Ice Ball Maker Mold - 4 Clear 2.4in Whiskey Spheres, Non-Electric

I was really intrigued by the concept of "clear" ice. I was accustomed to standard ice cube trays - put the water in and tomorrow you've got ice. But the ice was filled at the bottom of the cube with air bubbles, and it melted fast. I started hearing about clear ice makers - no air bubbles at all, and the ice lasted much longer. I was curious if that claim was really true, and if so, how do they work? So I did some research and learned of the basic principles. Large bodies of fresh water like lakes and slower moving river in northern regions will freeze over each winter. They freeze from the surface downward, and that's the key - water freezing top - down like that forces air and impurities down as it freezes, leaving a layer of clear ice over the unfrozen water below. These home clear ice makers operate on the same principle; water is placed into an insulated container - a cooler, if you will. Silicone molds are inserted at the top of the cooler. These molds have holes placed at the top and bottom to allow for both complete filling and the free movement of water between the tank below and the molds. The molds must also be filled with water to the top. Put the device in your freezer. The freezing process begins at the top of the molds and moves downward, forcing air and impurities through the holes at the bottom into the insulated tank below. Leave the device in your freezer at least 24 hours (my 5 cubic foot freezer operates at -3° F, and it takes 28 hours for this device to freeze thoroughly). Taking the ice out of the molds reveals crystal clear ice spheres, exactly as promised. Removing the molds is a bit of a chore, but the design of this device - thick, strong handles at each end of the individual molds makes removal surprisingly easy, as long as you're patient and don't try to use too much force. The included storage bag easily holds about a dozen spheres, but with careful packing I've gotten 16 spheres in there. Some notes on what else I learned during my research: - The embedded air bubbles are the chief reason ice sitting in a liquid melt down so quickly - as the outer layer melts the warmer liquid will infiltrate into those bubbles, hastening the process. Clear ice has no embedded air, so the warmer liquid can't get to the interior sections. - It's the surface area of ice that melts. Square cubes have more surface area than spheres, so spheres will melt more slowly than square cubes. - Harvested spheres (or cubes) will crack if you take them directly from the freezer and immerse them in liquid. The ice should be 'tempered' (left to sit at room temperature) for 10 to 15 minutes before immersion. - Water quality makes a difference, particularly in the tank below the molds. Dispersed minerals and other impurities will wind up at the bottom of this ice, possibly giving it an unpleasant taste or smell. Not an issue if you plan to use this ice for chilling bottles or cans, but it could give unpleasant results if used in consumables. Water from reverse osmosis filtration or distilled water would work fine if you want to use the tank ice in consumables, as well as making for excellent molded clear ice. Of course you can simply discard the tank water, or use it (after it warms to room temperature) to water plants. I try not to waste the tank water, and my plants appreciate it. - This device produces 2.5-inch spheres; ensure your glasses will accommodate spheres this large. - The 8-sphere device is large and will take up significant space in a refrigerator freezer. The smaller units for 2 or four spheres/cubes would work better there.

This think really works! My first attempt ended up with two perfect, round, clear ice balls. I allowed them to freeze for 24 hours, as stated in the instructions, and the water that remained in the container was slushy as indicated in the instructions.

Makes great clear ice balls. Well made product and it is easy to use.

The Tinana and Berlinzo are essentially the same ice maker with two different labels. But there are some differences between the two, and to my mind, they do not favor the nearly twice as expensive Berlinzo: 1. Physically, they are 98% identical. The only physical difference between these is that the Berlinzo is sheathed in a hard plastic outer casing with a satin black finish and some small, but nice, graphics. Between the two, this gives the Berlinzo a more “formal” and “classy” appearance. Seriously, it looks nice. If that matters to you, while it sits in your freezer, then it’s your ice maker of choice. Or, perhaps you want to give one of these as a gift; the Berlinzo does look nicer. [FWIW, their exterior shipping boxes are both nice, but to my mind, the Tinana is nicer in its simplicity.] Other than the Berlinzo’s outer shell, they are identical, and their parts are interchangeable. However, I think this outer shell contributes to difference #2. 2. Per their instructions, the Tinana should be allowed to freeze for 30 hours, while the Berlinzo requires 40-48. If you’re on any kind of clock, that’s significant. Other than the thin satin plastic shell on the Berlinzo, I can think of no reason why the two devices should have such significantly different freezing times. Interestingly, the Berlinzo instructions specifically state that you should not freeze it for more than 50 hours, else there is a risk of cracking the shell. That strikes me as a disadvantage, or at least a risk of disadvantage. I found the freezing times for both devices accurate. 3. The Berlinzo comes with a nice plastic bag in which to store your spheres. Unfortunately, it’s not really big enough to hold more than one batch at a time. Ziplock is your friend here. 4. In all other respects, the two devices produce identical, almost entirely clear ice spheres when you follow the instructed times for freezing. And if you don’t, they also perform similarly. Pulling either device out of the freezer six hours ahead of time will reveal a not-fully-frozen base, and partially formed (about 75%) spheres. Also, if you decide to use warm or even hot water to slow the freezing process further, you’ll need to adjust your freezing time accordingly. I do, and have found an additional six hours (for a total of 36) in the Tinana works well, while the Berlinzo requires its full 48. 5. The spheres from both devices also benefit from tempering. Without tempering, they didn’t always crack, but they did sometimes. And with tempering, none of the spheres cracked when room temperature whiskey was poured on them. Most people recommend five minutes for tempering, and that makes sense if the spheres are kept in an ice bucket or bowl. I found that when placed in individual glasses, 2-3 minutes seemed sufficient to avoid cracking. YMMV. I have attached pics showing the spheres side-by-side. They are indistinguishable. I also did a 90-minute melting test, with images taken at 00:00, 00:30, 01:00, and 01:30, with a sphere from each maker in a glass containing 2 ounces of water. Granted, water and booze are not the same thing, and holding a glass will speed the ice melting process. But all I wanted to do was compare how a sphere from each maker would perform in the same environment. Short answer: they melted identically. And that’s no surprise since they are almost identical in their construction, and entirely identical in their method. For me, the performance of both the Berlinzo and the Tinana are 5 stars, with the Berlinzo docked one star for value and the additional 10-18 hours of freezing time. With respect to some of the less positive reviews: 1. Yes, it’s difficult to remove the rubber molds from the freezing box. It gets easier after first use, but they’re tight for a reason. I’m older, and my finger strength isn’t what it used to be, but I managed to get everything apart. 2. It’s not difficult to fill the container or to get the molds topped up. A gooseneck kettle is handy for topping off. 3. There is occasionally a little bit of excess ice around the seams (see pics), but it comes off easily. 4. Depending on your water minerality, you may find you get better results by boiling the water first, filtering it with a real filter (Brita doesn’t cut it), etc. Distilled or RO/DI water doesn’t always produce more clarity. The people who make the OnTheRocks version of this (I use their box for cubes) have some videos with recommendations for “fine-tuning” your ice. We have off-the-charts hard water in our house, and a whole house softener that reduces, but does not eliminate, the hardness. The tap water produced quite acceptable ice spheres. 5. With respect to water “wastage,” don’t rinse that ice block down the drain. Let it thaw and use it to water plants or pets or whatever. It’s perfectly clean water. It’s only waste if you waste it. Don’t throw it away!

I was impressed. It does make clear ice balls easily. I booked the water as recommended and made sure it was cooled to 100 degrees then froze it. Makes 8 ice balls at a time and comes with a freezer bag. Easy to remove after letting sit at room temperature for a bit. Highly recommend.

It is imperative that you have the right tool for the job, and I found it in the Berlinzo Premium Clear Ice Ball Maker Mold. The most "difficult" thing to do is to have water heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If you can't do that, then you don't deserve what the Berlinzo can produce. It is a well-made, quality product that delivers results exactly as described --- a perfectly round, unblemished, crystal-ball clear sphere of ice that is just begging to be dropped into my cocktail glass.

I wanted to love this ice ball maker. The clear ice balls look fantastic when it works, and I was fully prepared to overlook a few quirks. Unfortunately, after purchasing three of these units, all three developed the exact same problem. The black inner liner that holds the water cracked on every unit during the second use. Once it cracks, water leaks into the Styrofoam insulation, which means there isn't enough water left to properly fill all 8 molds. My first batch would come out great, but after the cracks developed, I would end up with incomplete or misshapen ice balls. I returned the first one, thinking it was a fluke. The second did the same thing. I really hoped the third would be the charm, but it failed exactly the same way. There are a couple of other minor inconveniences. There is no fill line, so you're guessing how much water to add. When you insert the mold, water tends to spill over the edges, creating a mess. If you underfill it, the ice balls aren't perfectly round. The same thing happens when water leaks from the cracked liner. Freezing also took about 36–48 hours in our freezer. That's not necessarily a dealbreaker, and the ice ball molds can be removed once frozen with a little effort. The other issue is that the liner still contains a large block of ice that has to melt before you can refill it and start another batch. Honestly, I could have lived with every one of those inconveniences if the product had been durable. The clear ice balls are impressive when everything works. But for a product in this price range, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect it to last longer than two uses. I'm genuinely disappointed because I wanted this to be a five-star review.

Makes nice clear ice spheres. I ordered the model that produces 8 ice spheres. The instructions said allow 24 hours in the freezer before removing. I found 24 hours to not be enough for the 8 sphere model, the inside spheres were not quite ready (maybe 85%) with a flat bottom, so the time is probably more like 36 hours. My 2nd batch I left in for 48 hours and all of the spheres were fully formed, clear ice spheres.

Perfect ice clear balls with just 1 try! Easy to use. Froze for 48hrs and left to thaw for 8-10mins. No difficulty pulling out, just had to alternate left and right a few pulls to eventually slide the molds out all together.

Excelente producto. Funciona muy bien y la calidad es de primera.

En el manual dice que se debe de llenar con agua hasta un cierto nivel indicado en el contenedor pero jamás lo encontré

Why so many negative reviews?! All the talks about removing the ice from mold being difficult is totally not true. Easiest thing to do in the world.

End product is awesome. Ice is very clear.