I love my nugget ice maker. That plus my coffee machine are my two favorite home gadgets. I bought it a few years ago on Prime Day and it is just the best. It makes something so ordinary (ice) feel special and luxurious, plus it’s really nice having pebble ice on demand without having to go buy it (I’ve bought bags of it at fast food restaurants before!). When friends come over for cocktails it’s nice to be able to offer them pebble ice versus other types of traditional ice for their drinks.
Even after over a year, the novelty hasn’t worn off. I never have to stock up on good ice for parties and gatherings. And because I make the ice myself I know it’s clean and free from contamination. I will have a proper built in ice maker at the new house but I’m keeping this too… I need my pebble ice! Today I wanted to dedicate a post to share my review of the GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker with everything I love most about it. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments!
GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker Review
I have never had a countertop ice machine before so I can’t really compare it to other countertop ice makers but I will tell you that I LOVE this. And I do not have a ton of counter space in my house but it is worth the real estate! I love this thing so much.
Features
Production Time:
A kind of wild fact is that this machine can make up to 24 pounds of ice per day, which works out to one pound of ice per hour. It is really just so fast and efficient! I have never come close to using or needing even a fraction of that but it’s nice to know I have the capability to do so. When friends will come over and we will empty out the big (it holds three lbs of ice) and it’s actually pretty quickly replenished. It’s really fast. Once you plug it in and start making ice, you will have enough pieces of ice for a drink or two in just twenty minutes.
Accessories:
It comes with a cute little ice scoop and a drip tray to ensure there’s never any mess or runoff on your counter top. Also worth noting: I bought the version with the side water tank as it produces 3X more ice. The side tank attaches easily to the ice maker. I fill it with distilled water (an easy extra step with long-term payoff; you don’t have to descale the machine if you use distilled water).
Pros And Cons Of The GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker
Pros
Ice Size
I just love the GE Profile Opal Nugget ice! This is such a frivolous thing but the little ice cubes make me so happy. They are crunchy and chewable and just a little addictive. I feel silly and frivolous gushing this much over tiny ice but it’s just the best.
Machine Quality
I think that this machine is great quality compared to other ice makers on the market. I have had mine for a year and change and have had no issues with it.
Ease of Use
It’s really easy to use. Cleaning it is a pain but once it’s clean it kinda just does everything it needs to do on its own without any other work from you. The machine is smart! It knows when your ice is running low and it recirculates any melted ice into the water reservoir so that you always have fresh ice on hand (and keeps you from filling the water tank constantly). It makes ice all day long. And when the bin is full it knows to stop. It also has a pause button which is nice if you don’t want the noise. Since my apartment has an open plan we do this during movie nights! To top it all off, you can even control the machine from the SmartHQ app!!
Yield
The GE Profile Opal 2.0 can make up to 24 lbs of ice per day – that is one pound of ice per hour. The bin holds three lbs of ice (which is a lot), meaning that it will be full in three hours. I am really impressed by how quickly it makes ice!
Cons
Cleaning
Cleaning the GE Profile Opal 2.0 is probably the biggest con. Because the machine is stainless steel, you really do need to clean it (at a minimum) every couple months. Mine got moldy once and it was really disgusting and gross. I recommend cleaning it every two months (they recommend every month!) and not waiting until it gets disgusting, as I did!
How To Clean GE Ice Machine
The cleaning cycle itself is pretty painless and takes about 15 minutes (you just make a solution with bleach and water and run the cleaning cycle – again, the machine is smart and knows what to do!), it’s more that I hate moving the machine.
De-Scaling
You also need to descale the water line with vinegar every few months. I got irritated by this and started using distilled water and now I don’t have to descale it anymore. I just buy a few gallons at the grocery store; problem solved.
Noise
It is a little noisy. Nothing too bad but because I sleep with my door open (cat) and everything is on one floor, sometimes I can hear it at night. Same with when watching a movie, as I mentioned above, we pause it for that! I’m really looking forward to having it be downstairs and my bed upstairs.
Price
This ice machine is expensive. It costs $579 (I bought mine for $468 on Amazon Prime Day in 2021). So you better really want it / think you will get a lot of use out of it. I use mine all day every day and have found it to be worth the money.
Size and Portability
I’m sorry but this is not a portable ice maker. I thought it was interesting that the website listed it as portable and easy to move. It’s pretty heavy? Maybe it’s portable to someone who is a little bit stronger. Wherever you put it, that’s where it is going to live. It is heavy. As I mentioned, the biggest con for this is the cleaning process and carrying it over to the sink to drain it. (In another home, not this one, I would keep it next to the sink so that you wouldn’t have to do this).
I guess it would be portable compared to say, a built in ice maker. You can plug it in anywhere, fill the reservoir with water, and as ice melts it is added back into the reservoir where it will be made back into more ice. The other thing to consider is its height, which is 17.25″. Make sure you measure. Mine fits perfectly under my kitchen cabinets but if it were any higher, it wouldn’t work in the space. It would not have fit in my last apartment.
Is The GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker Worth It?
It is hard to tell you that a $600 ice maker is “worth it,” (worth it means so many different things to everyone!!!) but I really love my GE Profile Opal Nugget Ice Maker. To me it’s worth it. Worth the cost, worth the time spent cleaning, worth the counter space. I definitely recommend waiting til there is a sale… (there usually is on Amazon Prime Day!) but if you can afford it and you love pebble ice (and cocktails!) I think you will really love this machine.
Oh Grace! We also have an ice maker that we love. The difference is that ours is a Frigidaire brand that we bought at Costco. Ours makes 26 pounds of Ice per day and only cost 79.99-my husband thinks. Yours has a larger capacity for actual ice storage, but I don’t mind dumping ours out into the freezer. For the money we saved it is worth it! Ours is much smaller in size and takes up less counter space. We love it!
Bmpowell@aol.com.
Qq
,
Thank you for sharing!
I bought one based on your recommendation during Prime Day this year! Overall, I love it but do you have any issues with leaking? I also feel like the ice melts fairly quickly during the day.
I have not had any issues of leaking!!! I don’t mind if it melts (since it isn’t leaking) as the water just gets recirculated and made into fresh ice. If yours is leaking I would definitely reach out to the brand.
Thank you for this!! Though I am not in the market for an ice machine right now, I just wanted to say I really appreciate how honest and thorough all of your reviews are. I always feel like I could make an informed decision just by reading your reviews – and that’s hard to find!! Thank you 🙂
That is so nice of you to say! Thank you. 🙂
I have one a few months ago and now it is making a load noise it is a profile opal counter top ice marker what should I do
GE ice machine is making a loud noise,I have cleaned it but the noise still persists.Other people who own one have the same problem.Manufacturers defect?What can I do?Disatisfiyed customer!!!!
I have one but it’s a few months old and it’s starting to make a loud noise from the motor. I’ve tried everything!! What should I do????????? 804-244-1885
I would call customer service. I am just a blogger, giving my review! Good luck!
They made this a disposable machine after about a year to 2 years they stop working there been a lot of complaints from Amazon that people bought the ice machine and he want take any responsibility and does not tell they are basically sealing refurbish equipment and don’t tell the customer I give the product hands down it should last longer that 1 to2 years
I am debating between the side tank or no side tank. I don’t have much counter space and prefer to get tankless but if it’s much better with the side tank then I will compromise
Interesting that the article seems to review the Opal 2.0 ice maker, but all the photos show the version 1.0 appliance. Though the differences are small, the version 2.0 is better engineered, supposedly quieter, and less prone to develop mold in the internal components. Readers should be cognizant of the different models when purchasing.
I had mine for 10 months and quit making ice . cleaned it multiple times . waiting on GE to fix it . I hear they are real slow at doing anything.
I LOVE our opal ice maker. I have version 2.0 with the side tank. Mine is also not near the sink. So I drain into a bucket rather than moving it. But I will be switching to distilled water to avoid the descaling process. Thanks for the tip and the review.
Hey! The instruction manual actually still recommends descaling with distilled water – just less frequently. :). You said a few times in this post that distilled water meant you don’t have to descale but the manufacturer recommends it.
I got this ice maker last Thanksgiving and it has already stopped making ice! I have only ever used distilled water and I clean it every 6-8 weeks. It does come with a 1 year warranty, but GE says that it isn’t valid because I bought it from Walmart and not an authorized dealer. A. warranty is a warranty no matter where I purchsed it! GE wants me to send it back to them with $250 and they will see if there is anything they can do. If not they will send me back $125. THANKS but NO THANKS. That cost is more than half of what I paid for it on black friday. Now I am out $500, an ice maker and that fabulous crunchy ice.
it is portable, but not in the sense you’re thinking of. In this context they mean it doesn’t need to have a fixed installation; it’s not plumbed to a source of water or drainage and doesn’t need to be hardwired to power. If you plop it down on your counter and decide two weeks later that you don’t like it in that spot, all you need to do is unplug it and move it somewhere else.
I think proximity to a sink is convenient, but it easily drains into a bucket for cleaning. The cleaning process is a little time consuming but as easy as it gets, just flushing the unit with a mild bleach water solution then rinsing with fresh.
These things are great for the first year or two, but then they have problems. I have one & my sister has one. They aren’t built to last long term, even with regular cleaning.
Mine currently says defrosting even though it isn’t frosted. Hers had tons of noise issues.
Honestly – as much as I love pebble ice, they are over priced for the quality of build.
the noise is a fairly easy fix. buy some PTFE lube 3 in 1. after opening the machine there is a small fan blade on a shaft over a large electro magnet. the fan just pulls off but mark which side is the top. take the couple screws out that hold that magnet assembly down so you can lift the shift out the fan is connected to and flood that chamber below that with lube. that chamber isn’t totally sealed so it dries out about every 1 to 2 years.
I found the machine on eBay for $160 new. it is the 2.0 version with side tank and Bluetooth. it looks fantastic. Thank you for your review. I have always wanted the pellet ice maker. Your review helped me decide to purchase it. Thank you
I have one too and I’ve loved it for the first 3 years. now however the UV sterilizer has stopped working so my water turns to pond scum in about 10 days. yes its been thoroughly cleaned with vinegar for 24 hr soak and then rinced and bleached and did it again within 10 days. well the kicker is that GE or its part groups won’t sell the UV light so the machine only has a useful 3 years before its toast. I just ended up buying an aquarium UV light and running it into the bottom. tank to see if that works bit it looks stupid for how much I spent on the machine!
What aquarium UV light did yo use?
my was bought as a gift for Christmas in 2022. A little over a year ago. My kidneys are bad now and must drink a lot of water. This really helped. My machine just quit. I have cleaned as recommended and used only distilled water and bought the recommended filters. It was almost $600. I’m dealing with the company to see about a replacement. There’s only a 1 year warranty and the is just a couple months past that. I’ve heard good things about this company so I’m hopeful. I definitely can’t afford to replace on my limited income. We’ll see.
Why does my ice maker pour water into the ice bucket?
My GEProfile ice maker gets mold in the ice bin every couple of days. I think I need a new use Ben. It may not be shutting all the way.