Have you seen this thread? It has much discussion of the issue, including my (pretty lonely) post explaining why I don't like built in icemakers. Most do seem to like theirs.

Here is a link that might be useful: ice machine advice needed

Once you have an icemaker and get used to it you will not want to be with out it. I have a Scotsman and love it. If you do even a little entertaining the machine will show you how cool they are. After a while when you go to someone house and they have a regular icemaker in the freezer you will see how nasty that ice is. You will see junk floating in your drink plus the cloud ice is not good to look at. Just a fair warning, any ice maker requires maintenance and cleaning plus they are not the quietest things but they are worth it.

How much does the Scotsman run compared to Kitchenaid...which was priced to me at $1695.00

OK, well I can't resist jumping in. I remember the first time I realized that our clear ice maker (Monogram) worked by constantly making ice, then letting it melt. I did not realize there was no cooling mechanism to store ice. Now of course that's one reason the ice is so fresh, but in this era of Energy Star and "green" appliance selection, I find it near unconscionable to run a compressor nonstop 24/7, just for prettier ice. We junked it and now suffer through cloudy ice :-)

As for the "junk floating in the ice" issue, if there's junk in the ice, it's because there's junk in your water. If there's junk in your water, there's junk in your ice no matter what kind of ice maker you have.

Stuff in ice? I have a general overall filter into the fridge which also has a filter so I asusme no junk. Will cloudy ice be the norm with an ice maker that dumps ice into the freezer?

We have a Kitchen Aid clear icemaker under the counter and it is my favorite thing in the kitchen. The water is filtered, the ice is small and delicious, and it is worth the indulgence. We're green in other areas but, sorry, I can't worry about it. It IS possible to turn off the icemaker, freeze the cubes in plastic bags (which stay just fine in the freezer) and turn it on again when you need more, if that makes you feel greener. Drinks never tasted so good. I used to buy ice at the supermarket because those big fat, off-tasting cubes were so disgusting. Never again!

Oh, man I'm still confused...It's kind of one of those things...If you've never had it, you don't know what your missing...those that have can't live without it.

How do you turn off an icemaker? Is it difficult?

Assuming a common source of water, there's only one reason that ice from an icemaker could taste better than ice from a freezer. That would be because the ice from the fridge is picking up odors from other foods stored there. If that is occurring, then storing your clear ice in plastic bags will give the same results.

The odor issue is improved if you're using a dual compressor fridge/freezer, like a SZ or our Therms, as there is no intermingling of chilled air between the two sides. Still, I grant the possibility, especially if you don't use ice much.

I do think some of the perceived taste advantage is also visual--clear ice looks prettier, and thus may subjectively "taste" better as well.

Finally, I think raynag's comment is telling, and may explain that pro/anti icemaker split. If your icemaker is your favorite item in the kitchen, then I suspect that drinks, especially mixed drinks, and likely entertaining, are higher priorities to you. My favorite items in the kitchen are the LC range and the MA hood, because I love cooking over high heat, and I drink wine almost exclusively, so ice is not a necessity.

Still don't like that compressor running 24/7 and the crash as the ice cubes hit the bin but clearly different strokes for different folks.

Here's the easy solution - have the ice maker installed. If you don't like it you can always turn the water off.

We are on our second ice maker and I wouldn't be without it. We have ice when we need it, which is great for entertaining.

Never had a problem.

Enjoy the journey.
eal51 in western CT

The reason there is no cooling system to store the ice is because if there was you would have a 30 pound block of ice in the machine. I do not know about the Kitchenaid but on my Scotsman you can "turn" off the machine for a few hours by setting some ice on the thermostat rod that also holds the scoop. This tells the machine it is full so it turns off. Also once the machine is full it only runs when needed so the compressor does not run 24/7. Like I said before any ice maker makes noise so if it will be installed in a large kitchen/great room area it will be noisey so I would find someplace else to install it. As far as the junk in the water it does not matter how bad your water is any clear ice maker will remove it and you will have clear ice. The worse your water is you will need to clean the machine more often.

It's true that they shut off when full, but at least my Monogram never got full, since the ice is constantly melting. There might have been an occasional moment when it was full and shut down but in general it ran all the time. I was not compulsive enough, for example, to submerge the thermostat in ice every night before i went to bed. It was not easy to turn off otherwise.

The noise of ours, which was by the door to our bedroom, was definitely obtrusive and regbob makes a good point that it should be installed somewhere outside actual living areas.

Actually, thinking back, I have vague memories that there was some requirement to clean out muck from the ice maker regularly, so I may have been mistaken about my water quality observation (I replaced ours with a wine cooler a long time ago). To icemaker owners: how do they actually filter the water? Is there a mechanical filter, or is there something about the freezing process that somehow precipitates stuff out? How often do you have to clean it out, and how difficult is it to do?

At any rate, I drink tap water at home, so I figure if I can drink the stuff, I can live with it in my ice too. Again, it's all a question of aesthetics. If attractive-looking/tasting ice is a higher priority than energy wastage and noise, then it's a good choice.

Some icemakers are more noisy because they require a pump to remove the water (from melted ice). You can eliminate this noise if you are able to have a gravity drain. The only time we hear our icemaker is when the ice drops into the holding area.

One reason ice in a freezer turns nasty is that the automatic defrost is constantly working on it. You should be periodically dumping old ice for fresh.

The ice that is in the freezer picking up the "flavors" from the fridge side?

If you have a 2 compressor system where air is not shared is the ice going to be "cleaner" taste better longer? I'm getting the new Sub zero line with the filter on the water to the ice maker and the dual compressor I guess in a "normal" expense fridge not sure I can do any better.

the 30" Leibherr has a simple "on/off" button for the ice maker - we use very little ice, so I usually have it turned off. Then you can use the drawer for other stuff. Very convenient.

We just have the freezer icemaker at home. At work, we put in 2 Scotsman icemakers- one replaced a (crappy) U-line that kept breaking down. For 100 people and the occasional function, they're great. They don't have a filter- we'd need to install one separately but haven't.

But I'm going to have to side with clinresga on whether they have utility for the home. Like every other appliance choice discussed here, there's a bit of the "those that can, do" mentality. But spending $2k on an undercounter machine because the ice isn't cloudy or you don't like the taste is a bit silly to me. The water's the same either way, so filtered in one basically is filtered in the other.

If the ice picks up odor/flavor in the freezer, you must not be using it that much. That seems even less of a reason to get a 24/7 energy and water user. If you have to dump the supply in the freezer periodically to keep it fresh, then getting a bag or two when you need extra is a better investment.

I was in a store recently, and saw a countertop ice making machine. It made 2 or 3 different size cubes, and made the cubes quite quickly. I was thinking of getting this as a alternative to the units you are talking about.It is far less expensive and does take up less room.
The ice also looked very clear and tasted "clean",

Where would you place the countertop ice machine? What brand was it? I had them go ahead and plumb for the ice machine, but I still haven't made up my mind yet. I appreciate everyone's info and suggestions.

I saw the countertop machine at Williams Sonoma. I have, however, done a search on line and found other machines as well.
I guess the advantage to this machine is it's size and three different size cubes, and no worry about a water line. It is also a lot less expensive.
You do , however, have to find a spot to put it.