Features:

  • COUNTERTOP SIZE - With its elegant design, the Opal will wow your guests before they even try the delicious ice it makes. Measures at 15.5 x 10.5 x 17.2 inches - The perfect size for any countertop in your home. Installation Clearance - 3 inches, sides and back
  • QUICK AND POWERFUL - Within only 20 minutes, you?ll be enjoying soft, crunchy ice, just like the ice you love from your favorite restaurant. The Opal produces 24 lbs of ice per day, and the bin holds 3 lbs at a time
  • SMART - The Opal is bluetooth equipped, so you can set up your ice making schedule from the convenience of your phone using the free FirstBuild app. It senses when the bin is full of ice, so it won't overfill
  • PORTABLE - No water hookup required, just plug it into any 120v grounded (standard) electrical outlet and fill the reservoir with water. As ice melts, the water returns to the reservoir, where it will simply be made back into more ice
  • Water Quality - Use potable water only, 12 gpg (205 ppm) or less mineral hardness
  • Operating Temperature - 55°F - 90°F
  • WARRANTY - All Opals purchased directly from FirstBuild or authorized resellers have a limited 1-year parts and labor warranty
I love Sonic style ice

I love Sonic style ice. LOVE. I am not ashamed to admit that I would bring my own bag and ask them to fill it up a couple times a week for a few bucks so I could have it for drinks at home. I know it's bad for my teeth, but I crunch ice like it's the only thing standing between me and a horde of bloodthirsty zombies. I ran across a few reviews about this ice maker while I was cruising the net to see if I could find a used restaurant ice maker that wasn't priced so high I'd have to sell my kidney on the black marker. I've had little compact ice makers for a hundred bucks that promise "nugget ice" before and they lied. I was left with a withering hole of resentment for false advertising in my soul every single time I thought about taking a hammer to those machines. It made me a bad person. It made me a cranky person. It made me lose all faith in humanity and I basically wanted to direct that horde of zombies THEIR way. So, I asked for this icemaker for Christmas when I saw that it was on sale for $449.00. My husband thought I was absolutely insane. He mocked me. He laughed at me. He told me there was no way in Hades he would spend that much for an icemaker. Well, we've been married 25 years and he knows me well enough to know that I was only being polite by offering to let him get this for me for Christmas. I mean, God forbid he has to stress about gifts for me. Right? Whatever. I explained that he could get it for Christmas for me or I'd get it for him and he doesn't usually crunch ice at all. It arrived a few days later. It is magical. I don't know what kind of Harry Potter wizardry is happening inside Opal, but the ice this little beauty spits out is absolutely WONDERFUL. I am all up in my feels and happily crunching my way to heaven. And my husband is crunching as well. This thing is insanely easy to use. We set it up, ran it through a cleaning, and it was popping out ice about 20 minutes after it arrived. The ice is TRUE nugget ice. If you use it with soda or something a little stronger ... it holds the taste. It's soft to chew like Sonic ice and makes enough with one full cycle to fill our ice basin in the fridge. I am so happy. SO happy. Thank you to whoever invented Opal. And thank you to my husband for crossing something off my bucket list that I didn't even know was there. :)

Love this soft, pebble ice!!

I am so glad that I made the decision to purchase this machine. I love the soft pebble ice (as most people do) so having it at home has been awesome. This does not hook up to any plumbing, so you are responsible for filling it with water. Once it’s filled, it makes ice quickly and can provide enough for at home parties, or regular, daily use. Because the machine does not hook up to plumbing, you are free to keep it wherever you’d like (as long as it fits, measurements in photos). There is a “cleaning” switch on the back. Every once in a while, you need to clean the machine and empty the water through tubes that are located on the back of the machine (picture included). Some people noted a squeaky noise that the machine makes. Mine will make a noise if it does not have much water in it, but if it’s filled— I don’t notice it being a problem.

Looks stunning and makes the real deal, Sonic ice! Amazing build quality and a buggy but functional BT app.

I have long been a fan of "chewy ice" or as we called it where I lived in the south "Sonic ice" since only Sonic and hospitals had it. When I moved up north, I pretty much lost all places that carry this lovely ice. So, when I heard about this machine I was very interested, but man what a cost! So, upfront the build quality on this thing is amazingly good. Solid steel, clear plexiglass multi-layered to keep the cold in, spinning lights, UV lights to keep germs off, night lights... and it is BT connected too! This machine is not small nor is it light weight. This stands at about 16"(40cm) tall, which fits nicely on a counter but still under cabinets above in a standard home. It has lines in the back to make it easy and quick to empty the water out for cleaning purposes and what not as well, so they thought of everything. It also comes with a very nice little plastic catch basin for any water that falls when you open the front from condensation. Let's get the meat of this thing, what we all care about. It makes sonic ice. It is not 100% exactly like Sonic's, this is more like pellets, but it has the same mouth feel and chew of Sonic's ice. It is not clear, mostly white even with filtered water, which is to be expected on how it is made. If you want Sonic ice, this is the only thing sub $1500 that does it. Lastly the smaller ice like this easily outlasts normal cubes and the larger sphere ice by nearly a 2x margin in my "testing" (ie drinking liquor side by side) so far, and that was always how it was in the past with real Sonic ice. It spits out ice pretty quickly as well, with ice coming out within 5-10 minutes and will hold up to 3 lbs in the bin, which also lasts hours before melting. So on to some things people might be concerned about. It IS loud. It has a massive fan compared to other counter top ice makers and it is quite loud. When it is in the defrost mode it makes loud squeaking sounds, enough that my GF thought it was broken. It is about as loud as a Full size gaming computer, but it is not excessively loud. I do not hear it in the next room. If I had it in my bedroom it would probably be a hair too loud to comfortably sleep to as white noise. I mention this because this could be a deal breaker for some. For me, it is quite manageable and not an issue. The app (android) to control it seems somewhat buggy as well. On mine the night light switch in the app does quite literally nothing at all. Scheduling is pretty simple but they did not say if selecting the times turns it on, or off (for the record I think selecting them turns them ON). Range on it is pretty good, I am currently a floor above it and a room over and it still picks up the Opal. The built in light notifications leave a little to be desired however as they use the same light colors and motions for multiple things. Slow falling white means defrosting whereas faster falling white means making ice, a little confusing. Blue means needs water, yellows are the cleaning cycles. It looks great, the lights are very ascetically pleasing for sure though. Lastly, it has full cleaning cycles, something SORELY missing from "lesser" models and brands out there. They want you to clean it with bleach and water, fill 'er up, turn on the cleaning cycle, come back when it is done. Empty it, run another cleaning cycle with normal water.. and done. So simple. I just got mine, so I cannot speak for it's longevity, but I grabbed a 3 yr warranty add-on just to be sure. If the build quality have anything to say about it, it should last past that warranty though, so I have high hopes. In the end, this is a very expensive machine to just make ice. If you are a hard lover of Sonic or "chewy ice" and have the money to spend, this is a wonderful machine and I love the ice it makes!

This is the best ice ever

This is the best ice ever! We love Sonic ice and it is just what we were hoping it would be! Highly recommend getting one.

READ BEFORE YOU BUY - WILL CHANGE YOU.

A couple side effects I have noticed since yesterday (owned it for 24 hours) 1) I judge all restaurant ice as inferior. Didn't even get a refill because my ice in my yeti was better than that crap they were selling... 2) I have been walking around randomly saying "Nugget Ice" and smiling... 3) Scared to post on my social media, because I know people will hate me even more for my awesome life 4) My daughter woke me up this morning and first thing she said was "the ice is full"... A warm glow of happiness washed over my body... 5) I quit drinking beer because it doesn't go with nugget ice. This is is easily the coolest thing since they figured out how to freeze water into small nuggets to make it enjoyable to eat... UPDATE - (owned for almost a year) 1) Still true. 2) I have grown accustomed to my new standard of living. 3) Still very true 4) Daughter has turned into a preteen and sleeps till 10 now... 5) Mostly true. I now pack this guy up to take on vacations... So there is that...

Amazing ice in 30 minutes! Worth every penny!

I have been debating whether or not to spend the $$ on this ice machine, and finally decided to take the plunge about a week ago. So far, I have zero regrets about pulling the trigger. My girlfriend just LOVES to eat ice, and the ice machine in our fridge went out late last year. She would routinely go through all of the ice that thing could make in a day, but since it's the bigger cubes she would have to thaw them out a bit before she was able to snack on them, causing them to melt away, and not providing that instant gratification we all crave :) Our kids are also big ice fans, but again, it's hard to chew on the big fresh cubes you get from your standard home ice maker. We've unfortunately had to spend a significant amount of time in the hospital over the past year and change, so we've become very familiar with 'hospital ice' and the many benefits it has. When I began looking for an ice maker for our home, I was disappointed to discover that nobody made residential pellet ice machines...everything I saw was commercial (huge and expensive!). You can only imagine my relief when I saw the Opal machine! It's still a lot pricier than your standard home ice maker, but I'm here to tell you that it's worth every cent. We had it delivered on a Friday, and within 30 minutes of bringing the box into the house, we were sampling the first batch of ice...it's that quick and that easy. We just flushed the device out using its cleaning cycle, and then loaded it up with water, hit the switch, and began to see results within minutes. We had the kids back home that Sunday and they plowed through about 2 full bins of ice in just a couple of hours, but the machine was more than able to meet the challenge. We've saved 'extra' ice at the end of the day in a gallon bag in the freezer, and it's good to go for the next morning. Seriously, this thing is amazing. I was the only one in the family who doesn't eat ice, but I am finding that pop (soda??) tastes SO MUCH BETTER when it's poured over this ice, and I do find myself crunching a mouthful or two while I'm using it for water. In short, we're very happy to have purchased this device and look forward to enjoying perfect ice for years to come.

My new best friend,Opal

It's soft ice at its finest..like Sonic Ice,this is better! Like hospital ice,this is better! I see its listed a$449, I paid $499,Just 3 weeks ago,but worth every dime I paid for it! Opal is not a loud running machine,as I read in comments before buying Her! The ice is small,soft,chewy and cloudy,I guess due to the process.But who cares? It's soft and chewy! I've introduced my family and friends to Opal,calling her my new best friend! She's pricy but an excellent investment! Easy to clean,1 part bleach to 5 parts water,dump in reservoir and she cleans herself,after the first step,you repeat 3 more times using regular water to rinse,draining the tubes each time you do! Opal doesn't produce ice fast,but you can't rush perfection! I usually fill an empty 2 liter bottle in reservoir,and yield a nice size 2 freezer bags in about 2.5-3 hours.The bin doesnt have a freezer to it,so youll have to get it out before melting and draining back in reservoir...but it melts slowly. FROM AN AVID SOFT&CHEWY ICE CHEWER

My Slice of Heaven

Based on all the disappointing reviews...I took a chance. I'm too a fan of Sonic's ice but I love miles away from the nearest one. I was hesitant to spend 500$ on something that would most likely fail or have some type of issue months down the line but when you're addicted to the snow ball like chew of bite sized ice cubes you fall victim. I've only had it for a few weeks now and I am in love. My husband's love of pork rinds and my love of this ice go hand in hand minus the smell. I check it everyday, clean it every week, and only use distilled water just praying I'm the one that makes this Slice of Heaven last forever! So far all is good. The only thing that burns my feathers is that it went on sale a few weeks after I purchased it....dag-nabbit...If I had waited 2 weeks I could have saved 50 bucks.... arrrgggggghhh

Excellent Product

Excellent product. Works great making that delicious ice. The packaging was the best I have ever seen. I Instructions were accurate and easy to follow. Once cleaned and sterilized it began making ice just fine strongly recommend this product to anyone.

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