If you love to have plenty of ice cubes by your disposal, yet, sick of manually creating them through the trays with your refrigerator, then you will get highly benefited out of purchasing a portable and at home maker. There are some basic considerations that you need to store in your mind while thinking about purchasing the perfect ice machine for your own purposes, and below mentioned are some of the highlighted buying guide that can help you in many ways.
Capacity and size: Many of the portable ice makers that are available for a sale on the market shall have the same size of capacity, yet, they shall vary based on a size of a pound or two. A normal portable ice maker shall deliver twenty to thirty pounds of ice cubes every other day for a gallon of water that is poured upon the maker. This pound capacity is Ice cube machines more than enough for both home usage and for small parties. The major difference happens with the physical size of the ice maker. If your house has a smaller sized kitchen or if you are planning to take your ice maker while you travel, then you need to go with them smaller sized ones that can fit perfectly on the room and easy to carry over to any place. Although such small sized ice makers shall produce less number of ice, it can be used to meet up to your needs at your convenient time and place.
Choose the larger capacity ice makers for home or office use, so that you need not worry about adding water to them from time to time, or even think about clearing the ice trays often, like you do with the refrigerator ice trays. Large sized ice makers can save your time and effort spent on creating ice cubes, especially a bigger benefit for busy people who do not find enough time to sit back and watch the maker produce it every other day. Once it gets formed, it must be immediately used or stored in a freeze to let them stay frozen for a longer period of time. If at all the solid ice that has been formed are said to be staying within the ice machine for more than an hour, it does melt and get defrosted. In short, the portable ice makers are capable of producing your much needed quantity of ice and does not having a separate cooling system to let them stay frozen for hours. Make use of the machine whenever you are in need of, as it can deliver with your required cubes instantly unlike other devices.
The ice cube style and size: If you have a thought that an ice cube is just a normal one, then you need to rethink about it. There are numerous varieties and styles that one can produce to meet up different purposes. Smaller sized ones are mostly preferred for preparing smoothies, fill up ice buckets and while preparing a quick drink. The larger sized ice ones are mostly used along with whiskey and to cool water. Kids these days Commercial ice makers love their healthy drink with larger ice ones floating on them, as it looks appealing than the smaller ones. Most of the portable ice makers do have an option to choose the size of them that can vary from small to large. If you are purchasing a portable ice maker for multiple uses, then purchase the ones that have options to create small and large sized ice cubes.
These types of makers must create a clear ice that can last longer on any kind of drink. A clear ice can help in enhancing the overall taste of the drink and let the tongue stay cooler for longer period of time. So if you are looking forward to have such an option, then you need to choose the one that can help in creating clearer ice cubes.
Ice Production Time: Every other ice maker is known for producing ice cubes in a shorter period of time. The ice production time spent by an ice makers shall be six to fifteen mm per batch of ice cubes that are prepared at a normal temperature range. The entire ice production cycle of an ice makers shall vary based upon the operating temperature and some devices can take some extra time when exposed to high temperature areas. The portable ice maker must produce at least nine of them per cycle within ten to fifteen minutes of time.
Overflow protection: A well-built ice makers must have an overflow protection that lets the maker handle the ice cubes production, even when the user has poured more than its own capacity level. The ice maker must have a control panel with an alert or any kind of indicator system to provide with an emergency signal when the maker tends to turn overflow during the process of ice making. This overflow protection option shall completely prevent the device from pushing out the ice, even when the bin is said to be full.
Additional features: Ice making is not only about freezing the water and creating a particular shaped ice cubes, the portable ice makers have taken the device to a great step, where one can make use of various additional features that can come handy on any situation. For example, if you are need of a crushed ice to decorate your drink, then you would be searching for a place to squash the ice cubes and scrub them over the drink. This is where the ice crushing feature turns handy, as it can be easily used to crush them into smaller pieces and pour them over a drink or even decorate your ice creams.
Certain ice makers do have an option to refroze the ice cubes that turned into water out of staying inside the maker for long hours. This feature can help in saving water and makes less space for cleaning them. Gone are those days where an ice cube used to be rectangle or square in shape in default. The new portable ice makers can create different shaped ice cubes that can look great, meeting up your ice cube need. These different shaped cubes can add a bit of style and fun to your entire ice cube making process.
What common accessories you need for a portable ice maker?
Ice Scoop: The ice scoop shall be the main and most common accessory that can help you to easily access your portable ice maker. Although the ice scoop is not about to change or affect the entire functionality of the ice maker, it does help in scooping out some fresh ice straight from the device. Many brands do have their own sized ice scoops that can go easy with their maker, yet, an ice scoop is a general accessory that you can use with any brand that produces and sells ice makers. A metal ice scoop for a portable ice maker is an added advantage, as it can withstand the weight of the cubes while scooping them out from the maker. Also, if you are taking the ice maker to a party, make sure to carry more than one ice scoop, so that people can randomly use the bucket that has been filled up with ice cube at the same time.
Ice Bag: An ice bag is a specially designed accessory that can be used to transport the ice from one place to another. The ice bag portrays the same idea like a normal bag that helps us to carry over things to various locations. If you are taking your ice maker to a party, but looking forward to carry some ice cubes, then these ice bags can go easy with your need. The ice bags are great accessory for people who are camping with their friends or family members. The bags do have a string that lets the cubes stay frozen until the cubes are taken out from them. The string does help the ice from melting down even when you are carrying the ice bag in extreme hot weather condition. The ice bags can also be used as storage bags for home use, where you cannot store much ice cubes inside the freezer - just fill up the bags and refrigerate them in the freezer to make use of them any part of the day or night.