Lots of people love chewing ice to the point that, they sometimes even go to the supermarket to buy bags of ice. It is a behavior that people from other countries cannot grasp. Couldn’t they make ice cubes with freezers? Every household has a freezer!
Interestingly, this is why countertop ice maker is becoming increasingly popular in recent years. To produce ice cubes in the freezer is quite inconvenient, and some people believe it is not hygienic because the ice tray is placed along with other food. High-end refrigerators that are integrated with ice makers also have shortcomings, they must be connected to water taps, which brings another issue, the risk of leaking water and more severely, damaging the kitchen floor.
Comparatively a countertop ice maker is convenient to use. No need to connect to a water tap so no worry about leaking, etc. Not to say it makes ice quickly, and there are different types of ice makers for options.
However, when you look around the marketplace searching for an ice maker, you have only two choices, GE, and non-GE ice makers. Then I noticed the Gevi nugget ice maker. I must say, at first glance, the Gevi nugget ice maker was not as well-designed as GE opal, however, if you compare it to other ice makers, you’d agree Gevi looks way better.
Appearance design
The Gevi ice maker uses a stainless-steel housing with an oblique translucent lid and a self-explanatory control panel. Personally, I like the stainless-steel housing, it looks cool. The control panel is simple and direct, it has 2 buttons “On/Off”, “Clean” and 4 indicators “Making”, “Cleaning”, “Add Water”, and “Full” which are easy to use, children and elder can learn to use them. However, it is a pity that a smart touch board is not provided.
Compared to the GE opal, I prefer to lift the lid to get ice cubes. The oblique lid is way easier for me to take the ice. And for the color options, there are blue and white. It fits nicely in my kitchen. And you can put it in the RV or office pantry as well.
Producing ice
When I was waiting for the ice maker to freeze, the opening 10 minutes or more was slow to drop the ice. This appears to be a common problem of nugget ice makers. However, after that, the speed of dropping ice cubes is becoming faster, then I can enjoy fresh, soft and chewy sonic ice cubes. There is not any problem with the speed of ice-making. It can produce 29 pounds of ice in 24 hours. This is really convenient because I no longer have to run to the store for half an hour or more to buy sonic ice.
Ice quality
If you look closely at the nugget ice, the transparency of the ice is high. And nugget ice is softer than ice cubes because it’s composed of flakes of ice that freeze together. Ice cubes are formed directly from the condensation of water so it is difficult to chew.
I put the sonic ice one by one into the glass and poured the drink. The ice mixed well with the drink. And the ice absorbed the taste of the drink and is particularly refreshing to chew.
Dual refill modes
There are 2 ways to refill water for the ice machine. The first is using a water hookup for a constant water supply. The other is to manually replenish 2.8L of water in the water reservoir. I add water manually and it’s not a hassle for me.
Infrared sensor
An intelligent IC chip in the infrared sensor controls the ice-making process. In order to prevent unnecessary ice making, there are sensors near the top of the ice basket (hole shape), which detect the opening and closing of the cover and trigger ice making. You can use the camera of your mobile phone to take photos of the holes, and you will see the infrared sensor. Make sure your ice maker is on.
If the ice basket is full or the water reservoir is short of water, ice-making will be stopped. As far as I know, this feature is to save energy and prevent you from forgetting to turn off the ice maker at night when you go to bed or go out.
Thick insulation layer
The ice machine is designed with a thick insulation layer to slow down melting. I look at the official website, it says about 70% of the ice will remain for 12 hours at 80 Fahrenheit degree.
However, if you turn off the power, the water from the melted ice will flow into the water reservoir. When you turn the power on again, the water in the reservoir will continue to form more ice. I suggest if you want to keep the ice longer, please transfer it to the freezer for storage. After all, ice machines are not refrigerators.
Easy to clean
Compared to my experience, every time I need to clean the ice cube trays before making clean ice cubes. Until now, I have an ice machine with a cleaning function. And I do not have to clean the ice cube trays anymore.
It is easy to clean. You can see a cleaning button from the control panel. Then wait for the ice maker to clean for you. It is also quite easy to drain, with drain tubes.
However, according to my experience, there are some “unfriendly” factors:
When I close to the ice machine, I hear the compressor operating sound and the hum of the fan. Especially when there is little ice in the ice basket, the impact sound of ice falling into the ice basket will be more obvious, but after the ice is half full, the sound will not be obvious. It is a little noisy.
This is because the ice requires the compressor to operate for freeze, the compressor needs to run, so there is a sound during operation. And the heat dissipation also needs a fan, so there is the sound of the fan. It is acceptable under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, if you are very sensitive to sound, make sure you can accept this level of sound before buying. For this issue, I have read the comments of GE opal, and there is the same phenomenon, which seems to be a technical problem.
And the sonic ice maker is heavy for me. It takes some effort to move from the door to the inside of the house. It is approximately 39.9Lbs. However, this also reflects it’s a solid machine.
Additionally, the user manual said it needs to be cleaned when it is used for the first time, but I didn’t find the ice machine cleaner in the package. That means I need to buy the cleaner separately.
The last point, when I look at the price of the pellet ice maker machine, I feel it is expensive at first glance. However, for the long-term benefit, an ice maker can be used for a long time. It will come in handy at any subsequent party. And I can get pellet ice anytime I want an iced drink.
How to get the best deal on a Gevi nugget ice maker?
Gevi household/Amazon seems to be the best place to purchase a Gevi nugget ice maker. When you receive the package from Gevi, it is included Gevi Countertop Nugget Ice Maker x1, Ice Basket x1, Ice Scoop x1, and User Manual x1. I can install the ice maker quickly.
Technical support is available for purchases of Gevi ice machines and warranty through the office or the authorized channel.
To conclude, Gevi sonic ice maker is a good option, with value and quality both reflected in its price tag. However, it’s up to you whether or not this appliance will be your final purchase decision. We hope the above information will help you if you are considering purchasing an ice maker.
That’s great. Thank you for sharing such useful info and tips. It is very helpful as I’m currently doing some survey on how to clean my ice maker to prevent it being broken.