Product review (4 stars): Very handy - hope this one lasts.
My boss had purchased an ice machine for his office and I though it was a great idea so I purchased one as well about a year ago.  It died a short time ago so I bought this one. Then the one my boss had died as well.  It was an Igloo brand.  I hope a year is not the average life span of these ice makers.  I like the style of this one better than the last one because of the larger acrylic window on top.  You can see what stage the ice is in. But this machine is more noisy than my last ice machine.  It makes ice quickly.  I generally only use it if I have having company or to fill the ice bucket in my freezer, but I don't run this machine 24/7.  If you are a light sleeper and have a small home you will need to turn it off at night or the dropping ice will wake you up. The full bucket of ice will gradually melt back into the water reservoir for the cycle to begin again.  If you don't have an ice maker in your refrigerator, these are great.