The rental house we are in has a KitchenAid undercounter ice machine that is about 6 years old. This is the second machine in the house that is about 15 years old. As Sophie said, ice machines made by the Whirlpool Corp are basically the same no matter the brand. I'll share our experience for the benefit of others. I love the clear ice but am not crazy about the small, square cubes. They melt relatively quickly. If I were installing an ice machine, I'd want to go with a model that produces large cubes. But then those cost more than a KitchenAid, I think. We live in an area with relatively soft water. Even so, water takes a toll on the valves of the ice maker. In 6 years, the water valve has been replaced twice. We realized the ice production was way down, did some research and discovered the water valve was the issue. Once it was replaced, we realized the ice cubes had been getting smaller over the months but gradually enough that we didn't notice. For hard water areas of the country, I would recommend supplying the machine with reverse osmosis treated water. We have cleaned the ice machine with the special cleaning solution every 6 months based on when the "clean" light comes on. That process is simple. We use the solution recommended by the manufacturer and it is pricey - about $13 a bottle, one bottle per cleaning cycle. As this is a rental house, I do not want to use any other solution that I've read about on the internet that would be cheaper. As far as mold, when we moved into the rental house, it had been vacant for about 3 months. The AC had been on (at maybe 78-80 degrees) and the ice machine was on, too, but there was a lot of mold throughout the areas exposed to water. This type of mold is always challenge to life in the hot, humid South. I thoroughly cleaned the mold and it has not returned but I do keep an eye on it and clean as needed. The ice machine makes several different sounds as it goes through its cycles - draining noises, gurgling, cubes dropping. I don't find them obnoxious but then I am not a "hearing" sensitive person. The machine does put out a lot of heat as any machine that cools/freezes does. This should be a consideration for placement. I sure as heck wouldn't want it in my cooking zone. We are building a new house and considered an ice machine but just could not justify the luxury. In my opinion it is truly a luxury item because of the initial cost and the fact that it makes ice all day, every day. Ice production is not based on usage. If we entertained groups frequently, we probably would have planned for one.

Glad you're fixed up the way you wanted it. Question about the machine..... Can you say how long it takes from start-up to produce, say, the first five lbs of ice? And/or how long it took to produce the full-hold of 25lbs? Reason for question is that I have one location that only has people in it once a week or so. Rather than leave the machine on all the time, I would more likely only turn it on only when people are there......if we didn't have to wait too long for usable quantity of ice to be available. ( Refrig. ice-maker isn't much good that way.)

The top hat machines are not close to the nugget machine as far as noise levels. They make the ice in completely different ways. The nugget machine make almost no noise when it is making the ice. It basically pushes the water up through a large rotating chilled tube that forms the ice and as it rotates the slices off the ice into nuggets kind of like a pasta machine. If you want the chewable ice this is the way to go. The one thing to make sure of is to have the best water you can going into the machine. It uses almost 100% of the water for ice production so whatever is in the water will be in the ice. The top hat machines are nosier that the nugget machines just because of the way that the ice in made. But they are perfect crystal clear because of the way that the ice is made. If you do have a true commercial machine I think the SCC models will be quieter just because commercial equipment is generally noisier. If you want ice for a bar and want clear ice for cocktails the top hat machine is the way to go. If you can go with the gravity drain machine and not have the pump to get the water out that will save some money and also be quieter when the machine is running.

Lol, I know that picture of the bear. A poster on another forum I frequent has that as their avatar. I guess the Yeti is photoshopped as it does not have the same shadow as the bear. Cute any who. I think any group, political, social, even work related...at the office/workplace, will stomp their feet and if a perk is eliminated. My work eliminated all Starbucks and chain fast food receipts years ago. (except for ShakeShack). NYC mom and pop is encouraged, ...buy and support local. (I don't do 'Sitbucks' or any chain fast food) I do try and practice-what-i-preach. No plastics or p-towels within reason. Cloth and filtered home bottled. Do what seems right. Less waste and USA or local when possible. Coolers? I'm a sucker for good design/branding. I did more research than I care to admit a year ago. Thinking we should replace our two coolers that have served our needs for almost 20 years. 3 day road trip to our beach house. (2 days, 15 hour ferry, 3 hours to the home). Sometimes add a day for foul weather. I watched the ice test videos and never took the bait for the Yeti. It is, I bet, a lifetime investment, but maybe if our wheels and handles broke? or cracked and stopped performing we may jump?...not sure. I do like that you have it Lars. And the BGE. I would go that route as well but our old 20 year grill/smoker is still kicking and no longer babied being left out years round now. (so well built being so old unlike recent models I've noticed). I'm OCD about travel and packing so I know all the tricks for frozen to last 4-5 days. I would accept this as a gift, lol. A 40 dollar 5 gallon bucket...another 100 for a lid and accessories, : ) Ha ha, my dozen five gallon buckets are for utility and hauling poop and compost and stacked filthy, then hosed off and bleached occasionally....