NewAir 50 lb. Countertop Ice Maker | Portable Bullet Ice Machine | 12 Cubes in 7 Minutes, 3 Ice Sizes | Stainless Steel, Self-Cleaning, BPA-Free

Why it's worth it

The NewAir AI-215SS pushes up to 50 pounds of bullet ice a day — roughly double most countertop machines — in a stainless body with three cube sizes and a self-clean cycle. It's the one to get if you're hosting rather than sipping.

Fifty pounds a day is the headline, and it's the highest figure in this lineup. NewAir lists 12 cubes in as little as seven minutes across three selectable sizes. If you're filling coolers for a tailgate or keeping a home bar stocked through a long evening, that throughput is the difference between staying ahead and constantly waiting on the next batch.

The self-cleaning function is the reason to pick this over a cheaper high-capacity unit. You add water and vinegar, press clean, and walk away. Given that scale buildup in the water lines is the leading cause of early failure in these machines, and that the Good Housekeeping Institute measured roughly 40% less buildup in self-cleaning models, this is the feature most likely to determine whether you still own a working machine in two years.

From our review of 7 portable ice makers, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Fifty pounds a day is the headline, and it's the highest figure in this lineup
• +The self-cleaning function is the reason to pick this over a cheaper high-capacity unit
• +Small design choices add up

What to know

• –Owner feedback includes a recurring complaint about the control panel failing at around the one-year mark, sometimes just past…
• –It's the largest footprint here after the Opal and weighs about 32 pounds, so it isn't a machine you casually move between rooms
• –A few report a plastic smell on the first several batches