AC Countertop Icemaker = happiness.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Rudderless

This one comes highly recommended:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...owledgepubc-20

I don't know the average draw, but it does spike up to 750W for a couple of seconds to get the ice off the cube maker.

I'm thinking more like this...

Isotherm White Ice Maker

180 watts peak but I imagine it only consumes about as much as our engel or built-in freezer.

[smacsdesign]

Jeez. So we have Hamilton Beach, NewAir and Igloo. Now I`m confluxed! Maybe they`re all good, eh? I`m sure there`s some opinions out there, right?

[Rudderless]

Originally Posted by smacsdesign

Jeez. So we have Hamilton Beach, NewAir and Igloo. Now I`m confluxed! Maybe they`re all good, eh? I`m sure there`s some opinions out there, right?

As always, it comes down to budget and preference. The one zboss posted looks great, but I don't think I'd ever spend that much on one. I don't know if I'd even buy the one I posted, but it's recommended by a guy named Steven Harris at solar1234.com and I've found him to be very knowledgeable about low consumption products. I've purchased several products that he recommends (after doing my own due diligence) and I've never been anything but thrilled.

As others have mentioned, $150ish isn't too much to spend for a small unit that can be stored. If you're not sure how useful an icemaker is, I'd buy the table-top version and then see if I wanted a built in.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Rudderless

As always, it comes down to budget and preference. The one zboss posted looks great, but I don't think I'd ever spend that much on one. I don't know if I'd even buy the one I posted, but it's recommended by a guy named Steven Harris at solar1234.com and I've found him to be very knowledgeable about low consumption products. I've purchased several products that he recommends (after doing my own due diligence) and I've never been anything but thrilled.

As others have mentioned, $150ish isn't too much to spend for a small unit that can be stored. If you're not sure how useful an icemaker is, I'd buy the table-top version and then see if I wanted a built in.

TO be clear, we had a Hamilton Beach counter top version and liked it a lot - so much so that we want a "real one". We have two in our vacation home and with lots of guests make easy work of cocktails.

But...the problems with these portable ice makers are several:

1) When its hot out, and they are exposed to warmer ambient temperatures, the ice takes much longer to make.
2) Again in warmer temps, the ice is not as hard.
3) The warmer temps require that you clean the device regularly, they tend to build up mold or mildew in areas not easily serviced.

[Rudderless]

Originally Posted by zboss

TO be clear, we had a Hamilton Beach counter top version and liked it a lot - so much so that we want a "real one". We have two in our vacation home and with lots of guests make easy work of cocktails.

But...the problems with these portable ice makers are several:

1) When its hot out, and they are exposed to warmer ambient temperatures, the ice takes much longer to make.
2) Again in warmer temps, the ice is not as hard.
3) The warmer temps require that you clean the device regularly, they tend to build up mold or mildew in areas not easily serviced.

Thanks for that info; it's great to hear real world experiences. I'm someone who prefers to buy it once and buy it right, but with something like this I'd take the same route as you; buy something cheaper to see if I want/need it first.

[marlinmike]

If you like soft ice then these ice makers are great, but don't count on them lasting more then a few years...

[a64pilot]

I plugged mine into a Watts up meter, it seemed to pull about 60W, or 5 amps from my bank ran through the inverter, about the same as my fridge.
I didn't notice any increase in power draw when it dropped the cubes, but logic is it has a resistance heater in those fingers, and it would pull more power for those few seconds.
In a few years, I'll pop another $100 for a new one if I have to, I think I paid about that much a couple of years ago.
I love the ice, it's crunchy and chewable like the ice you get in soft drinks at a fast find store, not the rock hard ice like comes out of my ice trays.
Wife and daughter think two things we have bought really made life better on the boat, the ice maker and a vacuum food storage "thing"

Opinions will vary of course.

[Meanderthal]

Originally Posted by Meanderthal

Apparently, I am a really nice person. I just loaned my Hamilton Beach icemaker to very cool people who just started a business doing 3-7 day trips in the vicinity of Resurrection Bay, AK on their steel boat Extraordinary. For those times on the first trip when they can't send the dinghy to chip some glacial ice 😉. Don't know what I'm going to do without it for a week....😣

They tried to order one on Amazon, but it was backordered 5 weeks. Tis the season!

Update: their clients LOVED the icemaker.

[LoudMusic]

QUESTION:

What's a solution for an electrically refrigerated drink dispenser that doesn't have to be lifted in and out of the fridge in order to fill a glass? Something like this, but refrigerated.

There's stuff like this but they have to run constantly and I've not found any that are reasonable small. Surely someone makes one that has good insulation and the refrigerator doesn't have to be on 24/7 to make it cold.

[Meanderthal]

I nosed around the internet, but haven't found a product fitting your criteria. Good luck and let me know if you find it!

[zboss]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

QUESTION:

What's a solution for an electrically refrigerated drink dispenser that doesn't have to be lifted in and out of the fridge in order to fill a glass? Something like this, but refrigerated.

There's stuff like this but they have to run constantly and I've not found any that are reasonable small. Surely someone makes one that has good insulation and the refrigerator doesn't have to be on 24/7 to make it cold.

You could run a coiled copper line through your fridge or an insulated one through your freezer. Like a beer jocky box. Alternative to the coil, you could use a cold plate.

Beer Jockey Box | Beer Cooling & Dispensing Equipment