Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Mon 20 Apr 2009 06:06:07a, phil..c told us...
>
>> Not talking about water in trays but dedicated ice maker ?
>>
>> Just wondering as they are becoming popular here
>
> That could me one of several things here in the US. The most "dedicated"
> unit would be a standalone unit about the size of a mini refrigerator that
> does nothing but make ice cubes, and generally at a fairly high production
> rate.
>
> Then there are several flavors of refrigerator/freezer combinations that
> have an ice maker in the freeezer. The simplest of these is a unit that
> makes repetitive batches of ice and dumps them into a bin in the freezer.
> You open the freezer door and grab some cubes. (Actually, they are almost
> all semi-circular in shape.) More elaborate units, particularly the side-
> by-side model freezer/refrigerators, make ice in much the same way, but are
> capable of distributing it through the door in either whole cubes or
> crushed. Most of these models also dispense chilled water. A couple can
> also dispense flavored beverages in the same manner.
>
> The additional mechanisms of the latter provide many opportunities for
> problems. I currently have a top freezer refrigerator with a simple ice
> maker in it and I prefer it. I've never had a problem with it since we
> bought it 3 years ago.
>
>
>
I'm on my third fridge with the simple ice maker in it. I did put a
filter cartridge in the line to keep the ice maker from clogging up. We
have a lot of calcium hardness in our city water. The old Gibson fridge
ice maker did clog and quit working. It was cheaper to just buy a new
unit and install it plus the filter. Appears most of the refrigerators
with ice makers all use the same ice maker. Sort of like electric
stoves, most are actually made by GE and just branded for the company
that sells them. The filter did the job and I just have to change it out
annually.Have it earmarked on my calendar on this computer so I don't
forget.

I've seen too many of the ones with multiple functions go defunct and
they cost a fortune to replace or repair. The simple things are best.