I have 2 of the undercounter type built-in machines one is Kitchen-Aid (made by Whirlpool and same as Kenmore ) and one made by U-Line (Clear ice maker) both claim to make 50lbs a day ad the U-Line does for sure the Kitchen-Aid.....Not so much.
These can be bought New (Scratch and Dent) for about $1000 and used on CL for less....they both retail for around $1800. They are invaluable in Havasu and we use them non-stop in the summer and even bag up some extra if we know we're gonna have a party or something like that. They are both hooked into an RO system even though they say they don't need to be I figure why not
If it was not in the direct sun it MIGHT work but here's the thing with these machines. They make lots of ice and quickly but there is no mechanism to keep ice frozen after it is made.....these things are basically just insulated coolers with a drain that eventually melt and then make more so if out side in the 105 degree shade it is still going to not keep the ice very long.......probably need to make 2X to keep up if not inside IMO.
I have a commercial ice maker in my garage in Havasu. I make the ice, bag it and put the ice bags in a coffin type freezer next to it. Stores about 15 small bags of ice. When all used start up the ice machine again and bag some more.
Now I am curious about its operation, does not appear to be anything different than mine, something new to read about.
You will never see refrigerated bins in ice machines cause then you can't scoop out the ice. It will all freeze together. Once it's bagged in a commercial set-up, that's a different story. But lose in a bin, no refrigeration. The ice must constantly be melting to keep them free. Now if you could insulate that bin so it maintains the lowest temp from the ice itself, you will substantial reduce the melt loss and keep the ice loose.
