I bought this to use as an extra ice maker in the house during times when we have company or events since we were always running out of our refrigerator ice. This machine makes ice super fast and it was actually able to keep up with our demand. It is very quiet and we hardly even hear it filling up. Over the summer, I ended up putting it in our camper and using it for our drinks at camp. It is a good size but still compact enough to sit on the small counter taking up minimal space. I recommend using bottled or filtered water when making your ice. One helpful tip is to get an ice bucket to keep in your refrigerator since this makes ice fairly quickly and will pause if it gets too full.