Looking For An Ice Maker

[cpttroy]

Wanting a built in ice maker for my sailboat, ant suggestions would be great.

[CaptTom]

Google countertop ice makers. Here's one on Amazon:



I never knew they existed until I saw someone posting about them here or on some other forum. Seems perfect for a boat

[Richard Kollmann]

U-line 110 0r 220 volt ice makers have been around for a long time 25 lbs of ice a day. Its improved performance is because the ice container heat exchanger is sealed against evaporator with a temperature conducting paste. Disadvantage is it uses quite a bit of daily amperage if run by a 12 volt inverter and needs power 24 hours per day.

[cabo_sailor]

I looked at one that appears remarkably like the photo. It was at Sam's Club. While examining it I saw a notice to not store ice in it. So perhaps power draw would be acceptable if you allow it to make a couple of batches, then store them in the freezer or fridge?

My main concern would be where to store the gizmo.

Rich


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[jeepbluetj]

Those little countertop units don't make massive amounts of ice. They do not keep the ice cold, only the icemaker part is refridgerated. Where the ice is stored the ice is only cold because it's ice. It melts back into the water reservoir.

That said, I use one in my RV when we have 110, 'cause cocktail ice is nice. Haven't tried it off of an inverter.

You could run it for an hour or so (4 cycles of ice) and then store the ice in a freezer. Or you could stick 4 ice trays in a freezer and get the same result.

[dohenyboy]

I have had the Mermaid ones. They tend to break down a lot


Why can't things remain where i carelessly left them?

[kellymj]

We have a large 3 year old Dometic countertop model that sits in the floor of our starboard shower, which we never use. You need to be able to drain the reservoir every so often to clean the unit and the drain in the shower makes it easy. We run the ice maker almost every day off the inverter, while the solar panels are doing there thing. We have to empty the ice bin a couple of times and we store the ice in our freezer. We go through about 3-4 pounds of ice a day, more if we have folks for sundowners or guests on board. I wish I could tell you how much it draws, but it really jumps around during its cycle, I would guesstimate that start up and the first fifteen minutes uses about 15-20 amps, and then after its cold and running, goes down to about 3 amps/hr. Emptying the ice is a "pita", but so much easier than carting a bag from shore. I love my ice machine.

Marty
S/V True Colors
Currently Tyrell Bay, Carriacou


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