6-8 minutes? how?
I owned one very similar to this and was very disappointed. Doesn’t make enough ice fast enough.
Anyone know if this is energy star approved? I know having a refrigerator with EnergyStar makes a difference, but what about an ice cube maker?
Seriously, I have been contemplating getting one of these for 2 years now. I could never tell if I had to hook it to a water source and a drain or not. No one at the stores could tell me either. By the time I got home I never remembered to google it.
(need ice for our blog http://ttttime.wordpress.com)
I have one like it. Awesome. It makes the first batch in a few minutes. Within an hour, the basket is full.
I’ve been wanting one of these. Hopefully there are some left in the morning. 
As a veteran tailgater (see my sig) this might be nice in the parking lot but some questions I have.
[list]
[]It has an A/C plug. How many watts does it pull? (might need a portable generator too if it pulls too much juice.)
[]Does it come with a 12-volt power cord to use in my cigarette lighter outlet?
[*]How heavy is it without water and ice?
[/list]Just want to know if it would be worth it to take tailgating.
The unit DOES NOT keep the ice cubes frozen once they are made. It’s designed to make ice until the removable tray is filled. In other words once the ice making process fills the tray, the unit does not keep the ice frozen. The ice making process stops until you remove ice or a portion melts.
A sensor at the top of the tray detects the ice level. Once ice is removed or a portion sufficiently melts the ice making process starts up again. The water from the melted ice drips down into the water reservoir below and is reused. The unit is well insulated and well made for that matter so if not used immediately the ice melts similar to ice in a cooler.
Reviewer on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/WindChaser-Portable-Ice-Cube-Maker/dp/B00006OAMH/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
You just pour water in. No connection. Holds enough to make a couple basketfuls of ice. It’s recommended to empty it occasionally - there’s a plug for easy drainage. I do mine about once every couple-three weeks.
Is this ice less dense that water?
I’m confused…
It says it stores up to 2.5 lbs…is this true? Also, how long does it take to make that much…?
We have an ice maker similar to this that I bought my husband for his birthday one year. Honestly, it’s the one gift that he LOVES and we use it daily (I don’t think it’s designed for that kind of heavy-duty use, but it’s awesome) and if our other one was broken, I would totally buy this. It’s not that great a deal - that’s a pretty typical price - but it’s a great thing to have! The way that it works is:
you pour a gallon or so of water into the tank (under ice bucket)
it gets pumped into a tray in the top
the tray is lifted so that the cooling “pins?” are in the water
the size of the cube determines how long it takes to make the batch of cubes
the cubes are automatically scooped into the basket
melted cube water is recycled into new cubes
It really does take less than 10 minutes per batch.
Draws about 200 watts. No 12-volt cord, but it will run off an inexpensive inverter. Weighs about 20# empty, 30# full.
From the manual:
150 watts
No
Don’t know
edit: see schrody’s post
Notice Arkansas is lit up like a christmas tree at 13 minutes past the hour. Perhaps that is because our water is DEADLY. Got my monthly “your water is not fit to drink” letter in the mail today.
On another note, the “storage department” should come in handy.
I made a hasty post in which I called this a power hog, based on the requirement for an 1800 watt extension cord. Now I see that it supposedly draws only 150 watts. On the one hand, I apologize for the initial post. On the other, I seriously doubt that this can make ice that fast and draw that little power…