Antarctic StarNugget Countertop Ice Maker with Soft Chewable Ice, 34Lbs/24H, Pebble Portable Ice Machine with Ice Scoop, Self-Cleaning, One-Click Operation, for Kitchen,Office Stainless Steel Silver

This makes plenty of ice for our wants. It's not going to make it super fast, but it'll be faster than filling an ice tray or waiting for your fridge ice maker to get some ice. It makes tiny pellets, and makes roughly two cups of ice at a time. Perfect for us. We simply fill a two gallon freezer bag for some ready made ice and break it up with a rubber mallet when we want some. it does break up really well and doesn't stay in huge chunks. Whether it's for soda, water or an iced coffee, this has been fantastic ice.The machine did make some funky noises once. I turned it off, unplugged it for a little bit, then plugged it back in and started it back up. No issues since.Don't let it run constantly. It is a small machine and needs breaks. It does not keep the ice in the basket frozen forever. Hence the reason why we bag and store some, and make more as we need it. Having ready made pellet ice that isn't costing us a lot by the bag is fantastic and saves us a trip across town to grab more.I've had zero issues thus far, and filter water before I fill it. I do expect I will have to run a descaling cycle on it to clean, but it does have a self cleaning cycle I can run with descaler, then follow up with a couple rinse cycles. Much like I do with my single cup coffee maker.The ice comes out tasting great and doesn't leave anything behind in my drinks. It doesn't melt too fast and is a little more solid than some popular ice providers, which I love. I might have to get these as holiday gifts for my offspring, as they love pellet ice as well.For the price, portability and size, I'm really digging on this ice maker. Time will tell on lifetime of this machine, but if I get a good couple years out of it, it will have easily paid for itself in that time. Perfect on a budget.Edit: We're in September now, and it's still running like a champ. My husband and I enjoy cold, icy drinks every day. No running problems at all, and the ice doesn't come out tasting or smelling funky. I have yet to run a descale because I put filtered water through it. We run it long enough to fill a two gallon freezer bag, then let it sit and rest while we use the current supply. The bag goes in the deep freeze, and when we want some we smack it a little with a rubber mallet to break up the chunks that freeze together so we have a cup full of good ice.

I've had this countertop ice maker for about a month and have used it non-stop.SPEED: I've generally kept it running throughout the day, continuously making ice and periodically refilling the water basin.It will fill the basket of ice within an hour, which is about enough ice to fill a 40 oz tumbler (pictured for scale).NOISE: The machine is relatively quiet, and when it's running/cooling it will sound like your refrigerator (similar low noise level). It's a tidy fit and looks nice on the countertop. If you keep it running, as the ice melts (since the storage is not refrigerated) it will continue to make new ice.CHEWABLE: It makes perfect nugget ice, which is softer/crunchy and everyone has enjoyed chewing their ice with their beverages -- and maybe even just having ice as a "snack." Overall, I'm happy that I made the investment to get nugget ice over bullet ice. It has been worth it.CONCERNS: Before buying the things I was initially concerned about were the noise level and how I was going to transfer the ice to my limited space freezer. As mentioned, the noise is almost unnoticeable and I just keep the ice right in the maker as I use it (can store some in bags in the freezer if I'm expecting guests).(SMALL) CON: The only thing I haven't liked is the little white ice scooper that comes with it. I purchased a slightly larger and flexible OXO scoop, that also can hang on a magnetic hook (not included) either on the ice maker or near by.CARE & CLEANING: I've followed the use and care instruction as far is cleaning and maintaining the machine and only use FILTERED water as recommended (I purchased a small 6 cup water filter pitcher that sits next to the machine). I also purchased ice machine cleaner/descaler and have given the machine one thorough cleaning after initial cleaning/set up, in the month I've had it. I would recommend cleaning it before use AND using ice machine cleaner solution (not included). That seemed to make a big difference in the unit staying cleaner longer (I think).BOTTOM LINE: Overall, very pleased with this purchase. Daily use, round the clock, it's paying off nicely and crunchy in the best way possible.

So, I was asked to see "if Amazon has an icemaker." Of course Amazon does. The question is, does Amazon have the right ice maker for the right price?TLDR - Yes! It makes little tiny ice pillows just like Sonic. It's a little noisy. You're going to have to figure out how to store it unless you want to keep the machine running 24/7. But it makes little tiny ice pillows!The longer version of the story is as follows. I did A LOT of searching through Amazon to find the right ice maker. There are a bunch that talk about 'small nuggets' but they're not little Sonic-sized pellets. They're more like baby cubes or bullets. There aren't a lot of pellet/pillowed ice makers on the site that I could find until you start getting into the 'high' priced options.The Good - It's pretty darn easy to get your own tiny ice nugget production rolling pretty quickly. Open the box. Wipe down the insides per the instructions. Fill to the fill line. Plug it in and push the button. In about 30 minutes/hr you've got pretty full tray of tiny little nuggets. They're the perfect size for ice chewers and the people who very specifically like this type of ice.The Bad - Like I mentioned above, there are a bunch of ice machines on Amazon, and in varying price ranges. There are considerably less machines on Amazon that make tiny ice nuggets/Sonic-style ice. (And to be clear, it's not exactly Sonic's pillow-ice but it's close. See photo) There aren't a lot of 'affordable' options out there. This one was among the most price-conscious of the limited options, but definitely a lot more than regular ice maker 'value' options. Additionally, it's a bit noisy. I'm a WFH guy and stray noises from the other room can be a distraction. I wouldn't say it's loud, but it's noisier than the compressor on your refrigerator. Lastly, once you have your nice little ice pellets, you're going to have to figure out how to store them. You cant just put them in a tray in your freezer, they'll stick together. There are a bunch of 'hacks' online for what to do in this situation. I've taken to just doing individually pre-packed 'flat' ziplock individual serving bags. Take it out of the freezer, drop it on the counter to break up the little pellets, and boom, in the drink.All of that to say, it makes little ice pellets. That was the intended goal here. And it does it successfully without breaking the bank. It's not a perfect solution by any stretch, but for the dollar value buy... it's actually pretty great.

I’ve had this machine for about two months.I’m no ice “scientist” but I do have some knowledge on this topic. In my opinion this machine does not produce what the industry considers to be “nugget ice”. Nugget ice is made from “flakes” of ice that are compressed into, well…. nuggets. Basically, made of shaved ice like that used for snow cones. The result is usually varying length cylindrical pieces of “ice”. Since they are made from ice flakes, it is easy to understand how these are soft to chew and readily absorb liquid and take on its flavor. Machines that make this type of ice are typically very expensive. (There is a commercial nugget ice maker at my office and it costs around $5000.00.) I was recently in the hospital, only able to consume "ice chips". In this case it was nugget ice that the y gave me.This machine however, produces what appears to be similar to crushed ice. To me, that id better than ice cubes, but it’s not what I know to be nugget ice.Speed:It starts making ice very quickly. I was surprised. I don't know if it makes as much as advertised.Noise: You don’t want this in your bedroom. It is fairly noisy. It doesn’t produce noise constantly. Only when it is making ice. With my somewhat cheesy Radio Shack level meter, it measures about 51 dBA SPL at about 1 meter away. Not horrible, but some people may be annoyed with the noise level.Conclusion:I have an ice maker in my refrigerator, but I also have well water so I don’t like the taste of ice made with that. That was one reason I purchased this machine. If you are ok with something that resembles crushed ice and don’t mind a little noise, this machine may be just what you need.If you want a true “nugget ice” experience, you will need to look elsewhere and probably pay more.

nugget ice is kids favoriteworks great and plenty fast easy to use