VIVOHOME Nugget Ice Maker Countertop, 44lbs/Day, Black

My ice maker in my Fridge quit working and the endless trips for ice were getting old. I finally broke down and bought this ice maker and it comes in very handy!! Ice, Ice, Wonderful Ice!! It’s making ice all the time. You do have to empty the bin, it stops when it’s full, I just store all my ice in the freezer. There are 2 sized of ice pellet’s S & L. The ice maker is super fast. Literally 5 minutes and the 1st drop of cubes is ready, Just keep the water full, and empty the bin and it will make ice constantly. It stops when full, extremely quiet, I put mine in the nook by the fridge on the floor. Fit great, has plenty of space, and doesn’t take up counter space. After some use you will see sediment form in the bottom and it will need to be be cleaned. Do NOT follow the instructions in the book or you will be returning your broken machine. Drain the water. Use a microfiber cloth with a touch of bleach to clean out any sediment or ick & dirt. Clean all the parts you can reach. Don’t spray water inside or fill up an drain. It will stop working. Also, these only work about a year. I’m on my third. Eventually the components inside just stop cooperating with each other. It will cycle but it will not draw up water to make ice. You will know it’s about to go out when the ‘full’ light starts coming on when the machine is empty. Some tricks to keep pit going a little longer are to unplug it for an hour or so, and closer to the very end, you may have to lightly kick it it to get it to realize it is actually empty so it will make ice. Not long after this stage, it will die. It is still very Easy to set up, Easy to Use, and I highly recommend for a 1 year machine‼️

Function and finish are perfect. The unit was packed well and parts were secured during transit. I was hesitant to use for a couple days while the refrigerant settled and compressor stabilized during transport because it gave me time to read the "Refrigerant could explode" claims too many times. With room temp water, and I strongly suggest using a filter like zero water, it takes about 8 min for your first batch of 8 cylindrical ice nuggets to be made. Even on large ice you'll need a few cycles for that first drink. Nuggets are frozen, but barely. Noise level is very low during the freezing cycles but it's very loud when it drops them into a tray to be mechanically shoveled into the smallish bin. My dog hates the noise it makes during the collection cycle. You'll get 3-4 full ice bins to every water fill. Ice melts back into water reservoir to be recycled. It stops when it's full, IR sensor beam broken, and starts up again when the IR sensor path is unbroken again (ex. Ice melts). I let it run continuously and it will always have a full bin and the ice making process gets down to 4-5 min. A full bin is suitable for 4-5 8oz glasses of ice. Worth every penny but it's not a solid 5 star.

We’ve had it now for about a month and we have made several bags of ice. When I say bag, I’m actually talking about a gallon size freezer bag. With just my wife and I, using it for a few hours to make a full gallon size freezer bag of nugget ice is plenty for a few days or even up to a week! A tip for you is this! Shovel the ice out of the bin and put it into a gallon size freezer bag, and put the bag in the freezer immediately. After about a half an hour with a bag in the freezer, take the bag out and gently bang it on the counter to release the ice that is lightly stuck together because of the moisture when you put it in the freezer. Then, you can put the bag back in the freezer and the ice will stay loose! It will feel a little firm when you take it out of the bag, but as soon as you put it into any drink, it softens again like magic! Also, another tip is to use warmed water instead of cold water to make your ice cubes. They come out softer! We use the water from the refrigerator because it is filtered and put it into a plastic bottle like one that you would get Gatorade or iced tea in and then we place the plastic bottle a few inches away from the fan of the icemaker that is blowing out nice warm air! We always keep one on hand that is room temperature to get started, and then by the time the first one runs out, we have the other one warmed! I think all of the comments from people who have maintenance issues are due to the fact that they’re running it 24 hours a day! You may have to do that with a house full of kids, but if you don’t, then don’t run it all the time. As soon as we finish, making our gallon bag or two, I shut it down, clean it and dry it out, and drain it out. And it’s ready for next week! I suspect that by doing it this way, it will outlive me! :-)

This ice machine was purchased to boost the ice output of our under performing refrigerator ice maker. For this purpose it works really well. The downside, as reported in other reviews, the ice from the portable ice maker is quite wet and tends to freeze together into a big block in the refrigerator's ice bin. We keep a metal ice cream spoon nearby to break up the ice, several minutes after dumping ice from the portable ice maker into the refrigerator's ice bin. Other than that its a good little machine that does what is is supposed to do, while making a bit of noise in the process.

I love ice. I love to crunch on it even though it is bad for my teeth. Love that it fits on my countertop and is red to match the rest of my appliances. Makes two different sizes of ice. I have an icemaker in my fridge, but I love the size of the little ice cubes that this icemaker makes!

Ice maker on fridge decided to stop working. I ordered this to provide ice since 3 bucks a bag wouldn’t take long to exceed this purchase price. 2 days after it came in, my fridge started making ice again???? I still use this ice maker vs the fridge due to the type and quality of the cubes. Plus, it’s great going into summer when ice consumption increases, especially when friends and neighbors are over. I have both the fridge and the countertop ice to provide cold drinks. One thing to note, there is a “full” ice sensor that will stop production when full. The sensor is right at the discharge side of the ice basket, which piles up a little higher than the other side. If the “full” light is on, and you’re using a lot of ice, just knock the pile down from the edge and level it out. It will start back again, and there will be room for that additional dump into the basket. No, it isn’t loud. No, it hasn’t broken or caused any issues. The instructions DO say that if it is placed in direct sunlight, it might not produce ice because sunlight will give the FULL sensor a false reading, making it think it is full of ice. Enjoy!

Update 12-22 This was made by Intertek. After getting a refund I bought the Igloo which was more expensive. It was nearly identical, made by intertek and turned out to break in the same way within 24 hours. Update 11-14 When I tried to return it I was told I had to leave my phone number and they would call. They have not. replied so I contacted Amazon. They are telling me I must either have it repaired or exchange it for another from the same company. There will be delays. Update 11-13-19 The sensor that tells it that the ice is full has quit so it keeps trying to make Ice unless I shut it off. Groaning noise audible next door. Tried to request return and apparently I have to wait for someone to call me first. Update:10-30-19 It is starting to make a groaning noise when ejecting ice. I think that the motor that moves the mechanical bits is going bad already. Will have to return. Unfortunate. First of all this gets 4 stars just for making ice on my countertop. It is really interesting how it makes the ice. Don't expect the kind of hard frozen ice you get from your freezer. This is more like motel Ice. The first batch comes in about eight minutes and it is small but after that they come every eight minutes and as the machine gets colder they get bigger. You can get bigger ice faster by using refrigerated water to start. It will keep four people in Ice if you drink a lot of whatever and more for occasional use. This is one of the cheaper models. Some of the best may be even better. PROS It makes Ice anywhere you can plug it in. It needs no plumbing. It looks cool! When the ice melts in it it goes back into the water supply to be reused. It makes a variety of interesting noises that you will only hear if it is quiet. Clicks, humms, whirrs, water pumping ice dropping and more. If you have an RV this keeps people from opening the Dometic freezer to get ice so the stuff inside won't thaw . It works great outside CONS: The ice is not terribly cold kind of like cooler ice and some of it will always be half melted. It says 26lbs but you are only getting it 8 bits at a time. You will never get a bag. The ice chunks tend to stack in the side with the full sensor making it read full and shut down early. Won't be a problem if it is being used a lot.

This is perfect for ice coffe,and filling your tumbler in the morning. And it recovers pretty quickly. I get this to add to a smaller unit and glad I did because the smaller unit died right after i got it. LOL no worries though because i got this one and it's works great and looks good. It has a light you can cut on and off. Love this thing. This nugget ice maker is awesome especially for the price. It perfect!