Compact ice makers slot readily into tiny yacht recesses. That’s a given, but how many of these units live up to the promises that cover the colourful pages of their heavily promoted advertising brochure’s? Very few, that’s the sad truth of the matter. Happily, Echelon ice makers somehow manage to retain their diminutive casing dimensions, yet they produce several kilos of stick-free ice, on-demand and ready to plink heavily into an awaiting beverage.
Loaded With Water Conservation Ingenuity
Water is a precious resource on board a boat. Sure, that’s something of an ironic statement, but it’s true. All the water surrounding a yacht is salty. Even on a lake, the still liquid could be loaded with algae and all manner of contaminants. It should be boiled before being consumed. To solve this inconvenient situation, boats use appliances that sip their chosen medium. A yacht engine, it sips its fuel. Adopting this same mode of operation, Echelon ice makers can make up to 8-kilos of ice out of a few paltry litres of stored water. On average, throughout a typical day, a ship’s crew can look forward to 11-kilos of ice, as produced by 11.3-litres of water.
A Low-Energy Consumption Appliance
An abundant amount of non-stick ice cubes in a short amount of time, that’s a compelling feature. Is that enough to tempt a frugal yacht skipper into purchasing an Echelon ice maker? Probably, that plus the durability factor represents an attractive onboard convenience feature. But not so fast, how much boat power is consumed when providing all of that ice? Here’s the next tempting selling feature, and it’s a belter. This appliance uses less electricity than a 75-Watt electric light bulb, at least that’s the assurance given by the manufacturers. What’s more, the appliance’s harvest rate can be adjusted. If a light bulbs-worth of power is still too much, someone can adjust the ice cube output until that power consumption rating drops even lower.
A number of supplementary features have been added to this ice maker range to optimize their power consuming innards. A savvy shopper should look for a defrost-free model, for this part of an ice maker’s maintenance cycle can eat through more electrical power. Next, keep the appliance sheltered and away from the sunlight. Direct sunlight will raise the unit’s outside temperature. Consequently, the equipment’s compressor will work harder to stay cool. And that’s about it for the Echelon ice maker range. They’re small, capable of turning small volumes of water into big mountains of stored ice, and they consume very little electricity, too. What’s not to like?