GE Profile Opal 2.0

I was hesitant to spend the money on a countertop ice maker. I did a lot of researching and finally decided on the Opal. I am so glad I did. I have had about a month now. Makes great ice and is very quiet. I have not cleaned it yet or used the connectivity.

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!

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.

At first, I was skeptical about getting this for my wife as a birthday gift because of the price - I wondered if it was really worth it. Now that we've had it for almost a year, I can tell you it is DEFINITELY worth it! This ice maker is so amazing! It actually promotes hydration - you WANT to drink more water because you just love the ice! I was impressed at how fast the ice starts being made after turning it on. It does make a slight humming noise but it's at such a low decibel level so it's barely noticeable. You do have to take good care of it though. Read the cleaning instructions and take the time to clean it on a regular basis. But do NOT try to open the top of the unit. It's very difficult to pry open and it's not worth the trouble. Just use the two cleaning methods that are mentioned in the manual... and you'll have great tasting ice in no time. Our friends and family love when we have this ice ready when they come over! It's like getting Chick-Fil-A ice for free!

Absolute perfection!! I love my Opal ice maker, but refilling the water chamber is a real pain! It makes a lot on of ice but the reservoir isn’t big enough to avoid refilling daily. Enter the amazing side tank!!! It is super easy to set up and attach and it works perfectly! I now only need to fill the tank about every 4-5 days or so. No need to remove the ice basket or guess the water level in the reservoir. I always have ice at the ready and can easily see when the tank needs to be refilled. For me, the price is well worth the added convenience. HIGHLY recommend!!

Just received it today so I can't comment on longevity. Otherwise, it was simple to setup, run the cleaning cycle and get my first batch of ice. I am an "ice snob" so I'm very particular about my ice. I was buying a bag every day from Sonic. I had figured out optimum time to get fresh ice from the top (which is cloudy and "soft") instead of ice that had been sitting there (that's clear and "icy"). I was worried this machine wouldn't make the SOFT ice. But it makes PERFECT, soft ice. So far, I couldn't be any happier. Update: After less than 8 weeks (I've already descaled it twice) today it suddenly stopped working. The add water button was on, but the reservoir was full. After watching several YouTube videos I kept seeing that the pump wasn't priming and to place my finger over the hole in the reservoir. That did nothing. Also said to try squeezing some water into the hole. Well, that's a problem, because the space to put something in the hole is not large. So I did some research and found the perfect little squeeze bottles that you can even get here on Amazon (I happened to get my at my local Walmart). They are called Joie Condiment Mini Squeeze Bottles. Additional Update: About a month ago I started to get the Add Water light even though I could see the water was actually being drawn out of the reservoir. If it turned the machine off and back on it would then make ice. This week even that stopped working and now the machines makes NO ice. Almost six months to the date I received it. So I have to return it and get a "new machine." I asked if it was actually new or refurbished and all I got was, it's being shipped from our warehouse. That doesn't answer the question. I figured out that based on how much ice I was buying from Sonic the Opal would pay for itself if it worked for at least 6 months, so I guess it was worth the purchase. It did make spectacular soft ice!

A must for anyone purchasing the Opal ice maker. Installs easily and keeps from needing to refill frequently - only fill it 1-2 times each week. Should come with the unit automatically.

I was nervous getting this from the reviews that I read. I was pleasently suprised. It is quiet. It can make the first round of ice within 7 minutes. The ice is not "wet". It is easy to add water and it works wonderfully with Alexa. I do wish that there was a hose hook up and sensor that would allow me to tap into my fridge water supply so that it filled itself, but it is not terrible withhout it. I fill it up each morning as coffee is making and that's all I do each day. It wil take about 8 cups of water and that will fill the bin twice. You can over fill. For example, you can have a full bin of ice and then fill up the water reservoir. It will stop making ice until the amount of ice drops, then it will start making ice until it fills up again. I have to listen for it to hear it. I have mine on a schedule with Alexa to make ice from 5am - 10am and then again at 4pm - 10pm. works great. With this schedule, I have always had ice when I went to get some. Really satified with this product and would suggest it. The reservoir is nice, but I don't have it and am not planning to buy it. Haven't needed it. Wish the price was about $100 less, but I'm not fussying that much. Solid build. Update: after sitting on my kitchen counter for a year, regular cleaning, fan started to get loud and then leak in reservoir and unit became unusable. Went back to fridge ice maker and threw this in the trash. I see why they price it so high, not seeing many return buyers. So disappointing.

Gives you more ice capacity for larger crowds and does the job well. You won't get air lock problems if you don't let the container drain totally. You can fill it up with water still in it. It won't drip and cause a mess.

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

Really nice an pretty design, quiet when in operation. Did not appreciate that the nuggets are as small as they are and that the size can’t be changed. Also, the speed of ice making is relatively slow Would probably not buy again