GE Opal, First Generation (OPAL01)

The most complete spec table in this category

Nine values on one page: voltage and frequency, current, ice storage capacity, ice-making rate, dimensions, installation clearance, operating environment and empty weight, plus the model designation. Nothing else in this category comes close, and a 2017 document published by a GE skunkworks is still the benchmark for what a manufacturer ought to print.

The operating environment figure — 55F to 90F — is the standout. No other manufacturer we read publishes one, and it answers a question people genuinely have about garages, sunrooms and RVs.

Why this machine confuses everyone

GE's current, public Opal support specification page publishes 2.5 A, 24 pounds per day and 3 pounds of capacity, without naming a model. Those are precisely this machine's figures.

So a shopper looking for Opal specifications lands on GE's support page, reads 24 lbs a day, and compares it against a retail listing for the 2.0 saying 38. The conclusion is usually that somebody is exaggerating. Nobody is. One page has not been updated. The full account is on Opal versus Opal 2.0.

Running cost

2.5 A at 120 V is a 300 VA nameplate. At four running hours a day and 18 cents per kWh that is 36 kWh a month and a ceiling of $6.48 — about $1.30 a month less than the 2.0, for about a third less ice. Per pound of ice, the 2.0 is the more efficient machine on the published numbers.

Who should buy this

• Buy it if it is meaningfully cheaper than a 2.0 and 24 lbs a day covers your household. For two people, it does.
• Skip it if you are paying near 2.0 money. You would be buying a slower, heavier machine for the same outlay.
• Skip it if you need to move it often. 44 lbs empty is the heaviest machine in our comparison, over 6 lbs more than the 2.0.