2.2L Andrew James Ice Maker Machine – Portable Countertop Ice Machine for Home, Electric Ice Dispenser with Scoop & Basket, Self-Cleaning, Small or Large Ice Cubes

Dithered for years over buying an ice maker and finally found this one at a very good price. The unit fits on the work top no worries, it's about the same size as a bread maker so it goes under the microwave no bother. The cable is a reasonable length and it's quiet in operation.When you start making ice the first few drops of "cubes", they're actually more like thimbles, will be smaller than the full size. I usually fill up the water trough, and leave the machine to run for half an hour, then pour the made ice back into the water trough and leave it to run. The ice then seems to reach its maximum size. Wait until the basket is full, bag up the ice, and stuff it in the freezer or use it straight away. I'll leave it running for an hour or two doing its thing. You can get initial ice in really just about 10 mins. Small thimbles to be sure, but they are ice and they do work.I normally make two medium freezer bags worth of ice and then drain the machine, clean it up and dry it off, and put it away until I need more ice.I'm very happy with it. Great price, quiet, quick-ish, and good ice.

This is my first ice making machine, so I have nothing else to compare it against. Because of this, I spent a while wondering whether I really needed one and whether it would suit my needs.The first day with it made we wonder if I'd made the right decision in spending over £100. The first run of ice was slightly watery and disappeared soon after putting in a drink, and it seemed very slow. Around 8 cubes per 15 minutes. I then had problems getting it to switch to small cubes. Whichever setting (small or large) I chose, the resulting ice was all the same size.Things improved the next day, and have been great ever since. The size selector works fine, the ice is much firmer, and the speed seems a lot quicker. Certainly can keep two people drinking with lots of regular ice going as long as you want it to.I found it to be much quieter than some people have claimed it to be. Although, it does make me jump when the next batch of ice cranks into action late at night from the kitchen!I put the ice into plastic bags to place in the freezer. Due to the lack of refrigeration in the machine the ice is usually slightly damp when you remove it and ends up sticking together when you return to the freezer to get it. Nothing a quick bash on the kitchen units won't cure though, so not a problem at all.The ice scoop is better than I expected it to be. It doesn't leave you chasing ice frantically trying to collect it, it does a pretty good job with minimum fuss.Only day one provided me with any negative thoughts about this. Now I can't find a fault.I bought a car the same week as I got this, and I raved about it much more than I did my £7.5k ride!

Bought this at the start of the summer and it has been running a few months now. As someone who tends to load all my drinks with ice usually bought at £1 a bag from the local supermarket, it has probably paid off a big chunk of its price in the last 3 months alone.The unit is very well constructed. It's an extremely sturdy design with a very stylish and eye-catching exterior. If you have it sitting on your kitchen counter it's going to be a definite conversation piece when guests are around.It starts producing ice thimbles (I call them thimbles because that's pretty much the shape they are) within about 10-15 minutes of first being switched on, so you won't be left waiting. It's fairly noisy at several stages of the ice-making procedure, but not excessivly so. If it's in the room next door with the door closed and a TV or conversation going on you probably won't even hear it.The ice cubes it produces are smaller than in the bags of ice you buy from supermarkets or service stations, and the unit seems to freeze them at *just* below 0C (compared to ice cubes in a freezer that would be a few degrees more sub-zero). The increased surface area/mass ratio (sorry, science geek) and proximity to the freezing point means the ice tends to melt much more quickly than ice from other sources. Basically, it makes ice fast but the ice it makes also melts fast. For a couple of people looking top-ups to their drinks it works fine. If you're hoping to keep a whole dinner party topped up then you might need to move the ice to a fridge freezer unit or a well-insulated ice box.Which leads into my final comment on the product. It's a device that requires a certain amount of attention and monitoring. It's built and designed to produce reasonable amounts of ice over a short timeframe. If you leave it switched on for a couple of hours it will fill up its ice bucket and stop making more ice. That's not a design flaw, it's more the nature of the product. It produces ice fast when you need it, but the machine is designed to produce on-demand. It's not designed to be an always-on ice maker.

Ideal for parties although as previous reviews have said first couple of batches of ice melt rather quickly. Can be a little noisy so we just make up a large batch of ice and open freeze then bag and store in our freezer to use when required. That way it doesn't stick together. Plug to drain down when not in use awkward to get at but suppose that's better than it being too loose and leaking. If you can put these slight problems aside it certainly works perfectly, easy to fill and well priced.