I don’t know about you, but I love a good cold drink. Especially a big sweet tea with lots of ice. When we launched fulltime, we needed to find a solution for having ice. We started out with 4 ice trays in our tiny RV freezer. That was a disaster! Where was the food supposed to go? Follow our journey of how we found the best countertop ice maker.
Our First Ice Maker
Last June, we decided that it was time for a countertop ice maker. One night while looking around a big box store, we found an affordable Frigidaire model for about $79. This model was fairly basic but did include a toggle switch between large and small chunked ice. I love smaller chunked crushed ice! This feature was nice, but it only worked for about a week. On moving days, we would empty the ice maker and place it in the bathtub. When we got to our destination, we would wipe the inside of the ice maker down with a paper towel and start making ice again.
In March, we went to a Fulltime Families rally with 75 other families. The topic of ice makers came up around a campfire one night. Someone mentioned something about cleaning their ice maker. WHAT? I had never considered cleaning my ice maker above what I was already doing. I’m sure it was in the instructions somewhere. You know… the instructions I promptly threw away after opening the box.
The next day, we really took a hard look at our ice maker. We ran 2 vinegar cycles through it but didn’t feel like we got it clean. Philip ended up sticking one his fingers up through the grate into one of the holding compartments. It was full of black mold! YUCK! The thing about this area was that we were was no way to get into it to clean it. The Frigidaire model immediately went in the trash.
In the Meantime…
We suffered without an ice maker for almost 3 months. We did have the opportunity to bum some ice from our friends when we could, but not having an ice maker was miserable. We took this time to do our research and try to decide what our next model would be. Would we continue to spend $90 every year or so for a new machine or would we spend good money and buy something that would last? Obviously, we wanted something MUCH easier to clean.
Opal – My Heart
During my research, a friend mentioned the Opal by FirstBuild to me. The Opal makes small “Sonic-type” nugget ice. I don’t like when people chew ice around me, but if someone was going to chew on ice this would be the type you would want to chew. The size and shape of the ice is my favorite thing about the Opal.
Front of the Opal Side of the Opal with the included ice scoop
My second favorite feature is that the Opal has a self-cleaning feature. We move fairly frequently so we have worked hard to become diligent to clean the Opal after every move. This helps keep the Opal fresh and clean. FirstBuild does sell a solution to clean the Opal with, but I’m sorry $30 for enough solution to do 2 cleanings plus a cloth and 4 Q-tips is just a little much. We use a simple white vinegar solution like you would use in any of these machines.
Another thing we do to assist with having the Opal make the best ice possible is by only filling the Opal with water out of the Berkey. We have a 2 filter system on the outside of our trailer, but at times our water still tastes funny. Last fall, we opted to purchase a Big Berkey with the normal filters and the fluoride filter for our drinking water. The Berkey really helps us to know that we can put the purest water possible into the Opal. We believe that’s pretty important.
In Closing
In our opinion, the best countertop ice maker is FirstBuild’s Opal. We are extremely happy with our decision to purchase one. Yes, it did require a large initial investment. We totally feel like the Opal was worth the investment. The Opal should last us for years into the future.
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