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If you host parties a lot, don’t have a ton of freezer space, or are tired of waiting for ice trays to freeze overnight, an ice maker is a great small appliance to keep in your kitchen.
A majority of them don’t take up a ton of space, and the most powerful ice makers can create fresh ice in minutes, not hours. Some machines let you change the size of your cubes, so you don’t have to spend time breaking them up for cocktails, and another lets you set it on a schedule via an app on your phone.
Ice makers are one of those practical appliances you may not have considered before, but if you go through ice like crazy, or need it on-hand at a moment’s notice, you’ll really appreciate it. They’re great for snow cones too, and will really impress guests at your next party or work gathering.
How Does An Ice Maker Work?
How It Works:An ice maker creates cubes by using a motor to ingest water from a refillable water tank into an ice tray inside the machine. The motor also begins a refrigeration process at the same time to make the inside of the machine very cold. A set of thin metal prongs, which cool quickly, are submerged into the ice tray.
Water freezes to those prongs (if you’ve ever been to restaurants and wondered why there’s a hole in the middle of your ice, that’s why) and freeze the water. Sensors determine when the ice cubes have reached the correct size, and the machine drops them into a container called an “ice bin” where they’re easy to scoop out.
The process is completely hands-off: Just fill the tank with water, hit a couple of buttons, and you’ll have ice in a matter of minutes. Larger machines work the same way internally, but require you to hook them up to a faucet instead of getting water from a tank.
Size: All of the ice makers in this guide were designed to fit on or under a countertop, but if you live in a city or studio apartment, that space may be very limited. We’re conscious of that, and all the ice makers in this guide are under 20 inches wide, 16 inches deep, and 31 inches tall (most are half that size). Some are portable enough to be taken to gatherings too – you’ll just need an outlet to plug them in.
Capacity:If you’re serving a lot of people, making an ice-heavy beverage like frozen margaritas, or want ice in reserve at all time, you’ll want an ice maker with a large capacity. Each of the choices in this guide can hold at least 1.5 pounds at a time. If you want more, and can spare some freezer space, keep one or two resealable plastic bags of it in reserve.
Speed:You may not keep your ice maker connected at all times, but when you use it, you’ll want it to work quickly. We picked countertop ice makers that can make 26 pounds of ice per hour. For reference, that’s roughly the size of the large bags of ice sold at many convenience stores.
