Bought new from mothership. Made it 7 months. They honored the 1 year warranty and plan to replace it. I waited a week while they sent me packaging to return it. I sent it back and theyâve had it 7 days now and I wait for the new unit to ship. I will end up going 4 or more weeks without the ice maker, while they process the warranty return. Buyer beware. While this unit is probably the nicest looking ice maker available, itâs probably not worth paying 3-4x more than any other unit
What was wrong with it?
I bought one of these new for close to twice the price as the refurb. I like it, but itâs a high maintenance item. What I mean is you need to go thru a CLEAN process with some frequency (like every week or two). This involves putting a tbs of bleach in 5 cups of water in the machine and pressing the clean button. After three minutes you have to drain the machine and do the same process three more times without the bleach. Itâs a bit of a drag but if you donât do it the machine starts making all kinds of noises. You also have to do a descaling periodically. It hasnât alerted me to do that yet, but I bet itâs once a month.
It showed a ADD WATER alarm even though the unit was full.
Couldnt agree more about being high maintenance.
Iâm finding it needs to go thru the CLEAN cycle pretty frequently to keep it working correctly.
I was in the market for one, but instead I bought a mini chest freezer that I keep in the pantry loaded with ice. It was a great decision.
What kind of water do you usually fill it with/put in it to make ice with? I also have one, and I find that using tap water can unfortunately make cleaning much more frequent than using something like distilled water. It definitely requires more maintenance or care though, that is for sure. I suppose it is like buying a fancy car that requires premium gas and does things more average ones donât (making nugget ice for example).
I replaced the screen filter with a GE replacement cylinder that is made for this unit. However, those only last about 2-3 weeks before they need replaced. There is no workaround either. You have to replace them to get the ice maker to make ice again. At $15 each, I decided to install a large filter on my water supply instead.
Not the thing if you donât want to do maintenance on it . Makes loud ( and I mean loud!!!)! screeching noises which is the âI need cleaning alarm â
not an intentional design feature âŚbut effective enough.
Its fan is pretty load too ⌠it does make ice for the ice crunchers amongst us. Heavy and puts out a lot of heat .
I got one little over a year agoâŚsuch a pain in ass to cleanâŚnow sitting down in basement on shelf got it new over $500!..and the optional filter is a joke.
Very slow at making ice
So I may end up jinxing myself but I bought this exact same unit from wood back in June. It was 341 for both the unit and the separate add-on tank. So this is a better deal. I have been using it since in the only water I run through this machine is through my Zero Water pitcher.
I personally have not had any issues with the unit . I have cleaned it with just generic ice maker cleaning solution but I really donât think itâs making a difference. The thing makes ice so fast. Itâs a little bit on the noisy side. Everyone that comes to the house is always super jealous of having the " Sonic" ice. I find this is a very healthy solution. As I chew on the ice throughout the day. Way better than chewing on candy or some other items. So sorry if other folks have had issues with this machine . But been extremely happy with mine . Now that I said it itâll probably break tomorrow.
I love my refurbished unit. Yes cleaning it can be a pain. But Iâm used to what I have to do now after 4 years. If you just use tap water or some Crystal Geyser-like water, the natural or added minerals end up clogging the lines.
If you can imagine a picture of your arteries clogging up with plaque stuff, thatâs what happens with the unit. If youâre not diligent of Descaling then the âarteriesâ of your system are going to get clogged and youâll have to open it up and massage all the lines to break up the mineral buildup. I ended up having to do this after about 6 months a the Machine I got was from Texas area, where there was very hard well water that was used.
But itâs worth it because I love the nugget ice. I wish I had the space for a âdead bodyâ freezer as my kids call it 
Stop whining and worrying. Itâs not maintenance free. Itâs a lot less maintenance as my ex wives or 93-year old mom.
They tell you not to use commercial cleaning liquids on this. Even if they didnât say that, those liquids will not get to the mold and mildew that will eventually get inside the machine. Itâs Bleach to clean and white vinegar to descale. Good luck.
They gave you a plastic scoop? Mine is heavy metal! And it came with a magnetic holder that goes on the side.
The metal with magnet would be nice. Mine only came with the clear plastic one.