When that happens we will replace it. Honestly one of my favourite kitchen appliances after my toaster oven.

I've always had an automatic ice cube maker in ny freezer, and Id have to get this if I didn't have it. It seems like it would enable people to fill an entire cooler of ice if you prep several hours earlier, which would be unfeasible for if you just had ice trays. This is a really cool product, and gives people that have older appliances, or appliance restrictions a must-have feature for the fraction of the cost of an entire, new freezer with ice maker.

This machine is a standard that can have anyone's badge on it. I have two of them. One is in my RV where it stays. The other is 6 years old, performs well. Very happy with them.

We put cold water in ours to start and it makes larger cubes. My wife has ours on the counter next to the refrigerator and she dumps the ice into a bin in our freezer and once that bin is full she turns it off so we only run ours on and off during the week and we never run out of ice. Our, in fridge, ice maker works but it is the larger cubes and our son likes this kind of ice better. We also have a bullet ice maker for parties that works great too.

I had a cheap one at home, loved it. I wish I had one where Im at now.

I have a similar ice maker, a Silonn Ice Maker I got off amazon. Mostly the same specs, but I have timed mine and I get 4 baskets out of 2 quarts (1.9l) of water. Each basket takes about 45 minutes to be completely full. Mine I got on sale for about 70 bucks, I think its 90 now. So far, no real issues. So perhaps the variations are a brand isolated issue or just an average between makers.

Have a model from a different brand. I use mine at work so that I don't have to run to the office and mess with the fridge in there. First batch is always a let it melt and chill the water batch. Takes a little while to get a good amount of ice, but I love mine overall.

I’ve wanted one for a long time. I like using my freezer space for everything other than ice cubes/trays. Unfortunately, I don’t have extra counter space either. Lol

Bought one of these for my dad for Christmas years ago. He lives alone in an RV. He loves it an uses it consistently. No need to take the ice out. It makes ice faster than it melts. If you keep the water full, you will always have ice. No it does not have a separate refrigeration unit. The ice maker part an the ice cool it down over time.

Cool device, no pun intended 😊. Saw the price for the stainless model is 88 dlrs, a savings. I do remember the Frigidaire name from the 60s, i msy order one Good presentation as usual James

I see freakin reviews, I click immediately. I appreciate your content.

I have countertop, ice cube maker. The colder the water is when you put it in the reservoir the larger the first batch of ice cubes is going to be, and they won’t seem to melt as easily as when you use tapwater.

I have the Igloo model that I’ve used for 10+ years. It works well. I make the ice and then store it in my freezer as my freezer doesn’t t make ice. Being disabled this is an easier solution rather than ice trays. While using it, I harken back to the Ronco products, as you can set it and forget about it.

I have the Frigidaire Countertop Ice Maker and I love it and use it daily with my The Coldest Water 64oz bottle

I have a GE opal 2.0. I love it. Makes soft sonic style ice.

I have this model ice maker. It's not too much of a pain to check on it once in a while for me. If you keep checking it, emptying it, and refilling it, you can make a lot of ice. I just use it mainly for myself, so it makes enough. If you want one for parties, probably just spend more and get a bigger one.

I have had my ce maker for 16 years and it is awesome. It makes 12 cubes every 9 minutes. I let the first couple of batches fall back into the reservoir. It makes enough ice to fill the ice maker tray in my refrigerator in less than an hour. I like the round ice from the ice maker so I don't use the refrigerator ice maker.

i actually bought that exact ice maker and used distilled water in it and never had an issue. Does it say why and not to use distilled water? I loved it

If you have an rv this is a must! It pays for itself in a short while if you were buying bagged ice before!

I have the same model and I’m very happy. I make one batch of ice and that can last me up to week and a half, unless I have a party (for that I make 2 to 3 batches ahead of time).

Got this a couple years ago. We just keep it one, and scoop ice as need be. Summer mornings I fill the cat bowls with ice so as to keep a constant new addition of water. Cons, very soft ice. Easy to chew, but melts in seconds in a room temp drink. If you want your ice to cool your drink down you will have to put it into the freezer. If you are like me and chew ice - this is for you.