First, there was craft beer. Then, craft cocktails. Now, there's craft ice: the craze that's sweeping the nation! Or, well, it's sweeping fans of craft drinks, anyway.
Have you spent longer than you'd like to admit watching YouTube videos on how to make clear ice spheres? Do you like the idea of impressing your guests with the perfect sphere ice plopped into a glass of fine bourbon or a mojito? Or maybe you like to entertain and want an effortless way to impress your guests? Somehow, LG knew what you were thinking, and they created a refrigerator that can automatically make fancy ice for you.
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What's the Deal with Craft Ice?
Clear, spherical ice is ideal for serving your favorite liquors and mixed drinks because...
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Spheres have less surface area than cubes, so sphere ice will melt more slowly.
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Clear ice is free of the trapped air that normally makes ice cloudy - again, this means slower melting times.
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It looks fancy.
If you're DIYing this, your main option is to use an ice ball mold, or an ice ball press for the extra-premium touch. But if you happen to be in the market for a new premium refrigerator, LG's smart models with the craft ice feature might be a match made in heaven!
Watch our quick video on the LG craft ice refrigerator's features!
About LG Craft Ice Refrigerators
These refrigerators produce about three 2" diameter ice balls every 18-30 hours during normal operation. The first batch after you install your refrigerator will take longer, around 24-48 hours. The first 2-3 batches may look a little funky - they may be indented on either end or have some cloudiness. This will clear up after a few days and soon you'll have perfect ice! You'll probably be able to hear the ice balls clunk down into the ice tray and it might sound a bit different from what you're used to since they're larger and shaped differently than normal ice cubes.
Since we wrote this blog post in late 2019, LG has expanded the options for Craft Ice refrigerators to over a dozen different models, and they have upgraded to Craft Ice 2.0. Craft Ice 2.0 gives you two options: make 2-3 ice spheres every 18-30 hours, or make more ice spheres in the same amount of time, but they won't be as clear.
LG refrigerators with Craft Ice start at around $3,499. They are all French door models in stainless steel or black stainless steel. You can find both counter depth and full depth options. Models around $4,000 and up come with features like the InstaView door-in-door design.
For CES 2021, it looks like LG will be showing off side by side refrigerators with Craft Ice, so we may see Craft Ice side by side refrigerators (probably at a lower price point than the French door models) later this year!
Here are some of the features you'll find in these refrigerators in addition to craft ice:
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The InstaView Door in Door design. Door in door refrigerators save energy by creating an insulated section in the door for your favorite snacks and drinks that you can access without losing cold air from the fresh food section. With InstaView, you can knock on the tinted panel and it will turn transparent so you can see what's inside without opening the door.
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Tall Ice & Water Dispenser with measured fill. In addition to the craft ice in the freezer section, you can get fresh cold water and ice through the door. The tall dispenser design gives you plenty of room to fill big water bottles and more, and the Measured Fill option will dispense 4, 8, 16, or 32 ounces of water.
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CoolGuard stainless steel panel and three cooling technologies. The stainless steel panel at the back of the fresh food section (check it out in our video above) plus three cooling technologies (Smart Cooling, Linear Cooling, and Door Cooling+) help maintain exact temperatures throughout the interior.
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Smart ThinQ technology. Get a notification on your smartphone if the door is left open, or use your phone to tell your refrigerator to start making more ice in preparation for a sports practice or a party. You can also monitor energy usage and how many times the door is opened each day. Use the Smart Grid feature so your fridge will use less energy during peak usage times, saving you money!
Review: The LG LRFVS3006S Craft Ice Refrigerator - $3,999 MSRP
We're off to a good start with the LG LRFVS3006S Craft Ice refrigerator, as it has a massive 30 cubic foot capacity in PrintProof stainless steel. Just knock on the InstaView panel to look inside your refrigerator without opening the door and wasting cool air! The door-in-door design creates a pocket of space within the door for quickly accessing your most-used items so the interior can stay cold.
The in-door ice and water dispenser utilizes the Slim SpacePlus ice system. Rather than taking up space on a shelf in the refrigerator, the icemaker is integrated into the door, and you still have door shelves for storage as well. The dispenser is also extra-tall for pitchers and water bottles, and has a Measured Fill option. Three cooling technologies combine to keep your refrigerator at an even temperature and keep your fresh foods fresh. The freezer offers three tiers of storage rather than the typical two - there is a short middle drawer for stashing wide, flat items like pizzas and frozen meals.
LG covers this model with a one year parts and labor warranty, plus five years parts and labor on the sealed system and compressor, and the linear compressor part only for years 6-10.
Dimensions:
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Width: 36"
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Depth: 34.2"
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Height: 69"
Click here to read over 12 real customer reviews of this product!
Note: Customer reviews on our website are mixed, but overall reviews are positive on other retailer websites.
Overall, you're getting a ton of bang for your buck! If you're looking for a smart refrigerator in the $3,000-$4,000 price range, you should definitely take a look at the LG craft ice refrigerators.
What do you think? Will this feature take your home bar to the next level? Leave us a comment below - We'd love to hear from you!
Editor's Note: This blog was originally written in November of 2019 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy as of the publication date noted above.
