Side by Side Comparison of: Igloo vs Magic Chef

OK, So let's talk about this little Igloo counter top Ice maker. It showed up on my doorstep last Tuesday. It also just happened to be one of the hottest days of 2017 so far in my area. Needless to say. I was super excited. It had sat on my doorstep in the sun most of the day. So needless to say, it and the packaging was a bit toasty. Regardless I brought it in, unpacked it poured water in it, and waited for a cool breeze of ice. FAIL. SO VERY VERY disappointed. Now with all of that being said. Let me tell you an ol saying my grandfather lived by. "Experience is something you get 5 minutes after you needed it." So be the case here as well.The unit as a whole isn't refrigerated. So pouring hot or room temperature water in it the unit is NOT, I repeat NOT going to end well for you. You will get VERY small cubes, and they will melt almost as fast as they are made. Chill your water overnight before you want to start making ice, then what I do, * and you don't have to do this.* but to keep it cooler in the storage area. The first 2 cycles of ice that are made, I dump down into the reservoir.This helps keep everything chilled and you will get better results.Also. another trick I've learned. Don't leave the ice in the catch bin. Once it is about halfway full. Dump it in a one gal zip lock bag. Why a zip lock bag you ask? The ice comes out of the catch bin VERY wet.If you put it in a reg ice bucket then put it in the freezer. You're going to end up with nothing more than a block of ice, and it is difficult to break apart. If you put it in a zip lock freezer bag, it breaks up much easier.All in all, I am VERY pleased with this. I was a bit concerned about some of the naysayers, and the bad reviews they posted. But with a little thinking on my part, I addressed all of their problems with more than pleasing results. Some people are just a bit too lazy to think, and to fast to complain.Oh, one more tip. When you are done making ice, dry it out as best you can, then get an old clean sock, and put some white rice in it. Then set it in the holding tank. It will draw out any leftover moisture and prevent any moldUpdate. 4 months later, and it still works like a champ.

I'll be brief and do this as a list so it's easy to read:1) ice cubes are only clear/transparent for the first 1-2 batches, basically while the water in the basin is still at room temp, however I was not looking for clear ice cubes2) they are chewable, especially the small ones3) makes lots of ice once the machine has been on for about an hour, needs time to chill contents4) the ice that is made stays "scoop-able" (loose and individual) while inside the machine, however, it all does freeze together once transferred to your freezer. REMEDY: Not everyone has room to do this but this is what my family does. I fill plastic cups with the ice and place the cups into the freezer. Then when you need ice, just grab a pre-filled cup. If you just need the ice for a cup you are already using, get a pre-filled cup and run water over the outside of the cup to loosen the ice from its hold on the cup. The ice will slide out in one chunk that can easily go into the cup you are already using. The now empty cup can then just be filled again and go back into the freezer since it didn't get dirty. Just a suggestion that works in my house.5) the sensors for needing more water and ice bin full do work but are not 100% reliable so just keep an eye on them. Whether they function or not doesn't effect the quality of the ice.6) yes, I run it all day long 3-4 days a week in the summer, sometimes more, no problems in the 2 years we've had it7) the machine is not a freezer so the ice produced does slowly melt. I have not noticed a weird taste to ice that is made from melted ice. I use water from my reverse osmosis system.8) if I'm not using the machine for a period of time (we use a lot less ice in the winter), I drain it (which is easily done but just opening the valve on the side and placing a cookie sheet with a lip to catch the water, don't need it all over the counter), and then wipe it out with a rag and a very very dilute bleach solution. I then just fold up a paper towel and use it to prop the lid open just a crack so it can dry out completely but it won't be open to collect dust. Then its ready to go the next spring.Again, I love this thing. Yes, it would be nice to have water plumbed to it, but filling it really isn't that big of a deal. If you want ice, this is a perfect way to have lots.

I bought this for my in laws. They had another one for years, but it finally bit the dust so we bought this as a replacement. The difference is this one holds a lot more ice at a time which is great! My mother in law makes a lot of shakes, so she uses a lot of ice. The cubes can be 3 different sizes, personally I like the large. It also makes the ice very fast, which is great for get togethers.I always depends on reviews when I'm shopping on Amazon, so I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please click the 'helpful' button below! Thank you!

The Igloo ICE103 counter top ice maker is fast and makes three sizes of clear ice. It is relatively light weight when compared to my initial counter top ice maker. This allows for easier cleaning. The Romans said "In matters of taste there is no dispute". However, if they had electricity back in their day, I'm certain they would find it attractive (and a bargain), as do my wife and I.

This little gadget will really crank out the ice, but it's probably not exactly what you think it is.Where the ice is made is freezing (obviously), but the storage area is just insulated.When the ice basket is full, the machine goes to sleep.Over time, the stored ice will melt, and the machine will wake up and replace it.Running, the unit draws 108W (as measured with a "Kill-A-Watt" meter)Over a 10 day test period, my unit consumed 6.34 kWh. That's 0.63 kWh per day (11 cents worth of power where I live).My family (4 adults) uses ice in everything. A drink of water typically starts with a glass full of ice.A lot of ice.... that's my point. The machine kept up.You have to remember to fill the reservoir, but that's easy.If you're trying to make ice for a party, dump the ice into a cooler-- not your freezer.The ice is wet. It'll freeze into a big glob if you put it into a freezer.Figure on emptying the basket every couple of hours. Refill at the same time.It rips out the cubes. I was really surprised.There's not a lot of visible difference between small, medium, and large cubes.The large ones are thicker. That's the size I'm using.When full, it's silent.When making ice, it sounds like a refrigerator.When dumping ice, you'll hear running water and the cubes tumble.

I ordered this 1 Jul 2015 and received it by 3 Jul 2015. Thanks Amazon Prime!19 Jul 2015 I have made ice non stop with this little machine. I have to admit I was extremely surprised at the amount of ice it actually produces.At first when I seen 8 ice cubes produced, I thought that hmmm maybe not such a great deal. I was wrong! This small unit holds quite a bit and when the ice basket is full it quits making ice. This is a small unit great for limited space. The unit fits on a tv table tray in the kitchen so it out of the way completely. (Very convenient! I purchased this for my travel trailer so I can utilize the freezer space. I price shopped Walmart/Kohl's/Bed Bath and Beyond/Ebay/etc. Amazon had the best price on this particular item.Only thing I would change if there was an option to keep ice frozen after being produced. Not really a big deal since as the ice melts it just returns to the water supply to be made into ice again.

I had a GE Monogram ice maker for about 5 yrs that just stop making ice consistently. A repairman visit would cost at least $150 and more to fix. A new one would cost over $1000. While I loved the ice that it makes, clean, clear, cube ice, (if you ever poured soda over frozen ice you know why this is important), these thing just do not last and are way too expensive.So I basically decide to go portable. I do not have the counter space, so it needs fit into the space left by my undercounted ice maker. The search began.After reading all the reviews this was the one to get. I was not disappointed. I followed the instructions of another post to leave it upright for a day (actually a couple of days). Cleaned it, and dump the first days batch. Actually I kept it to use for coolers.This makes ice really fast! 10 minute and I had my first batch of ice. My old one took at least 1/2 hr when it was working good.Ice quality is good, but not clear ice. Still way better than freezer ice maker ice. But I already knew this. There are no portable ice makers that make clear ice. Cubes come in 3 sizes. I generally use medium. The cube are like a large gumdrop with a hole on the bottom.Unit runs all the time, unless we go away. Then I dump the water and put away the ice and unplug or turn it off. Do not leave water when not running. The water will smell like a fish tank within a day a two. This is not the fault of the machine, just nature of water given certain conditions.I also noticed some black specs once but a cleaning too care of that.Capacity is ok, there is a small tray that holds the ice, it then melts back into the reservoir to be used to make more ice.It would be great to be able to connect this to a water line. But then it would not be portable.One final note, I made a pull out shelf where my old 15" ice maker was, and it fits perfectly, with extra storage under it to boot.Highly recommended if you want an alternative ice maker.PS if they ever make one that makes clear ice I would pay Double the price.

The icemaker performs exactly as advertised. My only annoyance with it is that the manufacturer does not recommend leaving it to run continuously. The recommendation is to empty and clean it frequently. Hence I leave it empty until I have need for it.One concern is that the water drain has a plug insert that can be easily lost. The cap to the drain does not have a gasket, so re-inserting the plug before putting back on the cap is necessary to keep the drain from leaking.

I like it. Àt first it seems slow but after it gets going its pretty good. The water is located beneath the Ice bàsket. The Ice begans melting as soon as it goes into the basket. A full basket of ice will be wet and dripping. I put the wet ice in my freezer. When it's hard is ready to be used. Never add cold water to the water tank. Room temp. works best. Dump the Ice into a dry cooler or a freezer.

We've had our ice maker for 11 months, so far, and use it exclusively. After replacing our ice maker 3 times in 1 1/2 years, we went to buying our ice. We believe this unit will have paid for itself in one year, but for convenience sake...It has paid for itself LONG before now!! I LOVE THIS ICE MAKER!!

We received this very quickly and it works very good. We let it set for a hour, filled the water cavity, plugged it in, pushed the on button and large size cube. We had our first set of cubes in 9 minutes. It makes little noise, but you do hear ice cubes drop into holding tray. When the holding tray got filled it shut off and I put the ice in a plastic zip lock bag and put in freezer. This machine is for our RV and will be very good for cold drinks and keeping ice in our ice chest when we go out in the boat. It does have a side drain, which has a very small plastic plug, I'll have to be very careful when I pull it out I don't loose it. Having a group in you would want to start ahead of time freezing ice cubes. I would recommend this item as we don't like going to the store getting ice when we have company.

This is my second one. The only reason I had to get rid of the first one was I moved into a much smaller place. I had to sell it at a tag sale. Was soo delighted to get it back in silver. I start it up in the morning when I need to replenish my supply of ice and empty it every 30 - 45 min. Medium sized cubes are the perfect size and are made fairly quickly! It does make some noise, but nothing like a dishwasher. I love that I never have to make runs to the store for ice anymore. This unit will more than pay for itself in 6 mos. I totally recommend this unit to ice junkies!

This ice machine has worked great running full time since we got it several months ago. It started making some noise so we ran a vinegar solution through it for a few days and it's fine now. The only downside is that it only makes 2 pounds at a time. You have to dump the ice out and store it in the freezer in a bag of your choice to stock up on it. It has paid for itself already for we don't have to buy ice daily to keep the beer cooler stocked. It's a handy size and sits on a TV tray in the kitchen where we can monitor it.

Good product, but the ice isn't as hard frozen as I'd prefer. It always feels slightly "thawing." But, works fast and in a camper it's sure easier/cheaper than having to search out bagged ice all the time.

Very good ice maker. The ice melts very fast if the beverage isn't ice cold which is why I took off one star. In addition, the ice stops producing before the bin is full if the ice doesn't fall far enough from the top. Overall, I'm glad I finally have ice in the house without having to purchase it from the store. I put the ice in freezer bags to save for later.

We have had 2 others before, 1st one lasted 18 months, 2nd one almost 12 months before it quit as wellWe make about a gallon's worth of ice every day , with distilled water.Both them were purchased at a local Big Box store.This is completely different from what I had gotten before.We have only been using it for about 2 weeks so far.Set up and use, seems to be well thought out and constructedIt's quicker, quieter and makes bigger ice on the small setting than the last one's.......... even when they were new.Hopefully it last longer than the last two.

This worked well, but it made ice way too slow for what I was expecting. If you're not in a hurry or need a lot of ice at a time this is a gem. However, I think I needed more industrial strength.

We really enjoy this icemaker. It akes ice rapidly. We can keep our cooler iced down and have ice for drinks while we are camping. Just pour bottled water in, it makes a decent size tray of ice in about 6 mins. As ice melts it trickles back into the reservoir and recycles the water. Only reason not 5 stars is that it is a little pricey.

Good for about a year. Every year we have to buy a new ice maker. This one made it about a month past the year mark. It works well, just plan on replacing it. We ordered a different brand and slightly more expensive one this time around. If you are offered a warranty, it is a good idea to get one.

Worked just fine until we had a summer storm with lightening that popped off the electricity. The resulting power surge killed this little guy but good. May reorder for next summer. Loved having the extra ice on hand. So convenient. And perfect size cubes for beverages.

Works exactly as it says it will. I wish the ice wouldn't freeze together when I put it in my main freezer, but it does not advertise that it is a freezer so if I empty it before it runs out of water or fills the bin it is better.

This unit has performed as well or even better than I had hoped. It makes the large ice cubes every 11-12 minutes. I place them in our freezer in a metal bowl and after a few minutes I can break them apart and place them in our storage bin. I had a refrigerator ice make fail and flood the house so I plan to use this ice maker until it breaks and then buy another.

I've only used the ice maker for two days and plan to keep it at our beach house. It works great, exactly as described. Very simple to use, fully automatic. We spend about $5/day for ice when we stay at the beach. So it will pay for itself in one summer. The only drawback is the small ice bin. It fills quickly - a plus, but the bin needs to be emptied before it will make more. I filled several large zip bags, put them in the freezer and used them to ice a large cooler the next day. The size of the ice maker is a great counter top fit.

We had ordered two other ice makers for our RV and neither of them worked. The first one was an Emerson, which did not work at all. (sent back and got a refund) Got another one of these which did not work either and they replaced it with the same one, and finally this one works. BE SURE; DO NOT TURN BOTTOM SIDE UP OR LAY IT ON IT'S SIDE, KEEP IN UPRIGHT POSITION AT ALL TIMES. I think it is a problem which occurs during shipping. However, the ice cubes are not clear as stated by another buyer. I read on fb that to get clear ice cubes you have to boil the water first. NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE This ice maker does a good job as long as you keep the ice emptied up, so it doesn't melt, This unit does not keep the ice from melting. We don't have a problem with this and keep it emptied and refill with water as needed. It continually makes ice all day and night. We put the ice in the gallon ziplock bags in the coolers and as it melts, we recycle the water. Recommend, but get ready to have a hard time getting one that works.

It made ice beautifully but didn't last long. After ten months it cracked where the water is that the paddles dip into to make ice so the cube were tiny little thin ones. I wouldn't buy it again.

Bought this February 2016 and it worked great until a couple of weeks ago. It started making a lot of noise intermittently when it turned on a couple of months ago, but kept cranking out ice. It completely stopped working about a week ago. The power light turns on, but no ice is produced. The fan won't even spin. I'm really disappointed it quit working after such a short amount of time. I expect an appliance like this to last a couple of years at least.

I had NO PROBLEMS with the seller of this product. The issue was that it only lasted two months and the water pump went out. The sellers were VERY COURTEOUS and refunded my purchase price. I went to the next larger size as this one seemed to have some bad reviews and the larger one works less because it makes more ice at each fill up so I am hoping it will last longer. I bought an extended warranty on the larger one TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE. I use mine daily as my fridge doesn't have an ice maker PLUS I TRIPLE FILTER MY WATER before putting it in the machine.(Reverse Osmosis, Brita Filter Pitcher then thru the ZERO Filter Pitcher. I am a bit OCD when it comes to using water not knowing what may have been used to CLEAN IT before it got to me. Plus the extra filtration helps keep the little filter in the icemaker clean, too. I clean my icemaker every 2-3 weeks and it does save on the life of one that is used more than just on occasion.

This is a good looking machine and appears to be well built. When i unboxed. I cleaned the inside and ice tray, added water and within about 10 minutes it was making ice and cubes were dropping every couple minutes after that. Now, the reason i rated as only 3 stars is because the machine is very loud. Not deafening, but very noticible where i can here it from the next room over. I do like the cylinder cubes it makes, but i think this will be one of those things ill probably only used every once in a while when my ice demand is high for parties and things like that.

Time will tell. This is my second machine. The first one lasted 13 months then died. We hope thi one lasts a while longer.Barrybrelandsr@ gmail.com

Chugs along and makes ice, but it's very noisy. When it's low on water, it sounds like it's straining. I like the Danby at work better. Ice is about the same, but it's not nearly as noisy and when it's low on water, it just beeps. I went with this one for the stainless steel finish, but next time I'll get a Danby.

Makes ice quickly so it's great for parties, but not built to last. Similar to others, I've only used it a few times and already two of the cooling elements no longer work.

First, I will say that I believe this product operated the way it was supposed to. However, it took 8 hours to make about 6 lbs. of ice. And because the ice maker is not a freezer, if I did not stay on top of removing the ice from the ice maker and putting it in the freezer, it would melt. I bought this to supply our regular ice usage in the house, since our freezer does not have an ice maker and I often forgot to buy ice and bring it home. However, even making a return trip to the store to buy ice is much more convenient than waiting/watching the ice maker for 8 hours. This just is not the right way for me to have access to ice, so I will be returning it.

Like the magic chef ice maker but it does really take a long time to make ice.

Bought this 5 months ago. Worked great until yesterday when I noticed the bin that holds the water is stuck in the back position and won’t come forward on its own so all the water just runs down into the water tank. Can no longer use after only having it for 5 months.

worked great for 3 months then started to make very, very loud noises. Customer service through the company was a joke. would cost $70 to send back for them to repair. Dosent sound like a warranty to me. bought the 2 year extended through amazon, but that only kicks in after the one year of factory warranty. Don't buy this product unless you want to be upset talking with customer NON-service.And yes, We waited 24 hours before we started our machine....we tried to do everything right but these machines just don't last.

While this ice maker does make ice very quickly, it also has a terrible sensor that constantly stays lit up even after you empty out the ice bin. It's so bad that it even stays lit up when you unplug and re plug the unit power plug back in. Basically power cycling does not always fix the issue. I have had this issue pretty much immediately since day 2ish of buying this ice maker. I did not return this immediately because I clear out the ice bucket every few hours anyways and didn't mind unplugging the unit for a minute or so to provide a power cycle and this was working fine for me. Now the indicator is starting to stay lit up even though the ice bucket is empty. I will now have to rma the product to the manufacturer per the warranty since I am outside the return window for Amazon. If I didn't basically absolutely need an ice maker I would not even bother but I really do need it for health reasons.

The unit worked great for a one month and I would have given it a five star rating. Then the pump started howling when it started making a fresh batch of ice even when full of water. It's still making ice but you know it's just a matter of time and this thing will break or I'll shut it off because I can't stand the noise.

Worked fine the first time but it makes very tiny batches, like less than one drink's worth. You need to run it for several hours to get a good amount. Also, the third time using it, it makes one tiny batch and the "add water" red light goes on after every batch so it has to be turned off and on again every 10 minutes even though the water reservoir is full. Huge waste of money.

It worked nicely for 3 days then quit. Returning for refund.

Didn't last more than 6 months great ice when it was working

Did what it is supposed to do. Did not last nine months with moderate use.

Lasted 1.5 years. Last Magic Chef lasted 6 years. Replaced it with a different brand. We'll see...

Purchased in April, ran great for sixmonths, died. About $25 a month. Buyer beware.

Bought it in April, 3 days ago it stopped making ice! Checked everything in the manual for troubleshooting, found the compressor is not turning on, evrything else works, it draws the water for the well, doors all working fine, you can see the water in the bucket with the studs in the water but does not turn it to ice, the whole compartment does not get cold at all!!! Was totally satisfied when it was working!

Started off working great. The first 3 batches made ice and quickly. Unfortunately on 4th of July when we were preparing for a party the ice maker quit working. We had to send the product back.

Was very loud and didn't last long had it 3 years and it stopped working there was what looked like rust on the ice cube tray and it cracked didn't use it a whole lot

Worked great for about 3weeks. Now all it produces is large blocks of ice with 9x holes in the top. 😒 Switched to small setting thinking it would kick them out sooner before BLOCK was formed. Nope. Pics are from the SMALL setting. I will try to return.

I purchased this for my fiancèe's birthday and she loved it. Exactly what she wanted. It ran without problems for about 11 1/2 months. It died and called the troubleshooting/warranty line and they where quite nice and helpful doing the troubleshooting. Once they said the unit died their accents grew much thicker. I was disconnected several times towards the end of the conversation. They wanted me to ship the unit back to them with a special warranty ($150+ for USPS) and then pay then even more for an additional Warranty in case it was broken. I told them it was already broken and they kept asking me how I broke it. I said I didn't do anything, it just stopped working, why would I be sending it back for warranty replacement if it wasn't broken? Finally I was told that the warranty didn't cover broken appliances, only working ones??? Why would I want to replace a working icemaker?

Died after less than 3 months. Called the company, they wanted me to pay to ship it to them (it's heavy), then pay $25 to fix it. Not acceptable for the time period. This is the second one I have tried...both died, although the first, cheaper one, lasted longer. Rather than pay to ship it and fix it...I threw it in the trash. Won't be purchasing another one.

We bought the unit on-line through Amazon, and it worked for a month. Then it stopped making ice and in fact heated the water. I called customer support, and it put me through a reset process. That also did not work so I called customer support again. This time they described a return process that was so elaborate that it was clearly designed to discourage me from using the warranty. I had to box it and pay for shipping myself plus pass a $7 "insurance fee" to Curtis. What a disappointment! I would not recommend this unit nor this company to anyone.

Didn't even last a month. Last one gave out after 8 months. Spend your money elsewhere.

had 2 in the last year both stopped working ,, waste of money

this is june of 2017 and it already gave up the ghost. don't waste your money

Lasted less then a year, when it work it made ice fairly fast and was noisy , I do not recommend this unit.

Didnt work had to send it back.

Worked for a few months before breaking. I contacted Magic Chef on multiple occasions requesting a repair or replacement and got no reply. While it worked it worked decently, but I will never buy or recommend buying a Magic Chef product again when the customer service is this bad.

It arrived, didn't work at all. Called the company and they said "may your water is too pure. not enough minerals to recognize there is water in the tank." Paleeeeze. Research revealed that it's relatively common for a part to break in transit and causes it not to cycle.