Side by Side Comparison of: Whynter vs Ivation

So far, I am thrilled. Installed yesterday, and completely full today. Cubes are a great size. Connection line included is really long, so provides a lot of flexibility in placement. My Samsung fridge ice maker is terrible and have had 7 service calls already. This is a great alternative.

Works great. Built into outdoor kitchen. Small but makes quite a bit of ice for size. When full it fills up plastic grocery bag with ice. No drain needed. No pump needed. Very simple. Same type of cubes as ice maker on fridge inside. Way cheaper than most ice makers I was considering. Very happy with purchase. Photo was taken before countertop installed.

has worked well since purchase. Make sure to get the door closed though- this thing is very cold and quickly freezes condensation from outside air.After almost a year with the ice maker, still going strong. Requires that I cycle it off occasionally to get rid of ice build up, due to folks in the office not getting the doors completely shut. The old model had a slot on the door to hang the ice scoop, this one does not which may be the reason the door doesn't get closed tightly. Ours is permanently hooked up over a drain and I never see condensation or melt.

This thing is awesome. Takes about a day for it to get into its groove,but once it does,the ice flows pretty quickly. We hooked it up to an extra washer valve downstairs with about $40 worth of fittings and flexible industrial ice maker hose. Super easy to install with minimal plumbing knowledge and super easy to use. I just hope it lasts for many years to come. I totally recommend it...the family is very happy and enjoying not going to the gas station to buy ice anymore.

We've used this at our club house for a month now, no problems so far. Installation was a breeze. On initial use, toss out the first few batches until your ice is clear as is recommended in the instructions. Ice does not stick together, even after sitting for several days.

I bought this as we seem to always be in need of extra ice since we bought the fancy french door refrigerator with the ice maker in the door. What they don't tell you when you buy one of those beasts is that the ice maker in them is tiny. We live on the water and spend a lot of time in our boat, so we're always lugging coolers to the local ice place and buying bulk bags. No longer!! This thing CRANKS out the ice and, even though I've only owned it for a week, I don't know how I ever lived without it. I've filled three 20 pound bags and placed two of them in our chest freezer and the other in our fridge for when the fridge can't keep up.I bought the two year service plan on it just in case, and will update the review every 6 months or when appropriate.

This thing is a work horse. we got it because my $1,200 refrigerator/freezer makes like 10 ice cubes every few hours and we love ice(even had the repair people come out an the guy said, yeah, because it's hot out, the water in the line is hot so it takes a long time for the it to cool enough to freeze.... so in the summer(or in LA most of the year) the freezer has very low ice output... Whaaat???/ So i started searching for ice makers and found this - right price, right size. we just fill it up every couple of days. . the ice cubes aren't as solid as the ones from my freezer but it cranks them out! and it's been running non stop for a year.

My husband is on fluid restriction and likes to chew on ice. The ice maker in the refrigerator makes cubes too large and dense for this. This machine is great..the small cubes are great for chewing. Also it is so convenient to leave on the counter as we use several times a day. I bought 2 small plastic containers to put the finished ice into. They each hold one basket of ice cubes. I put a kitchen towel on the counter and when I take the basket of ice out I tap it on the towel to release any excess water then fill the plastic container. When I take the container out of the freezer I just tap the container on the counter to loosen the cubes and they are ready to use. I hope this has been helpful.

We had another brand and it died. We LOVE this machine for several reasons. 1. Itmakes a ton of ice..our apartment fridge does not have a ice maker. 2. It hold about a gallon of water. 3. it is quiet. We hope the quality continues as the machine gets older. Big thums up.

Bought this for my husband since we do not have an ice maker connected to our freezer. I am impressed. It makes ice quick. I don't have to worry about constantly refilling water into the unit. It holds 2.8 liters in the water reservoir. You don't have to worry about transferring the ice from the ice maker to the freezer. We have never transferred the ice and it stays frozen. Very pleased.

I give it five stars. 1 very well packaged. 2 arrived on time. 3 instructions are understandable and actually helpful. 4 looks great. 5 works really well. Makes ice quickly and yes, it makes three sizes. When you get one, if read the instructions You'll have a flawless enjoyable ice maker. Oh yeah I had my first ice batch in 7 minutes.

Makes ice very quick. You have to make sure to get the unit level otherwise you will here the motor running. The biggest complaint I have is you have to defrost the unit more than I think you should have too.

It does what is says it will do. I have to say the ice is very think and melts quickly in drinks but all in all it ok

Seems to be good quality and I love the blue interior light. Have only had it running for a month, hopefully will last well which is my main concern.

W orks like a charm! We now have plenty of ice on these hot summer days!! The ice maker in our frige died of old age. I installed this unit in a kitchen cabinet and it looks great!!

Works awesome and makes lots of ice really fast. The only downside is it uses a lot of electricity to run. But for the pool area BBQ it's great.

So far, so good but pretty early to give it a solid review. The unit was relatively easy to install in spite of having to go through three cabinet walls before hookup. As of one day's use, the ice is flowing easily with plenty to meet my needs. I have an under-counter fridge with freezer in a downstairs location. I was frustrated by the need to go there for ice...no longer! I'm happy as a clam so far. Can't give it a 5-star at this early time but maybe later.

This is my second Ice Maker. The first one I bought had the electronic "eye" that would trigger the machine to stop making ice until is was emptied. That "eye" became defective and kept telling the machine that it was full of ice when, in fact, it wasn't. I assume the machine was still fine and could still make ice if only the "eye" would stop telling it that it was full! No way to fix it! The machine was useless!
This machine uses some sort of metal bar (about 1 inch long) to detect when the ice bucket was full. I assume that when ice lays up against the bar the bar knows it and shuts the machine down until the the bucket it emptied.
This machine makes 9 ice cubes every 9 minutes (give or take). That doesn't sound like very much until you realize that's one ice cube per minute or 120 ice cubes in two hours. Not bad!
I usually make a weeks worth of ice on my day off, dumping the ice into my refrigerator's freezer ice compartment each time its full. The water reservoir is bigger in this ice maker than my old one, too. That makes me happy.
It seems from the reviews that others have had problems with their Ivation Machine but so far (I've been using it about 6 months now) I haven't and like this machine very much. Why 4 stars and not 5? Simply because I've only had it for 6 months. I'll reserve a Star for a couple of years.

I bought the icemaker because my refrigerator in my rental apartment doesn't have one and I use a lot of ice. It works great. My only complaint is that I can't get the plug out to drain the reservoir after use so I have to tip the machine over to empty it is the sink.

I had a Magic Chef icemaker which I loved. It died after 2 years of continuous use. I like this new one but wonder why it beeps. The red lights indicating it's full and needs water are bright. The additional noise is un-needed in my opinion.

I like it. Only 4 stars because nothing beats an ice maker installed in your freezer. VERY easy to use. Hard working machine. Takes up counter space ... make sure you have room. I like the ice it makes; shape, size good for drinks. My concern was the ice melting together and not staying in single pieces like it does in a freezer. This happens a little but easily remedied with the ice scoop provided. Turned out to be non issue. The way I use it .... turn it on while I'm home once a day for a couple hours and dump it into the freezer when I hear new cubes are made until the tray is full. I like it, it solved our problem and would recommend it.

Works well, but sounds like it is having an asthma attack, and very noisy when it's running. Ice is very wet, which is a problem when using the ice to supplement the frig ice maker. The ice clumps together because it's wet when placed into frig ice maker container.

The ice bucket is smaller than expected and the cubes are hollow.

I've owned this for a few weeks now and it's pretty decent little ice maker. The frost build up is minimal and I'm glad I bought an inline water filter for this. My only complaint is that it is noisy. I use my living room as my home office and its fairly open to the bar and dining room. The unit is under the bar in a cubby and I can hear it running with its low growl. I am going to put some foam in the cavity and try to cut down on the noise but it is very noticeable.

Produces ice very efficiently, but is a noisy unit. Also, frost develops very quickly and must be continually chipped away to keep door closed tightly. But looks very nice in place and was easy to install.

Came dented but worksA little loud when making ice

Very big looking for a more portable version. Appeared top of the line!!!!

I searched and searched everywhere for a drain-less, under counter ice maker, and this was the only model I could find. So I bought it and installed in my wet bar. Installation was easy - just used a standard ice maker hose (like you use on a refrigerator) and plug it in to an electrical socket. The first day, it filled up completely within 24 hours. After several months, it is running great. The ice is in half-moon shaped cubes, and is somewhat soft. The compressor kicks on periodically to keep it frozen, but since I have it under the counter, I barely hear it (I don't hear it at all when the TV is on). When full, it holds a decent amount of ice (I'd say about one Igloo Playmate cooler full).I can't believe these are not more popular. I don't understand why all other ice makers have drains - so you make the ice, then slowly watch it melt away. Not efficient and the potential for plumbing/leak issues is high. This little ice maker is simple, easy, and cheap. Highly recommend.UPDATE: Bought in 10/2013, in 05/2016 it died. Started making very loud rattling noises any time the compressor kicked on. I took it apart and reassembled, finding nothing loose. That stopped the rattling for half a day, then it began again. It is something inside the sealed refrigerant system, so I can't repair it. Had to throw it out. Should have figured it would not last long given the price compared to competitors. Ran perfectly up till then, so if you're willing to buy something you know will die 2 years later, buy it. Lowering from 5 to 3 stars due to lifespan.

This ice maker did a great job while it made ice. We used it once daily in our office for exactly one year before it stopped making ice. It was not repairable as it appeared to crack on an internal part.

It beeps when you turn it on. It beeps when you turn it off. And it beeps like you hit the jackpot when it's full of ice. What'd I buy, a slot machine? No, it's a simple ice maker. What were they thinking with all this needless beeping? You have this very quiet ice maker and then the silence is shattered by a cacophony of beeping.

And there is no 800 number to be found in the manual. None on the ice maker itself. If you need help, there is no website. I've had other ice makers that are proud to provide support for their products (Avalon Bay).The 800 numbers on the manual actually connect to a real person.

But, the ice maker does make ice as advertised. If you don't mind beeping and no apparent warranty support, this item is for you.

It has a loud beeping. How does the beeping stop.

It is compact and looks very nice, but the fan rattles and it beeps a lot. I wish they would have said that in the other reviews. We will see how it holds up.

It's pretty noisy. I don't see that anyone mentioned that in the reviews so maybe ours has a problem. It kinda squeeks the whole time.It make ice fine.

We purchased this product and within three months the ice maker started leaking. The company has no repair system in place so you have to pack up the ice maker and return it, at your cost, and send it back to the Whynter Company for repairs. You are also charged $90.00 for repairs and return shipping of $55.00. I would never recommend this ice maker.

Very noisy!!!!!!!!!!very

I purchased this unit in July of 2016. The first two months it worked flawlessly. The next month it would freeze up every time I had a full tray of ice. So, I would have to turn it off and leave the door open for the ice maker to thaw out. Now, it freezes up every day. So, I have to unplug it, let it thaw out, and see how many cubes it will make before freezing up again.

After 2 years of use it died.....

Whynter UIM-155 Stainless Steel Built-In Ice Maker Machine performed wonderfully for 2 weeks. The bin would fill in about 12 hours, and we transferred the ice to our freezer for use later. Then it started making a ticking noise, faint at first, but becoming a loud clunking with no ice production. Checked the manual (no hints there). Thinking **maybe** the mechanical workings might have iced up, I turned it off with the door open over night to defrost. A short while after turning it back on --- the ticking followed by clunking was back. Checked the manufacturer warranty: 2 months/1 year --- return it to us *in original packaging* within two months and we will reimburse your freight -- next 10 months shipping is all on you. No contact/shipping info provided to start the process. Soooo we are doing the Amazon 30 day return thing. Just printed out the UPS return shipping tag. We will be taking it to the local UPS drop-off.Update: the original packaging has a service email address service@whynter.com

I sent this back because it would not make more than 3 pounds of ice per day. The company was very helpful and understanding and did not give me trouble with the return. Would have been 4 stars if it had the output the description said.

It broke after a few months. Don't have time right now for details, sorry. This is my second review because I accidentally erased my nearly finished one due to my rushing to get out of here. Argh! Isn't that the worst? Anyhow, this machine's indicator panel was not configurated properly so it's functions were not clear. That wasn't cool. And I think I'm in the market for a machine that will store cubes as well as make them. The broken one used to melt all the finished cubes away during the preparation for the next batch. So there times when I couldn't get a decent amount of ice for one beverage. And that wan't cool (literally) either
I am not nor will I ever be affiliated with or be compensated by or influenced anyhow by this company or any of its competitors ( I am getting real sick of having to determine which are the corrupt comments)

Worked great for about 5 months and then stopped working.

It iv very noisy & you can not get 8 lbs. in 12 hours

two main reasons for returning what my wife ordered: after carefully reading the directions, it seemed like high maintenance to keep it clean/bacteria-free and it seemed much larger than she imagined to keep on the kitchen counter by our sink.

I had to return this item. Perhaps there was a coolant leak? Ice had strange taste and was oily. Makes ice quickly, great size so would have been a great product if not defective. Box was kind of beat up on arrival.

Has never worked properly, producing very thin shells of a complete cube. After 6 months does not produce any ice. Going to return fro a refund

We winter in south Florida and purchased this unit in April 2016. We installed it but never plugged it in as we were leaving for the summer. We returned Nov 1st and as soon as we plugged the unit in it started loud rattling noise. I pulled the unit out and checked for loose parts but the noise is inside the metal canister (whatever that is). I contacted manufacture and they said the only thing I could do is pack it in original box and ship it to Southern California at my expense! There are no other options for service! Of course I don't have box so they sent page full of details on how to package it. I then asked if there is a place anywhere in Florida I could take it and pay for repair, they said it had to go to Southern California. I'll be making my purchases from local dealers from now on!

this is an absolutely worthless ice maker. Has a mind of it's own. We have hardly been able to have any ice cubes.Do not buy this product.

Currently in process of building house. Damage was not discovered until product was being installed. Unfortunately, product was not installed until approximately two months after ordering, thus unable to return.

Only worked for about 3 weeks, ice maker mechanism does not work, tried to thaw repeatedly - freezing isn't the problem.

The first unit stopped making ice within the first 3-4 days so I used the Amazon return to get another one. Just plugged that one in and it won't get cold in the unit. Done with this unit. In this case you don't even get what you pay for. At a few hundred bucks this thing should run for a year or two. Bite the bullet and get a real nice one that will last 20 years.

This is the first time I have ever left a review but I feel compelled to do so now. This ice maker is the biggest piece of junk I have ever purchased. It quick working and I haven't even had a year. It makes me sick I wasted so much money on it. DO NOT PURCHASE!!!!!

The darn thin came not working and it smelled bad. It's driving ke covfefe.

I wish I had not bought this it made one batch if ice and now just says add water no matter what I do. Sending this back.

Arrived defective . . but . . even if it had worked, it's very bulky, takes up a ton of room & doesn't put out much volume of ice. Just buying a bag of ice seems like an easier, much more cost effective solution . . . . .

Alittle less robust than I wanted. Makes ice as stated. Failed after six months. Piece of crap