Silonn Battery Ice Maker Review: Portable ice on 12V, solar or wall power without babying a cooler

I’ve been using this Silonn battery ice maker as my main ice source for a few weeks, both at home and in a small camper setup. Before this, I had a basic plug‑in countertop ice maker and a couple of old‑school ice trays in the freezer. The idea of having a unit that can run on 12V in the car, on a battery, or on standard wall power sounded great on paper, so I wanted to see if it actually made sense in real life or if it was just another gadget collecting dust.

In practice, this thing is clearly built around one promise: give you decent ice fast, almost anywhere, without a built‑in freezer. It claims about 9 cubes in 6 minutes and around 22 lbs per day, which is roughly what my previous plug‑in unit did, but now with a removable battery and 12V options. I mainly used it for drinks, filling a small cooler, and keeping a steady stash of ice for two people who go through a lot of cold drinks.

Right away, it’s important to understand what this machine is and what it isn’t. It’s not a freezer. The ice basket is just a holding area, so if you leave the ice sitting for hours, it will slowly melt and recycle. It’s also not meant to pack a big party cooler for ten people in one go. This is more of a personal / small group ice factory that you top off over time. If you expect it to replace bags of ice for big events, you’ll be annoyed.

Overall, my first impression was pretty positive: it does make ice quickly, it’s not huge on the counter, and the battery option actually works. But it’s not perfect. There are some quirks with the sensor, the noise, and the way the ice comes out wet and clumps if you just dump it straight into the freezer. If you’re okay with a bit of routine and not expecting miracles, it’s a pretty solid little workhorse.

On value, you have to separate two types of buyers: people who just want cheap countertop ice in their kitchen, and people who actually care about 12V and battery use. If you’re only going to plug this into a wall and never move it, there are simpler Silonn models and other brands that cost less and do basically the same job minus the battery. For pure indoor use, this unit is good, but you are paying extra for features you won’t really use.

Where it starts to feel like good value is if you regularly camp, RV, tailgate, or deal with power cuts. In those scenarios, bags of ice get annoying fast. Being able to roll up, plug this into the car or a power station, and have a steady flow of ice is actually worth the money over a basic model. The price is higher than a bare‑bones countertop ice maker, but still way below the fancy built‑in nugget machines that cost several times more. For what it offers—battery, 12V, AC, auto clean, decent capacity—it's pretty solid.

Running costs are low: just water and a bit of electricity. Compared to buying bagged ice several times a week, it can pay itself back over a few months if you’re a heavy ice user. One Amazon reviewer mentioned they stopped buying 3–4 bags per week, and I’m in the same boat. My grocery store ice bill dropped quickly once I got in the habit of running this daily and stocking the freezer properly.

The main thing is to be honest with yourself about your usage. If you want ice for 2–3 people, like chewable ice, and occasionally need off‑grid or backup capability, the value is good. If you’re trying to supply big parties, fill large coolers all the time, or you never leave your house, there are either cheaper options (for kitchen only) or bigger, more expensive options (for large events) that might suit you better. For the middle ground user—small household, some outdoor use—it hits a nice balance of cost and practicality.

Design‑wise, the Silonn is pretty straightforward. It’s a rectangular grey/white box with a black top lid and a front window where you can peek at the ice. It doesn’t scream for attention on the counter, which I like. At about 14" deep, 11" wide, and 13.5" tall, it fit under my upper cabinets and next to my coffee machine without me having to rearrange my whole kitchen. In the camper, it sat fine on a shallow counter as long as I turned it sideways so the depth didn’t hang off.

The top lid flips up to access the ice basket and water reservoir. The basket lifts out easily with one hand, which is good because you’ll be doing that a lot. The water fill is just an open reservoir under the basket. No fancy cartridge or anything. The drain plug is on the bottom, which is handy for cleaning but does mean you need to drag it to a sink or put it near the edge of a counter to drain into a bowl. Not a dealbreaker, but something to know if your counters are crowded.

The touch panel is on the top, front edge. The buttons are sensitive enough, and the LED countdown is actually useful because you have a rough idea of when the next batch drops. There’s also a little running light effect when it’s operating. That’s cosmetic, but at least you can see at a glance if it’s on. I didn’t have any issues with the buttons not responding or anything like that. Everything felt reasonably solid for the price range.

The main design downside is the ice full sensor and the basket shape. Like a lot of these machines, it piles ice in a narrow mound. Sometimes the ice trips the full sensor even though the basket still has room if the cubes were spread out. So you’ll find yourself shaking or leveling the ice now and then to get it going again. Also, the basket isn’t chilled, so it’s just a plastic bin where ice sits and slowly melts from the bottom if you don’t stay on top of it. That’s normal for this style, but worth repeating because some people expect a mini freezer. Overall, the design is functional and compact, just not perfect.

The big selling point here is the built‑in battery option and 12V capability. In practice, this is where the unit is more interesting than a regular cheap countertop ice maker. With the included 12V battery installed, I was getting around 2.5–3 hours of continuous ice making on a full charge, which matches what Silonn hints at. That’s enough to make a decent amount of ice for a small group at a campsite or during a power outage, but you’re not running it all day purely on battery unless you’re recharging from something else (solar, alternator, etc.).

I ran it three different ways: plugged into a wall outlet at home (standard 100–240V AC), plugged into a 12V socket in the car while parked with the engine running, and off the rechargeable battery alone. On wall power, it behaves like any other countertop unit, no issues. On 12V from the car, it worked fine, but I wouldn’t run it too long with the engine off if you care about your starter battery. On the internal battery, it started and ran without any drama. When the battery got low, it simply stopped making ice and shut down, which is what you want.

For camping and RV use, this flexibility is genuinely useful. I could drive to the campsite with it running off the car, then switch to battery while setting up, then plug into shore power or a small inverter later. If you have a solar setup with a decent battery bank, it’s easy enough to keep this thing topped up. Just don’t expect to run it 24/7 on a tiny power station; it’s still a compressor appliance, so it draws a fair bit when it’s cycling.

The main downside is that the battery adds weight and cost, and if you only plan to use this in a regular kitchen with constant wall power, you’re paying for something you don’t really need. Also, three hours of runtime sounds long, but it goes by faster than you think if you’re trying to prep ice for a long day. My take: if you camp, RV, tailgate, or live in an area with frequent outages, the battery option is genuinely handy. If you never leave your house, a cheaper non‑battery model from the same brand will probably make more sense.

In terms of build, the Silonn feels like a typical mid‑range countertop appliance: mostly plastic shell, metal internals you don’t see, and a few moving parts (basket, lid, drain plug). It doesn’t feel like commercial bar equipment, but it also doesn’t feel flimsy. I moved it around quite a bit—from kitchen counter to garage to camper—and it handled the bumps and car rides without any rattling or loose pieces showing up.

After a few weeks of steady use, there were no leaks, no weird smells, and no obvious wear on the touch panel or hinges. The lid still closed properly, and the basket didn’t warp even with constant temperature change and moisture. The drain plug on the bottom is actually better than some cheap units I’ve used, which had tiny plastic stoppers that never sealed right. Here, once you twist it shut, it stayed shut. I didn’t see any drips under the unit unless I messed up and didn’t fully close it.

Internally, the automatic clean function helps with longevity because you’re not letting scale and slime build up as fast. I used tap water most of the time (medium hardness), and I didn’t see any chalky residue after a few weeks, but long‑term you’ll probably want to run vinegar or a descaler through it now and then. That’s true of any ice maker. If you use filtered or softer water, you’ll stretch its life further.

Of course, I can’t claim years of testing, but comparing it to other machines I’ve owned, it feels at least as solid, if not a bit better, especially considering the extra battery feature. Nothing about it screams "this will fall apart in six months". The main durability risk is honestly user behavior: if you keep overfilling it, never clean it, or store it somewhere freezing without draining, you’ll kill it faster. Treated like a normal appliance—cleaned, drained if stored, not kicked around—it looks like it should hold up reasonably well.

On raw performance, it does pretty much what the specs claim. From a cold start, I usually got the first batch of 9 bullet‑style cubes in about 6–8 minutes. The first couple of batches are a bit smaller and softer, then it settles into a rhythm. Over an hour, the basket fills up if you leave it alone, which matches the 22 lbs/day claim if you let it run continuously. For two heavy ice users (big tumblers, lots of refills), it kept up fine as long as I was dumping the basket into a freezer container every so often.

The ice quality is similar to what other reviewers described: soft, chewable bullet ice with a hole in the middle. Fresh out of the machine, it’s slightly wet and a bit softer, which is actually really nice for drinks and for people who like to chew ice. Once you move it to the freezer, it hardens and clumps if you don’t handle it right. If you just dump batch after batch into a single container, you’ll end up with a big block. I had better results by spreading it out, shaking the container, or mixing new ice with older, drier ice like some users suggest.

Noise level is noticeable but not crazy. You hear a small fan and compressor hum, plus the splash of ice dropping. If the room is quiet, you know it’s running, but it’s not something that made me turn up the TV. In the camper at night, I preferred to turn it off when we went to sleep because the cycling on and off gets a bit annoying in a small space. So, it’s not silent, but it’s also not obnoxious compared to other countertop ice makers I’ve used.

One thing to be aware of: when the water runs low, the machine sometimes does this "trying to pump but nothing’s there" sound. It does stop and signal for water, but I wish it would shut down a bit more gracefully without that brief dry run. Also, like others mention, the texture of the first few batches after a fresh refill is a bit different—slightly thinner, melts faster—then it stabilizes. None of this kills the product, but if you’re picky about consistency, you’ll notice. For daily drinks and small coolers, though, performance is pretty solid.

Out of the box, you get the ice maker itself, the removable ice basket, a scoop, the power cables (AC and 12V car style), and the rechargeable 12V battery pack. No big surprises, which I appreciate. The machine is about 14.1" deep, 11.3" wide, and 13.5" high, so it’s roughly the size of a small microwave but taller and narrower. It weighs around 25 lbs, so it’s not feather‑light, but you can move it around without breaking your back. I was able to lift it in and out of my camper alone without a problem.

Setup is simple: you slide the battery in (if you’re using it), put in the basket, plug it into whatever power source you want (wall, 12V, etc.), fill the reservoir with water, and tap the touch panel. There’s no complicated pairing, no app, nothing fancy. The panel shows a countdown and has indicator lights for ice full and add water. Anyone who’s used a basic counter ice maker will feel right at home. I had it making its first batch of ice in under 10 minutes from opening the box.

The manual is clear enough, and the automatic cleaning function is honestly one of the more useful features. You fill it, hit clean, and it cycles water through the internals so you’re not scrubbing awkward corners. For something that constantly has standing water and warm plastic, that matters. I ran the cleaning cycle first, then dumped the water, refilled, and only then started making ice. After that, I ran cleaning about once a week since I was using tap water most of the time.

In daily use, the routine is straightforward: keep an eye on the water level, empty the basket into your freezer or cooler before it gets completely full, and occasionally drain it from the bottom plug to refresh the water. If you’re the kind of person who expects to just flip it on and never touch it again, you’ll be annoyed. If you’re okay treating it more like a small appliance you interact with a bit, it’s fine and pretty low effort.