We just installed a scotsman ice machine and love it! Clear ice makes drinks so nice. We chose it because it is energy star rated and can take a panel so it is hidden. It is sometimes noisy, but you can turn it off when you want. If we thought ahead we would have put a timer in the wall socket so the machine only ran at night. So far no issues but we have only had it for about 2 months! Apparently a light will go off somewhere when it needs to be cleaned or maintained. Jama

That's a great idea - a timer on the socket!! The noise is one of the major things I was wondering about as I realize they run continually, and remake ice as the old ice melts.
Did you get the drain pump, or were you able to gravity drain it?
I also need to check out the energy star rating. An ice machine is certainly an extra, but I know we would get lots of use out of it.

We rented a ski cabin for a season and it had one in the wet bar area. Loved it ! Especially since we were 12 people there! I don't think we particularly noticed the noise. Of course with 6 children from 5-10, how could we?

These were pretty much invented as replacement options where people are taking out trash compactors. I'm thinking that if you have a new fridge you're probably not redoing your kitchen? If not, and if you don't want to mess with the plumbing, there are many models of portable icemakers. Advantage: you can fill with distilled water and have taste-free ice. Disadvantage: no drain.

blueberryisland-

We have an undercounter icemaker (but not one in our fridge) in our pantry. It was something mr. sandyponder has always wanted, so when we built our house, we put one in. It's a Sears Kenmore brand, from the Sears Outlet, we paid $400 for it.

Most home ice makers make small ice cubes, thanks to the Appliance forum we knew to look at that, and in the end we didn't really care, this one was such a good deal that we traded off the small cubes for large ones, but to some folks it's a biggie, so just research it. Ditto on clear ice, I really don't care if my ice is clear or not, but YMMV.

Cleaning is not difficult but a PITA, you have to empty it and put the solution through. Ours has been installed about 18 months and we have cleaned it once. A red light comes on to tell you it's time.

Finally, we have well water, not hard and not sulphery, we are very lucky. I have heard that either very hard or very sulphery water can be tricky in an icemaker (of any kind).

Pros:

It's great to have a large supply of ice for when we go out in the boat and for canning (very handy for canning, it's right across from the second sink).

Cons:

It's loud and takes some getting used to, we don't hear it now, but the first few weeks we would startle, especially later at night, when we were in the LR reading or talking. Ours is in the pantry, so it's not even in the main kitchen, and they really are loud.

It puts out a lot of heat, which is another reason I'm glad it's not in the main kitchen.

It's another energy sucking device, which costs money and isn't really "green", but our own family carbon trade off involves our dryer (we don't use it, hang everything up to dry either inside or outside), so we assuage our guilt that way.

Good luck-

sandyponder

Thank you all for the iformation. I live in a fairly rural area and do not know a single person with an undercounter ice maker, so this is so helpful. We are doing a mini-reno on our kitchen - counters, appliances (not so mini, I guess!), and our old frig went kaput about 2 months too soon, so I had to get a new one w/out a lot of research. I love the new one, but we did not get an external ice dispenser and reaching way down and towards the back is not so hot on our backs!! Had considered an ice machine in the past anyway, so this may be the time!
Thank you for the input on the noise! We have laundry room (hallway really)/pantry right next to the kitchen so that is a thought too. It sounds like all of you love having one, but it is a matter of getting used to the noise.
Did any of you have problems with draining?
I did consider an portable, but the kitchen is small, so don't want to take up the counter space, and, you are right :-) - we are taking out a trash compactor!

I'll let you know if we go for it!