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Three glasses on a counter, one of crescent cubes, one of clear cubes and one of nugget ice.

Deciding what ice maker to keep or buy

Choosing and comparing
guides.

Nugget, clear or crescent ice, whether a failing ice maker deserves a repair or a new assembly, and what a gravity drain or a drain pump means before an undercounter unit goes in.

(844) 773-0701

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Three guides
  • Read before you book
  • Says where to stop

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Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 773-0701

Choosing and comparing,
guide by guide.

These guides are for the moments when an ice decision is actually on the table: a door or freezer ice maker has stopped and someone has quoted a new module, a home bar is being planned and the kind of ice is suddenly a choice, or an undercounter unit is on order and nobody has asked where its water will drain.

All 18 guides
A stainless undercounter clear-ice maker with its door open beneath a walnut home bar counter in a lived-in US house, a scoop resting in a bin of glassy cubes and two short tumblers on the counter above, warm evening lamp light.
6-minute read

Nugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you

How a molded tray, a chilled plate and an auger each freeze water, how the ice behaves in a drink, and what each design asks of the house in plumbing and upkeep.

A French door model's freezer drawer pulled open in a lived-in US kitchen, the ice maker module visible at the back above a half-full bin of crescent cubes, a dish towel over the drawer handle, morning light from a side window.
5-minute read

Repair the ice maker or replace the whole assembly?

When a new module is the right repair, when the trouble is really the valve, the filter or a frozen fill tube, and why undercounter and countertop units follow different rules.

A panel-front undercounter ice maker with its door open in a lived-in US kitchen island, the lower grille set aside on the floor and a coiled drain hose visible at the base, a scoop hanging inside above clear cubes, soft daylight across the countertop.
5-minute read

Undercounter ice maker: gravity drain or drain pump?

Why an undercounter unit sends water away every day, when a steady slope to a lower drain is enough, when only a pump will do, and the questions to settle before ordering.

Deciding what ice maker to keep or buy.

They compare designs rather than makers. Crescent cubes from a molded tray, clear cubes grown on a chilled plate and soft nuggets pressed by an auger each ask something different of the house, from a drain route to a descaling habit, and each wears out in its own way. We describe those differences from the repair side, because that is where they show up years after the purchase.

Read them before you buy, before you approve a replacement part, or before the cabinet is built around a unit. A tape measure, the model tag and your water utility's yearly report answer most of the questions they raise.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerNugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you

Nugget ice vs clear ice comes down to how the water freezes.

The short answerRepair the ice maker or replace the whole assembly?

Replace the ice maker assembly when the module itself has stopped: the drive motor no longer turns, the mold never releases its cubes, or the control inside the housing is dead while water reaches the mold normally.

The short answerUndercounter ice maker: gravity drain or drain pump?

Choose an undercounter ice maker drain pump when the nearest drain sits higher than the unit's outlet, lies far away, or is reached through a sink tailpiece or standpipe.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What repairs cost
  1. 01Water traced from the valve to the mold
  2. 02A number before the work
  3. 03Everyday ice maker parts already on board
  4. 04Filled, frozen and dropped in front of you

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems
A tumbler of cloudy ice cubes with milky white centers held beside a scoop of crystal-clear cubes from an open stainless undercounter ice maker in a US home kitchen bar. Problem

Cloudy or Discolored Ice

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless countertop nugget ice maker on a quartz kitchen counter in a US home, its front bin door open to show a nearly empty bin with a few wet, slushy pellets, the clear side water tank low. Problem

Nugget Ice Maker Not Making Nugget Ice

6 causes, cheapest first

 An ice bin lifted out of a freezer drawer and set in a stainless kitchen sink, its cubes fused into one solid frosted block with a thin sheet of ice across the bottom. Problem

Ice Clumped or Frozen in the Bin

5 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless undercounter ice maker in a US home kitchen bar with its door open, a layer of standing water pooled in the bottom of the bin around half-melted cubes, the drain opening covered. Problem

Undercounter Ice Maker Not Draining

5 causes, cheapest first
A parent and a child filling two glasses with ice from the door dispenser in a bright family kitchen
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
choosing and comparing.

Which kind of ice maker needs the least looking after?
The tray-style ice maker in a freezer or behind a door dispenser. It needs a filter change on schedule and an occasional bin wash, while clear-ice and nugget units add descaling cycles and a drain to keep clear.
Does the make matter more than the design?
Usually not. Whether a unit makes crescent, clear or nugget ice, and whether it drains by gravity or with a pump, decides most of what living with it involves; the make decides the finish, the controls and how easy parts are to find.
Do you recommend particular brands?
No. We are an independent repair service, we work on every make listed on this site, and these guides explain how each design behaves so you can choose for your own kitchen or bar.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides
An empty ice bin in an open freezer drawer, a few cubes stuck to the bottom.
Why the ice maker is doing that

Common problems

A hand lifting the wire shutoff arm on a freezer ice maker, the bin below half full.
Ice maker checks an owner can safely make

Troubleshooting

A new water filter cartridge on a counter beside a refrigerator's open filter cover.
Keeping the ice maker out of trouble

Maintenance and prevention

A clean ice bin drying upside down on a rack beside a kitchen sink.
Keeping water, wiring and ice safe

Water, power and clean ice

A coil of braided water line and a shutoff valve on the floor behind a refrigerator pulled from the wall.
Water lines, first ice and a unit left alone

Installation and setup

Not sure which section?

Start from your question

The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it.

18 guidesWhere to start Where to start

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your ice maker working again.

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