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October 17, 2026

Nugget Report

Reviews

Frigidaire EFIC452

Clear cubes, the lowest published draw of anything we cover, and the only machine here that fits under a standard cabinet gap.

By Scooter M.Updated September 2, 2026How we work
A cocktail served over a large clear ice cube

What Frigidaire publishes

Frigidaire EFIC452, from the Use & Care manual p.10, read 2 September 2026.
SpecFrigidaire EFIC452
ModelEFIC452
Ice typeClear cube
Rated output39.7 lbs/day [src]
Rated output per hourNot published
Bin capacityNot published
Published power120 W [src]
Nameplate currentNot published
Voltage115 V [src]
Dimensions (W x D x H)11.3" W x 14.8" D x 14.1" H [src]
Weight, emptyNot published
Clearance requiredNot published
Operating rangeNot published
RefrigerantR600a [src]
NoiseNot published
WarrantyNot published
Max $/mo$2.59(published W)
Every value is linked to the document it came from and the date we read it. "Not published" means the manufacturer does not publish that figure and we did not substitute one. Cost column is a monthly ceiling, not a measurement: 4 running hours a day at $0.18/kWh. Where a manufacturer publishes an actual power consumption we use it; otherwise we derive volts times amps from the nameplate, which is a ceiling the machine does not continuously draw. Here is the whole calculation.

Why clear ice is slow, and why that is the feature

Cloudy freezer ice is cloudy because dissolved air and minerals get trapped as water freezes quickly from all sides. Freeze it gradually and directionally and those impurities get pushed ahead of the freezing front instead of captured, and you get a dense transparent cube.

That process cannot be rushed, which is exactly why this machine is rated at 18 kg per 24 hours and 24 cubes per cycle while the bullet-making EFIC235 manages 20 kg. Slower is what you are buying.

The payoff is in the glass. A dense cube with low surface area melts slowly, so a spirit-forward drink stays a drink rather than becoming water. Nugget ice does the opposite: wonderful to chew, terrible in whisky. That trade-off is covered on nugget ice for cocktails.

The lowest published draw on this site

90 to 120 W. Frigidaire gives a range rather than a single figure, so we use the top of the range for the monthly ceiling and label it: 0.12 kW times four hours times thirty days is 14.4 kWh, and at 18 cents per kWh that is $2.59 a month.

At the bottom of the range it would be about $1.94. We publish the higher figure because a ceiling should be a ceiling, and we say which end of the range we used rather than quietly picking the flattering one.

The only one that fits

14.1 inches tall, 11.3 wide, 14.8 deep. A standard counter-to-cabinet gap is about 18 inches, so this machine clears it with room to lift the lid. Every other machine in this comparison is between 16.5 and 19 inches tall, and the 19-inch EFIC235 does not fit at all.

If your kitchen has upper cabinets over every run of counter, this is the specification that decides the purchase, and it is buried on page ten of a manual.

Who should buy this

  • Buy it if you make cocktails, or drink spirits over ice and object to dilution.
  • Buy it if your counter has cabinets above it.
  • Buy it if you want the lowest running cost available and can live with 18 kg a day.
  • Skip it if you want chewable ice. It is not what this machine makes and there is no setting that changes it.

Questions people actually ask

How much power does the Frigidaire EFIC452 use?

90 to 120 W, per the Use & Care manual's product specifications on page 10. That is the lowest published draw of any machine on this site. We use the top of the range, 120 W, for our monthly ceiling and say so, which gives about $2.59 a month at four running hours a day and 18 cents per kWh.

How much ice does the Frigidaire EFIC452 make?

18 kg per 24 hours, which is 39.7 lbs, and 24 cubes per cycle, per the manual. That is the lowest rated output of the Frigidaire machines here, which is expected: clear ice is made by freezing slowly, and slowly is the point.

Why is clear ice better for cocktails?

It is denser and has less surface area than nugget or bullet ice, so it melts more slowly and dilutes a drink less. The clarity itself comes from freezing gradually, which pushes dissolved air and impurities out of the forming ice rather than trapping them as the white cloud you see in a freezer tray.

Will the Frigidaire EFIC452 fit under my kitchen cabinets?

At 14.1 inches tall it is the only machine in our comparison that clears a standard 18-inch counter-to-cabinet gap with room to open the lid. The EFIC235 at 19 inches does not.

Sources

  1. Frigidaire EFIC452 Use & Care Manual, p.10 (product specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
  2. Frigidaire EFIC235 User Manual, p.9 (product specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
  3. EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026 (US residential average price) (read 2026-09-02)