I'm being referenced without my knowledge.... Yes all ice machines need to drain melted ice. If it goes by gravity then you must have a p trap, which can be difficult if the drain outlet on your machine is only 6 inches from the floor. If this is not an option then you are stuck with a pump. Some nicer units will have a sealed pump system. In this case, if the pump fails, it will send a signal to shut off the icemaker which would prevent overflow of waste water. Less nice systems basically sell you a "condensate pump" that is a box that you drain water into, then when it gets full it pumps it out, into a drain stack like your dishwasher drains into. If these fail, there is no way to keep your ice machine from trickling waste water into and then flooding out of them. My Hoshizaki drain pump is virtually silent, but this may not be the case with all of them. BUT if you are going to tolerate the noise of an ice machine, then a drain pump is no big deal. If doing new construction, then definitely plumb in a gravity drain to save the hassle and risk.

Just noting advantages/disadvantages of dedicated ice-makers.... Advantages.... 1) Ice that is shaped other than crescent. Majority of ice-makers make crescent-shaped "cubes" that suck up to the walls of any cylindrical glass (aren't they all?) that you're drinking from and make imbibing a more-than-occasional nuisance. Actual cubes or circular cubes don't do this. Sounds pretty trivial but it surely is nice. I would not consider a dedicated Ice-maker that produced crescent-cubes. 2) Clear ice. Mo/betta if RO or other processed-water used. Clear ice is absolutely where its at. 3) Lots of ice, quickly. Dedicated machines can really put out compared with ref. devices. If you have a need for volume, there really is no substitute. Disadvantages... 1) "Wet" ice. Which is to say soft ice. Dedicated ice-makers typically produce ice at just a little below freezing. That's part of how they keep it clear and part of how they produce as much as quickly as they do. The product is not as cold as the zero-or-below product of ref. ice-makers. 2) Waste water. The ice produced is constantly melting...hence the need for drains or drain-pumps. You're going to be wasting a LOT of water. 3) Unless you're careful you may find that your chosen machine makes a LOT of noise. Very common complaint. 4) Expense. RV ice machines can be had at Wal-Mart for $150.00...and they work astonishingly well. Cabinet-installed machines for the home are priced almost like whole refrigerators.....and have all the inconveniences plus a drain or pump required. Need to decide just how important it is. 5) Like ref. ice-makers, they tend to be troublesome.

Thanks! I was leaning in that direction but wasn't sure. I'm teaching myself and it would be nice to have a dedicated topic on candy making. Made plenty of microwave fudge in 14 years of Scouting, but boys don't savor they stuff, so it was ok for them but now I want to make the good kind. :)

Some ice makers, the dumped ice tends to accumulate in the bin in the area of the sensor arm that shuts it off when full. Shake the bin to level the ice ... or make visual note of where the arm falls in the bin and push the ice away from it. I have to do that with my GE to get maximum use of the bin's capacity.