I was interested to read on this forum that several people considered their portable icemakers to be essential. My husband is a serious soda drinker and must have his ice. I did a lot of reading and one called New Air seemed to have very high ratings. We are now trying out unit number 4 and have yet to get ice. The first machine was obviously damaged in transit because it rattled so loudly we couldn't talk when it was running. It also didn't make ice. The replacement ran quietly but made NO ice. The third made a little ice but leaked all over the counter. Today we received unit number 4 and after four hours we have NO ice. We were probably foolish to try the same brand 4 times, but it gets great reviews. It appears to be identical to the Dometic sold by Camping World. Can anyone tell me what brand of portable icemaker you have had success with? Thanks. I've just about given up hope.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
06:30 PM Oct 10, 2011
He hehehe I just bought an Emerson portable ice maker at Target this afternoon. I read a bunch of reviews and it was either this or an Igloo model. The Igloo is a different shape/style that had good reviews too. For $149 out the door, it is currently on the counter making ICE!!! I'm letting it cycle to help clean out the plumbing before we really need it next week on a trip to the Florida Keyes. Its not as fast as some people said but it is getting the ice made.
arkypam said
05:19 AM Oct 11, 2011
Thanks for the reply! We live 125 miles from the neatest Target but have a trip coming up where we should be able to check out that option.
arkypam said
05:47 AM Oct 11, 2011
Pam here again. I just went online and looked at the Emerson, the Magic Chef and the Sunpentown ice makers. They all appear to me to be the exact same machine except for the brand. I am thinking that one manufacturer must make these as well as the New Air I bought and the Dometic. And they all get very good reviews, except for the occasional reivewer who says the unit leaked, didn't get cold, etc. I wonder what the chances are that I just got 4 duds? We are still pretty new to RVing, however, we have stayed at two parks that had ice available for campers at no cost. But I don't think it's very common?
Workinrvers said
07:37 AM Oct 11, 2011
We had one that we bought at Camping World that we used full time for 3 years that just gave up the ghost last week and we tossed it. I can't for the life of me remember the brand name. We found one locally at Menards on sale for $119.00. The brand name is Bellini and it has worked well right out of the box. Not sure if Menards is in your area (they are similier to Lowes/Home Depot) but we are happy with the unit and the price was right.
Phil
arkypam said
08:14 AM Oct 11, 2011
I appreciate the information. I love Menards but unfortunately they are nowhere near our area. I looked online and it would appear that Bellini is exclusive to Menards. I do see one for sale on ebay and might take a chance on that.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
05:53 PM Oct 11, 2011
Try looking for Igloo portable ice makers. Unfortunatly wallie world sells themf you order in the online store. They get good reviews.
Fordiesel250 said
03:38 PM Oct 19, 2011
We bought a Magic chef online from Target and we have had it for three years. Works great so far with no complaints.
JoAnn said
02:20 PM Mar 24, 2012
I'm wondering how you all are doing with these ice makers. We bought one many years ago and returned it because it made very little ice in a day. It just wasn't worth taking up the space. Are these newer ones working any better? We currently have an ice maker in the freezer but sometimes need more or would rather take the bucket out and have the freezer space. We use a lot of ice normally and I really hate buying bags only to take up more freezer space. I guess what I want to know is how much ice does it make in a 24 hour period. Thanks a bunch!
JoAnn
arkypam said
03:05 PM Mar 24, 2012
Hi, JoAnn.
Pam here again. I am the one who posted the original question. I ordered 4 different icemakers on-line from 4 different sellers. None worked. Each had a unique problem. We spent the winter in Texas where we had access to a Target. I decided to give it one last shot. At least if the darn thing didn't make ice, I could easily return it! They happened to have an Emerson on sale - which incidentally appeared identical to the other 4 I purchased. Eureka! This one works. It makes loads of ice and very quickly too. We used it pretty much constantly for 4 months and have not had a problem. I did buy the extended warranty (which I almost never do) because of my bad experience with the units I ordered on-line. The clerk told us that she noticed that a number of units had been returned for malfunction.
Bottom line. We did find one we like, but not without a lot of frustration. Seems like the quality in small appliances is just not what it used to be?
Dreamers said
05:15 PM Mar 26, 2012
Ditto!. We have the Emerson from Target which incidentally was purchased on sale. It makes plenty of ice and works great with no problems after more than 1 1/2 years of steady useage.
Judy
JoAnn said
01:15 AM Mar 29, 2012
Thanks a lot, I guess if we take the plunge we'll look for the Emerson.
JoAnn
MaryBee said
08:23 AM Mar 29, 2012
I just purchased the "Bellini" model from Menards this week and it has been making ice for the last few days flawlessely!
I love this little machine, the cubes are cute and look like little bullets :) You can set the size of ice cube you want from small to large, I have my machine set on medium.
Really easy to use, put water in and turn it on and it makes ice in about 6 minutes. FAST.
I paid $118 for mine and thought that was a pretty good deal.
I was interested to read on this forum that several people considered their portable icemakers to be essential. My husband is a serious soda drinker and must have his ice. I did a lot of reading and one called New Air seemed to have very high ratings. We are now trying out unit number 4 and have yet to get ice. The first machine was obviously damaged in transit because it rattled so loudly we couldn't talk when it was running. It also didn't make ice. The replacement ran quietly but made NO ice. The third made a little ice but leaked all over the counter. Today we received unit number 4 and after four hours we have NO ice. We were probably foolish to try the same brand 4 times, but it gets great reviews. It appears to be identical to the Dometic sold by Camping World. Can anyone tell me what brand of portable icemaker you have had success with? Thanks. I've just about given up hope.
I just bought an Emerson portable ice maker at Target this afternoon.
I read a bunch of reviews and it was either this or an Igloo model. The Igloo is a different shape/style that had good reviews too.
For $149 out the door, it is currently on the counter making ICE!!!
I'm letting it cycle to help clean out the plumbing before we really need it next week on a trip to the Florida Keyes.
Its not as fast as some people said but it is getting the ice made.
Thanks for the reply! We live 125 miles from the neatest Target but have a trip coming up where we should be able to check out that option.
Pam here again. I just went online and looked at the Emerson, the Magic Chef and the Sunpentown ice makers. They all appear to me to be the exact same machine except for the brand. I am thinking that one manufacturer must make these as well as the New Air I bought and the Dometic. And they all get very good reviews, except for the occasional reivewer who says the unit leaked, didn't get cold, etc. I wonder what the chances are that I just got 4 duds? We are still pretty new to RVing, however, we have stayed at two parks that had ice available for campers at no cost. But I don't think it's very common?
We found one locally at Menards on sale for $119.00. The brand name is Bellini and it has worked well right out of the box.
Not sure if Menards is in your area (they are similier to Lowes/Home Depot) but we are happy with the unit and the price was right.
Phil
I appreciate the information. I love Menards but unfortunately they are nowhere near our area. I looked online and it would appear that Bellini is exclusive to Menards. I do see one for sale on ebay and might take a chance on that.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
They get good reviews.
Thanks a bunch!
JoAnn
Pam here again. I am the one who posted the original question. I ordered 4 different icemakers on-line from 4 different sellers. None worked. Each had a unique problem. We spent the winter in Texas where we had access to a Target. I decided to give it one last shot. At least if the darn thing didn't make ice, I could easily return it! They happened to have an Emerson on sale - which incidentally appeared identical to the other 4 I purchased. Eureka! This one works. It makes loads of ice and very quickly too. We used it pretty much constantly for 4 months and have not had a problem. I did buy the extended warranty (which I almost never do) because of my bad experience with the units I ordered on-line. The clerk told us that she noticed that a number of units had been returned for malfunction.
Bottom line. We did find one we like, but not without a lot of frustration. Seems like the quality in small appliances is just not what it used to be?
Judy
JoAnn
last few days flawlessely!
I love this little machine, the cubes are cute and look like little bullets :) You can set the size of
ice cube you want from small to large, I have my machine set on medium.
Really easy to use, put water in and turn it on and it makes ice in about 6 minutes. FAST.
I paid $118 for mine and thought that was a pretty good deal.