New Ice maker input

I am going to put a new Ice Maker in my boat. I plan to keep this boat maybe 2-3 more years so I did not want to put a real high end one in.

I am thinking of the one below does anyone have any input on it ?


U-Line Compact Marine Ice Maker

Look at the counter top ice makers. No water lines to get skunky and ruin good taste of beverages.

U line make a very good ice maker. Been around a long time.

We have a U-line on our fly bridge. It works great in making ice. The only problem we have is when ever it is warm out, when you open it you create alot of frost buildup very quickly. Needs to be defrosted frequently. maybe once a week when you are using it. In cabin it may work much better. The other thing is that it draws 2.5 amps. We have ours on our inverter and that means at least a 25 amp draw. Need to factor that into the house loading if you run it from an inverter when away from dock.

I would not spend $900 on a "marine" ice maker that I was going to use only a few years.

I bought this one for our home bar a few years ago: http://www.amazon.com/EdgeStar-Lbs-...1423059458&sr=8-2&keywords=edgestar+ice+maker

It works fine and has a "stainless door". Well yeah the main frame is steel of course.

I do have a similar one on our boat. The door panel is aluminum and I can see the buckling where the paint has gotten moisture under it and the aluminum is corroding. But the steel frame is fine. It sits in the outside cockpit, shielded from the elements but otherwise exposed to salt air. It has lasted ten years so far.

There are cheaper portable ones for about $150.

David

Rogerh said:

We have a U-line on our fly bridge. It works great in making ice. The only problem we have is when ever it is warm out, when you open it you create alot of frost buildup very quickly. Needs to be defrosted frequently. maybe once a week when you are using it. In cabin it may work much better. The other thing is that it draws 2.5 amps. We have ours on our inverter and that means at least a 25 amp draw. Need to factor that into the house loading if you run it from an inverter when away from dock.

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I agree, Roger. It is a very good unit, and makes copious amounts of ice. In warmer climes it is a power hog. The frig and ice maker are the big power drains on the batteries. I am really toying with going to Danfoss compressor refrigeration. Just trying to figure if it is worth the power savings.

Don, We changed our main fridge from a side by side house unit to a Vitrifrigo 12v/110 unit.Two units mounted on top of each other with separate compressors. It was a lot of money but wow what a difference on our power usage. We were drawing close to 30 amps on the old unit with the inverter and it was running all the time. With the new one we draw 9 amps and it runs no more than 50% and everything stays much colder. I can't say enough for the new unit. Thanks to Richard on Dauntless for the recommendation.

One nice thing about a good boat fridge/freezer (Nova Kool for us) is it stores ice nicely. With our uline we can make copious amounts of ice quickly when we are cruising, on genset or at dock. Then when on the hook turn off the icemaker and put several bags in the freezer that last us us for many days of martinis, iced tea or G&Ts.

Hint- with the icemaker arm up, power draw drops to a very low number, less than 2 amps when running. Good for storing salmon!

Thanks for the Input the one thing I did not say was I was replacing a unit and this one would slide right in place the one I was replacing is original for the boat but the inside rotted out and the seal needed replacing and the door was either bent warped or something

DJ that was also one of my thoughts but was worried about the look the admiral is picky and wants black to match the fridge but i sure like that price

Also if i do not use a unit that fits right in I will need to do a little carpentry work

sunchaser said:

Hint- with the icemaker arm up, power draw drops to a very low number, less than 2 amps when running Good for storing salmon!

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We use that trick when provisioning for a long trip like the Bahamas. We dump the ice in a cooler, raise the arm, and fill with frozen food. Keeps well, and we use it first. Then it is an ice maker again.

Great idea guys additional short term freezer space

Also had another question at home our Ice maker has a filter who uses a filter on their ice Maker who does not and what type

We have a couple of those self contained table top models and I would not recommend them myself, yes they make ice really fast and the units are cheap, but the pro's end there, not very durable (also similar experience with friends) and the ice is not what I call real ice, maybe something like, almost ice.

Just my personal experience and not necessarily the experience of the station.

siestakey said:

Also had another question at home our Ice maker has a filter who uses a filter on their ice Maker who does not and what type

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On a boat it probably makes more sense to (triple) filter all of the water coming out of the holding tank. (That is how ours is set up.)

MYTraveler said:

On a boat it probably makes more sense to (triple) filter all of the water coming out of the holding tank. (That is how ours is set up.)

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I would at least triple filter any water you are using to make ice with that is coming out of your holding tank.

Now in the case of the water I use to make ice that I take out of my water tanks, I filter that through one of those units that the filter elements just snap in and out of for an easy, and in some cases dry, element change when needed.

Capt.Bill11 said:

I would at least triple filter any water you are using to make ice with that is coming out of your holding tank.
.

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Nordhavn owners are into recycling using Racor glass bowls for clarity. Finally, a great application!

Capt.Bill11 said:

I would at least triple filter any water you are using to make ice with that is coming out of your holding tank.

Now in the case of the water I use to make ice that I take out of my water tanks, I filter that through one of those units that the filter elements just snap in and out of for an easy, and in some cases dry, element change when needed.

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Right now I am double filtering on the Galley sink everything else is single filter

the Single filter is a double cartridge set up but still single filter

so I am using the same I think I will put another in line to the ice maker

when I am at the dock I have a large in line there

siestakey said:

Right now I am double filtering on the Galley sink everything else is single filter

the Single filter is a double cartridge set up but still single filter

so I am using the same I think I will put another in line to the ice maker

when I am at the dock I have a large in line there

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I have no on board water filters. The water tanks however have a lot of designed sumpage and a spring flush keeps them in good shape. Goodie, another filter discussion!

Capt.Bill11 said:

I would at least triple filter any water you are using to make ice with that is coming out of your holding tank.

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Oopps. Thanks for not making too much fun of me.

MYTraveler said:

Oopps. Thanks for not making too much fun of me.

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NP. It will be my turn soon enough I'm sure.