Opal 2.0 without Side Tank

This is one of the best on the market. I bought this because my son loved the ice it made. Too long of a story to include here, just know that his last hours on this earth included chewing on the perfect ice pellets made by this machine. I found that insulating the ice bucket caused the ice to last a bit longer. Although this machine recycles the melted ice water into new pellets, adding a small layer of rubber/foam insulation helps in keeping the ice box colder, and helps prevents the ice from melting too fast. I used 1 inch, 1/16 inch single sided adhesive rubber in a double layer on both sides and bottom of the ice box. This is the second machine I have bought. The first one lasted 20 months, using distilled water, about a gallon a day, and never ran it thru a cleaning cycle. I do not recommend that practice. I bought the extended warranty for this new one, and have a new filter shipped from Amazon every month, which aligns with the programmed cleaning cycle. It’s very easy to use, and the side water tank is so handy, as it holds about a gallon of water. Our tap water is very hard, which is why we chose distilled water to use is our machine. You’ll find that slime and algae will build up, plugging the filter, and interfering with the ice making auger in the ice cup. Keep it clean by flushing and sanitizing with bleach, and changing the filter after each cleaning. I’ll post an update on how long this one lasts. As far as I can tell, this one is the best counter top I’ve maker on the market today. Its size is perfect for our countertop, and you have to walk in the kitchen to hear it making its perfect ice. The noise level is not a problem with this one. I highly recommend this ice maker, with the side tank for your iced drink needs. You’re gonna love it.

If Amazon allowed "zero stars" I'd rate it that or less. The numerous 5 star reviewers have not yet experienced the ticking time bomb that WILL go off inside this machine. First and foremost, this is not the GE you have come and know to love...they sold the rights to the GE name for small appliances back in 2022...and as you'd expect, the "new" company has no obligation to uphold GE's famous reputation for quality/reliability. This POS is chock full off compromises, cut corners, and assembly SNAFUS that accountants love but make the engineers that envisioned this thing roll in their graves. I've had my second machine just over a year, thankfully they sent me a replacement at the 8 month point on the first try, but now it's dead and conveniently "out of warranty" BTW, if you submit a warranty claim, they can/will send you a "reconditioned" machine and it does not extend your original warranty. If you search youtube for "repair GE Opal icemaker" or "GE Opal Icemaker screeching" you'll find TONS of DIY'er's videos desperately disassembling their machines only to discover "GE" has no parts...you can only find "used" parts on ebay (from others parting out their failed machines when they discover that GE won't service the machine after the warranty period either...you're SOL) and a few hand made/3D printed parts on Etsy. That's right...a few clever souls have resorted to DIY repairs via making their own parts, and are recouping their time and effort selling them to the long and growing list of unsuspecting buyers who will experience the same failures and learn the hard way that GE is not in the business of keeping these things running. I called the "GE Parts" number listed on the website knowing that GE isn't GE anymore but was blown away when the rep relayed that they do not support/sell parts or even service the machine. If you are in warranty, you pay ~$75 to ship yours back to them (so they can harvest parts...) and they send another one back to you, not necessarily a new one...and you pay for that shipping too. Yes, sadly I know this from first hand experience. Four very weak points in this machine... 1. Calcium buildup will totally wreck the internals despite religious cleaning (might be able to avoid this if you ONLY use distilled water and their Gucci $30 anti-scale reservoir pre-filter, maybe these last a month?) 2. The bushings on the rotating mechanicals wear out allowing the auger (the spinning part inside that moves the water that becomes ice as it moves up along inside the chilled cylinder) to shift slightly in place and contact the cylinder walls, so it will grind some metal off the cylinder walls with each rotation and "add" that material to the ice (many users report "black dust" in the bottom of their ice bin...this is the source), a symptom often preceded by reports of a loud squeal (that's the auger riding on the cylinder walls). Why this major component isn't kept in place with a beefy deep groove sealed ball bearing is a mystery only the accountants can solve. Plastic/nylon bushings have no place in reliable, long lasting equipment. This unit is neither... 3. Cheap Chinesium bearings in the gearbox that fail due to lack of lubrication (assembly line "tech" not trained on how to lube the assembly in production, so the bearings run dry and fail quickly). Countless videos online that document the destruction inside the gearbox that 25 cents of a decent gear lube would have prevented...that and maybe a $5 bearing from SKF vs the no-name trash/factory rejects and seconds they used instead. 4. Speaking of gearbox...the main motor spins a shaft that drives the first gear in the gearbox...and that first gear is made of nylon. It's typical in expensive machinery to use a "sacrificial gear" in the gear train to prevent the expensive motor from burning up when there's another failure/misuse (like in my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer...don't ask me how I know this...) but there's no point in this case since you can't get a new motor...so there's nothing for the sacrificial gear to protect. All the nylon gear does is become the first failure point in the gear train when one of the cheap/improperly lubricated/assembled bearings begins to create too much drag, then the tiny teeth on the plastic gear will pay the price. But at least you won't need a new motor...just a new gear/gearbox. Did I mention GE doesn't sell parts? That includes a new gearbox, or internal gears. Yes, there is a new gear available on Etsy, if you have a couple hours to burn removing/rebuilding the gearbox...pretty straightforward actually if you are handy, and it's good idea to change out all the bearings while you're in there if you actually get that far, but this isn't something I'd expect for a $500 machine built by "GE." I would understand the "new and not really GE" company policy of refusing to support/supply parts for a $30 hand mixer, but a $500 ice maker...the company needs to step up and supply repair parts. If you really love this machine (it does make GREAT, addictive little nuggets) then the only prevent defense I can offer is to use only distilled / demineralized water (~$1 a gallon at your favorite huge department store), use and replace the special $30 descaling pre-filter for the tank early and often, de-scale with vinegar weekly, and buy the $250 "extended warranty" so they'll have to send you a replacement...then you'll have lovely ice making capabilities for maybe three years, for ~$700 plus whatever it costs to keep the consumed pre-filters stocked and the shipping costs for the inevitable replacement units (that weigh 30+ lbs...) Totally bummed, had high expectations for this one, swing and a $500 miss.

I've been using this machine 1 year now, daily for hours, and it's still going strong and works great. Bought the additional side tank which is a must. I only use with distilled water which greatly helps in reducing buildup. I clean / flush once a month with vinegar solution and once a quarter with bleach solution. It's never been really dirty or had any mold build up because of the routine. The cleaning process can be a bit of a pain as I have to carry the machine next to the sink and it's heavy. Only complaint though and it's because where I chose to have it. The app is great with WiFi to tell me when tank is getting low, needs cleaning, and allows me to schedule ice maker to run in mornings and afternoons. Starts making decent ice quantity within 15 - 30 minutes. Ice itself is well formed, chewable, and clear with distilled water.

The built-in ice makers that come with refrigerators are notoriously temperamental. Ours quits on its own for no reason whenever it feels like it. Its cube storage is small and it isn’t reliable. Last summer it went on strike for a week so I set up one of those $100 ice-bullet makers. It had to be tended like a fussy old aunt. With another summer in the near future, I decided to improve matters. I bought this GE Opal 2.0 unit. I *love* it! I especially like the fact that when the already-made ice begins to melt, the water is put back into the system to freeze again into new nuggets. It’s automatic and runs along without supervision as long as it has enough water to run an ice cycle. After a week, I also bought the available side tank. Now we’re really set for all the drinks, ice packs for sprains, and nugget crunching to come. I high recommend this!

This is the best countertop ice maker I have ever tried. It’s quiet, it’s wifi enabled so I and turn it on ahead of time, I can have it on a schedule so I don’t have to worry about making ice. Far far better than the kitchenaid one I had.

The ice is perfect. Very low maintenance. Makes ice fast.

died after awhile 8 times it quit working correctly after we didnt use it awhile and just say "add water" display error

working good . make ice fast in about 15mins

Only had machine 4 weeks. Works as advertised. Very happy with the quality of the machine so far. A little pricey but my ice machine broke on my 5 year old refrigerator and to get a replacement was nearly 3/4 the price of this machine. The GE Opal2 makes far better ice and much quicker. Put things in to perspective as far as I am concerned.