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DIY icemaker for the boat
Posted on 5/29/22 at 10:02 am
Posted on 5/29/22 at 10:02 am
I always wanted an icemaker in the garage, but couldn't really justify the expense. Well, we just replaced the fridge/freezer in our kitchen, so I put the old sxs fridge/freezer in garage for beer fridge. I already have an upright freezer, and a chest freezer, so I'm using the sxs freezer for ice. I took all the shelves out, and a plastic 13 gallon tall kitchen garbage can slides in perfectly. I used my dremmel to cut the bottom out of the ice basket. Now my icemaker fills the garbage can in about 3 days, then a 5 gallon bucket sets easily on top of the can. The bucket is filled in about a day and a half. To go fishing now, I just dump the 5 gallon bucket in my fish cooler, and grab some ice for the drink cooler. These solid large cubes last 2-3 days in my boat coolers. I know ice is not expensive, but neither is a plastic garbage can and bucket. Now, with ice in the garage, I save a little time and money when I'm taking the boat out.
This post was edited on 5/29/22 at 10:04 am
9
Posted on 5/29/22 at 10:19 am to TwoFace
fantastic idea
simple and effective without the maintenance hassle of a bin maker
simple and effective without the maintenance hassle of a bin maker
Posted on 5/29/22 at 11:05 am to TwoFace
Post pics of this, im curious
Posted on 5/29/22 at 11:07 am to sonoma8
Working today. I'll try when I get home
Posted on 5/29/22 at 1:06 pm to TwoFace
Always thought it would cool to put one of these together. After it makes the ice, it keeps it frozen unlike some of the commercial bins that let it melt while they just keep cranking out cubes
homemade ice maker YouTube
homemade ice maker YouTube
Posted on 5/29/22 at 1:57 pm to GoAwayImBaitn
Good video, that is almost exactly what I was thinking of doing. I was gonna gut a small countertop icemaker and put it inside my chest freezer like he did. When the wife wanted a new fridge for the house, I changed my plan. And also just like he mentioned in the video, I made a little chute to guide my ice into the garbage can. Brilliant minds think alike. Now I want to drink some beer with that guy.
Posted on 5/29/22 at 5:40 pm to TwoFace
So does the fridge part that has the garbage can in it to hold the made cubes, keep the ice cold enough from melting?
Or did you also remove the plastic divider between freezer and fridge so fridge air mixes with freezer air. And if so how did you do that?
Or did you also remove the plastic divider between freezer and fridge so fridge air mixes with freezer air. And if so how did you do that?
Posted on 5/29/22 at 5:50 pm to Royalfisher
I think he kept the fridge side intact and uses it for beer and took the shelves out of the freezer side. At least that’s how I read it.
Posted on 5/29/22 at 5:54 pm to VanRIch
Oh ok. Must be a side by side. I’m still stuck in upright land where freezer is on top and fridge on bottom. Duh. Thanks for not drilling an old guy for a dumb question.
Posted on 5/29/22 at 7:27 pm to TwoFace
Congrats sir. Sounds awesome. I know when I put a 1-gallong ice-cream bucket in my freezer and end up with a block of ice I feel accomplished. You are ahead of me. Bravo.
Posted on 5/30/22 at 5:37 am to TwoFace
I watched the video, interesting. I’m not convinced it would not turn into one big hardened mess though? Maybe if you are using it all the time it won’t? I wouldn’t though, I’d go 2-3 weeks sometimes without needing it. It would be hell if you had one giant mess of ice in a chest freezer. That’s why the ‘clear ice’ is made because one it doesn’t make ‘stale’ ice but it also isn’t in a freezer so it doesn’t freeze together very often.
This post was edited on 5/30/22 at 5:38 am
Posted on 5/30/22 at 8:01 am to baldona
The mounting system in that video is the real money shot.
I looked at doing this and had the same concern. I determined in my research that if it is a freezer style ice maker that stays in the freezer it’ll be fine. You can’t take one that makes clear, wet, ice and freeze it after the fact. It’ll freeze into a solid block. Also, you can have something that dumps ice into a freezer because it will let too much humidity in and cause it to be a frozen block.
I was considering buying a little counter top ice maker and cutting a hole in the top of my deep freezer for it to drop in. But it would’ve definitely made a giant block of useless ice. It was a bad idea.
Edit:
The subsequent videos and comments in the chest feeezer ice maker video are great. I have a 7 cu ft freezer that’s too small. I think I’m gonna buy a much larger one and convert my tiny one.
I looked at doing this and had the same concern. I determined in my research that if it is a freezer style ice maker that stays in the freezer it’ll be fine. You can’t take one that makes clear, wet, ice and freeze it after the fact. It’ll freeze into a solid block. Also, you can have something that dumps ice into a freezer because it will let too much humidity in and cause it to be a frozen block.
I was considering buying a little counter top ice maker and cutting a hole in the top of my deep freezer for it to drop in. But it would’ve definitely made a giant block of useless ice. It was a bad idea.
Edit:
The subsequent videos and comments in the chest feeezer ice maker video are great. I have a 7 cu ft freezer that’s too small. I think I’m gonna buy a much larger one and convert my tiny one.
This post was edited on 5/30/22 at 8:24 am
Posted on 5/30/22 at 8:41 am to TwoFace
Genius.
This is the biggest thing. Anything to eliminate an extra stop at 5am is great.
quote:
save a little time
This is the biggest thing. Anything to eliminate an extra stop at 5am is great.
Posted on 5/30/22 at 10:52 am to bigbuckdj
Just watched more of his videos. Seems this guy took an idea that many of us diy people had, and turned it into a little profit. Good for him. Just FYI, I have opened fish cooler while out on the water, and my 5 gallons of ice cubes were stuck together in a big chunk. I just grabbed my sea water wash down hose a spray a couple inches of water into bottom of cooler. This made it possible to push fish under the ice. It makes a near freezing water bath that is SO cold it hurts my hands to dig around in it to grab my fish out. That is great for ensuring the quality of your fish. Makes cleaning them easy too, since they are very firm, nearly frozen. It always boggles my mind when I see bank fisherman and the boat ramps, and they are just throwing their fish in a 5 gallon bucket, with no ice at all. Yuk.
Posted on 5/30/22 at 11:38 am to TwoFace
Ice actually is getting pretty expensive at the stores. Tried to stop at a twice the ice machine and it was shut down for another hour to get more ice.
Posted on 5/31/22 at 6:51 am to LEASTBAY
Since my kids started playing travel ball and all stars and all that crap I got tired of buying ice. Right now we have a counter top one and we bought ice bags off Amazon.
We make 3-4 bags a week and keep them in the freezer. Weekend rolls around, dump it in the coolers, start again when we get home.
We make 3-4 bags a week and keep them in the freezer. Weekend rolls around, dump it in the coolers, start again when we get home.
Posted on 5/31/22 at 12:39 pm to BoogaBear
Which ice maker do you have? Seems like it would be some work, I would like to find one with a reasonable sized storage bin and it would be easier to do that
Posted on 6/1/22 at 12:03 am to greenhead11
I have a 21 cu ft and 7 (?) cu ft chest freezers. The small freezer I use mostly for non-food items.
I fill up gallon size plastic ice cream containers a little over half full with a lid on and freeze them. The lid keeps the top from freezing first, and causing the ice to push downward as it expands while freezing and cracking the bottom of the container.
I freeze 2 or 3 at a time and usually have 5 to 7 blocks in the freezer. I also keep a gallon of water in refrig. to shorten the time required to freeze the blocks of ice. I like using the block ice [4 to 5 lbs each] because it last much longer than cubes.
After a fishing or hunting trip, I rinse off the ice blocks and put them back in the freezer. Each block usually can be used 2 to 5 trips depending weather temp. and how many days they are in the ice chest.
I also empty the ice maker in kitchen refrig. into shopping bags and put 2 or more in the outside freezer.
I fill up gallon size plastic ice cream containers a little over half full with a lid on and freeze them. The lid keeps the top from freezing first, and causing the ice to push downward as it expands while freezing and cracking the bottom of the container.
I freeze 2 or 3 at a time and usually have 5 to 7 blocks in the freezer. I also keep a gallon of water in refrig. to shorten the time required to freeze the blocks of ice. I like using the block ice [4 to 5 lbs each] because it last much longer than cubes.
After a fishing or hunting trip, I rinse off the ice blocks and put them back in the freezer. Each block usually can be used 2 to 5 trips depending weather temp. and how many days they are in the ice chest.
I also empty the ice maker in kitchen refrig. into shopping bags and put 2 or more in the outside freezer.
This post was edited on 6/1/22 at 12:04 am
Posted on 6/1/22 at 5:59 am to TwoFace
quote:FTFY
DIY icemaker for the garage
You had me fooled for a while.
Posted on 6/1/22 at 6:34 am to gerald65
When I was a kid a thousand years ago, when we would camp on Last Island, we would stop at a huge commercial ice house (maybe Chauvin) and buy block ice. Fill a couple of ice chests with the blocks and use those and an ice pick and we had ice all weekend.
Also the days when someone asked how you did and you said 1,2,6 or however many 48 quart ice chests of trout you’d caught. Ridiculous fishing back in the 70’s and 80’s.
Also the days when someone asked how you did and you said 1,2,6 or however many 48 quart ice chests of trout you’d caught. Ridiculous fishing back in the 70’s and 80’s.
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