Andrew James 2.2L Ice Maker Review: a no‑nonsense way to stop buying supermarket ice bags

I’ve been eyeing up countertop ice makers for a while but always thought they were a bit of a gimmick. This summer I cracked and picked up the 2.2L Andrew James ice maker, mainly because I was fed up paying for supermarket ice and running out halfway through a barbecue. I’ve used it regularly for a few weeks now, enough to see its good and bad sides in normal day-to-day use, not just a one‑day test.

In practice, this thing is basically a small box that sits on your counter, you fill it with water, press a button, and it spits out hollow little ice “thimbles”. No plumbing, just a plug. On paper it does up to about 12kg of ice per day and first cubes in around 10 minutes. That lines up roughly with what I’ve seen, as long as you don’t expect a bucket of ice instantly.

What pushed me to try this specific model was the combination of price, the size of the tank (2.2L is decent), and the “self‑cleaning” promise. I’ll be blunt: the self‑cleaning part is oversold. It helps a bit, but you still have to get your hands in there to rinse and dry it properly. So if you’re buying it purely because you hate cleaning, keep that in mind.

Overall, after a few weeks, I’d say it’s a pretty solid little workhorse with a few quirks. It solves the “no ice in the house” problem, but it’s not magic. You need to plan a bit ahead, move ice to the freezer if you want to stockpile, and accept that the first batches are smaller and melt quicker than the rock‑hard cubes from a freezer bag. If you’re fine with that, it gets the job done.

In terms of value, this ice maker sits in that mid-range where it’s not the cheapest on the market, but not the top-end either. For what it does, I’d call it good value if you’re someone who actually uses a lot of ice. If you only have a couple of cold drinks per week, honestly, you’re better off with a few ice trays or the odd supermarket bag. Where this starts to pay off is if you’re regularly hosting, drinking iced coffees, soft drinks, or cocktails, or you have a family that goes through a lot of ice in summer.

I did the rough maths based on the £1 supermarket bags I was buying. In a hot month, I could easily go through 10–15 bags if we had people over a couple of weekends. Over a summer, that’s basically a big chunk of the cost of this machine. With the Andrew James unit, I just run it the day before or the morning of, bag the ice myself, and I’m sorted. There’s the electricity cost, but at 100W running intermittently, it’s not a power hog. For me the main value is convenience rather than pure savings, but the savings are there if you were a regular ice bag buyer.

Compared to cheaper no‑name ice makers, this one feels a bit more solid and has a decent track record based on the number of Amazon reviews. It’s not perfect—self-cleaning is oversold, and it doesn’t store ice frozen—but at least what it promises about speed and capacity is mostly accurate. You’re paying for a unit that has been around a while and isn’t total lottery quality-wise.

So, value-wise: I’d say it’s good, not mind‑blowing. It’s a fair price for a machine that reliably makes ice fast with minimal fuss. If you expect it to replace a built‑in fridge ice maker, you’ll be disappointed. If you just want to stop last‑minute ice runs and have a steady supply for home use, it’s a sensible buy. There are better, more advanced machines out there, but at this price point, this one sits in a comfortable “does the job well enough” zone.

Design-wise, the Andrew James ice maker is basically the size of a bread maker: about 37cm deep, 24.5cm wide, and 37cm high. It’s not tiny, but it fits under most wall cupboards and under a microwave without issues. On my worktop it takes about the space of a toaster plus kettle, so you do need to decide if it’s going to live out permanently or be stored in a cupboard and brought out when needed. I’ve ended up keeping it out during summer and putting it away in winter.

The look is simple: black plastic shell with a shiny finish, a clear window on top so you can see the ice basket, and a small control panel with a few LEDs. It’s not some fancy designer object, but it doesn’t look cheap either. More like basic, functional kitchen gear. If you care a lot about matching your appliances, you’ll probably be okay with it, as it doesn’t scream for attention. For me, it’s just a black box that makes ice, which is fine.

One thing I do like is the top window. You can see how full the basket is without opening the lid and letting warm air in. It sounds minor, but when you’re prepping for a party and checking if you’ve got enough ice, it’s handy to just glance at it. The LEDs are also clear: one for “add water”, one for “ice full”, and a power indicator. No confusion, no messing with menus.

The downside of the design is that it doesn’t have any kind of built‑in drain hose. To empty the water tank, you have a plug at the bottom and you basically have to tip or lift the unit slightly over a sink or bucket. It’s not super heavy, but it’s not feather‑light either, especially when there’s still a bit of water sloshing inside. It’s manageable but slightly awkward in a tight kitchen. I would have liked a simple side drain spout. Still, once you figure out a routine (I slide it near the sink, pull the plug, and catch the water in a tray), it’s not the end of the world.

On durability, I obviously can’t comment on years of use, but after a few weeks of fairly regular operation, a few things stand out. First, the unit feels solid. The outer shell is plastic, but it doesn’t flex much when you move it, and the lid hinge feels decent, not flimsy. The internal basket and scoop are lighter plastic, but they’re not bending or warping under normal use. I’ve pulled the basket in and out loads of times to empty ice, and it still slides fine with no cracks or stress marks.

The moving parts that matter most are the metal prongs (the evaporator fingers that form the ice) and the little arm that detects when the basket is full. So far, both are working exactly as on day one. The full‑basket sensor stops the cycle reliably and starts again when I empty the ice. I’ve had other cheap appliances where sensors start misbehaving quickly; this one hasn’t done that yet. The compressor and fan also sound the same as when I first plugged it in, no weird rattles or grinding noises so far.

I do think long‑term durability will heavily depend on how you handle cleaning and limescale. If you’re in a hard water area and you just keep pouring straight tap water without ever descaling or wiping inside, I can easily see it clogging or getting noisy over time. The so-called self-clean cycle helps a bit, but it’s not magic. I’ve been using filtered water and giving it a quick wipe and dry after each big session, and the inside still looks basically new. If you’re lazy with maintenance, you might not get the same experience.

Given the price point and the fact it’s made in China like most appliances in this category, I’d say the durability feels decent for home use. It’s not bulletproof commercial gear, but it also doesn’t feel like a disposable gadget. If you treat it reasonably and don’t drop it or flood it, I’d expect it to last several summers. The included warranty from the brand is a bit of reassurance, but I haven’t had to use it yet, so I can’t comment on their support.

On performance, this machine does roughly what the box claims, but you need to understand the details. It does start dropping the first small ice bullets in about 8–10 minutes from cold, which is decent. Those first ones are tiny and a bit wet, so they melt quickly. After two or three cycles, the metal prongs are properly chilled, and the ice gets noticeably thicker and more solid. If I let it run for a full hour, I usually end up with a full basket, which is enough to fill one or two medium freezer bags.

The advertised 12kg per day is technically possible if you ran it non‑stop and kept emptying the basket into a freezer so it never has to stop. In real life, you’re probably looking at using it for a couple of hours before guests arrive, bagging the ice, and then turning it off. For a couple of people in the evening, it’s more than enough. For a big party where everyone wants cocktails at once, you either need to prep in advance or keep transferring the ice to a freezer or a well‑insulated ice bucket, otherwise it will struggle to keep up and the ice will melt as fast as it’s made.

Another thing: the ice from this machine is not as hard and cold as ice that’s been sitting in a deep freezer. It’s closer to 0°C, so it melts faster in drinks. The upside is that it’s gentler on glassware and blends more easily if you use it in smoothies. The downside is that if you’re used to the rock‑solid cubes from supermarket bags, you’ll notice your drink getting watered down a bit quicker unless you use more of these smaller bullets.

Noise and speed-wise, I’d put it at “pretty solid for the price”. It’s not whisper quiet, but it’s not ridiculous either. The cycle is regular: water pumps, compressor kicks in, ice forms on the prongs, then a clunk when the ice drops into the basket. After using it for a few weeks, I don’t really notice it anymore, but if you’re expecting silent operation, that’s not what this is. Overall, for home use, it performs well enough that I’ve stopped buying bagged ice, which says more than any spec sheet.

Out of the box, the Andrew James ice maker is pretty straightforward. You get the main unit, a removable plastic ice basket, and a small scoop. No fancy accessories, no app, nothing complicated. You plug it into a normal 230V socket, pour water into the 2.2L tank under the top flap, choose small or large ice, hit the button, and that’s about it. The controls are basic: a couple of buttons and some LED indicators that tell you when it needs water or the basket is full.

The ice it makes are hollow bullets or “thimbles”, not big cubes. You can pick between small and large, but in reality both sizes are on the smaller side compared to supermarket bag ice. The machine starts with quite tiny pieces for the first couple of cycles, then they get thicker as the metal prongs cool properly. I’ve noticed that if I run it for about 30 minutes, then dump the initial ice back into the water and let it keep going, the later batches come out closer to the “large” it promises.

In terms of noise, it’s there but not unbearable. It hums and occasionally clunks when it drops ice. In an open-plan kitchen/living room you’ll hear it, but it’s not like a blender. I can still watch TV or chat with people without shouting. If you stick it in a corner of the kitchen, it’s fine. If you’re super sensitive to noise, it might bug you, but for me it’s acceptable for what it’s doing.

The big limitation in how it’s designed is that it doesn’t store ice frozen. The basket area isn’t a freezer; it’s just a cold compartment above the water. So if you leave the machine on and walk away for hours, it fills the basket, stops, and the ice slowly starts to melt back into the tank. This is fine if you’re using it to prep ice before guests arrive, but it’s not an always‑on ice machine like you’d have built into a big American fridge. Once you understand that, you’ll use it in the right way and avoid being disappointed.

In day-to-day life, the big question is: does this thing actually fix the usual “no ice in the freezer” situation? For me, yes, mostly. I’ve used it for everything from evening drinks to a small family barbecue. As long as I remember to start it 30–45 minutes before I really need a lot of ice, it keeps us covered. A typical session for me is: fill the 2.2L tank, set it to large ice, let it run for about an hour, empty the basket into freezer bags, and either store them in the freezer or into a big ice bucket if guests are already there.

Compared to just using ice trays in a freezer, it’s miles more convenient if you go through a lot of ice. Trays are fine if you only need a few cubes here and there, but they’re a pain for hosting. Compared to buying bags from the supermarket, this machine is simply more practical. No more last-minute ice runs, no more half-open bags spilling cubes all over the freezer. After a few weeks of regular use, I can see it paying itself back if you’re the type who always has ice in your drinks.

However, it’s not perfect. The “self-cleaning” function is pretty basic. You run a cycle that flushes water around the internal parts, but you still have to empty it, wipe it down, and every now and then give it a more thorough clean, especially if you use tap water in a hard water area. If you ignore that, you’ll likely get limescale build-up or slightly off‑tasting ice over time. I’ve been using filtered or bottled water and that helps keep the ice clearer and the inside less gunky.

Overall effectiveness: it does what I bought it for. I now pretty much always have a way to produce fresh ice on demand without thinking ahead by a full day. Just don’t expect industrial performance or a zero‑maintenance appliance. You still need to plan a little and look after it. If you accept that, it’s a very practical solution to the constant ice shortage problem.