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Yes it is pretty much impossible to prevent mold in every single ice maker. The home ones are especially bad because most people don’t have regular shift duties that have clean it daily/weekly/monthly etc. Most of he time people don’t actually see behind the ice dispenser which when it’s in your kitchen is hard not to see.
We’ve had a Marvel under counter clear ice maker for over 10 years; I clean it out periodically but it has never been moldy.
Like with the OP, one of the best purchases we’ve made.
Moved into an apartment once with a newer fridge and flipped on the ice maker. The next day, a whole bunch of mold encased in ice was waiting.
I'll stick with trays.
Lmao, even with regular shift duties, those machines weren't being cleaned properly. You have to literally dismantle them and take them apart to clean them properly.
I have the exact model pictured in OPs picture, is doing a daily/every other day bleach with once a month vinegar using the programmed cleaning not good enough? I've had mine for a couple months and haven't noticed anything gross, although I haven't taken anything apart. I am religious about using the self cleaning, but now you have me concerned.
I also have this exact model and I’m on my second unit. It will get mold if you are not very on top of it. From the sounds of it you are hyper hyper on top of it so I’m sure you are fine. However, from my understanding majority of ice maker molds is harmless it is just “gross”.
Correct- someone who works in the commercial kitchen service - ice makers are very gross when not properly cleaned and sanitized. It's shocking how gross these ice bins get and even more shocking how many go without proper maintenance. Don't even get me started on the water filters lol.
That is one of the first things reputable health departments (location dependent) check in a restaurant when doing their inspection. Quality restaurants, or bosses who don’t want to get shut down or dinged, will clean this regularly.
In California, Yelp posts the most recent health inspection report for restaurants so consumers can see what the establishment was dinged for.
Zero water filters do a good job, but after experimenting, I switched to using bottled spring water ($1.39/gal) and can tell the difference. Yea, most tap water don’t give you the clear ice. I also used RO, but didn’t notice a difference between it and spring water.
I was about to say… I’ve got the Opal as well and have never seen anything either. The sanitizing process sure isn’t the most fun thing in the world but the ice is absolutely amazing!
Ours keeps ours cold, but it's impossible to clean. Prepare for once a month to get out a screw driver, disassemble and wipe with vinegar. I'm not sure anymore an hour of cleaning once a month justifies these.
Agree! We had a different brand of ice maker. They get gross.
The cleaning of it was... not fun. And was ultimately what led me to toss it out. I could never really get it entirely clean. And it wasn't like I didn't try.
I would always find black dots inside even after cleaning.
It did make me wonder a LOT more about commercial ice makers and how often they get cleaned and their method of cleaning though.
That’s Houston heritage right there. Fun fact: good old Marvin Zindler there helped shut down a brothel in a small town and got into a fight with the town’s sheriff who must not have been very happy at its closure.
I'm pretty confident more than half of Keurig owners have never properly disassembled (not using tools) their machine to give it a proper clean near the interior overflow reservoir and gaskets.
Shudders...
Yup, that's why we stopped using ours. Impossible to clean and ours didn't keep the ice frozen so the entire cycle of melted to ice made a significant impact on our power bill.
Assuming this will for for this machine (we bought the Opal and regret nothing), a tip is to use "drinking water" from the grocery store...We use Great Value drinking water from Walmart, and really only need to clean it when we feel bad about not cleaning it for so long. Went over a full year before I did it because I had realized I never cleaned it. They just have to move it over to the sink and run it through a few cycles with some vinegar in there and a few rinses and you're good to go. Again, this is assuming this machine cleaning recommendations are similar to the GE Opal...
It’s kind of funny, I am selling my older Frigidaire nugget ice maker and on the box it touts as a feature that the ice in the basket will melt and then go back into the machine to become ice again.
Good choice. We had the non nugget Frigidaire and returned it to Costco after less than a month. Even if you're fairly prompt about emptying the bin into the freezer, they still have enough surface mositure to all stick together.
My wife and I got into a huge argument over this purchase, as we already have an ice maker. I gave up, and she bought it. It's on our kitchen counter now, and it's loud AF and runs constantly (it makes ice, then the ice melts, and then it remakes the ice again). The ice is nice but she drinks from a straw 99.9% of the time....
There's a non-zero chance that this reddit comment leads to a fascinating story about a woman getting caught leading a double life, married to two men. And there's a 100% chance I'll watch that documentary.
The whole point of nugget ice is that it has a soft and crunchy texture you pay a premium for because it can’t stay frozen. If you use a straw there’s no discernible difference between this and regular ice.
Yeah it does technically cool faster but it also melts faster too so pros and cons. We have a GE Opal 2.0 that I got for around this same price. It can start making ice in like 15 minutes which is great for revving up before making cocktails.
If you’re just going to drink everything through a straw the the type of ice you have doesn’t really matter. Most people like this type of ice because it’s chewable-ish.
Agreed. Gotta pick your battles, and I will save mine for something more important to me, like a damn meat grinder that I've been putting off because it "takes up too much space in the kitchen" lol.
The steel version of the grinder is super high quality, and I love it! The plastic version…. Not so much, unless you like plastic shavings in your grind.
I just bought the tiltable mixer that is powered by my grinder and can do 25lbs at a time. Neither it, the grinder or the stuffer sit on the counter all the time; they are all too big for that and it's not like I use them weekly.
If you've got storage space for them when they aren't being used, the convincing may be a whole lot easier.
My parents got one because my mom really likes store bought ice. It’s not as much the texture as the flavor compared to the tap water ice. It’s pretty subtle, but I would agree it tastes better assuming you use se generic brand purified water or whatever. But they’ll just use it once every few week and put each batch in a big bag to put in the freezer. Why doesn’t your wife just do that, or is there no freezer space?
I do this once a week! It’s kind of a hassle because both places are out of the way for me but man, it’s totally worth it. $2 bucks for the good ice and I don’t have to worry about refilling the ice trays.
Does it require as much maintenance as the Opal? My $600 Opal gave out after a few years -- I suspect because I was terrible at keeping up with the constant maintenance needs
For $200 I'd love to get back up and running with nugget ice
We had an Opal and did regular cleaning and maintenance, and it died after a few years. My very handy husband did an autopsy and the part that broke absolutely should not have; they are just not built to last and are exceptionally difficult to clean well. We got this same Frigidaire a while ago and it has been easy to maintain and clean, hasn't needed any repairs and does exactly what it's supposed to do. Worth the $200 in our opinion.
Same. Our Opal crapped out after less than 6 months. I bought a $100 nugget ice maker on Amazon and that was mold city. I finally tried this Frigidaire one and it's been so much better than any of the ones before.
I’ve had the Opal. Sent it in for a warranty exchange after the yellow light fiasco. Then with a refurbished unit we said we will only use distilled water and cleaned it every month with vinegar letting it sit. Then it had the yellow ring problem again. Tried everything. Opal sent a brand new unit. We took care of this again…being even more meticulous. It broke again within 3 months.
Bought the Frigidaire one and never looked back. Opal is in the garage…sometime I’m going to leave a solution in there for a few days at a time to dry to revive it. I cannot believe the issues with it.
Mainly it’s a mode that says you need to “descale” or clean the ice maker however it’s impossible to descale. This still happens with only distilled water.
It reminds me of the red ring of death issue with Xbox 360. You’re eventually going to get it no matter what.
Dang…I have an original Opal (first build kickstarter) still going strong after 8 or so years of constant use. In that time I’ve only fully disassembled to clean twice. Otherwise vinegar cycles every month or so with a bleach cycles every couple months. I have hard water where I’m at too. Never have had an issue.
I've had an Opal for about 2.5 years and have only cleaned it twice. I use only "drinking water" that I buy from the store though, I've never put tap water in there. Machine is clean as a whistle, unless I'm just not looking in the right places lol
To everyone saying about it thawing, a thought. Whenever it dispenses the ice, put it in a zipper bag or pitcher or something, and put that in the freezer. Then unplug when you have enough ice. You shouldn't have to let it run all the time, the main body isn't meant to keep it frozen.
You either have to let the ice build up in the bin or you need to constantly empty (every 5 min) the bin into the bag. Either way, there is so much melted water and half melted ice in the bin that it will freeze into huge chunks in the freezer.
Running a budget ice maker all day is gonna break it down quick. People have unrealistic expectations. It’s not that hard to let it build up some ice for every 20-30 min and dump it in the fridge a couple times, then shut it off for a few hours. Break up the ice and use it.
I think this is actually how people are meant to use these countertop ice machines - it says to place the ice in the freezer in the instruction manual. However, we’ve been trying this, but the ice freezes together in one giant solid mass in the freezer.
I have the cheaper Frigidaire one that dispenses into a bucket, and I've found it doesn't get moldy if you keep it full and running. The internal temperature stays on the colder side (the water reservoir is 40°F in a warm house right now) if it's regularly emptied and filled, and I haven't seen a mold yet (2 years, 2 vinegar cleaning cycles). I worry that unplugging it will cause the moisture to get into the danger zone and cause a bloom.
I had a roommate unplug a mini fridge for a month since no one was using it, and it didn't take long for it to look like a mold's paradise.
I don't have a fridge ice maker, and I have an insatiable craving for icy drinks, so my use case might be best case scenario.
i didnt realize it thawed. im now very less likely to purchase this then. my ex's family had one built into their cabinets and it kept the ice frozen in a huge chest 24/7. filled it up til it was full then stopped making it. i figured this would be like that but now that I know it isn't, its not worth $200 at all lol
I got this as well and love the ice but agree with others, IT IS LOUD. And it runs like 70%of the day. We had to put it in our garage because it's so loud. But, it's pretty fast at making ice and so far cleaning hasn't been too bad. The instructions recommend running water with a little bleach through the clean cycle once a week. So far no problems.
We had this problem after the first 24 hours with our first one. Returned it to Costco and took the chance of getting a second one - figured if it went crazy on us again would return and not rebuy.
Haven’t had any issues with the second one screaming at us like it was haunted, so I think the first was just defective.
honestly, you are right. PLUS these ice machines break ALL THE TIME. I bought a Houdini Sphere ice tray with 4 spheres and it works FANTASTIC and it doesnt water down the beverage as much as pebble ice.
At the same dollar store you get a Tupperware thing and you fill an ice tray, make ice, dump in tupper, refill ice tray, repeat.
Then you always have ice
These all eventually wind up with black mold. I had several GE opal and literally ran chlorine through them and even then it would wind up with mold. I was religious in how I would sanitize them.
The way they are designed the heat exhaust is positioned directly over the water reservoir. It's extremely tough to disassemble in order to sterilize well. Costco originally sold the GE Opal and I definitely used the return policy.
Good luck.
Costco is literally the only place I would ever advise someone to buy a countertop ice maker. The technology is just not there yet for these bad boys to run 24/7 which is how 90% of people want to use them. They have crazy failure rates as I have experienced. Made a crazy grinding noise and stopped working. Fridgidaire wanted me to ship it back at my expense when it died. Would have cost me a fortune since they are pretty much 50 pounds so I just returned and bought a new one. At the time it was going for like $340 which would have sucked to just eat if I couldn’t return. New unit is trucking along but is easily 3-4 times louder then my last unit. Expect it to die soonish so I guess I’ll just rinse and repeat. Hate “abusing” the return policy on this but these things are way too pricy to die in less than a year. Also Fridgidaire just white labels these and the company that manufacturers them was a nightmare to deal with for them to just say ship it back and we’ll see what we find.
This is not return abuse at all.
Every one of those returns results in Costco contacting the company, telling them they owe them the price of the unit AND a disposal fee. If Costco paid $150 for it, the return will cost the mfg $160.
Eh, there’s lots of products that can handle wear of use after a few years. Patio umbrellas, baking tools, etc. Arguably, using something until you’ve worn it out and the returning it is abuse.
But alas, Costco will take stuff back even if you have unrealistic expectations and don’t research what budget ice makers are like.
I’ve had the Opal for years. Some thoughts:
Like any other appliance, especially those involving water, there are maintenance chores.
For mine, maintenance involves running a cycle with bleach-water, flushing it, and wiping down inside and out. It requires pressing a button once and flipping a switch. It’s a lot easier to properly maintain than the ice maker in my refrigerator.
If you use filtered water from a fridge dispenser, filter pitcher, or similar, you won’t have much buildup. I have never had mold. I also suggest ensuring there’s ample clearance on both sides: there’s air intake and exhaust, and blocking those will surely kill it.
It runs in cycles as the ice does melt and is refrozen. It consumes around 200W for 20-30 minutes per freeze cycle, so it’s not all that bad.
I would not recommend these machines if you want maintenance-free operation.
Have this and an opal. Hands down the ice in the opal is better. This ice this makes is harder and it makes a massive hard ball of ice in the container when full. I hate that you have to refill this thing constantly. Opal has a larger separate side container. This machine is WAY louder than the opal. On the flip side, I’m on my second opal In the same span as my one Frigidaire. For 200 bucks I would say it’s definitely a value. If you want the best ice spend the extra for the opal.
Same. The water where I live tastes like frog water. This thing is a game changer since I don’t dare use the icemaker in my freezer and have a dedicated water cooler already. I run mine with about a liter of water everyday after work. Take that ice and throw it in a ziplock in the freezer for about 20 mins, take it out and whack it on the counter to break it up, then dump into the regular ice tray in the freezer. This way I don’t have to leave it running all day and still get a full tray of ice daily.
Good choice. The ge is a POS. On paper is great. It is actually great when it works... But mine lasted about 1 year. They replaced it under warranty and the refurbished unit lasted 6 months.
Wouldn't recommend.
We got one for downstairs where the extra fridge isn't hooked up to a water line. So far we used it to fill Ziploc bags of ice and keep in freezer. Worked great for a party. And the kids snow cone machine.
We bought it in May. Used it for a couple days to fill bags for the party. Used it again after the party. Now it's just taking up counter space.
We will probably have to fire it up to refill bags this or next week.
My brother in law is a vendor for an upscale bridal registry firm and was gifted one of these about three years ago.
It's been gathering dust in theor garage for about a year now. Their main issue with it was how loud the machine was which kept freaking out their dog, but they also noticed mold forming around the tank which wasn't exactly easy to clean.
I keep trying to convince my mom to get one kus my dad's always complaining about not enught ice in our fridges ice maker but she's always like we don't have the counter space but I know my dad would love an ice maker
This this is the absolute life saver. My wife and kids use it NON-STOP! This allows me to fill up my water with ice in the morning out of our freezer. It’s a win-win. Best money I’ve spent at Costco in years.
i got one on amazon that has been wonderful. but i do need to clean it. i went through three of the frigidaire bullet type ice makers because they get grody.
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are there any problems with mold developing where it can't be easily cleaned?
I had a GE countertop one. It was a nightmare to clean the mold.
That’s why we leave the mold. Gives it a little extra pizzazz like some good cheese.
You work at my local Wendy’s?
He works out of the dumpster
I work behind the dumpster and have never seen him around.
Me and the rat gang work under the dumpster and have never seen either of these wise guys around.
Ohh u must be the midnight chicken I keep hearing go "gluc gluc"
facts
Yes it is pretty much impossible to prevent mold in every single ice maker. The home ones are especially bad because most people don’t have regular shift duties that have clean it daily/weekly/monthly etc. Most of he time people don’t actually see behind the ice dispenser which when it’s in your kitchen is hard not to see.
The best solution would probably be one that stays chilled 24/7 like in the fridge. Mold loves ambient temperature
We’ve had a Marvel under counter clear ice maker for over 10 years; I clean it out periodically but it has never been moldy. Like with the OP, one of the best purchases we’ve made.
Moved into an apartment once with a newer fridge and flipped on the ice maker. The next day, a whole bunch of mold encased in ice was waiting. I'll stick with trays.
Yeah, I saw a car wreck once, so now I walk everywhere.
Fair. I also rarely use ice, so it wasn't a big deal.
Lmao, even with regular shift duties, those machines weren't being cleaned properly. You have to literally dismantle them and take them apart to clean them properly.
I have the exact model pictured in OPs picture, is doing a daily/every other day bleach with once a month vinegar using the programmed cleaning not good enough? I've had mine for a couple months and haven't noticed anything gross, although I haven't taken anything apart. I am religious about using the self cleaning, but now you have me concerned.
I also have this exact model and I’m on my second unit. It will get mold if you are not very on top of it. From the sounds of it you are hyper hyper on top of it so I’m sure you are fine. However, from my understanding majority of ice maker molds is harmless it is just “gross”.
These are terrible if your not putting the correct water in and constantly cleaning it. Its not worth it
Do you have to use sterilized or distilled water or something?
Ya distilled or RODI.
This one has a self cleaning function, you can run bleach or vinegar solution through it and it will dump it out into a bucket.
Just imagine what the restaurant ice makers look like, I bet they are full of mold.
Correct- someone who works in the commercial kitchen service - ice makers are very gross when not properly cleaned and sanitized. It's shocking how gross these ice bins get and even more shocking how many go without proper maintenance. Don't even get me started on the water filters lol.
That is one of the first things reputable health departments (location dependent) check in a restaurant when doing their inspection. Quality restaurants, or bosses who don’t want to get shut down or dinged, will clean this regularly. In California, Yelp posts the most recent health inspection report for restaurants so consumers can see what the establishment was dinged for.
They get inspected by local Health Department usually at least once per year.
They come twice a year in Florida
I usually clean mine with vinegar to prevent mold.
I use only distilled water in mine
Do you not use a lot of ice? Or do you make your own distilled water? We would need to buy a LOT of distilled water to do that.
Zero water filters do a good job, but after experimenting, I switched to using bottled spring water ($1.39/gal) and can tell the difference. Yea, most tap water don’t give you the clear ice. I also used RO, but didn’t notice a difference between it and spring water.
No, not that much. Have tried looking into distilled refilling stations but they don’t seem to exist.
There’s a process to clean these things and we’ve never seen anything remotely close to mold on our GE Opal
I was about to say… I’ve got the Opal as well and have never seen anything either. The sanitizing process sure isn’t the most fun thing in the world but the ice is absolutely amazing!
wish these ice makers would keep the ice cold only thing keeping me from buying one.
Ours keeps ours cold, but it's impossible to clean. Prepare for once a month to get out a screw driver, disassemble and wipe with vinegar. I'm not sure anymore an hour of cleaning once a month justifies these.
...."And I'm out"
Do you get ice at restaurants? They never get cleaned so you could just do that
I actually request "no ice" so I can get more of the drink in my cup :) :) :)
Just checking, I feel like I can’t be the only one who saw the (taps forehead meme) in my head when reading this.
I’d rather fill trays to shove in the freezer than use a screwdriver to disassemble and clean it once a month.
Agree! We had a different brand of ice maker. They get gross. The cleaning of it was... not fun. And was ultimately what led me to toss it out. I could never really get it entirely clean. And it wasn't like I didn't try. I would always find black dots inside even after cleaning. It did make me wonder a LOT more about commercial ice makers and how often they get cleaned and their method of cleaning though.
I've seen posts showing the inside of them at fast food restaurants.... It's best you don't Google that...
Pink slime is like seasoning for sprite
Sliiiiime in the ice machine https://youtu.be/wUqlbjxznZA?si=apdTDPyDbqrOtM_2
What the fuck did I just watch lmao.
That’s Houston heritage right there. Fun fact: good old Marvin Zindler there helped shut down a brothel in a small town and got into a fight with the town’s sheriff who must not have been very happy at its closure.
Do you use tap water? We use only bottled drinking water for the ice and our machine is very clean.
I have one and it has a UV cleaning cycle. You just hit the clean button, open a back drain and that is it.
What brand & model?
Which brand?
I'm pretty confident more than half of Keurig owners have never properly disassembled (not using tools) their machine to give it a proper clean near the interior overflow reservoir and gaskets. Shudders...
That's gonna be a no from me, dawg.
I want to upvote the comment but downvote the maintenance.
Distilled water only is the key… I have had our GE for a little over 2 years. I disassembled recently it and it was clean as a whistle
I’ve had to fiddle with my fridge ice maker a few times and I never saw any mold. But I do use RO water never thought that was the reason
Yup, that's why we stopped using ours. Impossible to clean and ours didn't keep the ice frozen so the entire cycle of melted to ice made a significant impact on our power bill.
Assuming this will for for this machine (we bought the Opal and regret nothing), a tip is to use "drinking water" from the grocery store...We use Great Value drinking water from Walmart, and really only need to clean it when we feel bad about not cleaning it for so long. Went over a full year before I did it because I had realized I never cleaned it. They just have to move it over to the sink and run it through a few cycles with some vinegar in there and a few rinses and you're good to go. Again, this is assuming this machine cleaning recommendations are similar to the GE Opal...
Wait, does the ice just eventually melt in the container part?
Yes, they are just plastic bins with no insulation and no refrigeration in the unit. If you turn the machine off, the ice will just melt out.
Yes, they melt, the water gets recycled and re-frozen. So all countertop icemakers just makes them repeatedly instead of keeping the ice cool.
Mine will keep the ice cold for about 6-8 hours depending on the ambient temperature of your home.
Must be nice! Mine would require constrant re-runs every 15-20 minutes to top it up.
If I’m having to store it in the freezer I can buy a lot of bagged ice when I need for $200 or more for a maker
You could always empty the ice into a separate bin and throw it in the freezer with a serving scoop
It’s kind of funny, I am selling my older Frigidaire nugget ice maker and on the box it touts as a feature that the ice in the basket will melt and then go back into the machine to become ice again.
Ice to ice, nuggets to nuggets
I make a batch - throw it in a gallon ziplock and toss it in the freezer. So nice to just open a perfect bag and add it to a drink
Good choice. We had the non nugget Frigidaire and returned it to Costco after less than a month. Even if you're fairly prompt about emptying the bin into the freezer, they still have enough surface mositure to all stick together.
My wife and I got into a huge argument over this purchase, as we already have an ice maker. I gave up, and she bought it. It's on our kitchen counter now, and it's loud AF and runs constantly (it makes ice, then the ice melts, and then it remakes the ice again). The ice is nice but she drinks from a straw 99.9% of the time....
I think we are married to the same wife, this is my story exactly.
There's a non-zero chance that this reddit comment leads to a fascinating story about a woman getting caught leading a double life, married to two men. And there's a 100% chance I'll watch that documentary.
The Costco Marriages: Some things shouldn't be bought in bulk.
I'm sure there is a joke about in store samples in their story too...
She bought bulk, and needed a second family to justify
Haha probably a lot of us in here lol
i’m dying to know, what does drinking with a straw have to do with ice?
The whole point of nugget ice is that it has a soft and crunchy texture you pay a premium for because it can’t stay frozen. If you use a straw there’s no discernible difference between this and regular ice.
> The whole point of nugget ice is that it has a soft and crunchy texture Doesn't it also cool your drink faster?
Yeah it does technically cool faster but it also melts faster too so pros and cons. We have a GE Opal 2.0 that I got for around this same price. It can start making ice in like 15 minutes which is great for revving up before making cocktails.
AKA that guy's wife is in the wrong in this situation
If you’re just going to drink everything through a straw the the type of ice you have doesn’t really matter. Most people like this type of ice because it’s chewable-ish.
nah man, wet ice doesn’t make a diet coke immediately off-gas. wet ice is superior no matter whether you chew it or not.
That's why I love the fountain cokes at WaWa - perfect mix of syrup & carbonation plus that ice. It's way better than solid cubes.
Because if you're drinking from a draw then who tf cares where the ice came from. At that point just use a $2 ice tray.
Does your $2 ice tray dispense into my cup for me? I don't think so!
but they don't sell those at costco
did you not get the memo? happy wife happy life.
Lol yea sometimes I forget.
Screw that lol, happy spouse happy house…gotta keep both parties happy and in harmony
Agreed. Gotta pick your battles, and I will save mine for something more important to me, like a damn meat grinder that I've been putting off because it "takes up too much space in the kitchen" lol.
Dont worry hunny, once we throw out th3 ice maker there will be plenty of room. 😅😅
Do you have a kitchen aid stand mixer? Get the meat grinder attachment.
No, but whenever I look at meat grinders, I come across that attachment. It looks like it's well-built compared to many Chinese-built meat grinders.
The steel version of the grinder is super high quality, and I love it! The plastic version…. Not so much, unless you like plastic shavings in your grind.
Get the steel version of it. It’s really nice.
There you go then. Get your wife a stand mixer (if she’s into cooking or baking) and get yourself the attachment. Win/win.
I just bought the tiltable mixer that is powered by my grinder and can do 25lbs at a time. Neither it, the grinder or the stuffer sit on the counter all the time; they are all too big for that and it's not like I use them weekly. If you've got storage space for them when they aren't being used, the convincing may be a whole lot easier.
I never planned on keeping it on the counter the whole time but still.
Man, I love shit that takes up too much space in the kitchen.
This is the way
second line is; if wife isn't happy... get another wife.
Happy wife, don't get knifed!
Happy king happy kingdom
I wanted the ice maker, my wife didnt.... we don't have the ice maker 😢
My parents got one because my mom really likes store bought ice. It’s not as much the texture as the flavor compared to the tap water ice. It’s pretty subtle, but I would agree it tastes better assuming you use se generic brand purified water or whatever. But they’ll just use it once every few week and put each batch in a big bag to put in the freezer. Why doesn’t your wife just do that, or is there no freezer space?
I mean, you ain't supposed to chew ice
You’re not my dad! Chewing nugget ice is like my favorite activity!
So she bought for a budget ice maker, and just drinks the ice with a straw? Nice
Go to sonic or chick fil a, order a bag of nugget ice. Way cheaper.
I do this once a week! It’s kind of a hassle because both places are out of the way for me but man, it’s totally worth it. $2 bucks for the good ice and I don’t have to worry about refilling the ice trays.
Does it require as much maintenance as the Opal? My $600 Opal gave out after a few years -- I suspect because I was terrible at keeping up with the constant maintenance needs For $200 I'd love to get back up and running with nugget ice
We had an Opal and did regular cleaning and maintenance, and it died after a few years. My very handy husband did an autopsy and the part that broke absolutely should not have; they are just not built to last and are exceptionally difficult to clean well. We got this same Frigidaire a while ago and it has been easy to maintain and clean, hasn't needed any repairs and does exactly what it's supposed to do. Worth the $200 in our opinion.
Same. Our Opal crapped out after less than 6 months. I bought a $100 nugget ice maker on Amazon and that was mold city. I finally tried this Frigidaire one and it's been so much better than any of the ones before.
I’ve had the Opal. Sent it in for a warranty exchange after the yellow light fiasco. Then with a refurbished unit we said we will only use distilled water and cleaned it every month with vinegar letting it sit. Then it had the yellow ring problem again. Tried everything. Opal sent a brand new unit. We took care of this again…being even more meticulous. It broke again within 3 months. Bought the Frigidaire one and never looked back. Opal is in the garage…sometime I’m going to leave a solution in there for a few days at a time to dry to revive it. I cannot believe the issues with it.
What's the yellow ring issue?
Mainly it’s a mode that says you need to “descale” or clean the ice maker however it’s impossible to descale. This still happens with only distilled water. It reminds me of the red ring of death issue with Xbox 360. You’re eventually going to get it no matter what.
Dang…I have an original Opal (first build kickstarter) still going strong after 8 or so years of constant use. In that time I’ve only fully disassembled to clean twice. Otherwise vinegar cycles every month or so with a bleach cycles every couple months. I have hard water where I’m at too. Never have had an issue.
same, OG version except distilled water and clean with bleach once a week or whatever the recommended period is. I only run it in the summer tho.
All of them require crazy maintenance with build up, mold, etc. It’s almost not worth it for the price lol
what maintanence besides cleaning? I have an original opal from indiegogo 2015 and I haven't done anything to it other than clean it.
I've had an Opal for about 2.5 years and have only cleaned it twice. I use only "drinking water" that I buy from the store though, I've never put tap water in there. Machine is clean as a whistle, unless I'm just not looking in the right places lol
To everyone saying about it thawing, a thought. Whenever it dispenses the ice, put it in a zipper bag or pitcher or something, and put that in the freezer. Then unplug when you have enough ice. You shouldn't have to let it run all the time, the main body isn't meant to keep it frozen.
You either have to let the ice build up in the bin or you need to constantly empty (every 5 min) the bin into the bag. Either way, there is so much melted water and half melted ice in the bin that it will freeze into huge chunks in the freezer.
Running a budget ice maker all day is gonna break it down quick. People have unrealistic expectations. It’s not that hard to let it build up some ice for every 20-30 min and dump it in the fridge a couple times, then shut it off for a few hours. Break up the ice and use it.
I run mine for about 4 hours every 3-5 days and bag the ice and put it in the freezer.
I think this is actually how people are meant to use these countertop ice machines - it says to place the ice in the freezer in the instruction manual. However, we’ve been trying this, but the ice freezes together in one giant solid mass in the freezer.
I have the cheaper Frigidaire one that dispenses into a bucket, and I've found it doesn't get moldy if you keep it full and running. The internal temperature stays on the colder side (the water reservoir is 40°F in a warm house right now) if it's regularly emptied and filled, and I haven't seen a mold yet (2 years, 2 vinegar cleaning cycles). I worry that unplugging it will cause the moisture to get into the danger zone and cause a bloom. I had a roommate unplug a mini fridge for a month since no one was using it, and it didn't take long for it to look like a mold's paradise. I don't have a fridge ice maker, and I have an insatiable craving for icy drinks, so my use case might be best case scenario.
i didnt realize it thawed. im now very less likely to purchase this then. my ex's family had one built into their cabinets and it kept the ice frozen in a huge chest 24/7. filled it up til it was full then stopped making it. i figured this would be like that but now that I know it isn't, its not worth $200 at all lol
Is it the airy, crunchy nuggets like Sonic ice?
Oh yes. Not quite as airy as sonic but just as crunchy.
That's what the Opal makes.
Well thanks for posting this you little jerk, now I have one being delivered Friday..
I got this as well and love the ice but agree with others, IT IS LOUD. And it runs like 70%of the day. We had to put it in our garage because it's so loud. But, it's pretty fast at making ice and so far cleaning hasn't been too bad. The instructions recommend running water with a little bleach through the clean cycle once a week. So far no problems.
Our makes a horrible grinding noise. Is that normal? Yeah, this thing is loud! I wanted to return it because I hate the noise.
We had this problem after the first 24 hours with our first one. Returned it to Costco and took the chance of getting a second one - figured if it went crazy on us again would return and not rebuy. Haven’t had any issues with the second one screaming at us like it was haunted, so I think the first was just defective.
I prefer the little trays you fill with water plus $199
Your getting downvoted but i agree. These take up way to much counter space for barely frozen Ice that melts completely in a few minutes.
The counter space thing is a deal breaker for most of these specialty items I feel.
Yep, this item is a gimmick. Waste of electricity, counter space, and leaves you $200 poorer
honestly, you are right. PLUS these ice machines break ALL THE TIME. I bought a Houdini Sphere ice tray with 4 spheres and it works FANTASTIC and it doesnt water down the beverage as much as pebble ice.
The silicone flexible ones are a game changer… Especially for big ice.
At the same dollar store you get a Tupperware thing and you fill an ice tray, make ice, dump in tupper, refill ice tray, repeat. Then you always have ice
Wish I had space on my kitchen counter for this bad boy
These all eventually wind up with black mold. I had several GE opal and literally ran chlorine through them and even then it would wind up with mold. I was religious in how I would sanitize them. The way they are designed the heat exhaust is positioned directly over the water reservoir. It's extremely tough to disassemble in order to sterilize well. Costco originally sold the GE Opal and I definitely used the return policy. Good luck.
We son was telling me about this because this is my favorite kind of ice. I too wish it kept the ice cold instead of just remaking it.
Some of the ice tends to melt before it's all done.
You’re right. This ice is melting ice, where as ice from you freezer is much colder. I prefer freezer ice.
Costco is literally the only place I would ever advise someone to buy a countertop ice maker. The technology is just not there yet for these bad boys to run 24/7 which is how 90% of people want to use them. They have crazy failure rates as I have experienced. Made a crazy grinding noise and stopped working. Fridgidaire wanted me to ship it back at my expense when it died. Would have cost me a fortune since they are pretty much 50 pounds so I just returned and bought a new one. At the time it was going for like $340 which would have sucked to just eat if I couldn’t return. New unit is trucking along but is easily 3-4 times louder then my last unit. Expect it to die soonish so I guess I’ll just rinse and repeat. Hate “abusing” the return policy on this but these things are way too pricy to die in less than a year. Also Fridgidaire just white labels these and the company that manufacturers them was a nightmare to deal with for them to just say ship it back and we’ll see what we find.
This is not return abuse at all. Every one of those returns results in Costco contacting the company, telling them they owe them the price of the unit AND a disposal fee. If Costco paid $150 for it, the return will cost the mfg $160.
Eh, there’s lots of products that can handle wear of use after a few years. Patio umbrellas, baking tools, etc. Arguably, using something until you’ve worn it out and the returning it is abuse. But alas, Costco will take stuff back even if you have unrealistic expectations and don’t research what budget ice makers are like.
If this hits a .97, I'm going to get it.
Chewy ice is the best
I bought Samsung bespoke as to replace nugget ice. My wife WANTED nugget ice OR Samsung bespoke… She has used it once in a year.
I’ve had the Opal for years. Some thoughts: Like any other appliance, especially those involving water, there are maintenance chores. For mine, maintenance involves running a cycle with bleach-water, flushing it, and wiping down inside and out. It requires pressing a button once and flipping a switch. It’s a lot easier to properly maintain than the ice maker in my refrigerator. If you use filtered water from a fridge dispenser, filter pitcher, or similar, you won’t have much buildup. I have never had mold. I also suggest ensuring there’s ample clearance on both sides: there’s air intake and exhaust, and blocking those will surely kill it. It runs in cycles as the ice does melt and is refrozen. It consumes around 200W for 20-30 minutes per freeze cycle, so it’s not all that bad. I would not recommend these machines if you want maintenance-free operation.
This.
Use distilled water and you won’t have a mold problem
Have this and an opal. Hands down the ice in the opal is better. This ice this makes is harder and it makes a massive hard ball of ice in the container when full. I hate that you have to refill this thing constantly. Opal has a larger separate side container. This machine is WAY louder than the opal. On the flip side, I’m on my second opal In the same span as my one Frigidaire. For 200 bucks I would say it’s definitely a value. If you want the best ice spend the extra for the opal.
Same. The water where I live tastes like frog water. This thing is a game changer since I don’t dare use the icemaker in my freezer and have a dedicated water cooler already. I run mine with about a liter of water everyday after work. Take that ice and throw it in a ziplock in the freezer for about 20 mins, take it out and whack it on the counter to break it up, then dump into the regular ice tray in the freezer. This way I don’t have to leave it running all day and still get a full tray of ice daily.
Does it make ice fast?
Good choice. The ge is a POS. On paper is great. It is actually great when it works... But mine lasted about 1 year. They replaced it under warranty and the refurbished unit lasted 6 months. Wouldn't recommend.
Got the wife one for her birthday best purchase I’ve ever made.
We got one for downstairs where the extra fridge isn't hooked up to a water line. So far we used it to fill Ziploc bags of ice and keep in freezer. Worked great for a party. And the kids snow cone machine.
Over what kind of period have you experienced the boon of three uses? :)
We bought it in May. Used it for a couple days to fill bags for the party. Used it again after the party. Now it's just taking up counter space. We will probably have to fire it up to refill bags this or next week.
Make sure you keep up on regular cleaning and descaling, and I'd recommend only using distilled water in that thang. Enjoy the cronchy ice
You'll return it soon enough, trust me.
What’s wrong with them? I’m considering purchasing if they go on sale.
Hard to clean, not made to last
Seems like a waste of money to me. Why?
After looking at this post and the mixed reviews, I have just spent $4,000 on a residential under counter sonic ice machine
My brother in law is a vendor for an upscale bridal registry firm and was gifted one of these about three years ago. It's been gathering dust in theor garage for about a year now. Their main issue with it was how loud the machine was which kept freaking out their dog, but they also noticed mold forming around the tank which wasn't exactly easy to clean.
Are there any countertop icemakers that actually keep the ice frozen? A lot of these make the ice and they sit in an unrefrigerated compartment.
I like the size of your nuggets
GE and me have bad history. I also stay away from anything Samsung unless it's a phone.
I keep trying to convince my mom to get one kus my dad's always complaining about not enught ice in our fridges ice maker but she's always like we don't have the counter space but I know my dad would love an ice maker
I’ve had my opal for over 4 years, giving it only distilled water ever. No issues or build up
This this is the absolute life saver. My wife and kids use it NON-STOP! This allows me to fill up my water with ice in the morning out of our freezer. It’s a win-win. Best money I’ve spent at Costco in years.
if only i had the counter space
Nuggies!!!! Chomp chomp chomp
Does this require a dedicated hose or water line or can you just add water into a tank?
i got one on amazon that has been wonderful. but i do need to clean it. i went through three of the frigidaire bullet type ice makers because they get grody.
We have the GE Opal and it’s my favorite thing ever. Everybody else’s ice makes me sad now.