I would expect more from GE! I am on my second one in less than two weeks. The first one (out of the box) roared so loud you could hear in another room. The second one makes a loud speaking noise every time it starts to make a new batch of ice. I am contemplating how long to keep this one.

Currently I own an Opal Ice Maker Model#OPAL01GEPKT. I believe we bought it in early 2019. The machine has always performed to my expectations. There were times in the beginning that I had issues but read the manual and the GE online website for additional tips. #1 Clean the machine with 1 teaspoon bleach mixed with 5 cups of water and rinse at least three times every seven days. It is not a big deal and have learned to add it to our kitchen clean up after dinner. #2 Every two months I would run white vinegar through the cleaning cycle and keep it in the machine for at least 18 hours then drain and run clean water through at least 3 times. This sound like a pain but understand what water can do to the system even though we use distilled water only. Calcium still has a way of getting in the system. #3 Keep vents open and un obstructed on both sides allowing for the coil to suck in air for cooling similar to what an air conditioner return air does in your house. #4 I found it very helpful to vacuum the vent which houses the coil and sometimes I would spray a can of condensed air into the vent to keep the coils clear. As of this week, we started hearing a loud rattling. After inspecting the machine I realized it was the fan motor that cools the coil. It eventually stopped working. Since the machine is close to 4 years old I decided rather than try to fix it if even possible due to age, we purchased a new model. I am in real estate management and understand the intricacies to refrigerated equipment and know that most sealed systems cannot be fixed. We feel that we got our money's worth out of the ice maker and was satisfied enough to purchase a new one. However with anything that has water running through it, you still have to perform maintenance. I hope this review will help others in deciding if the Opal Ice Maker is worth the purchase which we feel it is.

This was great for the first few weeks. It does not work over 75 degrees inside. It doesn't keep up. Tried to warranty it out but was denied. We've had it for less than 2 years and spent so much money its terrible. It's now making a terrible gear grinding noise and cleaning it every over week with bleach and every other week with vinegar. I will never buy a GE product again.

So far, this unit has worked flawlessly. It's been about a month and we've never turned it off. It gets continuously used and we have yet to run low on ice because it makes it faster than we need. It's amazing how fast it makes the ice. Fairly easy setup too. Recommend!

I owned a nugget ice maker before this one (not GE brand) and I enjoyed it immensely…until it randomly stopped working. I finally caved after about a year of wanting this one and bought it. I definitely do not regret it at all. It's got a sleek design that looks fabulous on my counter. The water tank is super easy to remove and refill. The cleaning process is simple, if a little time consuming, and doesn't require purchasing any extra things to complete. The ice bucket slides in and sits very well. Even my 7 year old son doesn't have any problems with pulling out the bucket to get ice. I love that both the tank and the ice bucket have a pressure valve to release the water in them. It means the ice bucket doesn't drip all over the place when it's pulled out (my last one did!), and adding water to the tank is mess free since you don't have to worry about water dripping all over the place. As for the ice itself…perfect (Italian finger kiss). I couldn't ask for better ice. They're small and crunchy. I fill my 40 oz water bottle when I leave for work and I still have ice when I come home. My ice bucket is never empty because it refills so quickly. I enjoy the scheduled automation function and the fact that when the bucket is full, it won't start making ice again until the bucket is pulled out and put back into place. It gets a lot of “off” (down but not powered off) time throughout the day because of this function. I feel it will help preserve the machine through its life time.

We highly recommend this ice maker! Ours was gifted to us a year and a half ago and it is a great product! However, here is the best tip we can give for anyone looking to purchase one: use distilled water in it. We used tap water for the first few months and got the horrible grinding noise. We were ready to throw it away. Then we found an article online about using distilled water. After switching to distilled water, it has been top-notch! Great product!

The reason I wrote this review is that I wish I had known this particular issue prior to using the machine initially: our hard water jammed the machine. The first week we had the ice maker, it kept “defrosting” constantly. I followed the instructions for cleaning out the machine by using vinegar water, running the cleaning cycle, then sticking a towel in the machine for 24 hours. It cleaned everything out, however my guess that the jamming was due to our hard water was correct. We used distilled water and have had zero problems in the several months since. As a matter of fact, the machine has not “defrosted” a single time since switching to distilled water. The ice separates easily as well (with our hard water, the ice cubes would stick together). Lastly, I highly recommend getting the machine with the side water tank. Filling up the side tank is so much easier to accomplish rather than pulling up on the front slot, pulling out the tub, filling the reservoir inside the machine up to the line, then putting the tub in (there's a special way to do it so it won't just fall out when you open the machine to take out ice). The side tank just needs to be pulled off, flipped around, remove the lid, fill to the top, replace lid, and put back on. This only needs to be done twice a week, and can be monitored since it's clear and the water line is visible. The machine's reservoir is hidden underneath the tub of ice, so I would need to wait until “add water” lights up on the machine. The side tank is much larger than the internal reservoir, so it doesn't need to be filled near as often which I like.

I have always been aware of which restaurants have the best ice! Now, I'm able to have as much ice as I want at home. This ice is the best! Easily able to be chewed, although don't tell your dentist. :-) My whole family loves this ice machine. We are now very well hydrated!! Another review had mentioned that this ice maker made a noise or rattled, I think. We just adjusted the position of the water reservoir on the side and it went away.

I bought this for my daughter who loves chewy ice! I saved for a couple of years to be able to afford it so I did my research! This was her Christmas present and it has made the entire family so happy! This machine is hard working and keeps the ice coming if it senses it's getting low. The app capability to mange it is icing on the cake with my daughter she checks on it when she's at school (LOL) via her phone! Don't hesitate to purchase it's an amazing little machine and now we have our own chewy ice no more trips to the gas station to get the bag of chewy ice! We love our opal! My daughter plans to take it with her to college next year!

Skeptical at first, quickly changed our minds as we were enjoying “sonic” type ice within an hour of plugging it in. The only downside is that the scoop is a bit difficult to use and almost always end up with a few pieces of ice on the counter. I would suggest a fold down front on the ice bin to make it easier and cleaner to get the ice with the scoop.