Overall I like this product it works really well and I dont have complaints about its functioning. I had a hard time deciding on which ice maker to buy, but went with this one for the following reasons: reviews of good functioning, recycles water as the ice melts, different sizes of cubes, and it appeared that it was better insulated than others.What I have found - machiene works well, not having any issues with its ability to produce ice . - the different sizes of cubes are drastic, so honestly this function sounded great but feels useless. - does a great job of recycling water. - not any better at insulating that others, just bulky (see below) - noisier than expected. (see below)Size: Although it looks more insulated, I think its just bulkier? doesnt seem to have great insulation (and it doesnt claim to I just assumed based on the thickness of the top it would maintain tempurature better). Ultimately I wish I went with a less bulky option. This is really my own fault because I didnt measure out each of the machines i was looking at. I had a friend who had a different brand and I just kind of assumed they were all about the same size. This one is quite a bit bigger, it reminds me of this bread maker machine my dad had growing up.Noise: as claimed by reviews yes you can have a conversation around it (i would hope any counter top ice maker you buy is this quite). But the fan is quite loud and as the parts move to flip the ice and fill the water it is quite noisy as well. Im not sure how noisy others are (a friend has a different brand and I did not notice the noise but also we were at a party)Ultimately I am not unhappy, but wish I would have gone with a less bulky model and wish it was quieter. Its hard to know if another brand would be an quieter but I would go with a smaller model and hope that the noise is improved. Once again that was my fault for not measuring.I purchased this unit a couple of weeks ago. It has been used almost continuously the whole time. At home, we use it in our den as the fridge in the basement has no ice maker. We have used it over the past week in the camper. The size is great and the output is what we need.We normally buy 1 to 2 bags of ice a day when camping. This trip, we have bought none. Don't expect this unit to provide instant output. It is not your at home hotel ice maker.I read a lot of the reviews before buying. The quality of the ice is directly dependent on how cold the water reservoir/ice chamber is. The first batch of ice after a water refill will be smaller, softer cubes. As the water in the reservoir cools, the ice making cycle will become more efficient.I experimented with recycling cold water out of the cooler to make ice. The quality of the ice remained high on all batches. When I fill it with tap water, the first batches are of lower quality. The best solution is to "prime the system" by putting some of your ice into the reservoir when filling from the tap.In order to produce a sufficient amount of ice for camping, the ice making process is continuous. When hanging out, dump the ice hopper when the full red light comes on. When leaving the camper or going to bed, dump the ice into the cooler and make sure the water reservoir is full. You will have a full load when you return or wake up.At home, the cycle is less intense. Make ice when convenient, put it into freezer bags or an ice hopper and put it into the freezer. Expect the cubes to freeze together, but it is easily broken up.I am rating this a 4 for two reasons. First, I don't know the longevity of the unit. Second, my gut feel is that a smart engineer could improve the efficiency of the ice making cycle through improved insulation of the ice chamber or extending a coil off of the compressor to cool the chamber.Super effective product. Does as it advertises and it's super convenient if you're an avid alkaline water drinker like my family is. I see a lot of people complaining about having black residue all over the place etc. but if you use filtered, CLEAN, water you should be fine. Change the water reservoir if not all of the water is used for ice within a week and there you have it. I fill our fridge's ice dispenser with this ice and it's really nice. 4 stars for the conveince of it, but also 4 stars because I feel like it's a little slow even though it's way faster than making a tray of 20 with 8 hours of down time in the fridge. An overall great product.Such a lifesaver in the heat! My husband just had shoulder surgery and it has been very warm the last few weeks. Our ice maker can't keep up on a normal basis, let alone with us going through this much ice. I would have been buying bags of ice every day before this, and we live miles from the nearest grocery store. It makes ice very quickly and keeps making it without need to be refilled that often. I don't see that much difference between the small and large size cubes. It does make some noise. I moved it to the mud room so I could close the door...not enough that I wouldn't use it but worth having the extra ice for sure! We did take it camping in our trailer, worked great! Plugged in at the RV park or on the generator we never had to buy extra ice.The house we recently moved into (renting) has an older fridge, that does not have an ice maker. Our family uses a lot of ice, so constantly filling ice trays isn't always quick enough.This ice machine gets a lot of use, and we are all very happy with it. We don't have a lot of counter space, and it eats up about the same amount of space as a small microwave.OMG... This just arrived. I read the other reviews (BTW... thank you). I set it on the counter behind our bar for 24 hours prior to plugging it in as mentioned in some of the other reviews; allowing the freon to settle after shipping.I too am an ice muncher (yes, I am severely low on iron... which is one of the side effects of munching ice). The ice is perfect. I reviewed just about every portable ice maker on the market and the qualifiers we required... this was the winner. The different settings are also perfect. I just wish I had bought this 6 months ago. I love, love, love this ice maker.