Portable Ice Maker

[moesy4]

I sound like an Aldis commercial lately, but I know on one of these boards people were talking about a portable ice maker for their camper...Aldis has one for $99 this week...makes 26 pounds of ice in 24 hours. Not sure if that's a good deal, but thought I would pass it along!

 

[peg110]

I think the problem that I have found with the Portable Ice makers is that they make the ice but they don't STORE the ice or rather it's not stored in a way that it will remain frozen. They have an insulated bucket, but if you want to keep it frozen you have to transfer it to a freezer.

 

[Kidatheart2010]

We have had one for at least 10 years and it has paid for itself many times over. Its a good investment. Not just for camping. BBQ's at home and HURRICANES !! Unfortunatly Florida is due for one. The machine itslef doesn't take up much room and is very easy to maintain. Peg110 is correct on the storage. It will melt and keep making till you dump it. But hey a bag of Ice every hour isn't to shabby..........

 

[jbrostek]

I have one of the smaller 99 dollar ones. It can make ice rather well, but its got a very small holding container. Good for about 3-4 large glasses of ice before its struggling to keep up with on demand use. Dometic makes one about 2.5 times the size and that one can keep up with a party of 5-6 adults.

 

[amcc]

Thanks for pointing this one out. Since we are Florida campers, maintaining ice in our coolers is one neverending battle and has already led us to buy a small refrigerator/freezer with separate doors. I just can't figure out if we have room to carry this in addition to the fridge. Seriously considering it.

 

[JETS70]

We have one of he portable ice makers along with a dorm size refrigerator with a small freezer. When the ice maker is full, we empty it into a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. When the freezer is full we put the bags in the cooler. Helps keep the cooler cold and the ice in the Ziploc bags is still clean to use in a drink if need be. Definitely saves on time and money especially when the ice machines at the comfort stations are dispensing les than full bags of ice.

 

[peg110]

Our Fridge in our RV is the typical size RV Fridge, so it's not huge. It is however large enough for us to have 2 Ice trays and a small bucket that can hold about 3 trays worth of ice. Before we depart, I ensure the bucket is full of ICE and the trays are full with ice ready to be cracked into the bucket. Then as we use the ice, we crack the trays and fill em back up. I guess we just don't go through that much ice where it's ever been an issue. I can see, however, where someone might want that extra production of ice though, particularly if you have a cooler that you need to keep filled.

I haven't had to buy ice at the fort, but from all I have heard/read, It sounds like that if I ever need to, that I'd be better off going to the meadows instead of using the Ice Vending machines.

 

[5stljayhawks]

Ice machines at FW vary on amount. Some you will get a bag and others will get you 2 full bags. For a buck or two I just walk to CF, bring a helper and bag up. usually early in morning to make sure its full! Also before you go on trip, if using cooler, cool it down before hand. Yeti coolers are nice as well, but $$$$.