Ice machine cometh — and goes

[LuckyDuck]

After a couple of years of making ice cubes in trays in the small Norcold freezer, we decided to splurge for a stand-alone ice cube machine. Read the reviews, including JOF posts, and spent north of $150 on the Igloo. It went back the next day.

If you are considering one of these, don’t bother. It boasted 26 pounds of ice in 24 hours and a batch of cubes every 10 minutes. That it did, but you get seven hollow cubes the size of a thimble. In an hour, there was barely enough for one glass. It was the ice equivalent of an Easy-Bake Oven! At a price of $29.99, it might be bearable, but it is a total joke at that price. Plus, it is noticeably loud. The only way you would get 26 pounds is if you include the 19-pound machine!

I’m not trying to vent (we got our refund) but just want to save other campers the frustration of buying and thinking they are getting something worthwhile. If anyone has found a better solution, I’m all ears. Thanks!

[JFlightRisk]

We use a Coleman Extreme cooler and get block ice when we can, which isn't often. We use it for drinks only, so bags of ice are the norm. I thought about one of those ice machines, but heard the cubes were small and soft from some of them. Then there was the need to fill them with water all the time. We'll just be happy making ice runs.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

We use a Coleman Extreme cooler and get block ice when we can, which isn't often. We use it for drinks only, so bags of ice are the norm. I thought about one of those ice machines, but heard the cubes were small and soft from some of them. Then there was the need to fill them with water all the time. We'll just be happy making ice runs.

Yes, and the basket the “cubes” dump into isn’t refrigerated, so they start melting and then freeze together in storage. Ice runs to the camp store make more sense.

[JFlightRisk]

I didn't think about the cubes not being in a refrigerated bucket. Good to know, thanks.

[LuckyDuck]

As they melt, the residual water does drain back into the water reservoir, but being very small cubes, and hollow, they melt quick.