Avalon Bay AB-ICE26B Ice Maker, Black

UPDATE:Well, as the saying goes, "fool me once..." To be fair, I should have known better (or at least checked for new reviews beforehand) than to try my luck with a second unit, but I did. I bought another Avalon Bay in August 2016, thinking that perhaps the first was just a case of bad luck and faulty electronics. It happens. The first machine (08/2014 - 06/2016) had to be tossed because the overflow sensors stopped sensing and, regardless of where the ice - or the basket - was located in relation, the machine stopped producing and indicated the ice basket was full. Even when the basket was removed completely.Fast-forward to 2016, when I decided to replace the replacement (a Knox Gear model, also purchased here) because it had enough bells and whistles to be annoying, and I decided to give the AB-ICE26S another try. I liked the first model while it lasted, and maybe the premature death was a fluke. Right? Wrong. The new model lasted even less time than the first, and went to the junk pile for a completely different problem. The ice production system (essentially metal cooling posts in a water tray) failed within 9 months. With no warning, it stopped either raising the tray high enough to freeze full bullet cubes or the cooling system failed. Either way, it went downhill literally overnight. One day we had perfect ice, then next we had tiny little "caps" of ice (about 1/4 of the expected size) and the next we had nothing. The mechanics were still cycling normally - tray raised, water ran, posts appeared to be cooling well - but no ice. Fortunately, I also bought an Ivation this year (and still have the hyper-tech Knox at my office - I guess my subconscious knew something when I ordered another AB!).My advice:1) Don't waste your time on Avalon Bay.2) Read the reviews and pay attention to them. I wish I had.ORIGINAL REVIEW (1st purchase, May 2016):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 inside2) 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 drinks3) 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.

It's pretty amazing what a little ice can do. I don't know about you, but my freezer is not very large and buying a five pound bag of ice at the store is just not something that would work out. Using ice cube trays is something I've always failed at because I'd take a few cubes and put the tray back without putting more water in. Pure laziness and I admit that.I thought long and hard about treating myself to one of these and the thing that pushed me over the edge is a Ninja juicer thing that I got as a gift. All the great recipes for smoothies and stuff require-- wait for it-- ice! I shopped around and to be quite honest I chose this model because there were no other ones in stock at Amazon in stainless steel or black. I liked a white model with a very rounded shape by Ivation but putting a white appliance on my countertop would look extremely out of place. So I gave this one a shot.It was probably one of the most well packaged items I've ever purchased on Amazon. Some might say it was a lot of packaging and we should be aware of that and so on, but I'm happy to say that it was all cardboard so right to the recycle bin it goes. It was like a nesting doll: there was the outer Amazon box. Inside that was an inner carton closed very well with tape and a "this side up" sticker, and inside that box was the box with the unit inside surrounded in all four corners by thick pieces of that spongy black foamy type material. This thing was extremely well protected.I took it out of the box and put it up on the counter. I don't have a ton of space, but it sits in a corner and fits pretty nicely there. I cleaned out the inside and pulled the drain plug to let it empty and wiped it down. Then, as per the directions, I let it sit for a couple of hours. The booklet says an hour and some of the other reviewers here say 24 hours. My curiosity got the best of me and I did it after about 2 1/2 hours.I filled it to the line, put the basket in, turned it on and expected the noise of a microwave. Instead, I could barely hear it as it sucked in water. I left it alone to do it's thing and in under 10 minutes, I had a bunch of baby ice cubes. I picked the small size for this test. After about an hour, it had a nice piled of ice which I bagged and put in the freezer. The only time you hear noise from this ice maker is when the cubes are ready and dropped into the basket. I found that out when my cat made a beeline for the counter and I ran after her to see what she was looking at. She was peering into the ice maker as another handful of cubes fell. After the fourth time of cubes falling, she didn't bother getting up again. Surprise. :)I will update this posting as I go along but I've had this thing for half a day and am so pleased to be able to essentially have on demand ice.

I like this ice maker, it worked great at first, but after only a handful of uses I'm starting to have problems with it. I wish I had just bought a cheaper one.

This product is one of the best purchases I have ever made... the product itself is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It makes ice quickly and quietly and is very simple to use. The best part of this purchase however, was how quickly it arrived at my location and how well-packaged it was. It arrived in pristine condition. We unpacked the ice maker, let it sit for one hour as directed in the instructions, turned it on and within minutes we had our first batch of ice! I would most definitely recommend this product.

I received this product a few weeks ago and so far it does the job! I had a lot of friends for a few days who go through a ton of ice, happily the Avalon Bay Ice Maker arrived the same day as they did - never ran out of ice and it is fun to watch the ice being made.

Nice ice maker ... makes lots of ice. Just what we were looking for.

The exhaust fan broke four months after I bought it. I've contacted the company, been charged for a replacement part, but they haven't shipped it to me. It's been non-functional for almost as much time as it was functional at this point. Don't buy it, if anything goes wrong you won't be able to get proper support.