Community Forums

faye · 04-12-2011, 01:04 AM

Do any of you have a portable ice maker and does it work? I'm talking about the one that you pour the water in and it makes the ice. Thanks

Chickadee · 04-12-2011, 05:58 AM

faye:

FWIW...we recently had the ice maker inside our refrigerator (residential style) flood the floor of our motorhome underneath the refrig. After going on-line in the Newmar Owners forum here on iRV2, and discussing related issues there, ONE poster DID mention how disappointed they were with their portable ice maker which HAD somehow leaked water all over the floor of their rig. Just thought I'd mention it.

Steve

Ed & Karen · 04-12-2011, 06:12 AM

Bought one at target on sale for $99. Works great. Not freezer ice, has hole in center, but it is good for drinks and short stay in cooler.

DuaneMiller · 04-12-2011, 06:14 AM

We love ours... Whenever we get parked and set up, the ice maker gets set up and turned on outside underneath the awning. We keep it fed with water and have ice at our fingertips at all times.

If you are looking to purchase one, look around and shop for the best price. Even though they all have different names, I think at least, they are all made by the same company. We got ours from Kohls with a 30% off coupon...

HD4Mark · 04-12-2011, 06:27 AM

Ours is a Haier. Have had it for at least 3 years and wouldn't be without it. Had some minor problems that were easy to fix. One was simply that since we put it outside the MH some nights the ambient temp was so low it could not drop the (round with hole in middle) cubes. Just turned it off anywhere it would be that cold but we try to avoid being anywhere that cold

The cubes are not as solid as a real fridges ice maker but if you have freezer space just put a zip lock full in and they will firm up. After enough use a really small amount of bleach in the water then run through a few batches of ice will keep them tasting better. Ours pretty much all go in a cooler so I don't worry so much about that. It has never leaked but does have a drain plug to empty it while traveling.

BTW $99 is a good price if the bin is as large as ours.

The Bay I · 04-12-2011, 07:36 AM

We too have the portable ice maker, it is one of the first things I pack. I put in the basement storage with the TV and 110V plug. We love it and even use it at home to help with parties.

sniggles · 04-12-2011, 07:40 AM

We also have the ice maker. Works great so nice to have ice always on hand.

faye · 04-12-2011, 11:56 PM

thanks for all the replies, what brands do you have? i,m looking at one at targets for 109.00 , the one at camping world is more expensive, but don't know if brands make a difference. it looks like they may all hold about 10 lbs. and have different size cubes. thanks again

Clay L · 04-13-2011, 03:29 PM

Based on looking at a number of them and repairing several they seem to be built by the same Chinese factory. They private label for a bunch of companies and the differences seem to be cosmetic.
If mine dies I will go for price I think.

Note there is one brand made in the US (I think it is anyway) but it is much much more expensive and I suspect a much better machine but the price is $700 or higher. I can't remember the brand but someone posted it a while back. Maybe they will chime in with the brand.

bluepill · 04-13-2011, 03:46 PM

Use google to find the reviews on various sites (Amazon, etc.) Prices for the generic China unit seem to cluster in the $120 to $160 area.

toadswife · 04-13-2011, 03:50 PM

Excellent info, Im about to buy one soon too!

Paul R. Haller · 04-14-2011, 04:59 PM

I bought mine from camping world on a coupon special and with presidents club I think I paid 130$. I prefer the fridge with ice maker but my new coach didn't have that feature so I opted for this. I like it and it makes ice fast but if you store the ice in the icemaker bin it kind of melts and makes the cubes stick together. I empy the container after the ice is made and put it in the freezer. Hmmm, maybe I should just buy an ice maker for the rv freezer.
-Paul R. Haller-

DRosedale · 04-14-2011, 08:07 PM

We have had a portable ice maker for several years. It has never leaked or given us a bit of trouble. We make the ice, put it in zip lock bags and then into the freezer. Once we have several bags of ice, we unplug the ice maker and put it up. Normally one days worth of ice making will last several days.

We love ours and would not leave home without it.

diandtom · 04-14-2011, 08:19 PM

Love,love,love our ice maker! Don't remember the brand but we bought it a few years ago at Home Depot,it was what I requested for my birthday that year. I love to eat ice(know its not good on the teeth)but since its not hard/solid its good "eating" ice and,it also crushes easily too in the blender. We have ours in the basement,had a convenient outlet there to plug it in. We run it awhile and fill up zip lock bags too when I have extra room in the freezer.

Dianne