I have seen an expensive fridge that makes ice as you need it. You hold a glass in the dispenser and after a few seconds a block or two of ice falls down.
Is there any way to get this without buying a fridge?
I looked at ice making machines. They seem to concentrate on making lots of ice, and have long warm up times. i want something that will make say three ice blocks quickly.
Any ideas?
They have. It's called a blast chiller and very expensive.
Have you looked into this?
It claims 12 minutes to make the ice
http://www.crazysales.com.au/online-commercial-ice-cube-make…
Not cheap though but if you want speedy ice this is an ideal way to go
Will need a water inlet
Just remember those fridges constantly make ice until it fills the bucket, they are extremely slow at producing ice on "demand" once they run out
A good unit for making large quantities of ice. As you say, Expensive.
you can probably get a bit cheap and take longer to make ice or have less capacity
Inlaws bought us a smaller stand alone unit for about $200, I think it was this https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/viali-compact-ice-cube-maker-…
We didnt want it, only use for us would be when hunting to fill the chest up and it would be too slow for that. In this case Id rather fill 5l bottles up and freeze them in a chest freezer.
Just buy 2 or 3 ice cube trays and keep them topped up in the freezer. Then use them on rotation.
Above is correct, the ice makers cont actually make ice that quickly, they just have a bucket so it's ready on demand (unless you have used it up)
That's super inconvenient and probably what OP is doing now.
Ice cube bags are far better than ice cube trays. 'Unlike normal ice-trays, ice will not evaporate in Frost Free freezers and the ice cubes won't absorb other odours which affect the flavour of ice.'
http://www.glad.com.au/glad-products/food-management/glad-ic…
Frozen meat icecubes are nasty
Our ice cube trays have lids.
I am using ice trays and the plastic Glad ice bags. They work of course.
But I have been using the fridge door ice-dispenser at a friends house - and it is really convenient and easy. Hold the glass against the sensor, and a few ice cubes pop straight into the glass. Add water and you are good to go.
I would like to get that convenience without buying a new fridge. I would spend something on it, say $100 to $200.
Invent it and sell it because I doubt it exists.
Those dispensers are really high maintnenance and reduce the storage capacity of the fridge.
11 years ago we bought a LG side by side fridge with an ice and water dispenser, not thinking at the time it would be very useful however the plumbing was there from the previous owner.
Well its turned out to be amazing - cool water, cube and crushed ice and you never need to think about restocking waterjugs or ice cubes. Crushed ice is great for smoothies and iced coffee etc. We're coastal near Sydney for climate reference.
No maintenance has been required other than once when we hadn't used the icecubes for ages over winter they completely stuck together. That was easily fixed by pulling out the draw and grabbing what was required.
I agree the downside is they do take up quite a bit of room. Still, we don't need to run a 2nd fridge or a separate freezer.
Friend had something similar to this
http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/282253044214
10-12 minutes to make each set of ice cubes
They had theirs running 24/7 anytime ice was needed just lift the lid, scoop out required ice cubes close lid, machine keeps its little basket of approx 500g full.
Does use power and take up counter space (about the size of bread machine)
All you need to do is top up the water tank with filtered water when the light comes on.
Don't those fridges dispense ice cubes that have already been frozen?
correct BobbyJ
No fridge is instant
Thought I was missing out
I'm imagining some creative uses for liquid nitrogen right now…
Chanced upon this thread while looking for recommendations on ice makers while avoiding buying a new fridge for now as well…
For the dispenser you're talking about, these seem to fit that. Found this on ebay and this on kogan. Unfortunately, I have no idea about quality and they're both a bit out of your price range.
I'm personally considering a cheaper and more basic option, this one. If anyone chances upon this as well, any advice/opinions would be appreciated! :)
The cheap ones are bulk ice makers. So after a few hours you will have some ice. Not the instant ice on demand that we want e.g. for a quick glass of something with ice. Not that useful IMO (unless you need bulk ice).
The first Kogan one you mention may do it??
If you get it, let us know if it is any good :)
Yeah, this is about the closest we can get to that instant ice, sadly. I think these ones all run on 12 cubes per 9 minute cycles, so it would be a 9 minute wait rather than a few hours. But I imagine it could just be left churning away until it's full and kept there as an ice box until you empty it out.
Probably getting the second kogan one if I do get one… But yes, I'll give an update if I do. ^^
when is someone going to invent a freezawave similar to a microwave instead
freezes stuff :)