Review -Even though it is winter, we still have a few days in the 80s in southern Texas. I have always liked the nugget ice that you can sometimes find in various restaurants. It is super crunchy and easy to chew. It can also make almost muddy margaritas without having to turn on the blender! Recently, I have seen more and more countertop gold nugget manufacturers listed on the market. When Qualeben Nugget Icemaker was available for review, I took this opportunity. Let’s see if we can get a refreshing margarita or two from it!
What is it?
Qualeben Nugget Nugget Ice Maker is a countertop gold nugget Ice makerYou can fill the water manually or connect it to the water source through the provided pipe.
What’s in the box?
- The Qualeben Nugget ice maker is shown at the top of this review.
- A quick start guide
- A user manual
- Thank you card – Register for an additional one-year warranty, a total of 2 years, free return shipping for 180 days, VIP customer service and exclusive discounts
- Ice scoop
- Hose and hardware connecting the ice maker to a continuous water source
Hardware specifications
- Can make up to 26 pounds of ice per day
- Ability to connect to water sources
- 4.8 lb ice bucket
- Self-cleaning function
- The sound during ice making is less than 50db
Design and features
The picture below shows the top of the Qualeben Nugget ice maker. You can see that it has a lip and the lid can be opened. When fully raised, the lid will remain open by itself. Just above the lid are buttons that control the functions of the ice maker.
This is the back of the ice maker. It is affixed like this for transportation. The two hoses are connected to each other to circulate the water in the ice maker. I have a picture below that shows how you can connect it to a water source if you wish. The exhaust fan is also located on the back of the device.
This is the picture on the left when you face the device. The left side looks the same. These holes are used for air intake and cooling devices.
This is a close-up shot of the top button of Qualeben Nugget Ice Maker. The buttons that work from left to right are:
- Ice making indicator light-this is just an indicator light, it will light up when the device is in the ice making process
- Cleaning indicator-this indicator will light up when the device is cleaning itself
- Power button-used to turn the device on and off
- Cleaning button-pressing this button will make the device enter the 8-minute cleaning mode.Will be introduced in detail later
- Add water indicator-This indicator will light up to let you know that more water needs to be added to the device.
- Ice full indicator – This indicator will light up to let you know that the ice box is full.
Next, I have a picture of the inside of the ice machine. You can see the basket inside, with a tunnel of ice drops on it.
This is a picture of the basket outside the machine. You can see that it has two handles for easy gripping. You need to remove the basket from the ice machine to manually add water to the machine.
set up
The setup is very simple. I took a photo of the quick start guide to show you how to connect the ice maker to a continuous water source. I didn’t do this myself because I didn’t have a 1/4 inch connector to connect to the existing water source. I think I might eventually tie it to the water pipe behind the refrigerator. The water entering our refrigerator has been softened and filtered, which is ideal. I just need to motivate myself to move the refrigerator, look at the hose behind it, and see if I can add a diverter to it.
One more thing to note is that the manual recommends that you let Qualeben Nugget Ice Maker sit in the designated position two hours before opening. This is to allow any refrigerant to settle into place due to improper transportation. You should never tilt the ice maker more than 45 degrees, and never turn it upside down. I was very upset to see the box hanging upside down on my front porch after delivery. To be safe, I let it sit for about half a day before opening it.
I manually add water to the ice maker as needed. The advantage of this ice maker is that as the ice melts, the water returns to the reservoir and can be reused to make more ice. In the image below, you can see the maximum fill line. I have been using softened and filtered water in the ice maker. I also took time to clean and clean the ice basket, and clean the inside of the ice machine.
Here is some additional information about cleaning. The manual recommends “daily” cleaning and a fully automatic cleaning every 2 days when the system is in use. Daily cleaning means unplugging the left drain hose when you look at the back of the machine and letting it drain into the sink or bucket. Then wipe the inside of the machine manually. Automatic cleaning requires the same thing, but add more water and press the cleaning button on the top of the ice maker. This force causes the water to circulate in the machine for about 8 minutes. When you are done, you pull the drain hose again and let it drain into the bucket or sink.
Reading these instructions will make you think that this ice maker is designed for occasional use rather than continuous use. I admit that we have owned the Qualeben Nugget Ice Maker for about a month, and it has been plugged in since we received it. I have never run a cleaning cycle because we always use softened and filtered water. In addition, I make sure to use the ice scoop provided and store the ice scoop in a clean place. If you have hard water and no water softener, you most likely want to clean the machine more frequently.
Performance
As I said above, this ice maker has been plugged in uninterruptedly for about a month. There are only two of us at home, and I work from home every day. I have to manually fill the water tank about two to three times a week. The picture below shows that the ice making indicator is on, letting me know that it is starting to make ice.
Opening the lid, I saw a steady stream of water flowing down the chute. When the ice maker reaches freezing temperature, small ice bullets will begin to fall one or two. The working principle of the ice maker is different from the ice maker in the refrigerator. It will not pour a pile of ice into the basket at a time. It dropped them into the basket one by one.
This is how much ice we ate in about an hour. It is not super fast. If you are going to a party and want a pile of ice cubes, I would buy a cooler like a snowman that is very good, and then pour the ice cubes into it all day before your party. You can see that the gold nuggets look great and their texture is perfect.
When Qualeben Nugget Ice Maker is full, the full indicator will light up.
The ice maker must install a sensor near the bottom of the ice tunnel. What I found myself was doing was scooping ice forward to fill up the trash can in front. Then I would close the lid and the ice maker would again start to completely fill the trash can.
One thing to note. Once the ice maker thinks it is full, it will turn off the ice making function, but keep the ice cold. However, it is not enough to stop the slow melting of ice. After a few hours, even if all lights are on, you can see that the ice level has dropped far below the solid line. You must open the lid, or if you wait 8 hours without opening it, the Qualeben Nugget ice maker will reopen and make more ice. At parties, this shouldn’t be a problem, because people will keep turning on the ice machine, forcing it to continue working. For the two of us, we have never run out of ice when we need it.
I also want to talk briefly about the noise caused by this incident. It does make a motor noise. I can notice it in my kitchen, it’s all tiles and it’s beautiful. However, it is still quieter than the ice maker of my LG refrigerator. You can hear the ice cubes crunching inside, and you can hear loud noises when the water flows over. For Qualeben, I can hear the bullet ice dripping down, but it can easily become background noise. In the first few days, the ice machine also made funny hiccups, maybe two or three times. I think that is the system venting all the air. In the past three weeks, it has not made any unusual noises.
Finally, this is a picture of a delicious margarita! Yes, it’s great!
what do I like
- It can make crispy bullet ice!
- As the ice melts, it reuses the water to make more ice.
- It will restart itself to make ice after 8 hours.
- It is very quiet compared to my refrigerator ice maker.
- Make mixed drinks more interesting.
- You can connect it to a continuous water source.
Areas for improvement
- I hope the ice maker will start making more ice within 8 hours. Maybe it can be reduced to 4 hours.
- It can be quieter.
Final thoughts
So far, we really like the Qualeben Nugget ice machine. My husband always uses it especially when he comes home at night. It has been running continuously for about a month without any problems. I highly recommend this device. I will post an update in about six months to let you know that it has been running.
price: USD 415.99
Where to buy: Amazon
source: The sample of this product is made by Qualeben.
