IceAppliance Original ZB-01 Countertop Ice Cube Maker - Silver

Me, my wife and our two children really enjoy ice cold drinks and were totally fed up with getting the ice trays out of the freezer, trying to get the ice out of the tray, dropping it in the sink after running cold water over the ice tray in an attempt to get the ice out. This is assuming of course that the ice trays had been refilled were already frozen which invariably they weren't.... So, warm drinks again!

Time had come to move into the 21st century, ditch the ice trays and get an ice maker. After looking at the many models on the market, we decided to get an Ice Appliance Original ice maker, as they were the best purchase price per kilo of ice per hour. After ordering the Ice Maker from Ice Appliance we expected to wait for a week for it to turn up but, after only 2 days it arrived and the communication from Ice Appliance was excellent.

It was eagerly unpacked and washed out before first use as recommended in the instructions, connected to the mains, filled up with 2 litres of water and we all waited in eager anticipation for the first ice; arguing over who would sample it first. After 15 minutes, the first ice arrived. The bullet size of first two loads of ice were quite small even though the machine was set to the largest of the three size selections. From the third load onwards though, the bullets were significantly larger - just like the ones you get in the pub.

Each load of ice consists of 12 bullets made by 12 refrigerated fingers that are immersed in a water tray within the ice maker. When the cycle finishes, the water tray empties the remaining water back into the water reservoir. This cools the water in the reservoir, which is why it takes a few cycles to get the selected bullet size after first filling.

The Ice Appliance Original ice maker then warms the fingers and the bullets drop off and are pushed into the ice-collecting tray as the water tray moves back ready to be filled with water for the next cycle.

We have quite a few barbeques with guests too and we have never run out of ice since we have had the Ice Appliance Original ice maker. We leave ours on 24 hours a day, 7 days per week and always have ice ready to be used. Without using any ice, it takes 2 to 3 hours once the Ice Appliance Original ice maker has detected "Ice Full" for the ice to melt sufficiently for the Ice Appliance Original ice maker to detect that it needs to make some more so I assume that the water reservoir and ice storage compartment is well insulated.

After 11 months of almost continuous use, our Ice Appliance Original ice maker developed a fault. We were now without ice ... Horrendous. I dropped an email to Ice Appliance on a Saturday afternoon expecting a reply sometime the following week. Well .... I was blown away. Duncan from Ice Appliance emailed me back on SUNDAY afternoon apologizing for the fault and said that he would replace the faulty machine. But .... it got even better, Duncan said that he would pick up the faulty machine and leave a new one on TUESDAY, just 3 days after contacting Ice Appliace. WOW .... Not only is the Ice Appliance Original ice maker a great ice maker but the service from Ice Appliance was outstanding. I wish I had this service from all Internet suppliers I deal with. At the end of the day, mechanical things go wrong and what you remember is the service you get and not the fault and I cannot fault the service we received from Ice Appliance.

If you're in two minds whether to buy an Ice Appliance Original ice maker, don't hesitate. You won't regret it and you'll never go back to ice trays in the freezer ever again.

I thought this product was great!! It is excellent for personal use and great for parties and functions. It is easy to use and looks great in my kitchen. Since having it many friends have seen it and now purchased one for their own kitchens. A really good product.

I've had this machine for 2 years now and it's the best by far of the 3 machines I've now had in the last 3 years. It produces good size cubes at a more than adequate rate to supply the many parties I now have!