Author Topic: Automatic ice maker in your freezer because filling ice trays is so hard boo hoo  (Read 18300 times)

galliver

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One of the great things about America is the clean water running from every tap. Why use a filter at all?

Because, especially in arid areas, it tastes like pool water? I realize it's microbially/chemically safe (mostly, i.e. to FDA- or EPA- approved limits for human exposure), but it still makes me gag/not want to drink water. At my last place (not in an arid area), I think the municipal water was fine, but the house pipes were old and gave the water a chemical flavor. Threw a PUR filter on the faucet and it was awesome. Now, at a new place (in So CA), we use a fridge pitcher...and I frequently make a pitcher of water with herbs or fruit (mint, basil, lime, lemon, cucumber) because it still has an aftertaste.

geekette

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We don't even have to move the fridge to shut off its water - there's an access door in the garage wall right behind the fridge. 

dragoncar

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Man, I love me some automatic ice.  I like the really small chips so they melt super fast  (greater surface area).  I'm sure it costs me "just pennies per day" so for me it's worth it.

For a few dollars you can also get a shutoff with a sensor... so if the line does break, the shutoff turns off automatically.

I want to get one for my icemaker line and washer/dryer.  But I've heard that's just adding another link that can fail.... what to do?  Also, what part of the line usually leaks?  Is it the connection to the fridge, the middle of the line, or something else?

Goldielocks

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Why not just shut off the water at the back and use normal ice trays, if it bothers you?

It seems weird to me to rant about something you have complete, 100% control over.

I want to complain to the forum moderator about this RIDICULOUS response. Oh come on dude---we're just kidding.

I have two shut offs in the house -- one for the main water and one for the sprinkler system. There is no independent control for the refrigerator. And turning off the ice maker doesn't do it either as that same line feeds the water dispenser inside of our refrigerator.

Now if you're telling me I can somehow shut that line....hmmmm...
OMG !

You mean you stand there with the door open while to attempt to fill a glass of water?   I shut down my kids from attempting this a few years ago.  I like the ice maker, HATE the chilled filtered water.  But, I only learned to like ice after we moved to California.  Now that we are back north, hard to break the habit.

On a side note, we also began to understand why people can take "Navy" showers after california, too.  Cold water was never, truly COLD there, you know?

jordanread

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[...], I only learned to like ice after we moved to California.  Now that we are back north, hard to break the habit.

On a side note, we also began to understand why people can take "Navy" showers after california, too.  Cold water was never, truly COLD there, you know?

Don't forget the awesome warm rain!!! :) I do love me some ice. This entire thread makes me giggle. Mustachianism is all about finding out what one values, mindfully. I personally have yet to figure out the proper method of using ice trays. I know it sounds silly, but I did the math, and the number of ice trays I broke in a 4 month period damn near made up for a brand new refrigerator with an ice maker (vs. a brand new fridge without an ice maker). Granted, I don't buy new stuff, and I couldn't actually find a cheaper fridge without one, so I'm good.

dragoncar

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[...], I only learned to like ice after we moved to California.  Now that we are back north, hard to break the habit.

On a side note, we also began to understand why people can take "Navy" showers after california, too.  Cold water was never, truly COLD there, you know?

Don't forget the awesome warm rain!!! :) I do love me some ice. This entire thread makes me giggle. Mustachianism is all about finding out what one values, mindfully. I personally have yet to figure out the proper method of using ice trays. I know it sounds silly, but I did the math, and the number of ice trays I broke in a 4 month period damn near made up for a brand new refrigerator with an ice maker (vs. a brand new fridge without an ice maker). Granted, I don't buy new stuff, and I couldn't actually find a cheaper fridge without one, so I'm good.

Ice trays?  What you want to do is go out to the pond in winter and cut some nice big chunks from the ice.  Dig a deep hole, at least 5 feet deep, in your backyard and layer it with hay.  Place the ice there and then cover with more hay.  Build a shack above to keep off the heat.  In the summer, use your ice pick to chip of small amounts for your tea.  Enjoy!

VirginiaBob

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One of the great things about America is the clean water running from every tap. Why use a filter at all?

I once had one of those "water quality testers" come to my door and said that if I let him test my water he'd give me a free $50 Home Depot gift card.  Of course he was hard selling his companies water filtration system, and not the water quality concerned citizen he made himself out to be before I invited him in.  First thing he asked me was "do u know had bad your water is?" before he even did the test.   Of course, I had the water quality reports handy from the utility company showing that we had the highest quality water in the country ( by coincidence, I just received these in the mail the same month).  Made for a quick $50.

RetiredAt63

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Oh I know - town water out of the cold tap is not cold.  When I stayed in Ottawa for a while, I truly appreciated my Britta filter - yes I know the water is fine, but it tastes better after filtration.  And filtered cold water out of the fridge was way better.

Here I am on a well, with a softener so that my pipes don't clog with minerals.  I need the filter to have the water taste better (again it is perfectly safe).  But water from the well is truly cold - probably 5-6o?  Some time I should take the water temperature.

And I hate automatic ice makers - one more thing to go wrong, the filter takes up precious space.  However, since I am an hour+ away from Costco, when I shop there for anything perishable I take big freezer bags and fill them with ice at the drink machine - they act as coolers all the way home.  A Costco butcher suggested this when I asked for ice at the meat counter.  Those bags go in the fridge, and come out as treats for the dog - she loves the ice and the melt water from Costco  ;-)

On a side note, we also began to understand why people can take "Navy" showers after california, too.  Cold water was never, truly COLD there, you know?

Jack

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However, since I am an hour+ away from Costco, when I shop there for anything perishable I take big freezer bags and fill them with ice at the drink machine - they act as coolers all the way home.  A Costco butcher suggested this when I asked for ice at the meat counter.

Brilliant!

Spork

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Man, I love me some automatic ice.  I like the really small chips so they melt super fast  (greater surface area).  I'm sure it costs me "just pennies per day" so for me it's worth it.

For a few dollars you can also get a shutoff with a sensor... so if the line does break, the shutoff turns off automatically.

I want to get one for my icemaker line and washer/dryer.  But I've heard that's just adding another link that can fail.... what to do?  Also, what part of the line usually leaks?  Is it the connection to the fridge, the middle of the line, or something else?

I am not a plumber, so take my personal experience with a grain of salt. 

For both fridges and washers... what I've seen fail is rubber hoses.  Over time, they get weak and break.  I think you can make that slightly better with the stainless steel wrapped hoses.  (But I suspect that only extends it a little.)   I actually put a floor drain under my washer when I built my house... because this seems to be such a common problem.

For fridges... some of these have really crappy plastic hoses built in.  They expect a compression fitting and the plastic is so bendy that it is super hard to get the ferrule to seat straight.  I've had these fail at the fitting... and years after the compression was done.  We were fortunate to be at home when it happened.

sheepstache

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

arebelspy

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

Uhh, how does that article not point out the biggest drawback to this: The candy comes out frozen.

I'd rather just have a jar of candy (not frozen) on the counter...
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jordanread

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

Uhh, how does that article not point out the biggest drawback to this: The candy comes out frozen.

I'd rather just have a jar of candy (not frozen) on the counter...

Frozen grapes?

dragoncar

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

Uhh, how does that article not point out the biggest drawback to this: The candy comes out frozen.

I'd rather just have a jar of candy (not frozen) on the counter...

First, I think it's extremely generous to call a buzzfeed summary of a Reddit post an "article."

Second, some people love frozen candy!  Hard candy, not so much, but peanut butter cups or snickers?  Yes, please.

As pointed out by Reddit users, if you remove the wrappers you can use the crushed ice function to top your ice cream.  As pointed out by other Reddit users, this is a terrible idea to actually try.

frugalnacho

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Yeah, we got one of those fucking ice makers with our new KitchenAid refrigerator 11 years ago. What a novelty. I really LOVE hearing the smashing of fresh ice in the middle of the night. And I'm always paranoid about the water line in the back of the refrigerator leaking. We had it replaced several years ago because of the ridiculous way the original line had been installed, and sure enough I noticed it leaking last night...badly. $235 later and it's now fixed. Do you know how many bags of ice you can buy for $235? Fucking automatic ice makers....probably warped my fucking floor.

MOTHER FUCKER!

End of rant.

I feel the exact opposite.  It was a pain in the ass to drill through the tile floor, hook up a copper water line, feed it from the basement - up and around my cold air return, and then actually hook up the ice maker, but since that time I have spent exactly 0 minutes dicking around with ice cube trays and I always have fresh ice for my drinks.  I feel like some kind of wizard who bends the will of elements and nature to satisfy my urge for ice cold drinks instead of some caveman that has to manually fill ice trays.   

sheepstache

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

Uhh, how does that article not point out the biggest drawback to this: The candy comes out frozen.

I'd rather just have a jar of candy (not frozen) on the counter...

So true. I'm so confused about other people's love for Ben and Jerry's icecream with chocolate candies in it. I'm like, but it doesn't taste like chocolate candy; it's frozen so it tastes like brown plastic. I have been informed quite emphatically that I am weird for thinking this.

4alpacas

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Sorry to post a buzzfeed link and I know this has nothing to do with mustachianism, but I can't stop myself.

Fill your ice bin with candy. Boom. Candy dispenser.

Uhh, how does that article not point out the biggest drawback to this: The candy comes out frozen.

I'd rather just have a jar of candy (not frozen) on the counter...

So true. I'm so confused about other people's love for Ben and Jerry's icecream with chocolate candies in it. I'm like, but it doesn't taste like chocolate candy; it's frozen so it tastes like brown plastic. I have been informed quite emphatically that I am weird for thinking this.
I totally agree!  That's why I opt for Chocolate Fudge Brownie.  ;)

hodedofome

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We never had an ice maker that worked growing up. It was ice trays for me until I bought my own house at 26.

I'll never go back to ice trays, go ahead and judge me all you want. I don't care :)

RetiredAt63

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Side benefit - the dog loves the ice, free treat!
However, since I am an hour+ away from Costco, when I shop there for anything perishable I take big freezer bags and fill them with ice at the drink machine - they act as coolers all the way home.  A Costco butcher suggested this when I asked for ice at the meat counter.

Brilliant!

Sibley

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OMG, yes. This drives me nuts. I rent a townhouse w/ a roomie. She's not into MMM at all and no interest. When we moved in, the fridge/freezer has the filtered water and ice maker thing. However, there doesn't appear to be a water line into it. She was going on and on for weeks about wanting to get it to work, even saying we could just put in a water line ourselves. I had to be rude finally and shut her down. (We're renting!) So we use ice trays and dump the ice in the bucket, so then she can get it to dispense through the freezer door. The damn thing is so noisy, and doesn't work very well at all.


greaper007

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Why did it cost $235?    I knicked the back of my water line when I pulled the fridge out to clean under it this past fall.   Grand total for a new line, $7 in parts and about 15 minutes of my time.      This isn't a transmission rebuild, it was all screw together parts.

LucyBIT

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toss a few [ice cubes] in the dryer to "steam" clothing

mind = blown