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The short answer: the EUHOMY 100 lb undercounter machine is the pick for most homes — a refrigerated 33 lb bin that genuinely holds ice frozen, stainless cabinet, and by far the deepest ownership record in this category. Choose the EUHOMY 15-inch if your cabinet opening is a true 15 inches, the COTLIN drainless unit if there is no drain within reach, and the Hoshizaki AM-50BAJ if you want a machine a refrigeration technician can still service in fifteen years.
Before anything else, two honest warnings. First: this is a plumbing project. An undercounter ice maker needs a cold water supply, an outlet, and in most cases a drain — which is why the install can cost as much as the appliance. Second: this category is thin on well-reviewed products, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
A Note on the Evidence Here
We rank from the aggregated owner-review record, and in this category that record is much weaker than in countertop ice makers. Countertop machines have owner bases in the tens of thousands. Undercounter machines sold direct to consumers are mostly recent imports from small brands, and only one or two carry review counts in the thousands — several of the units on the market have owner bases in the dozens.
So we have ranked what genuinely exists rather than padding the list to six equally-evidenced picks. Read it accordingly: the top two entries rest on real ownership data, and the lower entries rest on thinner records where the specification and the installation type are doing more of the work than owner consensus is. If you want the deepest evidence base in the whole ice category, it is in countertop machines — which is worth knowing before you commit to a plumbed installation.
The other genuinely well-evidenced route to plumbed ice, incidentally, is a refrigerator with a built-in ice maker, which most households already have. If yours is underperforming, that is a maintenance problem rather than a shopping problem — start with why is my ice maker not making ice and how to replace a refrigerator water filter.
The Installation Is the Real Purchase
Every undercounter ice maker needs three connections, and the difficulty of each depends entirely on where the unit is going.
| Requirement | What it means | Easy if… | Expensive if… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold water supply | Typically a 1/4-inch line with its own shutoff valve | There is a sink or fridge line in the next cabinet | The run crosses a room or a finished ceiling |
| Drain | Gravity drain below the unit, or a drain pump, or a drainless design | A sink drain sits below and adjacent | It is a kitchen island on a slab |
| Power | Grounded 115V outlet, generally a dedicated circuit | An outlet already exists in the cabinet | A new circuit has to be run |
The drain is what turns a straightforward install into a project. Meltwater from the storage bin has to go somewhere, and gravity is the simplest answer — which requires a drain physically lower than the machine. In a kitchen island there often is not one, which leaves two options: a unit with a built-in drain pump that can push waste water up and across to a distant drain, or a drainless model that recirculates and evaporates its meltwater instead.
Two things worth knowing before you plan the work. Waste connections for appliances like these are commonly required to be indirect rather than hard-piped into a waste line, and the details differ between the model plumbing codes that states and cities adopt. And self-piercing saddle valves — the small clamp-on fitting that a lot of DIY ice maker installs use to tap a copper line — are not accepted in many jurisdictions and are a well-known slow-leak failure point behind cabinetry. Check what your local code requires, and whether a permit and inspection apply, before anyone cuts into piping. For anything past a fixture shutoff, use a licensed plumber.
Top Picks at a Glance
Our #1 Pick: EUHOMY 100 lb Undercounter Ice Maker
This is the unit that has actually been bought and lived with. In a category where most listings have owner bases in the double digits, this one has a review record in the thousands and holds a solid rating on it — and in a class of visually identical stainless boxes from brands you have never heard of, that is the single most useful piece of information available.
What you get is the thing a countertop machine cannot do: 100 lb per 24 hours of production feeding a 33 lb refrigerated bin, so ice accumulates and stays frozen instead of melting back into a tank. Stainless cabinet, freestanding or built in, plumbed cold inlet and a gravity drain.
Honest reservations. It is a commercial-style machine in a domestic setting, which means it is louder than a refrigerator and it rejects real heat into the cabinet — ventilation clearance is not optional. It needs a gravity drain, so it is the wrong choice for an island with no drain below. And parts support from importer brands in this category is inconsistent, which is the argument for the Hoshizaki further down if you intend to keep it for a decade.
Check price on Amazon → (paid link)
The Ranked Field
Best for a home bar or busy kitchen that wants a refrigerated bin, not a melting basket
- 100 lb per 24 hours production
- 33 lb refrigerated storage bin that holds ice frozen
- Stainless steel cabinet, freestanding or built in
- Plumbed cold water inlet plus a gravity drain
Why buy it: the only unit in this category with a genuinely deep ownership record, which in a class of near-anonymous imports is the most valuable thing on the spec sheet.
Best for a real 15-inch cabinet opening in a kitchen island
- Standard 15-inch width for a built-in opening
- 90 lb per 24 hours with auto-cleaning
- 24-hour timer to schedule production
- Gravity drain — needs a drain below the unit
Why buy it: 15 inches is the dimension cabinetry is actually built to, and getting that right matters more than 10 lb of daily output.
Best for chewable pellet ice on tap, permanently
- 70 lb per 24 hours of nugget ice
- Built-in or freestanding installation
- Refrigerated storage so pellets keep their texture
- Plumbed water supply with a drain
Why buy it: the honest solution to nugget ice, because a countertop nugget machine lets its pellets melt back into the tank and this one does not.
Best for an island or bar with no drain within reach
- Drainless design — meltwater is recirculated and evaporated
- 15-inch width with a 22 lb storage bin
- Crescent-shaped cubes
- Cold water inlet still required
Why buy it: removing the drain removes the single hardest part of the installation, and in a kitchen island that difference can be thousands of dollars of plumbing.
Best for a location below the nearest drain line
- Integrated drain pump lifts waste water to a higher drain
- 100 lb per 24 hours production
- 24 lb storage bin
- Stainless cabinet, built-in or freestanding
Why buy it: a built-in drain pump is what makes a basement bar or an island installation possible without cutting a new gravity drain into a slab.
Best for the buyer who wants a machine that will still be serviceable in fifteen years
- 51 lb per 24 hours of clear top-hat "gourmet" cubes
- Air-cooled commercial refrigeration system
- Serviceable by any commercial refrigeration technician
- Stainless cabinet with an integrated bin
Why buy it: Hoshizaki is what bars and restaurants actually buy, and the difference is that parts and service exist — which is the opposite of the rest of this category.
Quick Comparison
| Product | Best for | Rating | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUHOMY Commercial Ice Maker Machine, 100 lb per 24H Stainless Steel Under Counter Ice Machine with 33 lb Storage | Best Overall | — | Check (paid link) | |
| EUHOMY 15-Inch Commercial Under Counter Ice Maker Machine, 90 lb per Day, Auto-Cleaning with 24H Timer, Gravity Drain | Best 15-Inch Built-In | — | Check (paid link) | |
| EUHOMY Under Counter Nugget Ice Maker Machine, 70 lb per Day, Built-in Freestanding with Double Ice Storage | Best Undercounter Nugget | — | Check (paid link) | |
| COTLIN 15-Inch Drainless Under Counter Ice Maker with 22 lb Storage Bin, Crescent Ice, Freestanding or Built-In | Best Drainless | — | Check (paid link) | |
| EUHOMY Under Counter Ice Maker with Drain Pump, 100 lb per 24H, 24 lb Bin, Freestanding or Built-In Stainless Steel | Best With Drain Pump | — | Check (paid link) | |
| Hoshizaki AM-50BAJ Gourmet Ice Maker with Bin, Air Cooled, 51 Pound Production per 24 Hours | The Commercial Benchmark | — | Check (paid link) |
Installation Requirements Side by Side
| Model | Production / 24h | Bin | Drain type | Ice shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUHOMY 100 lb | 100 lb | 33 lb | Gravity drain | Cube |
| EUHOMY 15-inch 90 lb | 90 lb | Integrated | Gravity drain | Cube |
| EUHOMY Undercounter Nugget | 70 lb | Double storage | Gravity drain | Nugget |
| COTLIN 15-inch Drainless | Manufacturer rated | 22 lb | None — evaporated | Crescent |
| EUHOMY with Drain Pump | 100 lb | 24 lb | Built-in pump | Cube |
| Hoshizaki AM-50BAJ | 51 lb | Integrated bin | Gravity drain | Clear top-hat cube |
How We Rank
We do not buy or install these machines. In a category with thin owner data we weight things differently than usual. Depth of ownership record first, and we say plainly where it is shallow rather than implying consensus that does not exist. Installation type, because a drainless or pumped unit solves a problem that no amount of production capacity does. Dimensional honesty — a "15-inch" machine that is 15.4 inches wide does not fit a 15-inch opening, and this is the single most common install failure. And serviceability, because a plumbed appliance you cannot get parts for is a much worse purchase than a countertop machine you throw away. Prices were checked at the time of writing. Full method: how we rank.
The Field, Reviewed
1. EUHOMY 100 lb Undercounter — Best Overall
Covered above. The reason it leads is evidence rather than specification: it is the one machine here whose behavior over years of ownership is actually documented.
Owners praise: real production volume, a bin that keeps ice frozen, stainless build, and value against commercial brands. Owners gripe about: noise in a domestic kitchen, heat rejected into the cabinet, the gravity drain requirement, and patchy parts support. Check price (paid link).
2. EUHOMY 15-Inch, 90 lb — Best 15-Inch Built-In
Fifteen inches is the width kitchen cabinetry is actually built around, and if you have a 15-inch opening, matching it matters more than 10 lb of daily production. This model adds auto-cleaning and a 24-hour timer, which is genuinely useful on a plumbed machine — you can have it produce overnight and idle during the day. Measure the opening and the specified cabinet dimensions including ventilation clearance before ordering; that is where these installations go wrong.
Owners praise: the fit in a standard opening, auto-clean, the timer, stainless front. Owners gripe about: tight ventilation tolerances, gravity drain requirement, and noise. Check price (paid link).
3. EUHOMY Undercounter Nugget — Best Undercounter Nugget
The honest answer for a household that has decided nugget ice is non-negotiable. A countertop nugget machine makes lovely pellets and then lets them melt back into its own tank; this one produces 70 lb a day into refrigerated storage, so the pellets are there when you want them and still have their texture. That is a real functional difference, and it is the reason to spend four figures instead of three hundred dollars.
Owners praise: nugget ice always available, real storage, built-in or freestanding flexibility. Owners gripe about: price, the plumbing requirement, and the auger maintenance that comes with any nugget mechanism. Check price (paid link).
4. COTLIN 15-Inch Drainless — Best Drainless
The most practically useful design here for a lot of kitchens. A drainless unit recirculates and evaporates its meltwater rather than sending it to a waste line, which eliminates the single most expensive part of an island installation. It still needs a cold water supply and an outlet — drainless does not mean plumbing-free. Crescent cubes and a 22 lb bin.
The rating is the highest in this roundup, but on a modest review base; treat it as encouraging rather than conclusive.
Owners praise: no drain needed, clean install in an island, crescent cube shape, appearance. Owners gripe about: a smaller bin than the drained machines, and a thin review record. Check price (paid link).
5. EUHOMY with Drain Pump — Best With Drain Pump
The other answer to the drain problem. A built-in drain pump can lift waste water up and along to a drain that is above the machine, which is what makes a basement bar or a far-from-plumbing island workable without cutting a new gravity line. 100 lb of production into a 24 lb bin. A drain pump is an extra mechanical component and an extra thing to fail, so it is worth choosing only if gravity genuinely is not available.
Owners praise: installation flexibility, production volume, stainless cabinet. Owners gripe about: pump noise on discharge, a thin review record, and price against the gravity-drain model. Check price (paid link).
6. Hoshizaki AM-50BAJ — The Commercial Benchmark
Included deliberately, and with the caveat stated openly: the consumer review record on this listing is very small, because almost nobody buys a Hoshizaki through a consumer channel. Hoshizaki is what bars, restaurants and hotels buy, and the reason is not the ice — it is that parts exist, service networks exist, and any commercial refrigeration technician can work on one. The AM-50BAJ makes clear top-hat "gourmet" cubes, the kind you get with a decent cocktail.
At around $3,500 it is a different proposition from everything above. It is the right buy if you are specifying a home bar you expect to keep for fifteen years and you have a refrigeration contractor already involved. It is the wrong buy if the goal is ice in the freezer door.
Owners praise: cube clarity and shape, build quality, serviceability, the fact that it is a known commercial quantity. Owners gripe about: price, weight, commercial-grade noise, and a consumer review base too small to be meaningful. Check price (paid link).
What Owners Actually Complain About
The install cost surprise. The most common regret is not the machine, it is discovering after purchase that the drain run costs more than the appliance. Price the plumbing before you buy the box.
Dimensions that do not fit. A machine advertised as 15 inches may be 15.4 inches at its widest point, and every one of these needs ventilation clearance at the back and often the sides. Read the installation drawing, not the marketing width.
Noise and heat. These are commercial-derived refrigeration systems in a cabinet in a kitchen. They are louder than a refrigerator and they dump real heat into the enclosure. Blocking the vent to make the cabinet look neat is how a compressor fails early.
Scale. Plumbed machines run continuously on whatever your water supply is, so hard water builds scale on the evaporator faster than in a countertop unit. Most of these have a cleaning cycle; run it on the manufacturer's schedule. If the ice starts tasting wrong or the cubes get small, scale is the first suspect — our cleaning guide covers descaling properly.
Parts and support. The recurring frustration with importer brands in this category. Two years in, a failed pump or control board can be unobtainable. This is the entire argument for a commercial brand if the machine is meant to be permanent.
The Verdict
The EUHOMY 100 lb is the undercounter ice maker to buy for most homes, on the strength of being the one machine here with a real ownership record. Take the EUHOMY 15-inch if you have a true 15-inch opening, the COTLIN drainless unit if no drain is available, the drain pump model if the drain is above the machine, the EUHOMY nugget if pellet ice is the whole point, and the Hoshizaki if you want serviceability over the next fifteen years. And price the plumbing first — in this category, that is the real decision. Check price on Amazon → (paid link)
More from this hub: small kitchen appliances · best ice maker · best countertop ice maker · do countertop ice makers need a water line · how long do ice makers last · how we rank.