On the Rocks - suggestions wanted

I vote for a chest freezer and, if you do not have one, an RO that serves your main fridge's ice maker.


I am a little concerned about the recycling of melted ice. I believe it would take good adherance to a schedule of cleaning on an infrequent basis to prevent the buildup of slime and possibly some disease causing bacteria that slowly grow in cold temperatures.


There is one in particular that really doesn't do much to healthy people, but can cause miscarriages in pregnant women. Yersinia intercolitica, IIRC.


Things that need to be cleaned every day, usually get cleaned every day or two. Things that need to be cleaned every month or two often do not ever get cleaned.


For the people in Houston, that is why restaurants that are otherwise very clean get hit with "Slime in the ice machine" on their health inspections, IMO. (a local station makes a big deal out of the report. they get plenty of restaurants to report on every week. Because of this, the restaurants there probably do a better job of cleaning their ice makers than other places, IMHO.)


I would also wonder about the effect of the continuous refreezing of whatever condensed on the ice.


If you really enjoy ice, you probably prefer good store bought ice to "refrigerator ice maker ice."


The ice made in our "refrigerator ice maker" is made with RO'd water, and it is very much closer to the best store bought ice than normal "refrigerator ice maker" ice. Friends who have no idea about how the ice is made comment on it.


Before trying the RO, I used to use the ice maker in my fridge just as a dispenser for store bought ice, and was happy to do it. I would have happily gone back. ( the trick is to leave the ice in the bag, refreeze it for about a day, then break it up and dump it into the ice maker. Then it won't refreeze into a solid block in the dispenser...)


In summary, my vote would be a Chest freezer + RO for icemaker, and you have good ice everywhere and ice cream treats, too.


For the record, RO's require sterilization on a periodic basis, but I think they are worth it. I do it every six months, along with smoke alarm batteries and the whole house water filter. I believe six months would be too long for an ice maker cleaning. YMMV.


Just my .02


Best Regards,

Doug

David,


I went through the same problem when building our snack bar. You could get great and inexpensive under the counter refrigerators for less than $400 - I got one that was extra wide (in case I wanted to have a "deli tray" or prepared snacks for parties - but for the most part I keep it stocked with lots of beer, bottled water, and several types of sodas.).


But to get one with an ice maker was an extra $1,000! A separate under the counter job was also a grand.


Since we have a freezer just a few feet away in a storage room, I opted to use good old fashioned ice cub trays. Of course, I had to be different and try the "bottle" style. These things are like a bottle, you fill up to the line, screw on the cap, then set flat in the freezer. You're supposed to be able to gently shake and pour. Unfortunately, they're a pain in the ass to use.


So, I keep an ice bucket on the counter - works fine, low cost. And buy a bag of ice every so often.


Randy