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A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

Are you as OBSESSED with Sonic Ice as I am?? You know that small, soft, crunchy ice? I have always wanted a nugget ice maker for home. It would be like having my very own Sonic ice maker!!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

Remember our pantry makeover? Well today I am so excited to tell you about one of our favorite new features of the pantry!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

Scotsman Ice Systems is inventor of the original nugget ice maker. Previously this coveted type of ice was only available in restaurants with huge commercial ice machines.

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

But Scotsman has now developed a nugget ice maker for home so fans of nugget ice can have it right in their own homes! The Scotsman nugget ice machine makes authentic nugget ice using the same process as the larger commercial machines.

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

So you may have seen this little nugget ice maker peeking around the corner in my pantry makeover reveal

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

It is a Scotsman Brilliance Nugget Ice Machine (Model SCN60) and I have been jumping for joy since the day it arrived!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

It makes NUGGET ice!!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

It’s like having my very own Sonic ice maker at home!!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

Nugget Ice Maker

The Scotsman Brilliance Nugget Ice Machine comes with several different options. We were able to hook ours up right where the sink was in the old laundry room, so it worked out just right for water and plumbing. But the model we got also has a built-in internal drain pump that you could use if you don’t have a nearby floor drain.

I like having ours tucked away in the pantry, but you can also install these ice machines in a kitchen cabinet and use your own custom cabinet door panel to blend right in. You’d never even know it was there!

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

And I love that it’s right by the pantry door, so you don’t have to go all the way into the pantry to get ice! You can also even swap which way the door opens, so we put our door on to open up to the kitchen so we could just reach in and grab some ice.

A Nugget Ice Maker For Home ~ My Very Own Sonic Ice Maker!

I am so in love with this nugget ice maker!

Here are some facts about this Scotsman Brilliance Nugget ice machine:

  • A Scotsman Brilliance Nugget ice machine can produce over 80 pounds of ice per day. Production capacity is always important, particularly when you are entertaining several guests!
  • Energy and water efficient: The Brilliance Nugget ice machine uses 40% less energy and over 50% less water than other stand-alone, dedicated ice machines.
  • Outdoor-approved models are available to equip your open-air entertaining area, whether on the deck or by the pool.

Here’s a link to the exact model we got.

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80 Responses
  1. M Armstrong

    The ice from the fast food chain Sonic. It is a soft chewable ice that holds the drinks flavor in it. Its not the regular hard ice like the ice makers in refrigerators make.

  2. Jay

    I love nugget ice! The best part of having a nugget ice maker is having nugget ice available whenever you want it. I use it for all of my beverages, and it’s great for small children and the elderly because it’s soft and chewable. My favorite part of nugget ice is when the ice soaks up all the flavor of the beverage. After all of the liquid is gone, I chew on the ice! It’s awesome. Thanks for posting, great stuff. 

  3. Heidi Gailey

    After having your machine for three years now do you still love it?  Have you had any problems?  It is a major appliance that I am considering and would appreciate your feed back.  Do you clean it every six months?  Do you have a water filter on your line?  How long does the ice stay in the machine before you have to change?  Also can you set it to make less ice?  What is the noise volume – that has been one of the complaints.

    But I need me some SONIC ice in my new home I am building!

  4. Lois Watson

    Hi , I am in Vancouver, BC> , Canada. What do they make “ice” with ? and if you can buy Bags of it
    Why would you spend all that $$$ for a machine? Just asking. I have never Seen or Heard of it until now.
    Thanks.

  5. Stanford Griffith

    It’s not quite the same, I realize, but Sonic will sell you giant bags of ice for next to nothing. It’s far less than the $3,000+ price on this beautiful luxury item.

  6. Jamie

    I love nugget ice! I just wish these machines weren’t so expensive. I was looking into countertop makers and found that FirstBuild opened an online challenge to create one (http://bit.ly/1Bnugget). I really hope it works out, because it would be awesome!!

  7. Emily

    Hi Amanda! Thank you for this review of this ice machine! I’m thinking pretty seriously about taking the plunge and getting a machine for my house! I’m super excited! Would you mind sharing the contact you have at Scotsman so I could reach out to them with a few questions? I would Sooo appreciate it! Thanks, girl!

  8. Craig

    A warning to to those contemplating using a $400+ drain pump instead of installing a gravity drain. In most cases the drain pump is not made by the ice maker company and it is only warranted for a year for good reason: they fail often. Not only that they are not normally repairable as no parts are available. With a bit of sleuthing I found the motor manufacturer who after some begging sold me a motor to fix mine. If you end up having to buy 2 drain pumps you will have spent more than the cost of installing a gravity drain.

  9. Vanessa

    I am so buying this for my pantry when we build our dream home!! Ah!! Just a FYI, Sonic sells their ice in bags.. just ask for it! :)

  10. Leslie Ramey

    Oh my gosh, I too am obsessed with Sonic ice!! I always tell my hubby and kids not to throw away any left over ice in their cups because I want it!! Lol. Yes, I want this machine. :)

    1. Amanda

      Not this exact unit, but they do make one that looks just like this but that is also an outdoor model. Hope this helps!

  11. Chrystal King

    Amanda I am very happy for your webpage, the pictures are phenomenal! I had to make a trip to Sonic just this morning for 2 bags of ice at 2.39. I can’t afford the 4 grand machine you have, so for now I am going to have to settle for the $200 one at Sears, it’s the bullet ice, and I’d prefer the pellets, but like I said earlier, I don’t have that kind of money….How smart of you to reach out to Scotsman and suggest a trade-off, I’m so jealous I didn’t think of that sooner. Your pantry is to die for as well. God Bless You and thanks so much for this page!

  12. griselda Carmona

    Oh I am grateful I found you! :) I have anemia n I go thru bags of ice a wk! I know sonic is making a killing off my $$ … lol.. if you could please send me bk the model of the ice maker and how much it was if you dont mind saying.. I probably have spent twice as much buying @ sonic tgan the price of the machine itself!! :/ lol.. I appreciate it gratefully… thnx again… griselda :)

  13. Linda

    my scottsman ice machine was installed in march of 04. it has had to be repair at least twice and is broke again. scottsman feels no responsibility to this machine. it is 9 years old. too old for scottsman. not a fan of scottsman ice machine.

  14. **Nicole**

    Ack!!!! I NEED THIS!!! I love Sonic ice so much I go there and buy it by the bag (yes, they do sell it!) But this would seriously be soooooo awesome. I’m adding it to my dream wish list for someday! :)

  15. maureen

    I love Sonic ice. I would love to have that in my house, in my pantry, in my kitchen….anywhere. My niece has an ice maker that doesn’t produce ice anymore so she buys Sonic ice and it dispenses. Doesn’t get better than that.

  16. Jaclyn

    I LOVE that kind of ice it’s my favorite! I totally want one of those. And did you take those pics?? They are amazing! I love your pantry, pantry of my dreams :).

  17. Lisa Johnson

    We call it “lawn terd ice” at our house, b/c we think it looks like the lawn plugs/terds that are left in the yard after the lawn has been airated.

    LOL!

  18. TidyMom

    AMANDA!! I think my husband is more in love than I am with this! He just saw this and said CALL THEM! lol…..

    You’re photos SCREAM SUMMER!!! love them!

    1. Chrystal King

      That’s an absolutely brilliant idea, there should be some kind of contest where the reader gets a ice machine for their home, I’d be totally up to the challenge because i drive at least 6 mi. each time i make a trip to Sonic for 2 bags of ice at 2.39 a piece. Love Sonic to pieces, love this webpage, she is so blessed to have that machine and i like others am jealous but very happy for her. God Bless!

  19. Nancy Eileen

    You are, indeed, a very lucky gal!
    Having that Sonic/Nugget Ice Machine would be a fabulous and daily used item in my home.
    Enjoy!!

  20. Heather {Dietetic Sinners}

    I’m coming over to your house and stealing your ice machine so if you here a loud ruckus and the dogs start barking. Don’t worry. It’s just me struggling to lift/drag the machine out the window nearest your pantry. I might grab some snacks too. =P

  21. amanda kay tea

    I love nugget ice!!!! people in my family think im weird b/c i get excited when i go some place to eat and they have nugget ice! lol. glad im not the only one who likes those little pieces of ice!

  22. Barbara @ Barbara Bakes

    Super cool! Everytime we have a party at our church we get the ice from Sonic. How great to have it for the home.

  23. Katherine Greenough

    OH MY GOSH ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!??!?!!? I’ve been looking for one of these since being in the hospital after having my daughter~!!! I had to have one for my house, but I couldn’t find one!!!! I totally understand your excitement!!!!

  24. Emily B

    OMG!!! I love sonic ice!! I lived up north for a while and people seriously put like 2 ice cubes in drinks. They could never understand my obsession with ice. So Jealous!! :)

  25. Lori

    Up here in the North I have never heard of ‘nugget’ or ‘chewy’ ice! I looked on that locator and there are no location that have in a 50 mile radius of us at least! LOL! Looks like a great piece of equipment to have though! And hey…getting it for the cost of writing of blog post…even better! :-)

  26. Angie Fisher

    OMG!!! Thank you so much!!!! I LOVE Sonic ice and am always going there just to buy their bags of ice. Super excited to know I can now have this in my own home!!! Thank you so much for sharing. Off to see where I can find me one . . .

  27. Kathleen

    hope this was a free perk for your blog , I love ice, but $2,000 and up for it, makes me rethink really how much I do love nugs :)

  28. Tara @ Unsophisticook

    O… M… G… I so totally want one of these! One of my favorite things about having babies (besides my beautiful new bundle of joy) was always that the hospital had a never-ending supply of this yummy ice. :D Someday when we redo our kitchen, I will have one.

  29. Casey

    We call it “chewy ice.” My husband was stationed in Beaufort, South Carolina and down in those parts there are Parker’s gas stations and on their signs they have CHEWY ICE in big letters. Yep, I stopped almost every time I went buy one. My husband and I always talk about how one of those ice machines is the first splurge for our dream kitchen :)

  30. Dawn

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE “Sonic ice!” (That is what we call it!) Loved your pantry before–now it looks like heaven!! I think Sonic would go out of business if we had an ice machine at home, though. . .

  31. Letitia

    This is one of the funniest blog posts I’ve seen. Sonic ice is great and the “Love the Nug” website is genius. Bravo to the creative team who came up with that!

  32. carrie @carrieloves

    When I was pregnant I literally craved soft ice… the only place that had it was Taco Bell, so I was a eating burritos, tacos and soft ice all the time! Heaven. I would love to have that for my home :)

  33. Kristine

    Wow – this is awesome. I’d ****LOVE***** to get one of these for our small office here in Birmingham. Can you tell me who you got it from here in Alabama?
    Thanks!!

  34. Amy

    Cool. I’ve been kicking myself ever since building 5 years ago that we didn’t get one of these. Good to know that it’s not hard to retro fit something like this.

  35. Kelly

    We call it ‘Happy Ice’ because you just can’t help but be happy when it’s in your cup. We love the snowflake ice as well. Lucky Girl!!

  36. Katya

    We call nugget ice–“bunny” ice as in bunny poop!! And we all love it!! I was hoping you had a residential nugget maker–let’s use the official name–to give away. Keep up with all the interesting info you share. I lust after your pantry!! Katya

  37. Lisa

    Yes! We call it pebbled ice where we live! I love it so much for soda, but really just for water! It makes drinking all that water we are suppose to everyday so much better and a even a little fun! Our local grocery store carries 10# bags of the pebbled ice and I go about once a week to buy myself a bag. Yep, I do… It’s nice for a few days and then it clumps and kind of dries out though :( …

    I would LOVE the chance to win one!

  38. Terry

    I looove Sonic ice too BUT oh my goodness what I wouldn’t give for that pantry!!…a place to actually see what ingredients are available! Extra storage for the bulky small appliances and that 12 piece place setting of Christmas china that you just couldn’t live without…..oh yeah I’m jealous!

  39. shelly (cookies and cups)

    Do you have any idea how bad I want that?! When I saw Sara’s I died…DIED! And how smart are you to have reached out and gotten one…This is basically my dream appliance.

  40. Janice

    I am happy for you and jealous about the ice machine. :o) I hope you enjoy it!!! I bought a new refrigerator 2 years ago with a water/ice maker in the door. It crushes ice but I rarely use becuase it becomes clogged then so hard to remove the ice container and clear the ice jam. I am happy for you though.

  41. Barb

    I loved that chewable ice when I was in the hospital having my daughter, so my sister bought me an ice chopper- probably about $50. It’s small and fits in a cupboard. My frig also has a chopped ice setting on the frig door where the water and ice come out.

  42. Averie @ Averie Cooks

    Congrats! Glad your ice is the best ice on the block, no doubt :)

    And your pantry…every time I see the pics, I just want to move in!!!

  43. Joy

    Oh my gosh! You are my hero!!! That is my favorite ice. I use to walk over to the hospital when I worked near one just so I could have that ice. I insisted that we install one for our office back when I worked at a oncology clinic for our patients. I had no idea you could get them for your home.. Eeeek that is so exciting.

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Kevin and Amanda

We love to travel and to eat! Here we share our favorite quick and easy recipes, plus travel tips and guides for our favorite places around the world. If you have any questions about what camera I use or how I edit my photos, check out my photography tutorials.

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