Side by Side Comparison of: Luma Comfort vs Avalon Bay

I love mine! It has worked awesome. We lived out in the country and running to the store for a fountain drink was time and cost prohibitive. Yes, it's broken but it lasted quiet a while. Due to shipping costs, I am purchasing a new one. I love it that much!!!!

Great ice maker. Fast and I just love the ice. It looks great in the counter. I make ice when I run out and it is so convient to just add water and turn it on. I can make enough ice on Sunday to last two weeks. There was a review that said ice was melting and was wet to store. I have found that if I put the ice in the freezer container when the bin is full and shake the freezer container each time I add ice I do not have this problem. Ice breaks up easily. I use a commercial round storage bin with a lid and it works great in the freezer.

The first one we got had something wrong with it, but the new one that came in its place works incredibly. It makes enough ice to keep my very large family stocked up and still have a bag or 2 in the freezer!!!

My wife loves it has unlimted snow cones now

When ice from municipal tap water just wasn't good enough... We upgraded and got this counter top ice maker so we could make ice from bottled spring water. We love it and it makes ice faster than you'd think. The crash when a grid of ice is released is a little jarring but you get used to it. Makes lovely clear cubes of ice. Makes our iced tea taste and feel that much fancier. Highly recommend!

I've not had any of the problems that others have reported. I have owned this for 15 months now and use it continuously. Here are a few tips:

I flush mine out with bleach water once a month. Otherwise, it grows a clear slimy substance that makes cloudy ice (yuck!).

If you want thicker ice, turn the unit off, then hold the on/off button down for ten seconds. The five seconds suggested in the manual is too short and will not increase the thickness of the ice.

Sometimes mine would suck air and refuse to drop more water. Mineral buildup around the screw that is under the ice bucket causes this. I just clean around the screw with a paper towel and more water drops at the next cycle.

Occasionally melted ice overfills the area under the ice bucket, causing ice to melt as soon as it is produced. For a while I just scooped a bit of the water out to get it working again. A couple months ago I found a better solution. I got a stainless steel fender washer and put it behind the screw under the ice bucket. I used a bit of plumbers putty on the back side to keep water from leaking around it. Now the water fill stops at the washer and this problem has gone away.

If the ice gets really thin, the condenser coils probably need the dust blown out. Air is pulled through the front, so you cannot see the contamination from the back. I needed to clean mine out after a year.

I only use RO water in mine now. The salt in softened water makes the ice thinner and builds contamination around the fill sensor screw faster too.

I empty all the water out about once a week. That keeps the ice clear. Clear ice makers flow the water over the cold plate and only the water freezes to the plate. The contaminants stay in the water, that is until there is so much contamination that it cannot do that anymore. Professional clear ice makers flush the recycled water periodically to keep the ice clear, but this one cannot do that.

This product is really good. Since I live alone, the ice produced is more than enough. I used cold distilled water to prevent mineral buildup and the cold seems to hasten the production process. There is some noise, but it eventually becomes part of the background noise. ( I have only had it operational for two days.) I notice that the small cubes don't melt very fast so I don't anticipate problems with lack of ice.

Some cons: 1) Even after my eye surgery, I don't think I will be able to read parts of the manual due to the small print, esp. the schematics (this is become more and more common on products as a cost saving measure for the manufacturer; 2) I almost didn't find most of the tape (perhaps colored tape would be better; and 3) Some other reviewers speak of saving ice in a plastic bag in the freezer, which would be great for parties or power blackouts ( the collection basket fills a Sonic 44 oz. cup perfectly.)

It's too early to have problems, but I would buy another one if need be.

As I said in the title line, this is a great little counter-top ice maker. That is, it was. I bought this in August 2014; it is now almost June 2016, and the AB-ICE26S appears to be on its last legs. To be fair, it has been a total workhorse and has seen almost daily use since the day it arrived. All in all, for the price, I guess just shy of 2 years of daily service is a good thing. I will probably order another one, since we don't have the space in this house to put in a bigger under-the-counter model. In the meantime, and in no particular order, here's what I have learned and can tell you about the Avalon Bay AB-ICE26S:

1) It makes "bullet" ice cubes, which look just like the name implies: rounded cones with a hollow space inside

2) You can choose the ice size, large or small. This is the diameter of the ice, not the overall length. Personally, I like the "large" setting (which isn't much larger) because I can fill the ice bucket in the freezer faster and (obviously) the ice lasts longer in the drinks

3) It doesn't take up much space on the counter, and is very easy to fill and retrieve the ice from.

4) The documentation we received with the machine recommended using bottled water to help reduce build-up in the machine. We did occasionally use bottled water, but mainly just used filtered water from the tap.

5) The filtered tap water provided softer ice than the bottled water. Bottled water (in this case, Primo) gave very clear, brittle cubes that we pretty, but not much fun for crunching. The filtered tap water put out white cubes that were a little more dense than nuggets (what folks around here call "Sonic ice"... the small, perfectly crunch-able ice used at a lot of fast food joints) that held up well in the glass, but also provided a very satisfying crunch experience.

6) The ice well (basket) could be better designed.
6a) First, it is made of what feels like very light plastic, and I was always worried that it would break. It never did, but...
6b) The bottom is completely flat, and ice seems to 'dam up' the back side of the basket, so that it sets off the "ice full" sensor a lot (which may be why the sensor stopped working about 3 weeks ago... the first sign of the machine's impending demise)

7) There is plenty of electric cord for use in most kitchens.

8) It is easy to clean, sort of. Just like a coffee pot, you'll want to run a little vinegar solution (there are also cleaning solutions available specifically for ice makers, but I try to avoid the chemicals) through the machine now and then to clear away any residue that has built up, run a rinse of clear water, and wipe it down inside and out with a paper towel or a soft cloth. The problem I found was down by the intake grate, where it was necessary to get Q-tips and swab out the tiny slot between the intake and the reservoir wall. Not a big deal, but a little annoying considering that the reservoir floor is flat, so there isn't any reason (imho) to cram the intake up against the wall. I could see if the floor sloped to get the best possible water intake before the machine went dry, but it doesn't.

9) Speaking of the reservoir floor being flat... that also means it needs a little help to drain completely. Again, not a deal-breaker sort of issue as far as I'm concerned, but it does mean providing a little tilt to get the most drainage, and then using a few extra paper towels to wipe it dry for storage.

This is a great Ice Maker!! We got it for a Christmas Present and just now had the opportunity to hook it up and check it out!! This makes crazy ice!! It is amazing. I love the fact that there is 2 sizes to choose from. We wanted this for our camper and this weekend will be the first weekend out. Looking forward to the fact that we will no longer have to buy ice!!! This will make enough for our drinks and for our cooler!! I am so happy to have received this for a gift and highly recommend it!!

Fabulous! Makes ice very quick and keeps up with my ice needs better than any freezer ice maker has. Followed others suggestions and left it upright for 24 hours before starting machine. Also, the first cubes it makes are puny, so I just dump them back and start using from the second batch. They are opaque cubes, not clear, which I know many people were asking about, but they have a great crunch factor so if you chew ice you'll be pleased. It is not silent, but no louder than a box fan on low, quieter than my dishwasher or dryer that's for sure. Doesn't take up much space, much the same as a toaster, just taller. I wish I had bought one of these years ago and happy I went this route rather than spending about the same to repair my freezers ice maker which didn't keep up with me in the summer.
Update: 5/23/16: Machine is still going strong and keeping up with my demands. I just keep letting it run when I need it and dump ice into my ice box in my freezer. People have come over and wonder why I don't fix my freezer and then the see how fast this guy runs and understand.

This item seemed like a bit of a splurge.....how much ice can one family use after all? Even so, we've had a toasty summer and have found this ice maker to be a great addition to our home. It works exactly as described. We keep it on all day and turn it off in the evening. Works great if you have hot, thirsty employees, neighbors, friends....I've offered lots of folks a cup of ice cold water these days.
The ice maker is a little noisy when actually making and spitting out the ice cubes, but other than that it's very quiet. Nice stainless finish, easy to clean and even easier to use.

Ice is mostly clear. Close enough to say it is. Every now and then a few cubes have a little white. Does not keep ice. Must use as it is made or freeze it.

I have had it for 2 months now so far so good except sometimes the ice will freeze in the ice maker squares and you have to chip it out.

Ice melts faster than from your freezer, but it works well enough for my home bar.

Works well. I wish the cubes were larger and it were easier to clean, but it does turn out the ice.

Was making a busing sound when initially turned on but then quieted down.
Makes small clear ice. I have a full size whirlpool clear ice machine, this ice is crystal clear when I add RO water but much smaller than my full size machine.
This used much less power and water.

I purchased this 2 years ago and after about 22 months, it simply stopped working. Since this outlasted my father-in-law's portable ice maker (and its replacement), I've had my expectations tempered a bit regarding the lifespan of these units. While it worked, it consistently made enough ice to supplement when our main fridge/freezer couldn't keep up with demand. I'll buy another one soon and will definitely get the extended warranty next time.

I believe I got my money's worth so despite failing after less than 2 years, I'm willing to give it 4 stars.

This thing was a must have if you don't have the refrigerator ice maker. No more of the messy, cracked, and drippy ice trays that flood your freezer and makes it 1 big ice cube over time. The only downfall is I wish that it was a cooler or a way to turn on or off a cooler within yhe unit. Wet ice sitting in a freezer just doesn't pan out too well. I feel like I have some type of ice picking job or something. Other than that the machine is great.

I've owned 2 counter top ice makers previously, both with the Igloo name on them. Both stopped working in under a year, and the company is so nightmarish to deal with regarding the warranty that we just threw them out.

So, this time we went with a company that has its base in the US, seems (from other reviews) to be easy to deal with regarding returns and warranty, and has at least a year-long warranty (our last one was only 6 months, and it quit at 7).

The ice maker arrived packed well. It did not reek of chemicals like our last one did. We let it rest for 24 hours, then plugged it in. We threw out the first few batches of ice, just to be safe.

It is almost half the size of the other ice makers, taking up less counter space, which is a big plus, but doesn't seem to hold too little ice. We are a family of 8 and go through a lot of ice. It does seem like the tray that holds the ice is a little smaller, but it doesn't matter. There is always plenty. I don't know if it makes it more quickly, or if the other machines just made excessive amounts...

It does seem to run a little more loudly than the other machines, but is not louder than the dishwasher, for instance.

And, miracle of miracles, ALL of the indicator lights work! The Add Water light never worked on either of the others, and on our last one the Ice Full light would be on, but the thing would keep making ice until the door propped open. This one works exactly as you'd expect. All-in-all it's a great little machine.

The quality of the ice this little guy makes may challenge your definition of ice: solid rounded chunks, but full of air, which makes them seem to melt a little faster than bagged ice. It does produce ice in less than 15 minutes, but only 9 ice chunks at a time. Each batch of ice chunks are then pushed into a 2 quart-ish basket in the front of the machine with a cool mechanical "shovel", which is oddly satisfying to watch. In all, the basket takes a full hour to fill and holds enough ice to nearly top off an average blender if you are making slushy drinks. Water is added manually, in a tank under the removable ice basket, which also holds around 2 quarts or so. The bottom of the tank has a drain plug, and you only need to hang the front of the ice maker over the sink to empty the tank when you are done with it...very easy. The compressor and fan are a little louder than you would expect for an appliance this size, but not objectionable. We cant really say anything negative about our little ice robot, it has performed as advertised, seems well built and is easy to keep clean. It won't supply enough ice for a party, but will easily keep 2 or 3 people supplied with icy drinks on a hot day!

I needed one of these ice makers because I have a lot of house parties, but saw all mixed reviews for all of them. Thankfully a refrigerator repair man left a review saying, let the item sit upright in correct position for about 24 hours before using to allow all the coolant to settle. I was so pleased to see someone take the time out to explain that. After I let it sit for a day, I cleaned it and used it for a party and it worked terrifically!! The ice cubes are small, but that was fine. It makes ice so fast, so it was perfect for our party. I had it sitting right at the bar. I was ready to buy one for twice the price, thinking they would work better. Hopefully this review will help others in their decision making. Great product!

When we first received this machine we loved it, ice was quick, we used filtered water. after a few days the water took on a synthetic taste. we rewashed it etc. could not get rid of the taste. so we are returning it. I am so bummed.

I didnt even own this Luma comfort IM200SS portable ice maker a year and its already giving fits. When trying to freeze to make ice cubes it automatically shuts off. No telling what i will have to do to send it back to the manufactory. Wish I had stuck to the very first model i purchased. Dont waste your time folks!

UPDATE: I decided to contact the manufacturer and they were pretty nice people. They not only sent me the packaging matriels i needed to send my ice machine back in, but also paid the shipping charges for me. They ended up not being able to fix my machine, so they sent me a new machine free of charge. I just hope this one last a little longer than the first one.

The unit often ices up and has to be turned off. Keeping up with peak demand is an issue in our small restaurant. More often than not it's functional and does an OK job.

it wasnt bad, just not as fast as I needed it to make ice.

It freezes up and stops producing ice. You have to turn it off and let it sit for a while before you can make ice again.

Let me say that this unit did a great job for the 2 years it ran but....I'd would have hoped to have had more than 2 years.Sounds like the gears aren't connecting.

5 stars for being and awesome product, minus 2 stars for only last 2 years.

Suggest getting the warranty offered by Amazon

This ice maker worked great for about 9 months. Amazon was great in granting a refund. This is my 2nd Avalon Bay and while they worked, they were excellent. We follow the manufacturer's directions but 9 months appears to be the life expectancy of this great little ice maker. Still cheaper than buying bagged ice!

I bought this ice maker a couple of months ago and it was a great addition to our freezer ice maker. It was quiet and makes a lot of ice quickly. We dumped the try into the freezer and stirred it up to minimize cubes freezing together. We always had ice to fill bottles before school and after school activities.

Unfortunately it now makes a very loud grinding sound while pumping water into the freezing tray. The fan and compressor are still quiet so I am sure it is the water circulation pump.

I'm about to look into warranty info and will update with any useful info.

it works just as it should ... just too big for my limited counter top space . I really would like to send it back but ... the boxes were really big - it came in two. They were also heavy boxes - which I understand were to protect the product - but I threw them out before I really got to use it. Didn't really need it and now I think it may just sit in my pantry for most of it's life - maybe I'll sell it on eBay or something. It does however make ice in just 6 mins and the ice is good ice too (tor the ice cruncher). I was actually expecting it to melt quickly - it does NOT... good machine just a bit much for my space (really important to pay attention to measurements when buying on-line)

I must confess, this was a 'drunk' buy. Had friends over and we ran out of ice. All night I had bragged about Amazon and how easy it is to make a purchase. Well 2 days later this showed up. I've tested it for a day and it does make good ice, but you need to use the ice or empty it regularly and put the ice in the freezer to 'stock up'. If the ice could stay in the unit and LAST than I would have given it 5 stars.

Have not had it very long and it quit making ice. I have researched to see what I can do and nothing has worked. When it was working the ice was fantastic. But what I paid for it and it didn't even last a year.

Not good, always getting clogged.

Worked fine for 2 weeks then just quit making ice. Doesn't get cold anymore and the water goes right to the bucket

it did not work for more than a week.

I'm on my second one now. I do like the ice cubes it produces very much. Trouble is that it freezes up and stops working after prolonged use.

Sensor Failure: Ice Tray Full sensor is improperly reading 'full' so unit will no longer operate. Purchased in June 2016, stopped working after approximately 1 year (7/23/2017).

Was reasonably happy up until it failed.
Cons: a bit noisy, not super easy to clean (will occasionally see mold growth in certain spots). Tries to hard to pump water when the water level is too low - sounds like pump is dying
Pros: Fast, but first few rounds of ice are small and very wet - takes a little while for the reservoir temp to cool down to a point where ice making is efficient/optimal. I would often put the ice in my freezer to cool them down to normal ice temp (i.e. -20 to -25 C)

I returned this ice maker. Once the ice is made a "scoop" is supposed to drop the ice into a holding basket. Unfortunately the scoop will not drop down low enough to capture up the ice. The scoop will move forward over the ice cubes, but has nothing to dump into the holding basket. On a positive note, it did make the ice cubes in about 5 to 6 minutes. I actually taped a quarter to the scoop which gave it enough weight to drop down and pick up the ice, but I do not want to "rig" the ice maker to work.

Sent it back. Started making a clicking sound like something was stuck after about 2 weeks.

Purchased this back in Oct (all of 5 months ago). Read the negative reviews and had hoped they were just bad luck. WRONG! Already stopped making ice - tried every trick in the book but it seems the sensor is wacky so it either says the ice tray is full or makes so much ice it shuts itself off then melts before you can use it.

I purchased this little maker in September of 2015. I have had it on my counter since the day it arrived. I've had a lot of dental surgery, to include several implants and because of that I've experienced a lot of dry mouth. So having ice in my mouth all the time has been a constant part of my life for the past four years. Because of the dental work, crunching ice is a big no-no. The little cubes that come out of this machine are soft, cold and easily fall apart which I absolutely love.

The problem is, it hasn't even been 6 months and the machine has stopped working. Just caput. Nada. Zero. Zilch. No Mas. I think you get the picture. Now if I do the math, I was buying about 2 bags of ice a week at let's say $3 a bag. So at 6 months that's $156. Okay about break even. But my water delivery service increased a lot because of the constant production of ice. So really, at this point, I'm in the hole.

I've reached out to the manufacturer to see if they have a warranty or replacement service available. Will update this thread when and if I hear from them. In the meantime my son is on his way home from picking up a couple bags of ice. :D.

Ice maker didn't work and had to return it. Return process was painless, but very disappointed that the product was defective

I've had this for one year and one month now, using it daily to make ice that's perfect for iced coffee. I paid $240, felt it was worth it, and I loved it for that entire year. But last week it started making a grumbling noise, so I called their customer service. The agent was friendly and offered to repair it, but it would cost $160 in shipping.

Instead, I took the machine apart in hopes that a deep clean would resolve the issue. When I opened it up, and snipped the cable ties holding the tubes on, it was disgusting inside. The hoses are filled with slime.

I cleaned the unit regularly (both with vinegar and diluted dish soap as recommended in the guide). We never use our hands to scoop the ice, only a clean scooper. We use filtered water. But the "filters" on the machine are simply small plastic strainers and only filter things larger than a grain of rice. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this gross slime inside.

This unit does not preform as advertise. If you use it ,it can not be returned. So how can you know if you like it with out trying it .Not their problem, it is your problem. You buy it, you own it , whether you like it or not.

We had this for almost 2 months and it completely stopped working.... The motor in it and all. Of course it's past the window of returning, which is crap because I paid a lot of money for this and then 2 months after having it completely stopped working. Do NOT buy this.

Failed on day 38, five days past Amazon return period. Worked fine, and now it doesn't. Save you money

Update: After day 2 the ice maker no longer works correctly. The freeze tray gets jammed with very cloudy and oddly shaped ice. The water pump sounds like it's struggling and the waterflow now comes out sporadically onto the freeze tray. I just returned the unit. I'm now downgrading my review from 4 stars down to 1 star.

Original review: Was looking for a good machine to supplement the built-in ice maker on our refrigerator. So far the unit has met my expectations. First off, it looks fabulous sitting on the counter. Secondly, it's not noisy. I was concerned it might be too loud sitting in our kitchen since the living room is next door. I can barely hear it. It's about on par with the noise of a refrigerator and MUCH more quiet than our dishwasher. The ice is perfectly clear. I've been dumping it into a Rubbermaid container that I bought just to fit my freezer. It goes in a bit on the wet side, but completes freezing in the freezer and separates nicely when you twist the container a bit. On the negative: There's a procedure you can activate to have the unit run three minutes longer for thicker ice. You turn the unit off, then hold the pwr button for 5 seconds to activate. This would be more intuitive with a separate "thick ice" button. The current method gives no indication of which mode is active.

I bought this ice maker in August of 2015. It worked well until recently and now it makes a lot of noise. It scares people and they turn it off.
I wonder if the pumps break after a year? I could not find a number to call for service.
They should last longer than 2 years.

Only worked for six months, much less than the ice maker we owned before that cost so much less. No, OF COURSE they will not stand by their product and fix or replace it.

Total piece of junk. Never made the first ice cube. I gave it one star because there was no zero.

Second one purchased, first one lasted 8 months, second one 2 months. Contacted supplier with no response. DO NOT PURCHASE!

Our ice maker in our fridge failed for the second time. The second unit only lasted a few years before it quit. I didn't feel like spending all that money again. We decided to try a different approach and ordered the Avalon ice maker from Amazon.

When we first got the machine I was not sure it would make enough ice to keep our tray full in the freezer. I was wrong. We had our tray filled in short order and had to shut off the machine. So far, we are very happy with the Avalon ice maker. We run it once a day in the evening when we are preparing dinner. It makes plenty of ice that will get us through the next day.

Pros: Makes ice really fast
Easy to set up and use
One fill of the reservoir makes a lot of ice
Very quiet, only noise is when the cubes dump into the tray.

Cons: It is not a freezer, so cubes left in the tray will melt if you do not remove them.

Overall, we are very happy. I would definitely recommend the Avalon Bay ice maker.

UPDATE June 12, 2015

Our ice maker quit working after 10 months. We shipped it back to Avalon Bay on April 24. They could not repair it and sent us a new machine that arrived the first week of June. Service from Avalon was courteous, but really slow.

The new machine works much better than the old one ever did. The cubes are much bigger and thicker. Leading us to think the first machine was faulty to begin with. Luckily the machine quit during the 10th month of the 12 month warranty. Two more months and it would have been a total loss.

Bottom line: I wouldn't buy this machine again.

UPDATE: AUGUST, 2016
Second machine has now quit working. These machines are junk...don't buy one!