If you happen to’ve grown weary of working out to your native drive-through quick meals joint to fulfill your nugget ice cravings, the Ecozy Good Nugget Ice Maker delivers your repair proper at residence. Listed for $339.99 however typically obtainable for half that value (and much lower than the $665 GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker), the machine makes as much as 35 kilos of crunchy, chewable nugget ice per day, and it does so quietly. It is sufficiently small to suit comfortably on a kitchen counter, and it presents a number of neat options, together with voice management, push notifications, and a self-cleaning choice. A bigger ice bin can be even higher, however that minor gripe doesn’t stop the Ecozy Good Nugget Ice Maker from incomes an Editors’ Alternative award for sensible kitchen home equipment.Design and Options: App-Managed IceWith a modern stainless-steel end, the Ecozy ice maker’s dimensions of 11.3 by 8.7 by 12.7 inches (HWD) make it a superb match for kitchen areas with restricted counter house. At 20 kilos, it’s pretty simple to maneuver round as wanted. In distinction, the GE Profile Opal 2.0 measures 16.5 by 13.4 by 17.5 inches and weighs 38 kilos.
Ecozy contains an ice scoop, a cleansing equipment, a fill cup, and a person handbook.
(Credit score: John R. Delaney)
The highest of the machine has a see-through flip-up lid that covers the ice bin, and the entrance holds a small management panel with an Ice/Clear button, a Wi-Fi standing mild, and indicators labeled Add Water and Ice Full. Press the Ice/Clear button as soon as to show the machine on and off, press it twice to provoke the self-cleaning mode, or press and maintain it for 5 seconds for Wi-Fi pairing. The cleansing equipment accommodates a syringe that’s used to flush out the interior water tubes, and a drain plug positioned on the underside of the machine is used for fast draining throughout a cleansing cycle.
The machine will pump out as much as 35 kilos of ice each day (roughly 1.5 kilos each hour), however the detachable ice bin is reasonably small and solely holds round 2.5 kilos of ice at a time. Ecozy suggests emptying the bin now and again and storing the nuggets in a freezer if you happen to want a variety of ice available. For comparability, the Opal 2.0 could make one pound of ice per hour and has a transparent pull-out bin that may maintain as much as three kilos of ice.The ice maker makes use of a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to hook up with your property community. You should use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice instructions and the Ecozy cell app (obtainable for iOS and Android) to show the machine on and off. The machine seems in a small field on the app’s residence display screen. Right here, you’ll see an image of the ice maker, its title, and its present standing. If the machine is at present making ice, you’ll see a blue bar with a snowflake icon, and if the bin is full or the water degree is low, the bar shall be pink with textual content telling you what is going on on. You’ll be able to put the ice maker in standby mode or restart ice manufacturing by tapping the snowflake icon.
(Credit score: Ecozy/PCMag)
Tapping the ice maker image whereas the machine is in standby mode opens a display screen the place you may create ice-making schedules, begin making ice, or provoke a cleansing cycle. If you happen to faucet the image whereas the machine is in ice-making mode, you’ll open a display screen the place you may cease the method or allow a countdown timer that routinely stops ice manufacturing after a set time period. Tapping the three bars within the higher proper nook opens a display screen to view ice-making and cleansing information, replace the firmware, and share entry with different customers.Set up and Efficiency: Easy to Set Up and UsePreparing the Ecozy ice maker for first use is straightforward. I began by washing the water reservoir, ice bin, and scoop with heat water (a number of occasions), downloaded the Ecozy Residence cell app, and created an account. I let the machine sit for an hour to provide the refrigerant time to settle, plugged within the ice maker, and stuffed the reservoir with water. I pressed the Ice/Clear button twice to provoke a cleansing cycle, and when the cycle was completed, I drained and refilled the reservoir. I pressed the Ice/Clear button for 5 seconds till the Wi-Fi indicator began to blink, and the app instantly acknowledged the machine. I entered my Wi-Fi credentials, gave the ice maker a reputation, and the set up was full.The ice maker labored faultlessly in testing. It delivered crunchy nuggets of ice, and aside from a momentary low hum when the ice bin was full, it was very quiet. It responded immediately to the app and Alexa voice instructions to activate and off, and adopted my ice-making schedules with out situation. Low water degree and ice-full alerts arrived immediately on my cellphone.Verdict: Good NuggetsIf you’re a fan of nugget ice, the Ecozy Good Ice Maker is a superb and trendy addition to your bar or kitchen countertop. It makes as much as 35 kilos of crunchy nuggets per day, although its smallish ice bin will solely maintain round 2.5 kilos at a time. Luckily, it makes greater than a pound of ice per hour, so that you gained’t have to attend lengthy to take pleasure in a brand new batch. The machine could be very quiet and may be managed with an app or your voice, and you’ll create ice-making schedules to make sure there’s loads of ice once you want it. At $339.99, it’s considerably extra reasonably priced than the $665 GE Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker and worthy of our Editors’ Alternative award.
Ecozy Good Nugget Ice Maker
The Backside Line
The Ecozy Good Nugget Ice Maker is a linked countertop machine that makes chewable nugget ice and sends an alert to your cellphone when the bin is full or the water degree is low.
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About John R. Delaney
Contributing Editor
I’ve been working with computer systems for ages, beginning with a multi-year stint in buying for a serious IBM reseller in New York Metropolis earlier than ultimately touchdown at PCMag (again when it was nonetheless in print as PC Journal). I spent greater than 14 years on employees, most just lately because the director of operations for PC Labs, earlier than hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor.
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