Portable Ice Maker recommendations?

IMHO buy whatever size/feature set meets your needs and budget. We love ours, saves a bundle on buying ice and saves trip time. Virtually all the icemakers are made by Heier (sp?) and one other mfg. and then labeled for the various other brands so they are basically all the same/similar mechanicals.

One thing not mentioned here yet. Before you buy, whichever one you choose, check the measurements and figure out where you plan to place it. Make sure there is enough room to open the lid to get water in and ice out. And will you have to store it someplace else when vehicle is moving. They are all relatively large and aren't light weights.

I also agree on buying the cheapest one. We got ours on sale for $90 from Wally World two years ago. If you can get it on sale buy the three year replacement warrantee when you do as the unit will probably fail within that time period. Based on past experience. ;-)

Got ours from Target. Emerson I think as well. Caught it on sale for around a hundred or so. Works great. Makes ice in about 10 minutes and just keeps on going. Love it.

How much ice can I expect a unit to make? We just got in from a water only CG and kept a cooler outside for drinks. 2 bags (10 lbs each) of that crappy hollow ice cost $9.50 Having our own ice maker would be awesome.

So how much ice can I expect? How much water does it hold and how much ice does it hold before needing to be emptied?

We bought a small ice maker from Camping World on sale for about $50. We simply love it. It makes ice in about 10 minutes. Holds about 3 larger bottles of bottled water, makes ice continuously, and shuts itself down (still holding ice) when the bin gets full.

Now we do not run out of ice for two people; and we don't have to go buy ice and watch it melt in a cooler.

Getting a SMALL ice maker is a good idea.

I have two of them. All metal construction. Inserts that divide the space into 12 equal squares and levers to release them. But I don't use them much. Ice cubes won't fit in the top of a beer can. :)

We have one and wouldn't be without it.
They appear to all be made by the same company in China and private labeled for a lot of companies that retail them.

Note that they do not refrigerate the ice. They are pretty well insulated though and do a pretty good job of holding the ice.
We put the ice in a bin in the freezer. That means the ice is about 5 degrees and it lasts longer in drinks.

Portable Ice Makers

As has already been stated, they are all made by the same Chinese company who will put any name wanted on them if you buy enough of them. When they work they are great, but when they don't there are no parts available for them, nor could I find anyone who would work on them. They all seem to last long enough to be out of warrenty. My advise, as a long term user of portable ice makers, is to buy the cheapest one you can find and consider it to be a disposable item. It will last a year or two then buy another one. But, in that time, it will pump out ice like there is no tomorrow as long as you keep the reservoir full of water. Because the holding bin is not refrigerated, the ice will be soft. Dump it in a container and put it in the frig. These machines will easily make all the ice the average family will need in a day.
Big bob

I bought mine from Walmart online and it was great until a couple of days ago. It's Igloo brand but really made by Curtis. Model 102C. It is now saying Out of water, and Ice full which neither is true. I called Curtis twice and they are from India and hard to understand! Anyway I am supposed to ship it back. It's gonna cost about $50 shipping so I guess I will try and troubleshoot this thing myself and chunk in the trash if I can't make it work. It was great while it lasted. :(

blantonmr wrote:
I bought mine from Walmart online and it was great until a couple of days ago. It's Igloo brand but really made by Curtis. Model 102C. It is now saying Out of water, and Ice full which neither is true. I called Curtis twice and they are from India and hard to understand! Anyway I am supposed to ship it back. It's gonna cost about $50 shipping so I guess I will try and troubleshoot this thing myself and chunk in the trash if I can't make it work. It was great while it lasted. :(

Just take it back to Walley World to the return department. They will give you a refund.

My Daughter used to work in returns, they took back used diapers. No joke!