EUHOMY 35lbs/24H Nugget Ice Maker Countertop, Pebble Ice Maker Machine with Auto-Cleaning, Black

I purchased this at a good sale price compared to other pebble ice makers. I did have problems receiving the item that seemed tied to it being a preorder; that took two attempts with customer service and perseverance before it was reordered and delivered. I was nervous about it not being a name brand; however, I've had the unit for 4 months, using it weekly (mostly on weekends, occasionally on a weekday) and it works as advertised! Despite following the directions exactly, I did have a slight issue with getting it to start making ice the first time, but I reset and retried after an period of time and it worked. (I expect that may be due it being bounced around in delivery, although I did wait the directed time initially. ) It really does start making ice within about 15 minutes and then you have to be patient and wait longer for enough to fill a glass (about 30 min total, as noted). By the time you munch on that, it's made another batch; I estimate a full basket makes about enough for 1.5 glass-full. I only use water that's been filtered and I've heard the self cleaner activate, which makes me leery about using water that is left in the unit. The directions suggest a weekly cleaning but don't say when the automatic self cleaner activates. (I don't clean it every week, since I typically just use it on weekends. It's a quick process when I do.) The machine is not extra loud and is quieter than other ice machines I've heard. I'm about to put it to the test with several ice eaters (4 of us) coming for the holiday! The machine doesn't have a refrigeration aspect for storage, so the ice melts after being left for a period of time. I've heard about storing excess in paper bags (plastic makes it clump together) in the freezer but I plan to get a Bartenders Lewis Ice (canvas) bag by the summer to see how that works. I'm thrilled with my machine so far!

perfect sized ice does take a while to make a whole bin of ice maybe takes and hr or so I store in a ice bin in the freezer it will all stick together what I do is add a layer of ice top with some baking paper folded add another rlayer etc it makes easier to break apart after it settles in the freezer if it's a huge block stuck together it will stick together somewhat even with the paper separating the layers of ice so I take a knife to break apart again once it does but it works..and so much easier if it's not a huge block of ice and have plenty of ice for my coffee daily:)