Top 10 Portable Ice Maker Reviews Consumer Reports 2020

You can buy ice bags, but transporting and storing them will be a hassle. Even your refrigerator’s built-in ice machine applies time-consuming recovery times between yield cycles. The portable ice maker might be the perfect solution for you. To meet the needs of cooling summer days with clean ice to use, manufacturers have launched a variety of portable ice makers with beautiful compact designs and diverse capacities.

According to our thorough reviews, you will find out about 10 best portable ice makers in detail and their pros and cons to decide on the options that match your needs and budget.

Top Best Portable Ice Makers Reviews 2020

1. GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker

The remarkable thing that makes this portable ice maker among the top 10 best portable ice makers is because this portable ice maker can create nugget shaped ice cubes. These ice cubes will not harm your teeth like regular ice cubes.

The ice cubes from the Opal Nugget quickly cool your drinks for quick enjoyment. Another noteworthy point is that these ice cubes are also capable of preserving the flavour of the drink without changing their quality thanks to the special ice-making technology. 

The Opal Nugget is also quite compact, so the power it needs is the only 120V. This way, you can easily take the Opal Nugget anywhere, accompanying your trip.

This portable ice maker can make up to 24 pounds of ice per day. Its size allows holding 3 pounds of ice at a time. The case of Opal Nugget is made from stainless steel which is very durable and beautiful. The Opal Nugget compartments are made of plastic that is easy to open and close.

This smart ice maker is designed to automatically start and stop ice making when needed with a sensor inside the Opal Nugget. When the ice melts, the water returns to the reservoir. Another feature is that you set up ice making schedules from the convenience of your phone using the GE Profile Opal app via Bluetooth.

Pros:

• The setup instructions are simple and easy to follow.
• No noise.
• Chewy, delicious ice cubes.
• Can be installed via Bluetooth.

Cons:

• Costly

2. COSTWAY Ice Maker Countertop

The combination of stylish design and minimalistic interface makes it easy to use and convenient for you to enjoy cold drinks.

This portable ice maker has a high capacity compressor with 9 anti-corrosion condenser and refrigerant to make ice faster with low noise. You can monitor the production of ice using the observation window.

It can produce 26.5 pounds of ice per day as well as an average of just 10 minutes per ice making cycle with 9 ice cubes. The modern design uses an indicator light that will notify you when more water is needed when the water level is low. It will alert you to “clean up” for the next ice-making cycle when the icebox is full.

You can choose the size of the ice cube with 2 options. The round and smooth bullet-shaped ice cubes have a hollow design that will not hurt your mouth as well as affect the taste of the drink. This portable ice maker is made from food-grade ingredients that can deliver pure stones to ensure your health is safe.

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Portable
• No noise
• Make ice fast
• Affordable

Cons:

• Small stone spare.

3. DELLA Ice Cube Maker

This is one of the most popular portable ice makers from the Della brand, making it among the top 10 best portable ice makers list. It will be the ideal companion for you to save time, space and effort.

It’s perfect for use in small apartments, dorm rooms, motels or boats thanks to its small size. It produces the first batch of ice in about 6 minutes and can produce up to 33 lbs of ice in 24 hours when the ice bucket is full or if you add water.

The storage bin holds up to 1.3 lbs of ice. This portable ice maker will alert you when the tank is full or when you need more water. You can watch the entire ice making process thanks to a transparent plastic tray. You can also choose from small or large ice sizes to match your cup and drink type.

Pros:

• Beautiful design.
• Fast ice making.

Cons:

• There is an appearance of ice cubes sticking together.

4. Frigidaire Portable Compact Maker

Despite its compact dimensions of 15 x 11 x 14 inches, this portable ice maker produces an impressive 26 lbs ice per day. You can choose small or large stone sizes on the LED panel. You just need to plug in the device, add water and wait about 15 minutes to enjoy the fresh ice without any setting required.

The resulting ice cubes are beautiful and thick so that they won’t melt too quickly. This portable ice maker is very smooth and highly efficient. The stainless steel body is sleek and modern, so it looks great on your modern kitchen countertop.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Works well
• Quiet.
• Compact

Cons:

• Ice must be poured into the freezer with every cycle. Otherwise, it will melt and stick together.
• Costly

5. Sentern Portable CLEAR Ice Maker

This portable ice maker has a portable and luxurious design with a stainless steel body and anti-fouling for sure beauty and durability. However, it can produce up to 48 lbs of ice per day, and it holds almost 1kg ready to use.

The first kick will take about 15 minutes. It produces clear, harder ice cubes that melt much more slowly than other ice cubes.

Other handy features include an easy programmable digital control panel and a see-through window so you can keep an eye on the ice cubes production process. Even though it makes a lot of noise, compared to its economical cost and high performance, this is a great choice for the best portable ice makers.

Pros:

• Affordable.
• Excellent performance.

Cons:

• Noisy.

6. FirstBuild Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker

FirstBuild Ice Maker creates these ice cubes that have a soft and chewable texture, without harming your teeth. Furthermore, these ice cubes have a cooler capacity than other ice cubes. The ice cubes from the Opal Nugget quickly cool your drinks for quick enjoyment. These special ice cubes are 50% air, so they are capable of preserving the flavour of the drink without altering their quality.

With such miraculous features, the Opal Nugget ice maker is very compact. There is also a specified water level in the compartment, check to see if it is enough or not.

This smart device is designed to automatically start and stop ice making when necessary with a sensor inside the Opal Nugget. Each day, this device can make up to 24 lbs of ice per day. Its size allows holding 3 lbs of ice at a time.

The case of Opal Nugget is made from stainless steel which is very durable and beautiful. The opal Nugget compartments are made of glass that is easy to open and close, very convenient. You can set up your ice making schedule with your phone over Bluetooth using the free FirstBuild app. The water returns to the storage tank when the ice melts. The ice bin is easy to pull forward when scooping ice.

Pros:

• Delicious chewy ice.
• Easy to clean.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Big.
• The cleaning process needs 3 cycles, so it takes time.

7. NutriChef Ice Maker and Dispenser

Nutri Chef is an easy-to-use and convenient home ice maker. With the advantages of fast ice making speed, unique and beautiful design, this portable ice maker is one of the best portable ice makers on the market for sure. 

Along with the above advantages, it also has power-saving functions, quiet operation, no noise. It is incredibly flexible so that you can bring it to outdoor parties. You can enjoy ice cubes in just 9 minutes. It is capable of making ice up to 33 lbs. There are 2 sizes of ice cubes to choose from. The ergonomic design makes it easy to get ice into the cup.

Pros:

• Excellent design.
• Handy.
• Fast ice making.

Cons:

• Small ice storage Capacity.
• Expensive.
• The ice melts quickly.

8. NOVETE Portable Ice Maker

This ice maker produces nine bullet-shaped ice cubes each cycle in just 6 minutes with no noise. This portable ice maker holds 2 litres of ice at a time and can produce 28.7 lbs of ice per day.

A unique feature of this portable ice maker is that it can create ice cubes of two different sizes. With the push of a button, it can create both small and large bullet-shaped ice cubes. These ice cubes are hollow, guarantee plenty of surface area, chill your drink quickly and prevent it from sinking. This portable ice maker can store ice for up to 8 hours.

This portable ice maker also comes with quite a few safety features to keep you safe and your machine in good working order. It turns off automatically when the ice tray is full or when the machine runs out of water. This prevents the machine from becoming clogged or worn. It has a drain button on the bottom for easy drainage and cleaning.

Pros:

• Affordable.
• Ice storage function.

Cons:

• The ice is slightly watery

9. hOmeLabs Portable Ice Maker

This is one of the best portable ice makers for small spaces. This is a super-fast portable ice maker when it only takes 6 minutes for you to have your first ice pack to use. This portable ice maker has a flexible design that makes it easy to use and clean when needed. When you buy this portable ice maker, you will be given a freezer to remove the ice.

This portable ice maker is also a great option if you care a lot about power saving because it has an automatic shutdown function when completing tasks.

It can make up to 26 lbs of ice in 24 hours, and it can store 26 lbs of ice at the same time, so you’ll always have the ice you need to use.

This portable ice maker creates delicious, chewable, bullet-shaped ice. You can adjust the ice cube thickness and forming time by pressing the plus or minus buttons on the panel. Equipped with a powerful compressor, this portable ice maker doesn’t waste electricity but makes ice fast. There is a water tank located below the ice basket and reuse the water from the melted ice. It has an alarm light, and an auto-off function is activated after the ice basket is full or when more water is needed, so it is convenient to use.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Fast ice-making.
• Quiet.
• Drainage is easy.

Cons:

• Cleaning it up isn’t really that easy.

10. NewAir Portable Ice Maker

This small but powerful ice maker can produce up to 50 lb of ice per day and 12 ice cubes in just 15 minutes, so no portable ice maker can beat its performance making it one of the best portable ice makers with high performance.

It’s heavier and bigger than some other portable ice maker, but you won’t be able to find a portable ice maker that can deliver that much ice. You can choose from 3 sizes of tape to suit your needs.

It has an indicator light letting you know if you need more water or the ice bucket is full, so you can make sure the ice is flowing nonstop. The great thing is that it has a self-cleaning function so you won’t spend a lot of time cleaning it up. 

Pros:

• Quiet.
• Make ice quickly.
• Self-cleaning feature.
• High performance
• Side drains allow easy access.

Cons:

• Heavy and big.
• Costly.

Conclusion

An excellent portable ice maker will help you make ice cubes in just a few minutes. Most portable ice makers can store several pounds of ice at once, and some can even recycle the melted ice into new blocks. After giving our objective reviews, we will select the best portable ice makers to suit each need.

• Best Overall: GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker
• Best Budget: COSTWAY Ice Maker Countertop
• Best for Small Spaces: hOmeLabs Portable Ice Maker
• Best for High-Performance: NewAir Portable Ice Maker

I hope this article will be of some help to you to make the right decision when choosing your best portable ice makers. If you would like to comment or require further information, please use my contact form to get in contact.