The Finer Things Of Camping

[mitch5252]

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At the AR GTG, Karen (retiredhappy) showed me how to travel in style and to appreciate some of the finer points for camping by loaning us her ice maker to help keep the food coolers cold (NEVER, EVER would I have used the cubes to chill down a beverage or two)...well, at two bucks a bag of ice (Walmart, yesterday), the Mobile Marlin needed one...it came today and weighs in at 25#. And then there's the convenience of not having to drive around for ice.

Thank you, Karen!



P.S. Karen, can you make different size cubes? If so, what's the best size (speed, lasting power)?

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[BirdbyBird]

Okay, the uneducated want to know....how does the icemaker take on/in water? I saw Karen's but I didn't stop to really look at how it functioned.....I am thinking of the water lines that are connected to the frig in the house and wondering how that works on a portable.....

[mitch5252]

You pour the water in the reservoir below the basket. My first tiny little batch just came out in 10 minutes. I understand it will be faster after the first few. I have it set to small size ice (SM/MED/LG).

Anyway, it does not keep the ice frozen. It has to be transferred to a cooler or freezer (or a beverage). Any ice that melts is recirculated to make another cube. (well, they're not cubes - they're little hollow bullets). Comes with a little internal basket and a cute little white scoop.

[dpf]

Mitch, You're going to love it. I bought one two years ago after Karen had mentioned how much she loved hers! Mine is an Emerson. I bring it in the house before we leave on a trip and make up enough ice and store it in two gallon zip lock bags and use it to fill the beverage cooler before we leave...then I put it in the rig to keep up. Always turn it on as soon as I wake up in the morning and it poops out nine large ice cubes every 9 minutes. On a good day (if I'm vigilant and empty the basket when it is full or fill when the tank is empty) I use about 3 gallons of water so that's about 24 pounds of ice. I'm an ice water fanatic and always have a glass by me so we use a lot of ice and sometimes have enough to share with whoever is camping with us. DH and I haven't had the whose turn is it to go buy ice discussion for two whole years! I know that it has paid for itself and when it wears out I'll buy another. Be prepared for people to think you have your breadmaker along!

[Colliemom]

So, for another uneducated person, where does one purchase this ice maker?

[mitch5252]

So you can get 24# of ice during the daylight hours? Cool! Mine's cranking away! Are your hollow bullet looking things?

Here's where I got mine - $140, no tax, no shipping. I read over on rv.net that Target had some on sale for around $100-$120.

http://www.livingdirect.com/Ice-Makers/Home_Appliances-Ice_Makers,default,sc.html?psortb1=category-pos_Home_Appliances-Ice_Makers

[cpatinjones]

I have a portable ice maker, too. Never thought about bringing it camping. They work very well.

[dpf]

Yes...the bullet shaped ice cubes....I always make the large size. I paid 130 plus tax at a local Menards which is a midwest equivalent to Lowe's or Home Depot. I could have bought it slightly cheaper on line but didn't want to have to pay to ship it back if I had any problems with it during the warranty period. From the reviews that I had read most problems arised within the warranty period. I have found that it works more efficiently if I keep it inside the camper while it is running if it is hot outside. Yes it does operate faster after the first couple of batches. I imagine that's because everything in the unit cools down. We also run a separate heavy duty extension cord through the window to the electrical post because all my kitchen outlets are on the same circuit and if I use a crockpot, toaster or the coffee pot while it is running the circuit breaker will trip. They do use quite a bit of juice. In fact I have heard that some campground will charge more if they are aware that you have an icemaker....don't know if that is fact or fiction.

Another thing that we had starting doing is always keeping our adult beverage cooler inside the camper at all times. In several of our state campgrounds it is quite common for kid to raid the campgrounds at night and steal coolers with beer. We have found out that we could be prosecuted for aiding and abetting to the delinquency of a minor if we leave alcoholic beverages readily accessible. Doesn't matter that they stole it...no personal responsibity for the kids stealing....which I think is a bunch of ...never mind.