Portable ice maker for RV.

[kellem]

Wife wants a portable ice maker for the trailer and asked if I'd research.....I know the perfect place, HERE. lol

She's tired of the ice demand while camping and I ain't buying a Yeti.

Will they produce enough ice to top off coolers, worth the $100 + ?

Thankyou.

[lwbfl]

We are currently camping and I've filled several plastic cups, placed them in the freezer and use them as needed! Much better for us than ice trays or purchasing ice away from camp!

[lwbfl]

I love mine simply because shortly after purchasing it, Hurricane Michael took out my house and we didn't have power for a month! I could use bottled water and the generator sparingly to make ICE as we needed it. The downfall is that it makes very little at a time and doesn't store it. It's good for maintaining enough for a couple of glasses or if you don't mind dumping it into something else every 30 minutes or so. We use it now to keep ice in the freezer while camping when we have 120V power.

[profdant139]

I'm not an ice-maker guy -- too much electricity usage for boondocking -- but for some reason, this thread really makes me appreciate the fact that we live in a wonderful time. The pioneers did without ice because they had to, but you can bet that they would have enjoyed a cold drink on a hot day if they could have done so.

But we don't have to drink lukewarm beverages if we don't want to! Every so often, I am reminded that our lives are very different from our ancestors' lives: vaccines, antibiotics, refrigeration, etc.

[Gdetrailer]

ktmrfs wrote:


inrush on ours is around 3x running current, has a decent compressor motor. I have 500W max of solar and can run the ice maker enough each day to keep us supplied with ice and still keep the batteries near full charge.

You certainly have a "magical" device that defies all known scientific and real world data.

It is well known that highly inductive compressor motors have startup surge at least 6x the running current. I HAVE also measured that for myself and typical refrigeration compressors labeled for 1.1A run current has measured 8A-10A on startup..

And yes, I have repeated that test multiple times with a good quality Ammeter since I honestly didn't think it was that much surge.

While there are places that mention 2-3x the run current, they also mention that you SHOULD plan on 6x..

HERE

"As noted above, there are periods of startup or surge power that typically can be 2-3 times the amount of running watts. As a rule of thumb and for precautionary reasons, you should consider that up to 6 times the amount of rated current may be required for initial startup of the appliance.

Startup or Surge Current / Power for CRF150SS-1

The startup amperage draw rating will be noted on the compressor itself by referring to the Locked Rotor Amp aka "LRA" value. In the example below, the LRA is 5A (5 Amps) which would be equivalent to 575 watts for startup for a unit plugged into a 115V outlet. "

However, here's the rub on this, inverters are often very limited on the LENGTH of surge time, most inverters do not in fact even give any data on how long of time they can provide for their surge rating meaning their surge rating is a useless number.

Therefor one needs to UPSIZE the inverter and wiring in order to not send the inverter into a shut down.

Typically most RVrs that have tried their hand at home fridge conversions have run into this issue when trying to use inverters of less than 700W, some get it to work and some don't.

For my home fridge conversion I went with a 1250W inverter to ensure the compressor will start reliably..

I also have checked my portable icemaker data tag, 1.5A running and 2.0A during cycle (unit runs a electric heating element to heat the tines to release the cubes).

Run time may also be variable, since ours lives outside while camping, it typically is exposed to temps from upper 80F to mid 90F day time.. This will melt the ice in the bin faster and the ice makers will continually cycle through the day making ice..

So, if you keep it in a very cool place or camp in very cool weather, it may not cycle as much.. But I would suggest one should plan on plenty of battery/solar and some gen to keep things happy.

We do like having the icemaker, but once again, we DO us it when we are camping with shore power.. No way I am going to add an extra pair of GC batts or solar just for the convenience of having a icemaker, those would be very expensive little cubes of ice..

[ktmrfs]

Gdetrailer wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

philh wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

How big is the inverter?

1000W, but most of the portable icemakers only draw maybe 100-15W W peak. IIRC mine draws a little over 1A based on the nameplate.

Next, there are only a few mfg of the ice makers. Most are just branded with dozens of other names. Heir (sp?) is one of the main mfg.

That 1A, is at 120V, turns into 10A-11A at 12V per hr when running. Startup surge will be 8 - 10 times the run current so startup surge can be as much as 100A-110A at 12V.

Ours pretty much never stops running unlike a home fridge conversion so your looking at needing close to 264Ahr of battery capacity per 24 hrs of operation for boondocking.. If the fan is running, so is the compressor.. Will take a lot of solar, battery and or generator for boondocking, plan accordingly.

We only use ours when camping with shore power.

inrush on ours is around 3x running current, has a decent compressor motor. I have 500W max of solar and can run the ice maker enough each day to keep us supplied with ice and still keep the batteries near full charge.

[Gdetrailer]

ktmrfs wrote:

philh wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

How big is the inverter?

1000W, but most of the portable icemakers only draw maybe 100-15W W peak. IIRC mine draws a little over 1A based on the nameplate.

Next, there are only a few mfg of the ice makers. Most are just branded with dozens of other names. Heir (sp?) is one of the main mfg.

That 1A, is at 120V, turns into 10A-11A at 12V per hr when running. Startup surge will be 8 - 10 times the run current so startup surge can be as much as 100A-110A at 12V.

Ours pretty much never stops running unlike a home fridge conversion so your looking at needing close to 264Ahr of battery capacity per 24 hrs of operation for boondocking.. If the fan is running, so is the compressor.. Will take a lot of solar, battery and or generator for boondocking, plan accordingly.

We only use ours when camping with shore power.

[ktmrfs]

philh wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

How big is the inverter?

1000W, but most of the portable icemakers only draw maybe 100-15W W peak. IIRC mine draws a little over 1A based on the nameplate.

Next, there are only a few mfg of the ice makers. Most are just branded with dozens of other names. Heir (sp?) is one of the main mfg.

[Gdetrailer]

philh wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

How big is the inverter?

Portable icemakers are pretty much the same setup using a standard refrigerator compressor..

I have one, but not feeling like running out to the trailer at this moment to check data plate..

But, a quick search and found an answer on how much draw..

HERE


"Question:
How many watts does this use ?
Answer:
105 watts"

Since it will be a compressor, there will be a startup surge of about 8-10 times the running current..

So, in reality you will need at least 800W but I would highly recommend 1000W inverter with short and very heavy ga wire (#1 or heavier).. Not sure this is something you will want to waste a lot of battery capacity over if you are boondocking.

However, be aware of a few things with these icemakers..

They produce "soft wet" cubes unlike a cube made in a freezer which is hard ice. You can bag them and put in your freezer to make them hard but since they are wet, they tend to freeze into a big glob..

These units also will pretty much continuously run until the ice bin is full or it runs out of water.

The cubes in the bin will melt back into water as the unit runs so the icemaker generally keeps cycling making new cubes..

The cubes are also not solid, think of more like a doughnut with a hole in the center.

Unit makes the cubes from the inside to the outside by dunking "tines" into a pool of water, the tines are chilled by the compressor, when time is up, the water is dumped, the tines are warmed slightly and the ice cubes fall of into the ice bin.

The fans on these units is loud, not good for making ice inside the RV, we set ours on a picnic table outside..

That brings up another issue we ran into, bright sun light hitting the unit falses the bin full detection shutting off the unit.. We ended up putting a dish towel over top of the unit to stop that.

First few batches, toss the cubes, drain the unit and refill with fresh water.. Otherwise you will taste and off taste in the cubes.

We like ours even with some of the limitations.

They DO make ice pretty quick, typically one cycle every 10 minutes and you get about 8 cubes each cycle.

Be aware, there are many "brands", but most of them are made by the same company just rebranded and some have a lot of complaints for defective units or failed units with the full sensor failure..

We bought ours at Sam's club on a whim a few yrs back, so far it has been OK.

[dieseltruckdriv]

We had an Igloo, used it for a couple of years and got tired of baby sitting it. Also if you don't put the ice in the freezer, it doesn't last. I gave it to my brother when he told me he was going to buy one. After the first weekend he was already falling out of love with it too.

[philh]

ktmrfs wrote:
when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

How big is the inverter?

[dedmiston]

Grit dog wrote:
It wasn't "right" but desperate times called for desperate measures!

Atta boy. Nobody likes a quitter.

[ktmrfs]

we've used one for more than a decade. probably paid for itself in a few years. No more trips to the store for ice, more than enough to keep our and several other coolers full of ice along with what we needed for drinks.

And when far from an ice source sure beats a long trip to town. when boondocking we run it off the inverter as needed. We bought the smallest one we could get.

the one we have makes plenty of ice and the cubes seem to work just fine keeping the coolers cold.

[Grit_dog]

dedmiston wrote:


Our tumblers are double-walled Hydro knock-offs and they're amazing. They're huge though, so you have to limit yourself to just a couple, because three+ drinks from those tumblers will knock you out.



What did the pioneers do in their Conestoga wagons?

I believe that's why they call them tumblers...once you tumble down the stairs, you know yer done...

Idk what the Pioneers did, I woulda hated it. I did make a tepid Bloody Mary on Sunday. Watchin my kid's hockey game in another family's RV (can't watch in person, Rona.....)who was staying there at the rink for the weekend, out of ice. It wasn't "right" but desperate times called for desperate measures!

[dedmiston]

Grit dog wrote:
Not trying to de-rail the ice maker question, but if you're going through alot of ice in a cooler (presumably away from the RV where you cant just keep stuff in the fridge) then a good cooler is worth the money.
If you're hammering through the ice sitting in the shade next to the RV downing cocktails, invest in a couple Hydro Flasks for your drinks. Your ice consumption will go down considerably and your booze consumption will increase!
Stay thirsty my friend!

365 days a year, Hydro flask is the go to for hot and cold drinks. Camping, empty out the last morning coffee (still warm around noon). Fill with ice and get the cocktails rolling. Next morning have to dump out the ice that's left to fill with coffee again!

We have a commercial ice maker at home (because my wife is nuts and loves her Sonic ice). I fill up 2-3 8lb bags before every trip and keep them in one side of the freezer.

Our tumblers are double-walled Hydro knock-offs and they're amazing. They're huge though, so you have to limit yourself to just a couple, because three+ drinks from those tumblers will knock you out.

Our ice always lasts us well though. We can make it up to ten days with those three bags. We took an 11,000 mile trip in 2019 and eventually had to buy bags from Sonic when we ran out. Even though we filled a huge Yeti cooler, the cooler ice lasted us about two weeks and the freezer ice only stretched another week+. Paying for ice felt weird though. The three things I never want to pay for are ice, lemons, and love.

What did the pioneers do in their Conestoga wagons?