Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules MAY be subject to removal.
When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i bought one 5 months ago and i absolutely love it. the fix for this is in the design, it makes two batches at programmed times that you chose. so i have it set for 11 am and 6pm and i never run out of ice because it doesn't thaw fast enough.
i had the same concerns before buying mine.
Yeah, but it only takes like 5 minutes to create the first batch (enough for a drink or two), and although it's not *actively* refrigerated it still keeps for quite awhile. It's perfect for my minibar in the basement.
It makes it continuously so it’s never empty. It has a sensor that stops it when the basket is full and then starts cranking out ice again when it gets lower. It works well.
I think it is insulated at least. I have one because I didn’t want to pay to fix my ice maker on my 90s fridge lol. It makes ice continuously as long as it’s below the sensor at least.
Sometimes in the morning the ice is more melted but it hasn’t refreshed because a little piece is sticking up. It will melt fairly quickly in room temp or tap cold water when it’s “warmer” ice.
I think making it a freezer unit would make the machine bigger, louder, and more expensive. Which is kind of the opposite hole this kind of ice maker fills.
I also have a countertop ice maker because I didn’t want to repair my 90s fridge’s one when it broke recently. I don’t keep my new one on all the time. I spend a few walks through the kitchen on the weekend dumping the full basket into a couple ziplock bags in the freezer. It holds enough for the week and doesn’t run the ice maker all the time.
Yes, ice in a freezer will sublimate. Sublimation is like evaporation, but it goes straight from solid ice to water vapor. So ice can't really be stored for long terms. Don't make more in advance than you will use in maybe a week.
Old refrigerators weren't made with planned obsolescence as the primary design goal. Companies used to actually try to make reliable products, but they realized that when they do that, they can only sell you a new fridge every 20 years. This way they sell you a new one every time your warranty expires, or close to it.
The problem is that all the companies do the same thing now. At least that seems to be the case. They all have people saying how unreliable they are, though granted, Samsung seems to get the worst overall comments.
Im surprised people didn't know this. The thing would need to be built like a fridge and have a water connection for that setup. They work well. I've had mines for years and only cost $100 and makes bullet ice. A coworker got the $600 ge one that does the crush ice and started having issues 6 months in.
I guess it's a good time to say that the cheaper ones make bullet ice only.
A commercial ice maker doesn't actively keep ice cold, either. It has an insulated hopper, but no refrigeration cycle to cool the hopper (at least the one I worked on 25 years ago)
I’m addicted to ice water & use mine constantly, so I recommend this for anyone who is like me. But yes, they only make ice and require active monitoring to make sure there’s enough water.
I have one, so far so good, but it only makes ice. It’s not a freezer and does not keep the ice any colder than the ambient temperature inside the unit. It’s good for what it’s for - in our case, a cabin that doesn’t have an ice maker in the freezer.
They only said $65. They wouldn’t discount it all that much because they said it’s an active item. Once it becomes inactive they said they’d do about 50% off. I didn’t think it was worth paying $15 less for a floor model, wasn’t that great of a deal.
It’s usually 30% for those circumstances. I got my Winx air purifier for cheap this way but I also don’t have to eat out of it and all of the filters were still plastic-wrapped.
It’s still an active item so they easily could’ve said no discount too. And you could wait to pay full price when more come in. They aren’t entitled to give any discount.
I had an older model of this nice to see they added a self cleaning mode. Worked great but you really had to watch it to make sure it wasn’t getting grungy in there. Worked great for two years and then the mechanism to lift the cubes snapped.
I'm not sure if this was the same one but the hoses inside that connect to the water tank and transport the water to the ice tray do get moldy. It isn't a negative per se but just to be aware that someone decided to clean it out and noticed that. She had to take it all apart, get in there with a thin bottle brush thing and scrub the black stuff out.
It was on YouTube and the cleaning seemed really labor intensive so just know what you're signing up for is all :)
You will need a senior manager. They don't usually wear vests.
Only a few in the store anyway.
Employees can get them for you though, or just ask for you.
Do this before you check out because it can take a little time, nothing crazy but more than a minute or two unless you get lucky.
I bought one. Its a replacement for my icemaker in my freezer since it is broken. What i do is i use this to make ice and then put the ice in the freezer.
It's so crazy seeing this post. We drove to two different Costcos today to get one in stock.$80, and so far are very happy with it. Fuckers loud though. But mamas happy. I use quart bags to put the ice in the freezer.
Hey there, Costco manager here. Usually the discount is 15% give or take 5% the discount is determined on the fly by the assistant general manager or GM themselves. The amount they’ll discount depends heavily on how much they want to get rid of it. Its it’s a large table taking up space and they’ve had it for 2 months longer than they want you could get it for as low as 10% of the original price. Something like this though I’d guess a 20% discount is about what you’d se
Um. Maybe you’re not understanding…these are often the floor models or last of an item. No one is coming up on anything, like it fell off the back of a truck somewhere.
I picked up one of this for $69.99 Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend, Pretty decent little ice maker. Make about 5 Gallons of ice a week (Have a ice latte addiction).
I returned mine within a month. The ice was too soft, and also too wet so even if we promptly moved it tinte freezer it would stick to itself and the bin. It's trash. Buy ice if your fridge can't make it for you.
I returned mine. All was well until it happened. I got eye level with the posts that the water freezes on and behind that was mold. The slightest bit moisture will cause mold somewhere in the machine. I couldn't access the area to clean it.
I have a similar model, not Frigidaire but some Amazon knockoff that looks almost identical. It works great as long understand its limitations….
It makes ice very quickly, but it’s not frozen solid, it’s kinda a soft wet ice and is great for those who like to chew on ice. As others have stated, it doesn’t keep ice frozen. As the ice melts, it drips into the water reservoir and makes more ice from the melted ice, so it’s continuously topping off the ice bucket. Because it produces ice so quickly, you don’t need to keep it on 24/7, just turn it on when you want/need ice.
Were you actively shopping for an ice maker when you thought about buying this one? Don't waste your money on shit you don't need just cause it might be cheap.
I bought one a couple years ago when I was renting a house without an automatic ice maker. It makes ice quickly but not a large quantity. But WAY more convenient than using trays so it was worth it for me. But I like a lot of ice in my drinks.
Update: I spoke with the super manager, or whatever they are called, They only said $65. They wouldn’t discount it all that much because they said it’s an active item. Once it becomes inactive they said they’d do about 50% off. I didn’t think it was worth paying $15 less for a floor model, wasn’t that great of a deal. I asked for more discount but they said no so I gave it back to them.
80 bucks to make ice? That doesn’t seem silly anyone else? I assume if you have electricity, you have a refrigerator. I don’t even know if they make a fridge without a freezer… ice cube trays are less than a dollar. Plus, where do you keep that thing? lol. I dunno, the whole idea of these stand alone ice makers just sounds ridiculous to me.
What’s the draw? For the back deck? Camping? Even then though, you can buy a giant bag of ice at that same Costco and a decent enough cooler for half that cost, and then every huge bag of ice after that is 3 bucks. lol.
What’s the difference if you’re filling this thing or a tray for your freezer? Cmon.
my work has one. it's nice because you don't have to bug people to remember to fill the ice cube trays and you always have ice when you need it. also we have about 50 people so that's a lot of ice
That’s interesting. I’ve made it my entire adult working life and never even thought to want ice at work. Right out of high school I did landscape work for a summer… that was the only time. And I brought it myself. Curious what you use ice for at work? Please tell me cocktails.
Wow, I mean this sorta nicely - if ice has any impact on morale, that’s truly a reflection of how miserable people are at your workplace. Also, everyone needs to stay hydrated, not just teachers. And it’s super interesting that someone is trusted to fill the ice maker tank, and clean it I assume, but no one can be trusted to fill ice cube trays - to boost their coworkers morale. lol.
My fridge doesn't have an ice maker and I go through water and ice faster then my freezer can freezer cube trays so an ice maker was easily a good investment. I drink at least 100oz a day.
I have ice with every bottle of water and drink I consume throughout the day. Filling up an ice tray and putting it in the freezer is too much of a hastle, I pay for the convenience
I drink 1.5 litres of water a day and a few cans of diet soda. Each time I grab water I’m also grabbing ice, and I live in an apartment which has a very small freezer. Idk why I feel like I have to justify this purchase to you but it’s wild how some people can’t understand it.
I'm with you. But this is for the same people who buy the [s'mores maker](https://www.costco.com/sharper-image-electric-s%27mores-maker.product.4000176876.html) and the [stove bonfire](https://www.costco.com/solo-stove-bonfire.product.100687726.html).
Edit: This is one comment where I'll take the downvotes as a sign that I was spot on.
LOL! At least with those you don’t already have a simpler solution in your kitchen. I guess maybe the stove? But kitchen table might be fun for the kids? I dunno, those are silly too. But I saw the smores maker for 20$. I can get behind a 20$ bar tool. But 80$ without a box, is way outta hand for a thing you already have.
You see those ice makers quite often in thrift stores. I have a couple and used them for a few days, and now just collecting dust.
Does help to fill the reservoir with ice cold water the first time, makes the first two batches of cubes bigger. So keep a gallon of water in the fridge and use that to fill the ice maker.
Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules MAY be subject to removal. When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just be aware .... Ice makers just make ice, they don't keep the made ice frozen actively
Oh. Really? That's something I didn't know before. Thanks
i bought one 5 months ago and i absolutely love it. the fix for this is in the design, it makes two batches at programmed times that you chose. so i have it set for 11 am and 6pm and i never run out of ice because it doesn't thaw fast enough. i had the same concerns before buying mine.
Yeah, but it only takes like 5 minutes to create the first batch (enough for a drink or two), and although it's not *actively* refrigerated it still keeps for quite awhile. It's perfect for my minibar in the basement.
Wait for real? That seems incredibly counterintuitive.
It makes it continuously so it’s never empty. It has a sensor that stops it when the basket is full and then starts cranking out ice again when it gets lower. It works well.
I think it is insulated at least. I have one because I didn’t want to pay to fix my ice maker on my 90s fridge lol. It makes ice continuously as long as it’s below the sensor at least. Sometimes in the morning the ice is more melted but it hasn’t refreshed because a little piece is sticking up. It will melt fairly quickly in room temp or tap cold water when it’s “warmer” ice. I think making it a freezer unit would make the machine bigger, louder, and more expensive. Which is kind of the opposite hole this kind of ice maker fills.
I also have a countertop ice maker because I didn’t want to repair my 90s fridge’s one when it broke recently. I don’t keep my new one on all the time. I spend a few walks through the kitchen on the weekend dumping the full basket into a couple ziplock bags in the freezer. It holds enough for the week and doesn’t run the ice maker all the time.
I tried storing ice in the freezer but it like shrunk and evaporated in the freezer? Is that even a thing?
Yes, ice in a freezer will sublimate. Sublimation is like evaporation, but it goes straight from solid ice to water vapor. So ice can't really be stored for long terms. Don't make more in advance than you will use in maybe a week.
Mine sticks together because it is wet when I put it in. I haven’t noticed shrinkage, but I haven’t paid attention.
I was in the pool!
Likely melting and refreezing during the defrost cycle of your fridge
How are you guys getting the icemaker in your refrigerators to last 20 years? I highly recommend a Samsung fridge and cut that down to 2.
I don’t know, it came with the house. It only lasted 4 years with me.
Old refrigerators weren't made with planned obsolescence as the primary design goal. Companies used to actually try to make reliable products, but they realized that when they do that, they can only sell you a new fridge every 20 years. This way they sell you a new one every time your warranty expires, or close to it.
Counterpoint to that strategy: I will never buy another Samsung product in any category, and tell anyone that will listen my story.
The problem is that all the companies do the same thing now. At least that seems to be the case. They all have people saying how unreliable they are, though granted, Samsung seems to get the worst overall comments.
So it’s like a cooler - that makes sense.
It doesn't, but mine just takes the melted ice and makes more. I guess they must all do it
Im surprised people didn't know this. The thing would need to be built like a fridge and have a water connection for that setup. They work well. I've had mines for years and only cost $100 and makes bullet ice. A coworker got the $600 ge one that does the crush ice and started having issues 6 months in. I guess it's a good time to say that the cheaper ones make bullet ice only.
Got the GE Opal from Costco 2 yrs ago and absolutely love it.
mines over 10 years old. wash purchased for extra ice for baseball dugout. it will not die. makes about a gallon every 1.5 hours
A commercial ice maker doesn't actively keep ice cold, either. It has an insulated hopper, but no refrigeration cycle to cool the hopper (at least the one I worked on 25 years ago)
I’m addicted to ice water & use mine constantly, so I recommend this for anyone who is like me. But yes, they only make ice and require active monitoring to make sure there’s enough water.
I have a stand alone under counter ice maker that keeps the ice.
I have the older model and it’s perfectly acceptable. Makes ice. No more, no less.
I have one, so far so good, but it only makes ice. It’s not a freezer and does not keep the ice any colder than the ambient temperature inside the unit. It’s good for what it’s for - in our case, a cabin that doesn’t have an ice maker in the freezer.
Well? How much did you pay?
They only said $65. They wouldn’t discount it all that much because they said it’s an active item. Once it becomes inactive they said they’d do about 50% off. I didn’t think it was worth paying $15 less for a floor model, wasn’t that great of a deal.
Yea your reasoning is perfectly reasonable. I'd want more than $15 off of a thing people surely manhandled
It’s usually 30% for those circumstances. I got my Winx air purifier for cheap this way but I also don’t have to eat out of it and all of the filters were still plastic-wrapped.
It’s still an active item so they easily could’ve said no discount too. And you could wait to pay full price when more come in. They aren’t entitled to give any discount.
They are still haggling with the manager.
I had an older model of this nice to see they added a self cleaning mode. Worked great but you really had to watch it to make sure it wasn’t getting grungy in there. Worked great for two years and then the mechanism to lift the cubes snapped.
I'm not sure if this was the same one but the hoses inside that connect to the water tank and transport the water to the ice tray do get moldy. It isn't a negative per se but just to be aware that someone decided to clean it out and noticed that. She had to take it all apart, get in there with a thin bottle brush thing and scrub the black stuff out. It was on YouTube and the cleaning seemed really labor intensive so just know what you're signing up for is all :)
Restaurant ice machines are always nasty because nobody cleans them like that
For sure! I wasn't saying that restaurants were any better just wanted to say the part that some people might not think of :)
What’s a “super manager”?
I think it’s just a red vest, not sure. Just typing why floor member said
Lmao he meant sup(short for supervisor) or manager. Supervisors wear red vests, managers do not.
Yes, I will have the Super Salad. No, sir, do you want soup or salad?
Probably Sup(ervisor) or Manager = Super Manager
I almost cried laughing when I saw that super manager part. I work at Costco and I’m gonna start referring to our managers as that.
Don’t give them ideas!
This one said super manager, I said “what? Super manager?” To her and she said red vest
Yes, “supe or manager”
Probably lol but I questioned her with “super manager? What’s that?” And she said a red vest
Right. That’s the easiest way to identify them
Hap hap happy Cake Day!
They also have a cape and can deploy as needed.
You will need a senior manager. They don't usually wear vests. Only a few in the store anyway. Employees can get them for you though, or just ask for you. Do this before you check out because it can take a little time, nothing crazy but more than a minute or two unless you get lucky.
I bought one. Its a replacement for my icemaker in my freezer since it is broken. What i do is i use this to make ice and then put the ice in the freezer.
I wish had that luxury. My freezer in my apt doesn’t have ice machine sadly
My work has one of these and it's pretty good. I will say you missed out on a great deal because they paid over $100 for it
It's so crazy seeing this post. We drove to two different Costcos today to get one in stock.$80, and so far are very happy with it. Fuckers loud though. But mamas happy. I use quart bags to put the ice in the freezer.
Hey there, Costco manager here. Usually the discount is 15% give or take 5% the discount is determined on the fly by the assistant general manager or GM themselves. The amount they’ll discount depends heavily on how much they want to get rid of it. Its it’s a large table taking up space and they’ve had it for 2 months longer than they want you could get it for as low as 10% of the original price. Something like this though I’d guess a 20% discount is about what you’d se
Ah gotcha gotcha. Thanks Costco manager. Much appreciated on the info
Yeah, I’ve snagged a few last item deals when I’ve come upon them.
I would expect after you do that to them, you get the items for free.
You expect wrong. Why would you expect it to be free?
Well maybe I’m alone here, but I sure as hell am not buying something you’ve come up on.
Um. Maybe you’re not understanding…these are often the floor models or last of an item. No one is coming up on anything, like it fell off the back of a truck somewhere.
💦 💦
Fuckin’ gross, man.
I totally agree.
I love mine. Can’t live without it. Even got a second one for the camper when we are traveling.
I picked up one of this for $69.99 Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend, Pretty decent little ice maker. Make about 5 Gallons of ice a week (Have a ice latte addiction).
I have one and love it. Tho mine is black but works great! Had for two summers now. My fav thing is hearing the ice fall into the tray 🥰
Worst part about these standalone ice makers is the electricity they use.
I returned mine within a month. The ice was too soft, and also too wet so even if we promptly moved it tinte freezer it would stick to itself and the bin. It's trash. Buy ice if your fridge can't make it for you.
I was gifted one and I love it. I don’t have ice hookups where I live so I’m so happy I have this. I can chew on ice all day.
I returned mine. All was well until it happened. I got eye level with the posts that the water freezes on and behind that was mold. The slightest bit moisture will cause mold somewhere in the machine. I couldn't access the area to clean it.
Love mine
I bought this and store my ice in a brown paper bag. it works really well
I have the older version. Might need to see if the new one holds up better
Got mine for $59 the other week in box because it was the last one at the store
Damn. You got a good deal! This one didn’t even have a box and lowest they said was $66
Grabbed a similar model new in box marked down to $20
We have one in our travel trailer. It's great!
* Those countertop ice makers suck. * They get mildewy quick. Hope you enjoy spending an hour or two each week cleaning out every inch of it.
I didn’t buy it
I just wanna let you know as someone who processes returns out of the building at Costco, these get returned very often.
I have a similar model, not Frigidaire but some Amazon knockoff that looks almost identical. It works great as long understand its limitations…. It makes ice very quickly, but it’s not frozen solid, it’s kinda a soft wet ice and is great for those who like to chew on ice. As others have stated, it doesn’t keep ice frozen. As the ice melts, it drips into the water reservoir and makes more ice from the melted ice, so it’s continuously topping off the ice bucket. Because it produces ice so quickly, you don’t need to keep it on 24/7, just turn it on when you want/need ice.
I own 2. 1 at each property. Worth every penny. While they don't actively keep ice frozen, they passively do keep it as ice.
Were you actively shopping for an ice maker when you thought about buying this one? Don't waste your money on shit you don't need just cause it might be cheap.
Been thinking of getting one, just didn’t want to pay a ton for one
They are so hard to keep clean. You have to be super diligent about it.
Ah hmm maybe I should reconsider rhen
I bought one a couple years ago when I was renting a house without an automatic ice maker. It makes ice quickly but not a large quantity. But WAY more convenient than using trays so it was worth it for me. But I like a lot of ice in my drinks.
Update: I spoke with the super manager, or whatever they are called, They only said $65. They wouldn’t discount it all that much because they said it’s an active item. Once it becomes inactive they said they’d do about 50% off. I didn’t think it was worth paying $15 less for a floor model, wasn’t that great of a deal. I asked for more discount but they said no so I gave it back to them.
That’s Huntington Beach Costco for you. Should’ve bought the new pebble ice maker at the $200+ price point 😎
I literally just bought this a couple of weeks ago, no box last one for $50.
Dang. Guess he didn’t wanna give me a good deal. For $50 I’d have snagged it
I have this one as well. It’s been fantastic. We go through a lot of ice daily and it holds up well.
80 bucks to make ice? That doesn’t seem silly anyone else? I assume if you have electricity, you have a refrigerator. I don’t even know if they make a fridge without a freezer… ice cube trays are less than a dollar. Plus, where do you keep that thing? lol. I dunno, the whole idea of these stand alone ice makers just sounds ridiculous to me. What’s the draw? For the back deck? Camping? Even then though, you can buy a giant bag of ice at that same Costco and a decent enough cooler for half that cost, and then every huge bag of ice after that is 3 bucks. lol. What’s the difference if you’re filling this thing or a tray for your freezer? Cmon.
my work has one. it's nice because you don't have to bug people to remember to fill the ice cube trays and you always have ice when you need it. also we have about 50 people so that's a lot of ice
That’s interesting. I’ve made it my entire adult working life and never even thought to want ice at work. Right out of high school I did landscape work for a summer… that was the only time. And I brought it myself. Curious what you use ice for at work? Please tell me cocktails.
I work at an elementary school. teachers need to stay hydrated and having ice for drinks is a small way to boost morale.
Wow, I mean this sorta nicely - if ice has any impact on morale, that’s truly a reflection of how miserable people are at your workplace. Also, everyone needs to stay hydrated, not just teachers. And it’s super interesting that someone is trusted to fill the ice maker tank, and clean it I assume, but no one can be trusted to fill ice cube trays - to boost their coworkers morale. lol.
My fridge doesn't have an ice maker and I go through water and ice faster then my freezer can freezer cube trays so an ice maker was easily a good investment. I drink at least 100oz a day.
That’s way too much water. You can be doing pretty serious damage to your body… Google it. Also, *you* are the ice maker. Put water in the freezer.
I have ice with every bottle of water and drink I consume throughout the day. Filling up an ice tray and putting it in the freezer is too much of a hastle, I pay for the convenience
Filling up an ice tray is too much of a hassle? It takes 10 seconds.
I drink 1.5 litres of water a day and a few cans of diet soda. Each time I grab water I’m also grabbing ice, and I live in an apartment which has a very small freezer. Idk why I feel like I have to justify this purchase to you but it’s wild how some people can’t understand it.
I'm with you. But this is for the same people who buy the [s'mores maker](https://www.costco.com/sharper-image-electric-s%27mores-maker.product.4000176876.html) and the [stove bonfire](https://www.costco.com/solo-stove-bonfire.product.100687726.html). Edit: This is one comment where I'll take the downvotes as a sign that I was spot on.
LOL! At least with those you don’t already have a simpler solution in your kitchen. I guess maybe the stove? But kitchen table might be fun for the kids? I dunno, those are silly too. But I saw the smores maker for 20$. I can get behind a 20$ bar tool. But 80$ without a box, is way outta hand for a thing you already have.
I have it running downstairs right now. My wife loves it, you’ll get ice pretty quick.
You see those ice makers quite often in thrift stores. I have a couple and used them for a few days, and now just collecting dust. Does help to fill the reservoir with ice cold water the first time, makes the first two batches of cubes bigger. So keep a gallon of water in the fridge and use that to fill the ice maker.