NewAir AI-100S 28-Pound Portable Ice Maker, SilverCheck PriceOK, I’ll admit it; when John walked in the door with this NewAir 26 lb Portable Ice Maker I didn’t want it. Until…
As far as having ice for camping, there is no better way than to make your own. But, camping refrigerators and freezers are teeny (at least ours is) so we were always going to the camp store to get another 20lb bag of ice to store in a large cooler which took up a lot of space. This NewAir Portable Ice Maker takes the work out of getting ice!
NewAir Portable Ice Maker Pros
- There’s three sizes of ice cubes produced – small, medium and large. To be quite honest, there’s not that big a difference in size. You will get fewer of the largeice cube with each ‘dump’ though. The ice is formed around
metal tubes so there’s a hole in the middle of each cube.
- The NewAir Portable Ice Maker claims to make its first ice in 15 minutes – that’s a lie. I timed it one time and, from plug in and filling the water until the first small cubes were produces was (drum roll) 8 minutes!
- The compact size means that this portable ice maker can be stowed almost anywhere. It’s also easily portable – we put it outside so we don’t have to get out of our camping chairs during happy hour! It’s been along to tailgating parties and, on more than one occasion, a friend having a party will ask me to bring it along. Why run out of ice if you don’t have to?!
- This particular model will make up to 28 lbs of ice in a day. If you scroll down further on this article, I’ll post the big brother that makes up to 50 lbs of ice in a day.
- There’s no odor or flavor to the ice that is produced in this portable ice machine – I just use regular tap water if it’s free of bad taste or tote along a one gallon jug to fill it up.
Product Cons
- I’m not sure this is as much of a con as a notification to purchasers: The ice is released into an unrefrigerated front compartment so it will melt and go directly back into the water reservoir for future freezing. Even with the ice not being refrigerated, we’ve never run out of ice.
- Some reviews note that the portable ice maker ran noisy, only made one batch of ice and quit, etc. An astute Amazon reviewer did give some excellent advice about letting the ice maker remain upright for 24 hours before using it. During shipment, it seems, if these units (or any units that use refrigerator coolant such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, etc) might not stay in an upright position. In order to work properly, the oil and refrigerant must drain down to their proper spots. So, the suggestion is to not turn it on for 24 hours.
- The plastic ice scoop that comes with the unit is too small. I suggest getting a metal ice scoop instead.
Additional Author Comments
I couldn’t be happier with this surprise gift from my love, John. This NewAir portable ice maker has made all the difference in the world to this menopausal woman….I highly recommend this product.
Here’s some other highly rated portable ice makers on Amazon.com:
BIG BROTHER – MAKES 50 lbs!Newair AI-215SS Stainless Steel Portable Ice Maker with 50 Lbs. Daily CapacityCheck PriceIgloo Portable Ice Maker in BlackCheck PriceAvalon Bay AB-ICE26R Portable Ice MakerCheck PriceDometic HZB-12SA Black Stainless Steel Portable Top Load Ice MakerCheck PriceNostalgia Electrics ICE100COKE Coca-Cola Series Ice MakerCheck Price