Portable Ice Machine - yes or no ?

[Mamma_Eagle 1]

I saw this first mentioned in another thread that started with the price of ice at the Fort's machines.  We are relatively new (last 4 years) to RV camping and didn't even know such a contraption existed. 

 

Questions:

 

If we have a 40+ foot RV travel trailer with a Frig/freezer, is it worth getting the ice maker ?
We are a family of 5 with 3 growing, eating, munching, grazing, hungry teens.  Our freezer NEVER has enough room for ice trays or ice or I wouldn't even consider this machine.  But, now, we have to buy ice b/c all other space is full of food for the triplets' growing bodies.

What is the best one to get ?  I am doing this all on my own as I am considering this machine as a Christmas present for my husband.  We try to save money (as I'm sure most do) whenever possible and are not really into extravagance but it may end up being worth the money if we can eliminate buying ice.

 

Thanks!

Mitzi

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

We've been debating this for years, and I've almost bought one multiple times.

The thing that keeps me from doing it is that I hear the ice isn't that frozen and melts quickly.

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

I've also been debating this and for the same reason as Kelly I haven't bought one yet.  I'd hate to buy it and the ice be worthless, plus I think it would be more of a hassle for us on shorter trips.

 

BUT there is one for sale at our Sam's Club right now for $99, from what I've found that is crazy cheap, so I've been thinking about it again.  I think it is an Igloo brand but don't hold me to that.

 

WBI

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Ice at the Fort is the same price as what you pay at 7-11 or Hess Express.

 

$2.75 for a 10 lb bag at the Trading Post.  Or $2.00 for a 7 lb (actually larger) bag from the ice machines at the comfort stations.

 

How many days are you going to have to camp before you break even on a $100 ice maker?

 

Do like me- save your quarters from your change.  Use that to buy your ice. It seems like it's free then.

 

TCD

[BigTom 76]

My son has one he starts first thing when setting up. Has ice about 10-15 minutes later for a cold drink. He loves it.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

My son has one he starts first thing when setting up. Has ice about 10-15 minutes later for a cold drink. He loves it.

From what I've heard, they're great for that. They're not great for keeping a cooler full.

[Travisma 1,317]

Let me put my 2 cents in.

We bought a used Magic Chef off Craigslist for $60.

If you look at the different brands they are remarkably similar looking, a different color, a different button. Almost seems like the same company makes all of them and just puts different nameplates on.

My wife read a bunch of reviews about this one and the majority were positive, so we bought it.

It does start making cubes in about 15 to 20 minutes. The first batch is good for an already chilled drink, they are a little on the small and soft size.

The second batch is much better.

It'll make 20 to 25 pounds in 24 hours. We let it fill up before bed so we didn't hear it dumping at night.

We christened it over our weeks stay on 4th of July.

It worked great! Ours makes 3 sizes. Granted we only did the large, and they are no where near as big as a home ice maker and not as hard. They also have a hole down the middle.

We used them to add to our 2 main ice chests when the frozen bottles and food we had started to defrost. We also put it directly in drinks and in our drink ice chest.

It was very hot and humid that week, and we had to keep it outside under an awning. I imagine in cooler weather or inside an air conditioned trailer it would've been even better.

The bin it dumps in is semi insulated, so I would dump the cubes into an ice chest right away if we were around.

I was skeptical about getting it, but it really came in handy during our stay.

We didn't take it over Halloween since it was a quick trip and it was cooler weather.

So if you are looking at purchasing one, read reviews, take them with a grain of salt, and look on Craigslist.

PS, SAMs carries them also.

[Memphis 105]

Counter top ice makers are good for ice in drinks but not to put in the cooler.

 

I have a counter top ice maker we use often at home.  It's great for us because we have a door ice maker in our frig with a very limited holding capacity.  We use a lot of ice making sweet tea, soft drinks, mixed drinks and frozen drinks with a blender.  I like that I can turn on the counter top in the morning and I'll empty throughout the day putting the ice in the freezer and it will make about 25 lbs in a day. 

 

As far a camping goes I bring it on all but the hottest times of the year when we are drinking beer or soda out of the cooler.  It's great to just set it up and let it run at camp for mixed drinks.  I use homemade block ice from my deep freezer at home for the coolers.  If I keep the coolers out of the sun and load them with cold stuff I can go 6 to 8 days without needing more even in the summer.  

 

The ice maker ice is only 32 deg so it starts melting right away and it's shape makes it bulky and not very efficient for using in a cooler.  The ice at the fort is at least a solid cube with no holes so you can put more of it in a cooler.   

[Retired and Happy (Ken) 101]

We had one, but found we didn't use it much because of the size (storage space in the MH).  Some people who have them put the finished cubes in a real freezer to harden them more.  But the cubes do have a lot of air in them which contributes to them being soft....better for eating, but not for long lasting.

[weekender 5]

I will give you my opinion on this and you know what they say about opinions so take it for what it is worth. 

 

We have one of the Dometic portable ice makers, regular size, and in ideal conditions it can make up to 33# of ice per day.  In the summer however I know it does not make that much, but enough to keep our drinks in our cooler very cold.  We take it with us if we are camping for more than a couple of days as anything shorter we usually have room in our fridge for drinks and other food items.

 

As others have said the ice is not hard frozen like your freezer ice would be, but honestly neither are ice machine cubes.  Also the unit is not a freezer so any ice that sits in the basket in the unit will melt back into water if you do not dump it frequently.  With that we usually dump the basket every 2 - 3 hours otherwise the unit will sense that it is full and will stop making ice temporarily.   No big deal, but I want the ice so dump it when we are at the camper.

 

Now for the cost.  If you look for the deals you can usually get one of these for around $249.  While that will buy over 100 bags of ice (depending upon the cost) the unit is a convenience for us.  When I want ice I just make it and I do not have to go find an ice machine or to the camp store to buy ice depending upon where we are camping.  I will certainly have this unit with us over Thanksgiving and it will keep my 2 coolers full for the week.

 

Personally I love having the unit and could not see myself without it.  If you are considering buying one get a good one (Dometic) as we have had the cheap ones before and they just do not last if you are constantly using them.     

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Good to know that there's one that does the job.

[Beckers 1,136]

 recently purchased this unit. Our fridge has an ice maker in it but we don’t have a water line running too it. We used to just use trays since we don’t use ice daily (and the bin that would hold the ice takes up a ton of space). My mom likes to use her ice tea maker and using 2 trays it would take forever. So we decided to give this a try and just make ice when needed and possibly take it camping.

It weighs a lot, so that’s a negative. It only makes 9 “cubes” at a time and takes about 10 mins a cycle.  It doesn’t freeze them  hard,  so I end I putting them in my freezer to dry them and get a good solid freeze. 

 

Igloo ICE105 Counter Top Compact Ice Maker, Stainless https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K6K80JM?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

http://m.sears.com/whynter-12-pound-stainless-steel-built-in-ice/p-011V001898796000P

 

We got one of these awhile back on a really good sale and with points from Sears. The plan was/is to hook it up in the garage because we go through more ice then the ice maker in the fridge can keep up with. It's big and heavy to travel with all the time but if we were going to be somewhere for a week or more I'd probably take it. I have it set up to work with a regular rv water hose/garden hose and filter. It freezes the ice and keeps it frozen like a regular ice maker in your freezer. 

 

Looked at the ones like Becker's got but for wanting something for daily use at the house this worked better for us.

[Beckers 1,136]

The one I have is def not a heavy use. I run it for a few hours and have enough to fill a gallon sized ziplock bag or two. It works for parties where I just need a small ice bucket to stay filled. 

The one I have says it can keep the ice frozen for 24 hours depending on the air temp but I doubt it would last long in the heat. It also only holds 1.5 lbs of ice before you need to dump it.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Yeah I looked at those mainly because I wanted something that would be easy to take in the trailer but didn't think it would keep up with us around the house. 

[Discamper 394]

No the cost is to much to make ice that you will go through in about a hour. The Ice at the  Trading Post is much better Ice and last longer then the Ice you get at CS. When I camp I run to Publix about every 2 days and get a big bag 20 pounds of Ice. I put some in the freezer for mix drinks and the rest in the cooler for beer. Remember every you add to your RV is weight.

[Andrew Roberts 17]

we tried this   Killed two ice makers in about three years   they are not all that good the ice melts fast as it is not deep frozen and that just makes a watered down drink. they both also became very noisy and took up space

[keith_h 420]

A thing to keep in mind with these types of ice makers, not the one from Sears, is unlike the one in your freezer they will have a lot of moisture inside them. This means they will get moldy if not sanitized on a regular basis.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Then there are some that bring an ice maker like this..... (and a full size fridge)  This actually hooks up to a fresh water hose, and keeps the ice frozen. 

Yes, TJ, I'm talking to you :)

[Travisma 1,317]

22 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Then there are some that bring an ice maker like this..... (and a full size fridge)  This actually hooks up to a fresh water hose, and keeps the ice frozen. 

Yes, TJ, I'm talking to you :)

That's impressive

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We have a table top ice maker we originally bought for the camper - I don't know which one off the top of my head.  We go through a LOT of ice, and being at the Fort for 6 weeks this time we'd have been buying ice every few days (ugh).  We were also bringing a small freezer with us this time, so we knew we'd have plenty of freezer space, so we brought it.  Worked great!!  We pretty much left it plugged in whenever we were hanging out at the site and just kept throwing the cubes in a bag in the freezer to stock up.

I don't think I'd bring it with us for a weekend trip when buying a big bag of ice would do, but I would for a longer trip - especially when we're not paying extra for the electricity.

[Travisma 1,317]

We got a magic chef table top model off of Craig's list.

Most of the table top ones look and act the same.  I think one company makes all of them and puts different names and changes the light/button locations.

Like everyone else said the ice isn't real hard, but it can make over 20 lbs in 24 hours. Ours doesn't have a real insulated catch bin, so your best bet is to empty it into an ice chest every other cycle or so.

It's good for drinks and to supplement what you already have in your ice chests.  We've used in over the 4th of July for a week and it helped out quite a bit.