Igloo ICEB26HNWHN Portable Electric Countertop Ice Maker - 26 lbs/24H, 9 Cubes in 7 Mins - Self-Cleaning with Ice Scoop & Basket - White - Perfect for Home, Office, RV, and Outdoor Parties

I decided to wait a while before posting my review on this to really give it a proper review.The ice maker in our refrigerator broke and it was going to cost more than I wanted to spend to get it fixed. I knew that calling in a repair man would require buying a new part and paying for his time and labor. I figured it'd be at least a couple hundred bucks. So I decided to see what Amazon had. We bought a fuel pump for my daughter's car on Amazon, I was sure they'd have a replacement ice maker for my fridge, and I'd get the neighborhood handyman to install it. He installed the fuel pump and that turned out okay. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a replacement icemaker for my fridge, but I did find this little gadget. My husband had his doubts, but I trusted Igloo, and I was tired of him going to the gas station every day for a bag of ice. When we first got it, I wiped it all down with a towel and bleach water. I set it up in the dining room on top of our mini freezer, which sits in the corner of the room beside the China cabinet. It fit right in with the recommended six inches of space all around it. The first few times we ran it, I bought a couple of gallons of distilled water to put in it. Then I realized that doing that would also mean a trip to the gas station every day for water, so I decided to just knuckle under and use tap water. I was sure that it would have a funny taste, but it just doesn't. Maybe the freezing process kills whatever makes the water taste funny when it's liquid. We did notice that the ice cubes were more white and less clear than the cubes from the distilled water. We try to not to dwell on why that might be.Every day starts the same. Instead of getting up and turning on the coffee pot, my husband or I (whoever gets up first) fill up the ice maker. Seven minutes later, you can set your watch by it, the machine will push out 9 ice cubes. I try to stay on top of it but my husband will let it go a few rounds before getting up and dumping the ice into a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Within a few hours you will have a full bag. It comes out of the machine wet, so when it goes into the Ziploc and into the freezer, the cubes tend to freeze together. I recommend not using cheap or generic Ziplocs and using them over and over. Cheap bags will not stand up to being dropped repeatedly on the floor to break up the ice. It would be nice if the cubes didn't come out wet, but I don't think it's a deal-breaker. This has been a very handy little ice machine and we've done the math. Ice machine vs bags of ice from the gas station equated to the ice machine paying for itself within 3 months. We travel often and we always end up buying bags of ice that sometimes go unused. This solves that problem, we only make what we need and the unit is small enough to take on any trip. We keep it running most of the time while we're awake and constantly fill up bags. When we get four bags, we stop because we're out of freezer space for the bags. Between my husband's (12 pk a day) Pepsi addiction and mine to iced tea, we go through a lot of ice, I'd say far more than 2 average people and this ice maker has accommodated us greatly. It has become a permanent piece of our furniture now. We can't imagine life without it.Side note: I had a stroke and I have limited motion. My physical therapist says that walking to the ice machine every 7 minutes is the best thing I could be doing to get my mobility back. I read through other reviews before deciding on this model and I think I made a great choice. This little gadget is very nifty. My husband likes to let it go two rounds before dumping the tray. That way he can time it to drop when the commercials come on.I had concerns about the sounds of it, but you barely hear it at all until the ice drops. We can hear it, but it's not loud enough to disturb the TV or casual conversation. If we have company and the ice drops, nobody panics and says "WHAT WAS THAT?" In fact, I think one of our friends is planning to buy one after seeing ours. It's cool!