When we decided to fulltime, I seriously thought about what I HAD to have. ICE! We bought a portable icemaker. We love it and think it's the best investment ever! lol
thebearII said
10:01 AM Jan 26, 2009
Agree completely... we use one, it actually out performs our builtin Scotsman Icemaker at home.
I'm amazed at how little we have to put water in it. It will go about 4 days without the need to refill the water tank.
Dachiegirl said
10:10 AM Jan 26, 2009
I agree! In case of fire, grab the icemaker! lol
Terry and Jo said
11:39 AM Jan 26, 2009
I honestly hadn't thought of that. I had figured that what we were looking at (Mobile Suites with a side by side refer) would be equipped well enough in the refrigerator/freezer to be sufficient.
So, have you all found that the regular refer ice maker is insufficient to keep up with demand?
Are there any features on a portable unit that is a must have?
Are there any features that are overrated?
What makes and models are you using?
Thanks for any replies in advance.
Terry
Tim & Robyn said
11:51 AM Jan 26, 2009
I have no firsthand knowledge, so this is just a guess. We had to replace our sticks'n'bricks fridge a couple years ago, and we got one with an icemaker. We've had to have the little door that the ice comes out of replaced twice, because it wouldn't close all the way (causing frost buildup in our frost-free freezer), and the icemaker does take up quite a bit of space in the freezer. I would guess the same would be true with an RV fridge-freezer, and they are smaller to begin with than what most people would have in their homes.
So I would think that, if you have the room, a separate small icemaker would be a good thing in an RV. Any comments from those of you who know the real skinny?
Dachiegirl said
12:02 PM Jan 26, 2009
This is the model we have. http://www.edgestar.com/products/icemaker/ip210ti.asp
Our Dometic fridge in the RV does not have an icemaker, so we would have to use icetrays! The freezer is small so keeping food in it was much more important to me. We have had the icemaker for a year and love it. It works great, is easy to clean and makes ice super fast! That is a great feature during summer and high use. (we have kids) It is nicely sized and doesn't take up alot of room. We actually keep it in the entry near the countertop on the floor. The price of this model was well worth it and cheaper than others we looked at.
Judy said
12:28 PM Jan 26, 2009
We have a regular ice maker in our Elite Suites and it works very well for us, no need to have a bigger quick one. We don't use lots of ice. Our unit is well built and we have another freezer in our basement for freezing extra meat and such which lets us fill up and not have to go to the grocery so often. southwestjudy
-- Edited by Judy at 12:31, 2009-01-26
Speedhitch said
01:30 PM Jan 26, 2009
Terry, you will find if you dring a lot of ice tea you will go throug many ice trays before you know it. We have to have an ice maker to keep us in ice for sure.
Joe and Sherri
thebearII said
01:51 PM Jan 26, 2009
We have an Icemaker in our Dometic and it can keep up with our use most of the time If we start off with a full bucket.. But it takes a long time to fill up the bucket, so we use to buy a bag of ice to start off full.
If we have guests, which we frequently do, then the refrigerator ice maker can't keep up. We are heavy ice cube users and use 20 oz tumblers for our beverages, so a lot of ice is required.
Once the portable icemakers came on the market we saw it as a means to get good ice and not have to pay up to $3.00 a bag. It more than keeps up with our demand. We have one for the house to use out in the patio for parties. Both of them are Magic Chef brand....based upon the look and design, I'm guessing there's probably a couple of manufacturers in China that make these things and then brands them for the retailers.
The portables make a dozen good sized ice cubes every 7 minutes until full. The RV ice maker makes 8 ice cubes every hour.
Niles and Deb said
06:51 PM Jan 26, 2009
We have both one in our Rv frig and one portable, the RV one you rely on the campgrounds water and sometimes can get some funkie ice. That's why we like the portable one you add your own water to it and thus getting better flavor ice cubes. JMO
Fordiesel250 said
09:17 AM Mar 12, 2009
We purchased a portable Magic Chef icemaker from Target that does a good job. I wouldn't want to be without one.
So, have you all found that the regular refer ice maker is insufficient to keep up with demand?
Are there any features on a portable unit that is a must have?
Are there any features that are overrated?
What makes and models are you using?
Thanks for any replies in advance.
Terry
I have no firsthand knowledge, so this is just a guess. We had to replace our sticks'n'bricks fridge a couple years ago, and we got one with an icemaker. We've had to have the little door that the ice comes out of replaced twice, because it wouldn't close all the way (causing frost buildup in our frost-free freezer), and the icemaker does take up quite a bit of space in the freezer. I would guess the same would be true with an RV fridge-freezer, and they are smaller to begin with than what most people would have in their homes.
So I would think that, if you have the room, a separate small icemaker would be a good thing in an RV. Any comments from those of you who know the real skinny?
We have a regular ice maker in our Elite Suites and it works very well for us, no need to have a bigger quick one. We don't use lots of ice. Our unit is well built and we have another freezer in our basement for freezing extra meat and such which lets us fill up and not have to go to the grocery so often.
southwestjudy
-- Edited by Judy at 12:31, 2009-01-26