Ice Maker

Curious if any folks have added a small ice maker to one of these boats. (31' Troll) Strangely enough, on my old boat, I used the darn thing all the time. I'm not looking for anything big or fancy, just something that runs off 110 that can be used periodically.

thanks for any suggestions.

toni

I keep hoping to find an ice "chipper". There are plenty of bergs around in certain areas, but it would be nice to be able to reduce them to chips to ice down fish. While this thread is running, maybe someone knows of a 12V DC ice grinder that would make chips out of bergs... The bigger pieces of ice don't cool the ice chest down evenly, though it's perfect for drinks

Maybe a countertop ice maker would produce enough ice for you.
https://www.amazon.com/Igloo-ICE103...2885585&sr=8-3&keywords=countertop+ice+makers

A lot cheaper and smaller than a built in ice maker.

HopCar said:

Maybe a countertop ice maker would produce enough ice for you.
https://www.amazon.com/Igloo-ICE103...2885585&sr=8-3&keywords=countertop+ice+makers

A lot cheaper and smaller than a built in ice maker.

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Funny. I spotted that just after I put up the original post. It should be about perfect for what I need. ON my current boat, its usually turned off unless I'm going to be out quite a bit, then leave it on. When I'm anchored, I always turn it off at night, dump the ice in my cooler, and restart it whenever I start moving or have the generator on. My old U line uses quite a bit of power and each time it dumps the ice during the night, it wakes me up. Solution: turn it off. Having an ice maker on a boat seems like one of those silly indulgences, but I like having it...so there.

thanks again

Not a silly indulgence, just civilized.

We have a countertop as no room for a permanent one.

It also frees up a lot of freezer space not having to kerp ice there.

We use it underway if necessary, as it doesnt use much energy and makes 2 tall drinjk glasses full if ice every 1/2 hr or so.

Coleman, Igloo and bunch of unfamiliar (to me anyway) brands make 12v icemakers, some for under $100.

psneeld said:

We have a countertop as no room for a permanent one.

It also frees up a lot of freezer space not having to kerp ice there.

We use it underway if necessary, as it doesnt use much energy and makes 2 tall drinjk glasses full if ice every 1/2 hr or so.

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Yep, ditto all that. Saves having another system to winterize, too.

-Chris

OK thanks for all the help. Problem solved. I ordered a counter top one from Walmart. I'm not a fan of Walmart, but my wallet won out over my principles this time. For a hundred bucks, not sure how wrong you can go.

toni

I'd been looking at options, like you, when I saw a countertop unit discounted at WalMart. Hey, for under $100, it was worth a try. I didn't expect much.

I was pleasantly surprised. It made the first batch of ice in about 6 minutes. I've used it a few times at anchor or on a mooring. It runs fine on the inverter. It's fun to watch it work. It's not for icing fish or entertaining a large crowd, but we have made up a batch and put it in the freezer for later.

This counter top models were all the rage in our marina about 6-7 years ago, knew of ten owners and one by one they disappeared for varying reasons (ice not cold enough, unit broke), only know one person has it still. This units become a love hate relationship just warning you....

My Igloo countertop is 3 years old and going strong on a full time liveaboard.

Almost replaced it last year as it was squealing like it was going to explode. Took it apart to ID the pump as they are cheap on ebay...put it back together and ran it for another day or two and the noise went away.

In port it runs 12 hrs a day. Underway or at anchor on trips it runs when the genset runs. It probably gets 10X the use that a normal boater would demand of one. Maybe like many boat systems. better to run it than let it sit.

I had one branded Magic Chef. Used it full time as a liveaboard. Lasted 6-years and died of a disease called rust as it lived outdoors. Would definitely recommend it. Now with a new inverter I am using the installed U-Line.

We have been using the same $99 countertop unit for 9 years. We don't use it daily, but it has made a lot of ice over this period. It always seem to be able to make ice faster than we can use it, so we bag it and freeze it or future use.

tadhana said:

We have been using the same $99 countertop unit for 9 years. We don't use it daily, but it has made a lot of ice over this period. It always seem to be able to make ice faster than we can use it, so we bag it and freeze it or future use.

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yep....found quart zip lock bags are perfect in addition to a 1 gallon or so tupperware hard container kept in the freezer.

Tbe hard container is OK for a small get together as the icemaker works its magic, the bags are perfect as you can slam them to break up the cubes and a half bag fills a tall glass....the small bag sizes also fit nooks and crannies in the overstuffed freezer.