The ice maker is the most delicate part of any fridge, and the through door units take up a lot of space and make the concerns that much worse. Not the best idea for a fridge you expect to last for more than twenty years. Combine that with the fact that people get built-ins in order to have them blend into the cabinetry, and you start to understand why there just isn't a lot of demand. If you use the ice/water dispenser on daily basis, you'll probably want to keep it. If it's less often, you might consider using an ice crusher (small appliance) or a garage sale food processor for that part. SubZero does have an ice dispenser on the 48" side-by-side, but as I said, it's the weakest link. The only thing on an SZ that most people find needs service over its lifetime is the ice maker, and the through door ones seem to need service sooner. (Just an observation on frequency--check with their repair service for first hand knowledge.) Here's a search on AJMadison for custom panels and through door ice. I don't know which of these have crushed ice and water. Some of these aren't built-in models, but you could do a faux if one of the suits you.

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.

It's a U-Line BI1215, which creates crescent shaped traditional (non clear) ice "cubes." It's brand new so I was instructed to toss the first several batches. We are waaayyy beyond the first few batches, four days of batches to be honest. I'd expect the newness to be gone, wouldn't you? I am not using it since it smells and tastes so icky. My best description is a strong plastic-y smell and taste. (I haven't swallowed any, just tasted melted "cubes") It was connected using a braided water line supply kit, hooked to my sink water line. The water is not filtered. I called U-Line and spoke with a person who suggested putting vinegar in the ice tray and then trying the Ice Machine Cleaning packet if the vinegar doesn't work. I tried the vinegar and now the ice is really gross. I will have to wait for the cleaner to arrive. Until then, has anyone else had a similar problem? What was the cause? And the solution? Even though my sink water tastes ok, would filtering the water help? Thank goodness my fridge icemaker still works. It's a typical blisteringly hot summer here. Thanks for reading and responding!

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.