My husband and I got into a huge argument over this kind of machines.
My husband gave up and I decided to try it. It’s on our kitchen counter now, next to our refrigerator. The ice quality is consistently excellent, soft and crunchy. Produces the first batch in 15-20 minutes, whenever it dispenses the ice, put it in a zipper bag or pitcher or something, and put that in the freezer. Then unplug when you have enough ice. You shouldn’t have to let it run all the time, the main body isn’t meant to keep it frozen.
On the other hand, I also like that it operates with a noticeable sound but it is not noisy. This machine has a self cleaning function, you can run bleach or vinegar solution through it and it will dump it out into a bucket.