Terra Hiker IM2100-UL Countertop Ice Maker Review (TH0153AHUS-1)

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL is a portable countertop ice maker than can make up to 28.7 pounds of ice cubes in 24 hours. It’s made of BPA free and food grade materials and uses environmentally friendly R600a/0.8 oz refrigerant.

Ice production

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL makes a batch of 9 ice cubes every 6-15 (usually 6-9) minutes – it depends on air and water temperature. For optimal performance air temperature should be in the range of 50 °F to 100 °F (10 °C to 38 °C) and water temperature in range of 50 °F to 80.6 °F (10 °C to 27 °C).

Ice cubes are bullet shaped with hollow inside. They have more contact area than square shaped ice cubes so they cool down drinks better but also melt faster.

Ice quality is good. Ice cubes are soft which makes them chewable, but if you want them to be firm just put them in freezer.

Ice basket isn’t refrigerated so made ice cubes melt but thanks to high-density polyethylene foam layer they melt slowly. Water from melted ice cubes go back into water reservoir.

Control panel

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL has one of the simplest and most basic control panels you will ever see on ice maker machine. It features only 1 button (press it to turn ice maker on/off or hold to enter self-clean mode) and 3 indicator lights: “Ice” (If it lights up it means unit ice producing ice. If it blinks normally it means ice maker is in standby mode. If it blinks fast it means ice maker is in self-cleaning mode), “Ice full” (ice basket if full, take out the ice cubes please) and “Add water” (water reservoir is empty and you should add water).

Features

It has self-clean feature which is rare for ice makers this inexpensive. Hold “ON/OFF” button for about 3 seconds to start the self-clean mode.

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL has sensors that detect when water reservoir is empty or ice basket full – if it registers either it will pause ice production until you take care of the problem. Ice basket sensor can glitch sometimes and ice basket is full when it actually isn’t. In that case you have to restart the unit.

Water reservoir capacity is 1.85 liters (62.6 oz) and ice basket can hold up to 800 grams of ice cubes (1.75 lbs).

It also has drain plug and transparent lid so you can see ice cubes in ice basket without opening the lid and letting warm air inside which might affect quality of following batches.

Quality

Although Terra Hiker IM2100-UL seems to be reasonably well made some consumers have complained that their units broke after 1 month of use or less. Even though this seems to happen only to relatively few units it’s still a bit concerning.

Dimensions and weight

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL measures 9 inches wide, 13 inches deep and 12 inches high. It weighs 16.5 pounds (7.49 kilograms).

Conclusions

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL isn’t the perfect ice maker but it’s relatively inexpensive and overall a great value for money. If you are looking for a good ice maker machine you might also want to read our Best Portable/Countertop Ice Makers article!

Terra Hiker IM2100-UL TH0153AHUS-1 Details/Specs:

• Type: Freestanding / Portable / Countertop
• Amperage: 1.7 Amp
• Voltage/ Frequency: 120V AC 60HZ
• Compressor: 120W
• Ice output: up to 28.7 lbs per 24 hours
• Ice cubes per batch: 9
• Ice cube size options: 1
• Water reservoir capacity: 62.6 oz / 1.85 liters
• Ice basket capacity: 1.75 lbs / 0.8 kg
• Refrigerant: R600a/0.8 oz
• Weight: 16.5 lbs / 7.49 kg
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 9” x 13” x 12” / 31 cm x 23 cm x 32.5 cm