I have had this unit for almost 2 years and it has been plugged in and running 24/7. We bought it originally because we do lots of shakes and smoothies and my refrigerator icemaker never came back to life after 3 attempts at repairs. We got tired of buying bags of ice, and we use way too much ice to use trays, so we bought this icemaker from amazon in 2013. It is awesome! I keep it right on my kitchen counter between the sink and the blender. I fill a pitcher with water from the sink and pour it into the unit, and I scoop the ice right from the unit into the blender. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because the plastic water tray that holds the water where the ice is actually made just got a crack in it, and now the unit will not make any ice. I live in an area with very hard (well) water and we put water right out of the faucet into the unit. I wonder if the plastic just couldn't handle the minerals in the water here(?). Anyway, after 3 frustrating weeks of doing ice trays and bags, and since my 14 year old refrigerator doesn't seem to be on its deathbed, I'm back on amazon contemplating buying another one. Even though the first one lasted only 2 years, for the price I paid vs. the extraordinary convenience I feel like it is worth it AND much cheaper than buying a new refrigerator. Here are a couple of items to note:
1. If you leave the unit on, it will stay cold enough to keep the ice in the bucket mostly frozen, and as long as you use the ice at a steady pace, you don't need to dump the extra ice in your fridge freezer. Note, however, this unit is not a freezer. The inside is basically cold like a refrigerator is. At the times when we've wanted extra ice on hand, we simply dump the ice into our fridge freezer more often and this unit just keeps pumping it out.
2. If the unit has been unplugged for a while, or if you are using faucet water (vs. cold water from the fridge), or if the unit is running outside (at a campground or picnic for example) we have noticed that it takes longer to make the first couple batches of ice. I think this is due to the fact that when the unit is warm, or the water is warm, then it has to take extra time to cool itself down. But once it's been on a while, the batches come fast and steady and there's no slowdown unless it runs low on water or if it fills up the basket.
3. If the power goes out or the unit is shutdown mid-cycle, follow the directions on the label in the unit to get it to restart properly. Restarting it can be a little unreliable if you don't follow the directions.
4. It does make some noise when it's running, and of course you can hear it when it dumps the ice in the bucket, just like with a regular refrigerator ice maker. I noticed the noise the most when it was running low on water. It was never noisy enough to really be a bother, however, and i could certainly talk on the phone or have conversations and not get distracted by the noise. The best way i can describe it was almost like having white noise in the background. Visitors to my home frequently noticed the unit in my kitchen, but only because of the bright red box on the counter, not due to the noise. And I think a lot of them were a little jealous of our cool little icemaker.

I have a Class "A" 35 foot Motorhome and like most motorhomes under "One Hundred Thousand Dollars" the refrigerators are on the small side and in the freezer you need every inch. This ice maker was just what I was looking for, the prices is right and the size is perfect to store in the motorhome. Every few days I pour some bottled water in and make a zip-lock bag of ice and put it in the freezer. It took all the worries out of running out of ice. If we have guests it's great!!! Once it gets to temperature it seems to take off and fills up fast. It is also great for making crushed ice because the cubes have a hole in the center and are easy to smash. Only problem I have is that it is heavy (for me, I have a bad back) and to pick it up to the sink to clean it good is ruff. All & all: Well made, Nice looking and the only noise is the cubes falling which I find kind of neat myself :)

It was about two months after the above review of the Ice Maker when it broke!! I did read reviews where others had problems with the water pump but I thought it was just an air bubble because mine stopped pumping a few times and all I had to do was tilt it a bit thinking I was releasing the air.

WRONG!! one day that dreaded "out of water light came on and that's all she wrote. I called and received no satisfaction at all!! Figuring it would be too much trouble to send it back I decides to repair it myself. That is what I did for a living, R&D engineer, I have repaired more sophisticated machinery then a simple Ice Maker. I worked for "Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center" in New York City for over 15 years repairing Picker & GE X-Ray machines and Linear Escalators. I was schooled by these companies and was a "Jack of ALL Trades". Enough of tooting my horn.

The ice maker is built very well, like clockwork inside. It has a good compressor and the design is excellent!! It has one flaw, the water pump! I took the pump out and it is a medical grade pump with a ISO certification on it. (ISO 9001:2000) Problem, after a long day of hunting on my computer and my connections I could not find a replacement pump. It is made in China by "HENG SHAN" model # FS60202M , DC 12 volts 0.23 amps.

What I did was disassemble the pump, it is a tiny thing. Easy to take apart, it is a magnet driven pump. One electro magnet spinning in a sealed housing insulated from the water. It drives a smaller magnet that has the impellor attached that moves the water. Age old design used in many things such as fish tank filter pumps.

I found three problems with the pump: (1) the electro magnet circuit board had a cold solder joint. (2) one of the windings had no continuity, which took me a long time to find the break with a magnifying glass and repair it. (3) both the electro magnet shaft and the impellor shaft were shimmed to tight which I found out after I repaired (1) & (2). That could have been the cause of the winding getting hot and breaking. The time it did run for was intermittent, it did stop on me several times, that was most likely the cold solder joint. Between that and the shafts being shimmed to tight put a strain and high resistance on the windings until one of the winding wires melted... Hence, a dead pump!

After all the repairs (about 12 hours work) it runs great now, has been for weeks. You can hear how much stronger the pump is. If you can not repair it yourself there are plenty of small 12 volt magnet drive pumps that you can replace it with, just replacing it is easy, just take your time taking the back to cover halfs off (lots of screws). GOOD LUCK!!

ps: If you need advice on repair of the pump email me at [email protected] and I will try to get back to you.

We use this at the lake as our water system is not the best. We bring gallon jugs of water and it last us all weekend while making drinks for 4 people. Quick to make plenty of ice !

UPDATE 08/14/15:
Here's the deal. While the unit has a detection for the out-of-water condition, it's too late to save the water pump from an early demise. The water inlet from the water tank is separated from the ice maker tray it feeds by a few uphill inches. The water pump seems to be at its best when the water tank is at least one-half filled and the pump is being assisted by the water's pressure. If the water in the tank is allowed to get so low that the out-of-water indicator lights, the pump is working so hard to raise the water up to the ice maker tray that the pump will eventually fail. After replacing my second pump, all is well now. Grins!

UPDATE 02/21/15
Okay, folks. As with any electro-mechanic device, you should expect failure of some part at some point. To expect an ice maker to operate perfectly for many years is unrealistic. Yes, I experienced a failure. Instead of setting my hair on fire and screaming at the manufacturer, I carefully diagnosed what the probem was. After several months of nearly 12 hours per day operation, my AI-100's water pump as one of the few moving parts began to fail to draw water up to the ice mold, and it finally gave out with a whimpering death. I then had two choices: 1) Scream at NewAir and just buy a new one; OR 2) Since the small internal mini pump had failed, order and install a replacement pump. The pump is plastic, tiny, and it has two ears that hold it to its bracket, and a idiot-proof two-wire contact that plugs into a circuit board's pin connector.

Once again, I was VERY pleased with the response by NewAir and the customer support provided by representative Mireya. Fearing the worst, I called NewAir and asked if a water pump was available and if it is something I could replace by myself. Sure enough, the water pump is a small, inexpensive available replacement part which with a little courage is easily replaced. Only $14.95 + $5.00 shipping. Ordered from NewAir on a Thursday, arrived the followng Monday.

Next chapter ... How do I do this? Let me tell you that it took only 30 minutes to position the ice maker on it's front face on the floor, remove a total of about 12 phillips screws (some are pretty teeny, so wear your magnifying glasses), remove and replace the very small pump motor, and then reassemble and allow the unit to settle before ice making resumed!

I am making photos for my sister when she will have to execute a pump replacement. So I will be updating this thread to post step-by-step instructions and photos. Don't sweat a pump failure. Order one and go forth to save on cost!

UPDATE 10/28/14:
After two months using the ice maker every day, I have come to the conclusion that distilled water (not merely "filtered" drinking water) is the only way to go. While it isn't required, distilled water results in much less "clumping" of the cubes than ordinary tap water or bottled drinking water. I suppose it is the absence of the various gasses and materials dissolved in tap/bottled potable water that makes distilled water cubes clump much less. I turn the unit on in the morning and off at night. A perfect supply of ice is available all day, and there's usually just a nice amount left in the morning to begin the day. Some have complained that the ice melts too fast. That is a reflection of the fact that the ice maker only freezes the cubes down to a temperature merely necessary to form the ice. That is in contrast to the typical refrigerator ice maker which freezes cubes down to a solid zero Farenheit or below. Other than that minor inconvenience, this is a great unit!

My Previous Post of 08/29/14:
I am impressed. This product met a need for my townhouse. I had to constantly run up and down stairs to refresh the ice in my iced tea (ahem, . . . and my scotch after 5:00 p.m.) until I took a chance and ordered this Newair unit. I was skeptical after having been burned by so many inferior products from China which exhibit terrible product design, engineering, or performance. Such is NOT the case with this ice maker. The ice maker shines in the three F's (Form, Fit, and Function). Several things make a difference . . . Good insulation, quiet operation, reliable ice production, rubber feet, strain relief on the power cord, high quality plastics used in construction and metal where necessary, safety and overflow features, and something hard to describe (a good "feel" to the manufactured parts). Simple operation with only minimal cleaning maintenance required. I use distilled water just as a preference, but it is not required. Since I have placed the unit in my guest bathroom, the only improvement I would suggest is a coin slot for my guests to help offset the cost . . . grins!
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I saved the best for last. I telephoned Newair Customer Support to ask a minor question and guess what? I actually reached a REAL PERSON who was conversant with the product and its operation! Wow. Isn't that a first these days? Thanks to "Mireya" of customer support, my question was answered quickly and accurately. I am a happy customer.

I got this after reading multiple reviews of multiple ice makers. We have a built-in refrigerator at home that takes a GE MWF water filter, and one time in the middle of the night, that filter blew out, leaving us with a big flood. Since then, I've shut off that water, and in so doing, we didn't have our built-in fridge's ice maker.

This one arrived nicely packaged. The only flaw I found in the initial unboxing was that the drain valve's plastic nut was not tightened properly against the body of the unit, so I just tightened that by hand.

We've now made lots and lots of batches of ice. It's pretty quiet, other than the occasional noises when dropping the ice. It's actually kind of fun to watch when it does that part.

The ice does come out a little wet. As such, I've found if you dump the ice into a normal freezer bin, you end up with a big clump later on. Instead, I usually run a few batches, transfer those to a Ziploc bag, and put that in the freezer. Later, I can bang that bag on a hard surface to loosen the cubes, and then put those into the ice bin.

Finally, from a cleaning standpoint, I first drain the water to the sink when done. To do that right, I unplug the unit first, and move it to a nearby sink. I do an initial draining (open plug, let water run out). Then, I plug the unit in again, and start it. This causes the water pump to run, which moves any remaining water out of the lines. Then, I do another draining, and tip the unit over to one side so that more water comes out. It's a bit involved, but I don't like the idea of leaving water in it.

A few things I'd add that would be nice-to-haves:
- The instructions also don't make it totally clear -- like they could provide a "do this before you make any ice" sheet -- but because of other reviews, I knew to run several batches through with either water+vinegar or water+lemon juice. (I chose lemon juice.)
- Initial runs made the room smell a little like plastic.
- The drain plug has a little silicone/rubber plug thing that looks like it'll wear out pretty quickly. It'd be nice if they could package a few spares.
- The lid has a smooth exterior. It'd be nice if they could just mold on a few grippy lines so you could lift it more easily.