Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This review includes my initial review and updates--scroll to the end to see my most recent comments. After too many trips over the last couple of years to the grocery story to buy ice for our family, I purchased the ES IB120SS ice maker after extensive research. I also bought the 3-year extended warranty policy. The unit was delivered several days ago, and I set it up yesterday in our basement, connecting the water line to our existing reverse osmosis water filter system. Within 40 minutes, the first batch of ice was produced. It continued producing ice steadily. (After 3 hours, I threw out all the ice, and thoroughly washed out the ice bin, as instructed in the installation steps.) However, this morning, I discovered that the ice maker itself had stopped producing ice sometime during the night. (The condenser seemed to be working fine, and the interior of the freezer unit was cold.) The metal arm that detects a full bin was partially up, and the white "arms" that rotate and push out the ice cubes had stopped in an odd position. After some inspection, I discovered that a bit of ice had formed at one spot on the white plastic top rim of the ice mold, effectively jamming the white arm at that location. I carefully broke the ice away, and the white arms immediately started rotating, and a moment later the ice mold filled with water. I'm not sure how water could have dripped or splashed onto that location. My guess, however, is that as the white arms rotate, they carry with them a drop or two of water. In that particular location, the drop accumulates on the rim, and quickly freezes. More drops of water accumulate and freeze, until the bit of ice there is large enough to finally stop the white arms from rotating. I"ll continue to report on what happens. Update 2017-09-02: The ice maker module continued to accumulate ice on its top plastic rim at one end, jamming the white arms that release the ice. This occurred about every 4-5 hours. I called EdgeStar customer support, and they were very helpful. The support rep first said that they would send out a new ice module and find a locale technician to install it (all covered under warranty). A few minutes later she called back and said that the module was not in stock and that they would send me a complete replacement unit (yes, the whole appliance). It arrived a few days ago, which I immediately installed. So far there have been no problems with ice build-up on the ice maker module. I also noticed that the compressor seems to run a bit quieter than the original appliance. (Or maybe I'm just used to the sound now. We have it in our basement, and it cannot be heard in the next room or upstairs.) Only downside is that I need to pack up the original unit and ship it back. But fortunately I kept the original box and packaging, and EdgeStar is paying for the return shipping. I'm upgrading my rating from 3 to 4 stars, because of the good customer service and prompt shipping of the new unit, and because this new unit seems to be working well. Update 2018-02-03: Since I received the replacement unit from EdgeStar, this unit has continued to operate flawlessly, cranking out a bin of ice (about 6 lbs) every 12 hours That being said, defrosting the unit every 4-6 weeks is critical. (It is not a self-defrosting unit; but I knew that when I bought it.) Otherwise, ice will build up on the interior from frost and water splashes, and jam the mechanism. Defrosting the unit, however, is easy. I simply turn the unit off, open the door, remove the ice bin, and place a large cloth towel in the interior, making sure that the towel is pushed against all sides and corners. (This prevents the ice water from running out of the interior compartment and onto the floor.) Leave the door open for about six hours, and it's defrosted. Toss the wet towel in the laundry basket, put the ice bin back in, and turn the unit back on. Twelve hours later, the bin is again full of ice.