Dual ice makers vs single, what are the differences?

Do you need a dual ice maker?

Ice makers are a relatively standard feature of modern refrigerators these days. As a result of this, producers of refrigerators have been looking for a way to innovate the ice maker and make their product more of an attractive option and an upgrade on the original, or single, ice maker.

This is where the dual ice makers come in. The main area in which the dual ice makers win over the single ice makers is in the amount of ice it produces and therefore halving of the time for any quantity. Dual ice makers can produce approximately double the amount of ice that single ice makers can produce in the same period of time. Now obviously you are going to have to pay extra for a product that is so much more efficient at producing ice, so the decision that you will have to make is it worth it?

Don't worry though, you don't have to make that choice yet because in this article we will do an in-depth comparison of dual and single ice makers so that you have all of the information you need to find the right option for you! Below we will compare the two options in a number of areas.

Level of ice production

It only seemed right to start the comparison of single and dual ice makers off with their fundamental difference, the amount of ice they produce. As we have already mentioned, dual ice makers produce approximately double the amount of ice that single ice makers do. The actual figures are 3 pounds of ice a day for the single ice maker and slightly under 6 pounds for the dual ice maker.

So if you have a large family or just think you need a lot of ice and you don't think that 3 pounds a day will be enough then it may be best for you to spend the extra money on the dual ice maker. That way you won't run out of ice before the end of the day!

Where is the extra ice kept?

You may be wondering where all this extra ice that the dual ice makers produces is kept. The answer is that the dual ice makers will have the standard inlet in the refrigerator door that the single ice maker will have. With this, you can put your cup in the inlet and dispense ice straight into the cup. Then the dual ice maker will also have a compartment in the freezer where ice collects, and you can take extra ice out from there.

So with the dual ice makers, not all of the ice produced can be accessed as conveniently as the ice in single ice makers. However, you will still get the same amount of ice from the inlet in the refrigerator door and the extra ice in the freezer is not exactly difficult to access, much easier than going to a store to buy some!

How reliable are they?

There are two main points that you have to consider when thinking about the reliability and potential repairs on single and dual ice makers. The first point is that dual ice makers are effectively double the size of single ice makers and therefore have approximately double the mechanical components. This means that there is, just based on probability, a greater chance that something in a dual ice maker breaks than in a single ice maker. This means if you go for the dual ice maker, you may end up having to spend more time or money repairing it.

However, the advantage of dual ice makers in terms of reliability is that the refrigerator door and the freezer compartment are two completely separate entities. This means that if you do have a problem with one of the two, the other one will still be producing ice for you whilst you fix the other one. Unless you are really unlucky and both break at the same time. With the single ice maker, if it stops working there will be no ice being produced, and you will have to wait until it is fixed for you to produce any more ice.

That being said, when it comes to reliability it is also important for you to look into the brand and model that you are buying to see how reliable they are. Because, if one product is made to a really high standard and another one isn't then it won't matter whether it's a single or dual ice maker, you'll end up having to repair the badly made product much more regularly. Below we will link some articles we have written that could help you fix any issues you have with an ice maker.

• What to do when your ice maker freezes up
• What to do when your Whirlpool ice maker stops working
• How to reset a Samsung ice maker

How expensive are single and dual ice makers?

We've left one of the most important comparisons till last here because, let's be honest, if you can have an ice maker that makes double the ice of another ice maker for the same price then you are going to take the one that produces more ice! But of course, that is not the case and dual ice makers are more expensive than single ice makers.

The difference in price between the two is approximately $1000. If you were looking to buy a single ice maker refrigerator you could probably get one for about $1500. Then if you wanted to make that a dual ice maker from the same brand and with the same functionality it would probably cost you more like $2500. Then you may also have to factor in that the dual ice maker might stop working more regularly, potentially meaning you will have to spend more money on repairs.

Therefore, what you need to ask yourself is, is that extra three pounds of ice per day worth $1000 dollars more, plus a little more for repairs?

So where do we stand on this?

We hope that this article has made the differences between single and dual ice makers much clearer to you, and you now feel like you are well-equipped to decide whether you want a single or dual ice maker for your kitchen.

Realistically the main question to ask yourself is the question we posed when comparing the prices of the two products is that extra three pounds of ice per day worth $1000 dollars more, plus a little more for repairs? If you feel like you and your family really need that extra ice throughout the day then we would recommend opting for the dual ice maker. However, if you feel you just cannot justify spending that extra $1000 on what, if we're honest with ourselves, is a luxury, then the 3 pounds of ice produced by the single ice makers is still a good amount of ice.