--- title: "Nugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you" description: "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…" url: "https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/nugget-clear-or-crescent-ice/" date_modified: "2026-09-26" --- Choosing and comparing # Nugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you Nugget ice vs clear ice comes down to how the water freezes. A clear-ice unit builds cubes in thin layers and sends the rejected minerals down a drain, so the cubes are hard and slow to melt. A nugget unit scrapes flakes from a chilled cylinder and packs them into soft pellets. Crescent cubes from a freezer ice maker are the cloudy, plumbing-light default. By [IceMakerRepair.center technical team](https://icemakerrepair.center/authors/technical-team/) Published September 26, 2026 ## At a glance. The shape in the glass is only the visible end of three quite different ways of freezing water. How each one works tells you what it needs from the house, how much looking after it wants and which parts eventually wear. Read the whole guide ### Crescent cubes Frozen whole in a molded tray in the freezer or the door Air and minerals are trapped in the last water to freeze, so the middle turns white. ### Clear cubes Grown in thin layers over a chilled plate Needs a drain, and the bin is insulated rather than kept below freezing. ### Nugget ice Flakes pressed into small, soft pellets by an auger Chewable, and the design with the most moving parts. ### Countertop nugget models A hand-filled reservoir instead of a water line Descaled every two to three weeks when the water is hard. In this guide 1. Three ways of turning water into ice 2. How each kind behaves in a drink 3. What each design asks from the house 4. Upkeep and the parts that wear 5. Matching the ice to the room 6. Questions ## Three ways of turning water into ice Every home ice maker does the same basic job, yet the three common designs go about it so differently that they barely count as relatives. The difference is not only the shape that lands in the bin. It decides whether the unit needs a drain, how much water it throws away, how often it wants cleaning and which parts eventually give out. ### Crescent cubes from a molded tray The ice maker in a freezer compartment, or the one tucked behind a door dispenser, fills a small mold with water, waits for it to freeze solid, then warms the mold briefly and sweeps or twists the cubes out. The result is the familiar half-moon shape. Because the whole charge of water freezes from the outside in, dissolved minerals and air end up locked in the last part to freeze, which is why the center of those cubes looks milky. ### Clear cubes built up in layers Undercounter clear-ice units run water over a chilled plate so that ice grows one thin layer at a time. Water that has not frozen carries the minerals and air away, and it leaves through the drain. U-Line describes its units in exactly those terms, and Sub-Zero explains that its undercounter bins are insulated but not refrigerated, so the cubes melt very slowly and stay wet, separate and glassy. ### Nugget ice pressed from flakes A nugget unit freezes a film of water on the inside wall of a cold cylinder, and a slowly turning auger shaves it off as flakes. The flakes are pushed upward and squeezed through a narrow opening, which packs them into short, soft cylinders. U-Line's nugget units work this way, and the same idea runs on a much smaller scale inside countertop models such as the GE Profile Opal. Source: [Scotsman Home Ice — A clear difference](https://scotsmanhomeice.com/a-clear-difference/) — In a tray-style ice maker water with its impurities freezes into the cube; clear cubes form while impurities are flushed to the drain, and are slower to melt; [U-Line — Undercounter ice makers: clear and nugget technology](https://www.u-line.com/undercounter-ice-makers.html) — Clear ice is frozen in layers with impurities discarded; nugget ice is shaved by an auger and compacted into cylinders; the bin acts as a cooler, not a freezer; [Sub-Zero — Sub-Zero ice types](https://www.subzero-wolf.com/assistance/answers/sub-zero/common/sub-zero-ice-types) — Undercounter models make clear, wet cubes because the bin is insulated but not refrigerated, so the ice melts continuously ## How each kind behaves in a drink Set nugget ice vs clear ice side by side in two glasses and the difference shows within minutes. Clear cubes are dense and hold very little trapped air, so they melt slowly and water a drink down less over the time it takes to finish it. That is why people who serve spirits over ice, or who entertain around a home bar, tend to ask for them. They also simply look better when guests are watching the pour. Nugget ice is the opposite in nearly every way. It is soft enough to chew, it soaks up a little of the drink, and it packs tightly into a cup, so a tall soda stays cold to the last sip. It also melts faster than a solid cube, which suits iced tea and blended drinks better than a slow bourbon. Crescent cubes sit between the two. They chill a glass well and cost nothing extra, but they clump more readily when the freezer warms slightly between cycles, and they carry more of the water's own taste, since the minerals are frozen into them instead of being rinsed away. - Choose clear cubes for spirits, cocktails and a bar that sees company. - Choose nugget ice for chewers, soft drinks, smoothies and children's cups. - Stay with crescent cubes when the ice mostly goes into water glasses and picnic coolers. Source: [Scotsman Home Ice — A clear difference](https://scotsmanhomeice.com/a-clear-difference/) — In a tray-style ice maker water with its impurities freezes into the cube; clear cubes form while impurities are flushed to the drain, and are slower to melt Close on a scoop of soft nugget ice held over a glass on a kitchen counter. ## What each design asks from the house A door or freezer ice maker needs only the cold water line that already feeds the cabinet, and because it never discards water it needs no drain. A clear-ice undercounter unit is different: every cycle rinses off the minerals it refused, so it must be plumbed to a drain, either by gravity to a point lower than its outlet or through a small pump that lifts the water to a sink tailpiece or standpipe. Countertop nugget models skip the plumbing entirely. You pour drinking water into a reservoir and plug the unit in. Whatever minerals that water carries stay inside the small tank until it is emptied, which is one reason GE asks Opal owners to descale every two to three weeks, depending on how hard the water is and how much ice they make. - Freezer or door ice maker: a cold water line and the outlet already behind the cabinet; no drain. - Undercounter clear ice: a water line, a drain below the outlet or a drain pump, and a cabinet-sized opening. - Undercounter nugget ice: a water line and, in most installations, a drain route. - Countertop nugget: counter space, an outlet and a jug of drinking water. Source: [GE Appliances — Opal ice maker cleaning and descaling](https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=39640) — Descale every 2–3 weeks depending on water hardness; with distilled water only, mineral removal is most likely not needed ## Upkeep and the parts that wear Crescent ice makers ask for the least. A filter change at the interval the maker prints and an occasional wash of the bin cover most of it, and when the ice-making module finally gives out it is usually replaced as a single unit. Clear-ice units need a descaling cycle with the maker's own cleaner; U-Line tells owners to run it when the clean alert appears, or every three months otherwise, and more often on hard water. Nugget units add an auger, a gear motor and bearings to the list of wearing parts, and scale on the freezing cylinder makes that auger work harder with every turn. ### Where hard water tips the decision If your utility's water quality report or a home test shows hard water, count it into the choice. The USGS classes water from 121 to 180 milligrams per liter, measured as calcium carbonate, as hard, and anything above 180 as very hard. A clear-ice unit sheds part of that load down its drain every cycle, while a nugget cylinder and a countertop reservoir hold on to it and ask for descaling more often. Source: [U-Line — Clear ice maker user guide and service manual (U-CLR1215B)](https://www.u-line.com/userguide/pdf/index/sku/U-CLR1215B-00B/) — Run the cleaning cycle when the clean alert shows, otherwise every three months, more often depending on water conditions; [USGS Water Science School — Hardness of water](https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water) — 121–180 mg/L as calcium carbonate is classified as hard and more than 180 mg/L as very hard ## Matching the ice to the room Start with the room rather than the ice. A kitchen with a French door or side-by-side model and a door dispenser already has an ice source; a second one earns its place only if the household regularly runs the first one empty or wants a different kind of ice. A home bar, a butler's pantry or a lower-level family room is where an undercounter clear or nugget unit makes sense, provided a drain can be reached or a pump fitted. Renters, and anyone who cannot open a cabinet to run a water line, are better served by a countertop nugget model. It asks for nothing but counter space and an outlet. The trade-off is a small basket and regular refilling: GE lists its Opal at 24 pounds of ice a day with about 48 ounces held at once, which suits a household's drinks but not a party of twenty. Source: [GE Appliances — Nugget ice and undercounter ice makers](https://www.geappliances.com/ge/icemakers.htm) — The countertop Opal produces 24 pounds of ice a day and holds up to 48 ounces at a time ## Where to stop While you compare, leave the existing water line alone beyond turning its shut-off valve, and close that valve before anyone slides a unit out of its opening. Cutting a new drain through a cabinet floor or running a supply line past an outlet is work for a plumber and an electrician. If water is already spreading near a plug, keep your feet out of it and cut the circuit only from a panel that is standing dry. Written by [IceMakerRepair.center technical team](https://icemakerrepair.center/authors/technical-team/). The technicians sent out when an ice maker visit is booked on this site. They write from what they find at the supply valve, along the fill tube, in the ice bin and at the drain, and they check it against the maker's own manuals wherever one is published. Sources: [Scotsman Home Ice — A clear difference](https://scotsmanhomeice.com/a-clear-difference/) · [U-Line — Undercounter ice makers: clear and nugget technology](https://www.u-line.com/undercounter-ice-makers.html) · [Sub-Zero — Sub-Zero ice types](https://www.subzero-wolf.com/assistance/answers/sub-zero/common/sub-zero-ice-types) · [U-Line — Clear ice maker user guide and service manual (U-CLR1215B)](https://www.u-line.com/userguide/pdf/index/sku/U-CLR1215B-00B/) · [GE Appliances — Opal ice maker cleaning and descaling](https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=39640) · [USGS Water Science School — Hardness of water](https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water) · [GE Appliances — Nugget ice and undercounter ice makers](https://www.geappliances.com/ge/icemakers.htm) For the heart of your home. ## Questions owners ask. ### Can a door or freezer ice maker be made to produce clear cubes? No. Clear cubes depend on water flowing over a chilled plate and a drain carrying the rejected water away, and a molded tray has neither. Good filtered water makes crescent cubes that taste cleaner, but they still freeze cloudy in the middle. ### Why do clear cubes shrink while they sit in the bin? Because the design intends it. Clear-ice units keep the bin insulated rather than frozen, so the cubes slowly melt and the unit replaces them; Sub-Zero gives this as the reason its undercounter cubes stay clear and do not fuse together. ### Is nugget ice harder on the equipment than cubes? It involves more moving parts. The auger, its gear motor and the bearings turn whenever ice is being made, and scale on the freezing cylinder adds load, so keeping to the descaling schedule matters more on a nugget unit than on a tray-style one. ### Does distilled water help a countertop nugget model? It largely removes the descaling chore. GE notes that an Opal run only on distilled water will most likely not need mineral removal, although it still needs its regular sanitizing. ## The problems behind it. Each has a page of its own: what it usually means and the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://icemakerrepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Cloudy or Discolored Ice 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Nugget Ice Maker Not Making Nugget Ice 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Clumped or Frozen in the Bin 5 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Undercounter Ice Maker Not Draining 5 causes, cheapest first ## When it needs a technician. The repairs on the right are where this guide ends when the checks do not settle it. ### Undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling A full cleaning and descaling of a built-in or countertop ice maker: scale off the plate, cylinder or fingers, slime out of the reservoir and drain, the condenser brushed, and the unit sanitized before the ice comes back. ### Ice dispenser and auger repair The auger, its motor, the crusher, the chute flap and the paddle switch that move ice from the bin to your glass, or push soft nugget ice up and out, checked and repaired when the ice stops coming. ### Drain pump and drain line repair The drain that carries meltwater and unused water out of a built-in ice maker, whether by gravity or with a small pump, cleared, re-routed or given a new pump when water stands in the bin or spills out of the door. ### Diagnostic visit A visit that traces the water from the supply valve to the bin and back out through the drain, and names the one part that stopped the ice before anything is ordered. ## More in choosing and comparing. 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. [The whole section](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) Deciding what ice maker to keep or buy ### 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. Deciding what ice maker to keep or buy ### 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. Guides ### All 18 guides Six sections, by what you are trying to find out. --- **[Read on the site: Nugget, clear or crescent ice: what each kind of ice maker gives you](https://icemakerrepair.center/guides/nugget-clear-or-crescent-ice/)** **[Book a visit with IceMakerRepair.center](https://icemakerrepair.center/schedule/)**