I live in an apartment and my refrigerator does not have an ice maker. I love ice water but don’t like using ice cube trays to make ice. This machine is fast! When a few rounds of ice bullets have dropped I transfer them to a plastic gallon bag. I keep the bag in my freezer. The ice is wet, soft and easy to chew. You do need to remove the ice from the machine when the basket is full, otherwise it will start melting. Once my gallon bag is full and in my freezer I unplug the machine. The ice will harden in the freezer. When I take the bag out I bang it a couple of times on the counter to break it up. I can fill my water bottle with ice, water or lemonade and off I go! I love this machine!