Thread Number: 60657
/ Tag: Refrigerators
Half Moon Ice Cubes |
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Post# 833022 , Reply# 1   7/20/2015 at 22:52 (3,202 days old) by xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania )   |   | |
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I unfortunately cant weigh in on ice cube shape, as I looked for a fridge with no ice maker. I have a small bin in my freezer with two ice cube trays from a mid 70s Hotpoint.
I keep ice at home for if I get company or for an occasional protein shake. If at someones home I never use ice, as I prefer tepid beverages |
Post# 833024 , Reply# 2   7/20/2015 at 22:59 (3,202 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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The "Free Crushed Ice" from the KitchenAid side-by-side is definitely better than the crescents but I still like real cubes. I have three ice trays on a rack and a Frigidaire ice storage box on the top shelf under the factory ice maker. It's certainly more trouble, but the cubes last much longer and no beverage damming!
I'm not opposed to ice makers in general, they're great for parties or busy households, but I really wouldn't care if my next refrigerator had one or not. |
Post# 833025 , Reply# 3   7/20/2015 at 23:05 (3,202 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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We had a GE SxS at our last house that made those half cubes. I hated them for the same reason. They seem to like to stick to the shape of the curve of the glass and it's impossible to take a drink and get a mouthful. The Whirlpoll and the GE we now have all make cubed ice. How do you make clear ice cubes at home? |
Post# 833034 , Reply# 6   7/20/2015 at 23:28 (3,202 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 833039 , Reply# 7   7/21/2015 at 00:21 (3,202 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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GE ice makers used to turn out half spheres, which I think everyone would prefer over crescents. Maybe LG will start offering them like it's something new.
When we had an '85 WP SxS with crescents-only IM, I bought square shaped glasses for mixed drinks and that helped, but when the time came time to replace it all the dispenser fridges had a crushed ice option. That's all I ever use now.
Another option would be those modern rubbery molds for huge ice cubes (I have one that makes four), the size used for a Vieux Carre or Old Fashioned. They melt relatively slowly and are truly cube-shaped. |
Post# 833042 , Reply# 8   7/21/2015 at 00:46 (3,202 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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Were those thru-cube things the completely round ice cubes with a hole in the center? I have seen those in restaurants/bars before. |
Post# 833047 , Reply# 9   7/21/2015 at 01:30 (3,202 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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Had a much better cube years ago, my Aunt Mable had a late 60s fridge that made the best ice, round drum shaped cubes. |
Post# 833064 , Reply# 12   7/21/2015 at 06:44 (3,201 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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My GE makes the little drum-shaped cubes. I like them. |
Post# 833104 , Reply# 13   7/21/2015 at 11:02 (3,201 days old) by kevin313 (Detroit, Michigan)   |   | |
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I have a 15 year old Amana bottom-freezer model that makes the crescent shaped ice. I'm not so bothered by the shape, but I only use that ice for cold packs or to shock vegetables, etc. I don't like to use it for drinking because it's cloudy and always seems to have a bit of an off-taste.
I always have a bag or two of "good" ice on hand for drinks. I like a square cube, and I like my ice to be crystal clear - I think it makes the drinks look and taste better! Now, who'd like a highball?
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Post# 833208 , Reply# 14   7/21/2015 at 23:11 (3,201 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs)   |   | |
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I think Servel called those early cubes "Ice Circles." Servel sure wanted people to know those early Servels had an ice maker...there were gold letters on the outside of the freezer door that said AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER, the handle on the food compartment door said Automatic Ice Maker, and then when you opened the freezer door letters at the top of the compartment said AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER. The ice maker itself would be pretty hard to miss since it took up almost half of the freezer.
As I recall, most manufacturer's had limited success with their own ice maker designs. Frigidaire's conveyor belt models had many problems. I had one of their models that made small square cubes by turning a tray up side down and twisting it. GE had some weird units that made these little barrel-shaped cubes with a hole in the middle. The old Servel/Whirlpool Ice Magic seems to be the most dependable of them all, but then I haven't been around the service area for decades.
I'm like Kevin, I like clear cubes for drinks. I have a Monogram (made by Whirlpool) ice maker in my kitchen island that makes clear cubes but it's an expensive thing to use. Filtered water from a reservoir flows over a refrigerated plate until the desired thickness is achieved. Then the plate heats and the ice sheet slides down to a wire grid. The grid heats and the the cubes fall through to a bin. The process repeats until the bin is full. The bin itself is insulated but not refrigerated so the ice stays separated but is constantly melting. In a bar or restaurant there's usually a floor drain to take care of the melting ice. The unit I have has a small pump and sensor so in addition to a water supply it needs a drain. All in all, it's a pricey way to enjoy clear cubes. I prefer to buy Sparkletts Ice at the market, clear and made from Sparkletts drinking water. It's an inexpensive luxury I enjoy in my twilight years.
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Post# 833264 , Reply# 16   7/22/2015 at 09:26 (3,200 days old) by Michaelman2 (Lauderdale by the Sea, FL)   |   | |
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Oh I understand the "why"...I just do not like the result. |
Post# 833270 , Reply# 18   7/22/2015 at 10:32 (3,200 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Boiling water before making ice. This might be cool to have too, no pun untended. Malcolm
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Post# 833276 , Reply# 19   7/22/2015 at 11:42 (3,200 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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The surface area of ground coffee is immense and will keep the frigerator/freezer odor free for a long time. On airplanes if the can starts stinking too much the F/a's will throw coffee grounds in a filter in the area or hang on the door. It gets rid of bathroom smells very quickly and efficiently! |
Post# 833285 , Reply# 20   7/22/2015 at 12:59 (3,200 days old) by philcobendixduo (San Jose)   |   | |
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I've never had a refrigerator with an ice maker and probably never will.
I just think they cause too many repair issues and have potential to flood the kitchen, etc. It wasn't easy finding a large refrigerator with no ice maker but this 2010 Whirlpool purchased in 2011 had what I needed, for the most part. I was a bit disappointed in the single BARE light bulb in the refrigerator compartment and single temperature control but they do the job just fine. I saved the ice storage bin from my old GE and bought 4 new ice cube trays and 2 storage shelves from Amazon to make my own "ice center" as the new Whirlpool came with nothing for ice making/storage. Works great for me and fits just perfectly in the freezer.
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Post# 833286 , Reply# 21   7/22/2015 at 13:07 (3,200 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs)   |   | |
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I do have an ice maker in my Whirlpool freezer, a separate unit next to my all-refrigerator. I use that ice for things like wine and champagne buckets or small Igloo coolers. To keep the ice maker in good order I dump the bin periodically. I've learned not to do this by dumping the ice on the back lawn. One night I "dumped" right before bed and my dog went out there through her door and brought all the ice cubes back in the house. Cubes were everywhere! Silly Springer Spaniel.
Many years ago I had the ice maker instruction booklet that came with the first Servels. Every page had instructions from some little gnome-like person called "Yahoody" which the book said was the guy who turned the refrigerator light on and off. I remember one page where Yahoody said "don't hoard Ice Circles because they develop beards (frost) like old men." It was a funky little book but I can't imagine any manufacturer using a "Yahoody" to explain anything, not in today's high-tech world. I wish I would have kept it. |
Post# 833289 , Reply# 22   7/22/2015 at 13:41 (3,200 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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Oh Allen, that poor ground coffee! What a way to be sacrificed. |
Post# 833290 , Reply# 23   7/22/2015 at 13:53 (3,200 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I agree with Bill in reply #20 about not having an ice maker. We did have one for a brief period in our last home over 20 yrs ago, and the convenience was nice. But when we bought our present home there was no plumbing for an ice maker and I can honestly say that I haven't really missed having one. We don't use a lot of ice unless we have company. Then I just start making ice the day before. We have 2 ice trays in the freezer all the time. Freezing these trays 3X's will fill the ice bin and be enough to carry us through.
Eddie This post was last edited 07/22/2015 at 14:21 |
Post# 833301 , Reply# 24   7/22/2015 at 15:59 (3,200 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 833350 , Reply# 25   7/22/2015 at 22:26 (3,200 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 833384 , Reply# 27   7/23/2015 at 06:14 (3,199 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))   |   | |
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Post# 833391 , Reply# 28   7/23/2015 at 06:51 (3,199 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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That have been used in home refrigerators over the past 65 years or so.
Yes Servel started it all with crescent shaped ICs with the worlds frist in freezer home ice-maker that produced zero degree ice fully automatically. The crescent shape is the easiest shape to make because it makes for a very durable IM that does not have to have water seals in the mold for a pusher mechanism to eject the cubes, instead the cubs can just be swept out from above with a rotating set of fingers.
Whirlpool bought Servel in the mid 50s and has been producing crescent cube IMs ever since. Once the patents fully expired on the CC IMs around the mid 80s GE made an almost perfect copy of WPs Compact IM that WP had used since around 1964. Since this time almost everyone else has copied this basic CC design. As late as the 70s WP was building the IMs for about 9 out of 12 brands of refrigerators sold in the US.
Automatic IMs that relied on plastic trays that flexed to release ICs are much more troublesome and prone to problems. Several US ref makers found this out the hard way, [ GM Frigidaire , Gibson, Adrimial, Westinghouse, and even WP tried to make a cheaper IM from about 1977-84 [ the Flex-Mold ], all of these designs are long gone because of excessive problems. Today only the Koreans are stupid enough to try selling plastic tray IMs in some LG and Samsung refs, but it not a great loss as these refs are not lasting long enough in many cases for the IM to be the major problem, LOL.
All US refs today use some version of a crescent cube IM in thier refs. Yes the crescent shaped ice cube is not the best shape for round drinking glasses, but you can crush the cubes or buy squared glasses.
There were better IC shapes in the past, All plastic tray IMs made at least partly squared ICs and GE made cylinder shaped ICs in there first IM design [ 1968-1986 ] before GE switched to their WP copy. GEs ICs never had a hole in the middle.
We have quite a collection of unusual early IMs from early refs that came with them here at the warehouse. I even have a 1967 FD bottom freezer model that has a working conveyor belt IM that works, FD called this IM " AIS " for Automatic Ice Service, this IM drops the cubes in a door mounted ice bucket. We also have a bottom freezer GE ref from 1968 that had the GE Snap-Action IM that actually throws the ice forward into the ice bucket for even distribution of the ice.
John L. |
Post# 833392 , Reply# 29   7/23/2015 at 07:11 (3,199 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 833395 , Reply# 30   7/23/2015 at 07:44 (3,199 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 833416 , Reply# 32   7/23/2015 at 11:56 (3,199 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 833473 , Reply# 34   7/23/2015 at 20:21 (3,199 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs)   |   | |
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My neighbor's PENNCREST side by side made hallow round cubes. Perhaps it was malfunctioning. Maybe a resident brainiac would know which manufacturer's ice maker made cubes like this.
You had to drink fast before the best parts melted away...
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Post# 833475 , Reply# 35   7/23/2015 at 21:04 (3,199 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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Post# 833498 , Reply# 36   7/23/2015 at 23:44 (3,199 days old) by A440 ()   |   | |
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Have you guys seen these? I don't have one but a friend of mine does. It is very quick with making ice. It is clear cubed ice.
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Post# 833535 , Reply# 37   7/24/2015 at 07:29 (3,198 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))   |   | |
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Ahh, I get it. FAA regs makes potable water the same way Blue Bell makes ice cream. "It won't kill you if you're healthy."
Water is not what makes me sick every time I fly. 'Fuel-saving' low cabin air exchange rates and concentrated exposure to airborne pathogens do. You know, what the airline smoking ban was REALLY about. Fuel saving. Highly-pressurized air doesn't pay for itself so the more you blow out your tailfin the more it costs. Howcome EVERYone doesn't know this stuff? It's been published. |
Post# 833536 , Reply# 38   7/24/2015 at 07:31 (3,198 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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If a GE IM was making hollow ICs it was malfunctioning, usually an under fill condition can cause the ice to be at least partly hollow, this also happens with crescent cube IMs, I have had customers complain after I fix their CC IMs because they liked the hollow ICs, LOL.
Cloudy vs clear ICs, when water is frozen in a mold to temperatures down toward zero degrees F you see have some air trapped in the ice making it cloudy, it does not hurt a thing and is actually pretty. Clear ice is either made with water flowing over the freezing grid or it just isn't very cold [ you will see fairly clear ice cubes in ice trays in freezers that are not working properly, this is one of the ways I can tell a freezer is not cooling properly ]
Ice made in ice machines like the one in the video melts a LOT faster and dilutes your drinks much more than cloudy 0 degree ICs from a good home freezers IM. We hear this all the time from customers that have both a clear ice machine and an in freezer IM. Yes ice from a combination refrigerator-freezer can taste bad if food is not properly stored, usually an activated charcoal filter in the ref section will greatly help or eliminate this problem. |
Post# 833555 , Reply# 40   7/24/2015 at 09:35 (3,198 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Hi Brent, GE built this style IM from approximately 1968-1986, they were dropped because of cost to build and reliably issues, the dark gray mold is cast aluminum.
I never saw a MC ref that made round ice especially in the 90s these GE IMs were long gone by then, Most MCs [ really Adrimal ] had a flex tray IM, these did have a rounded cube on the bottom and square on the top. |
Post# 833565 , Reply# 41   7/24/2015 at 10:18 (3,198 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Twintubdexter - I've never seen Sparkletts Ice, so I'll look around. That's because, while I have made clear ice by boiling water, I'd like to buy a bag of clear ice and store in the now working Arctica GE SxS that went "on vacation" and stopped working. UPDATE - I called Sparkletts, on the phone waiting 15 minutes for customer service, to be told, "we only sell it in Arizona and ? some other place". So for anyone who might want to buy Sparkletts, you better live in Arizona or the other state. I can deal with it, but if they were available here….
Hi John L - I just wanted to add that our GE ice maker forms are OUTSTANDING. No effort is required. Often, just turning them upside down will release a few of them and then a slight, effortless twist on the container and they'll all release. Do you know which years of GE had these hard yellow-gold ice maker forms? I've tried the silicon ice cube makers, but the GE's work more easily. I make ice manually since the new apartment refrigerator(build 5-14)(Kenmore 253.78899016 with an AD-18 factory installed ice maker) makes small, half moon finger-shaped ice that, well, I don't like. They're too small and often the cloudiest pieces of frozen H2O created, not to mention the Fulton county water is euuuuuwhttp://www. (5th photo) That's interesting about the aiplanes and water sources. Maybe a light beer is healthier afterall. :-) Square glasses - lol! Maybe Google glasses has an option? ;-) |
Post# 833578 , Reply# 43   7/24/2015 at 11:19 (3,198 days old) by A440 ()   |   | |
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Thanks John. I really did like the MC's Ice!
How large were the Ice Rounds that came out of the GE IM? Would love to watch one of these in action.
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Post# 833594 , Reply# 44   7/24/2015 at 13:15 (3,198 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs)   |   | |
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I think a lot of bottled water companies tend to be regional. Sparkletts is fairly popular here in Southern California. I think the same company is known as Alhambra Water in Northern California. I assume they make ice too. Most markets here don't have Sparkletts ice but oddly enough Walgreen's has it. I'm sure most commercially available clear ice is equally as good. Sparkletts is just filtered water, not from some exotic spring at the top of Mt. Everest. |
Post# 833598 , Reply# 45   7/24/2015 at 13:57 (3,198 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Post# 833599 , Reply# 46   7/24/2015 at 13:59 (3,198 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Post# 833612 , Reply# 47   7/24/2015 at 16:00 (3,198 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 833665 , Reply# 49   7/24/2015 at 21:33 (3,198 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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was at a bar where our drinks were served with ball cubes.....really unique, and last a long time without watering down your beverage...
heres a quick, DIY for home use.....but this is manual labor, these may last longer, but I go through too much ice for it to be practical..... would be neat for a party though....can be found at Walmart CLICK HERE TO GO TO Yogitunes's LINK |
Post# 833690 , Reply# 50   7/25/2015 at 01:22 (3,198 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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My 70's era GE sxs made little barrel shaped cubes that were just fine. I recall having to replace the water valve at some point, but the ice maker didn't seem to have any issues. However, around 2000 I decided the GE was using way too much electricity (about 1700 kWH/yr) than its replacement (KA sxs at 650 kWH/yr) and out went the GE.
The KA makes the ice crescents, and yes, I preferred the barrel shaped cubes.
The best ice cube trays I ever encountered were in a hotel room in Japan in the 1990's. They were little bottles with one side having dimples for making ice. Once the water was frozen, there was enough room in the bottle to shake the cubes loose. The cap on the bottle kept the ice from absorbing off-odors or doing the partial remelt/refreeze frost thingie. I have been unable to locate anything like it in the USA, which is too bad. It's a great design.
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Post# 970378 , Reply# 52   11/28/2017 at 10:41 (2,340 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 970391 , Reply# 53   11/28/2017 at 11:59 (2,340 days old) by rpms (ontario canada)   |   | |
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When I worked at Sears a man bought a fridge,picked it up and took it home and installed it.
Two days later he brought it back and said his wife did not like the shape the ice cubes were in. Everyone at the store thought that lady had way too much time on her hands. Wait a few minutes and the cubes will change shape anyway. |
Post# 970393 , Reply# 54   11/28/2017 at 12:11 (2,340 days old) by dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA))   |   | |
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Post# 970397 , Reply# 55   11/28/2017 at 14:10 (2,340 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)   |   | |
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I've never had one that made round ice, as we never installed an ice maker in the '77 Hotpoint refrigerator. My Amana make the standard shape. My cousins in TN had a GE that made these round cubes, and I always liked them. |
Post# 970441 , Reply# 56   11/28/2017 at 18:35 (2,340 days old) by perc-o-prince (Southboro, Mass)   |   | |
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My former boss (I have his job and he's elsewhere in the company) told me of ice cube molds he has that are sold specifically for whiskey. They're large spheres so thy melt slowly and have pretty good impact without dilution. I'll try to get the name from him. Chuck |
Post# 970442 , Reply# 57   11/28/2017 at 18:40 (2,340 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 970500 , Reply# 58   11/29/2017 at 00:39 (2,339 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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There may be a few brand names for those big spheres, which I think are a variation on the giant cube suggested for a Vieux Carre cocktail (see picture). I find the mold difficult to fill, as you can't see what you're doing. The type I have is a "Tovolo Clear Ice System" and makes two spheres (see further below). The one on the top comes out partially clouded; the bottom one crystal clear. It was a gift. I've used it a grand total of one time. I also have a rubbery tray that makes four large cubes. It was also a gift, from the same person. I've used that once or twice.
My barber and I talk booze and cars all the time. He freezes spheres in the mold, then extracts them, puts them in a plastic bag and repeats the process so he'll have more than two available at any given time. Still too much work for me, particularly since our fridge has an automatic ice maker. Besides, when I mix myself a drink it rarely lasts so long as to become seriously diluted.
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Post# 970543 , Reply# 59   11/29/2017 at 07:21 (2,339 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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These did make a better shape ice cube but they were far too troublesome, the day the last patents expired on the Whirlpool compact IM GE had a Japanese company produce an exact copy [ even the parts would interchange ] of the WP IM and GE stopped making their IM over the next couple years completely.
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Post# 970570 , Reply# 60   11/29/2017 at 09:42 (2,339 days old) by iceguy (Louisville)   |   | |
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Here's a pic of how it works. Its missing the shutoff arm but shows the complete cycle. The cubes look a little dirty because we didn't flush the line before we tried this out.
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