The water and ice from the dispenser was beginning to taste funny. I inserted a new filter and the bad taste disappeared immediately. Easy to install. Sure wish they lasted longer and weren't so expensive.
It is the same as the one provided by the LG Corp. A perfect fit and provides what is says at a lower price than the company (LG).
Works well, but works better with constant cleaning of the tube. If you are making a bunch of lattes at once, this is your machine. For just one person it might be overkill. I would give it 5 stars but after the power goes out it doesn't turn itself back on, so if you are not home you will have bad milk.
A colleague had ordered this and we both have nearly identical Jura automatic espresso machines. We both work from home, so I wanted something that would make my machine a little more automated.
I've purchased wine coolers and other machines which use the same type of induction technology, and I've been 'burned' by them all breaking down early, not keeping the right temperature, etc.
I've had this device for six months now and I'm still just as pleased with it as the day I unboxed it. Milk is truly kept cold consistently and it's incredibly quiet.
Cons: If you're a Skim milk drinker, and you wait a couple days before using it, I've noticed that the milk can sometimes freeze up or develop ice crystals. I've been able to mitigate this by filling the outer tank with barely just enough water for it to reach the brim when the container is inside of it.
Also, the tube can be a hassle to clean. Sometimes the suction power pulls milk through and lets it sit there in the tube. You have to be conscientious to clean it thoroughly after each use or each day.
I do some work from my home so the Jura Z5 is on most of the day. Milk used for froth of my cappuccino gets warm in the standard containers but this cooler takes care of the problem. It will keep milk in the low 30 degree area and runs quiet. It may seem a bit eccentric but I love it. The Amazon price is great, about $80.00 cheaper than buying it from Jura. Keep up the good work.
Overall, terrific and works as advertised. The minor complaint: the stainless tube attaches to the lid by means of a silicone "washer" it's not quite snug enough to keep the tube from falling into the milk container reliably. A seemingly minor fix if they would just make the silicone washer slightly larger. Not a deal-breaker, but worth noting. Also, you need to wash this container no less than once a week otherwise milk solids tends to collect in the lid which will impart an off taste to the fresh milk that comes through it.
I had always wanted something like this for my Jura S7 automatic espresso machine. It is much more convenient that steaming individual containers of milk, even though I am the only user each morning. I have only had it several days but have been satisfied thus far in its ability to keep the milk cold. One liter seems a lot, but once you have the dispensing convenience, it is surprising how quickly you can go through milk. It integrates nicely with the coffee maker and does not take up too much counter space. I tend to use the milk steamer and not the frother as the froth quantity is too much for my taste.
Pros: Finally I am able to make use of the Froth Express Plus feature; Convenience, especially for multiple single cups. I do not hear the fan that others complain about.
Cons: Condensation; Wish the cap was more like a thermos and clamped down on the entire device-this would stop condensation and keep the milk colder; matte finish is prone to spotting from liquid splashes-should be like the coffee maker finish which is easy to wipe; Large transformer block plug takes up plug space-beware.
We saw the Amana French-door bottom-freezer fridge about a year ago and fell in love with it. As it turns out, we have had a fairly mixed experience with it.
I'll say that there are quite a few things that we like about it. Overall, we like the layout and flexibility of this fridge a lot. All of the shelves are adjustable to allow for customizing the space for what we need. The layout makes the fridge feel bigger than the other 25 CF fridges we've used or looked at. The quality of the ice maker and water filtration is nice. I do find the bottom-freezer a nice feature for our family. The best feature of the French-doors for us is that they don't swing open as wide as conventional doors, which is good for energy usage and for not blocking passage through our tight kitchen. They're also convenient when you have to grab something quick out of the door.
That said, after using it a while, there are a few things that we don't like about this fridge:
1) After a few months of use, it started getting kind of loud. As it turns out, this was the sound of the cooling fan dying. When it finally died, we had no cold air in the fridge compartment. It was still under warranty, but I wasn't happy about replacing the fan after only about 7 months. (It's still occasionally louder than I'd prefer, but most of the time it is OK.)
2) The water filter dispenser is on the inside of the fridge compartment rather than on the outside of the unit. Combined with the fact that its flow is a little on the slow side, it seems to me that a lot of energy is wasted each time I have to leave the door open for 30 seconds to get a glass of water.
3) The top cover of the Chef's Pantry drawer is not the highest quality component. It pops off once every two weeks or so for me (though, in fairness, my wife doesn't report this problem, so it might just be me). It's easy to put back on, but something I don't feel that I should have to worry about with a $1600 fridge.
Overall, we probably would buy the same fridge again. I'd probably pass on the water filtration option until they figure out a way to get access from the outside of the fridge. I'd probably also want to make sure to get the extended warranty.
We have owned this fridge for less than 2 years and it recently broke down. We lost all the contents of the fridge ($100's) and the repair cost us over $200. The problem was the evaporator fan. I read the warrantee and it claimed to cover the evaporator. When I called Amana to get the repair covered they told me that they only cover the evaporator coil, not the fan. The manual and warrantee document did not make this distinction. Even so, this is not an inexpensive fridge and it should go more than 2 years without breaking down. Shame on Amana for not standing behind this product and shame on Amana for hiding behind shades of warrantee language.
I've had this unit for almost exactly two years and am disappointed in its performance. You have to open the French doors to get to the water dispenser. I think this feature wastes energy and creates the potential for problems. I found this review page because I was checking to see if there were recalls on this model. In two years, I have replaced the fan that delivers cool air from the freezer to the refrigerator twice. Stay away from this model.
How did I ever get along without a filtered water dispenser? And an ice maker?
This Amana refrigerator is simply the best. We have owned ours for about a year. In that time, its operation has been flawless. Its size and convenient features make for large capacity storage and easy use.
The pros:
An internal filtered water dispenser, which is hooked up to the house's water supply, provides for fresh cold water at any time (and the filter is easy to change).
An ice maker that works quickly. One day's ice production lasts me almost a week (I don't have kids). An added benefit: the ice maker is hooked up to the filtered water system.
The French doors, which provide lots of storage space. You get the convenience of a side-by-side, but without loosing all that space.
The chef's pantry drawer. A really nice feature. It has its own temperature control, and is normally colder than the rest of the fridge. Great for storing meats, cheeses, and eggs.
Easy-to-adjust temperature controls keep overall temperature consistent, both in the fridge and freezer.
The large capacity freezer, which pulls straight out. We have plenty of room to stock up, and it's convenient on the bottom. The top bin slides out for easy access. The bottom bin pulls out when you open the door.
Crisper drawers that really keep things crisp.
Four adjustable spill-saver shelves made of easy-to-clean tempered glass.
Five adjustable door bins that have lots of room. They have rubber bottoms that come out for easy cleaning.
The lonely, and only, little con:
The location of the on/off arm for the ice maker is a little inconvenient. It's on the left side in the back of the freezer. The premise is that when the ice bin is full, the arm will rise and snap to the off position. If I ever let the fridge make that much ice, it would last me a year. I find myself snapping it on/off manually, and it's a little awkward to reach.
Overall, this refrigerator is superior to any I have owned in the past. For me, it was like going from the smallest compact car to a large SUV (but it's still an energy saver!). Highly recommended.
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We've had this refrigerator for just over 1-1/2 years. It has broken down once (right after the warranty expired) same issue as others had (the fan). Is is noisy. The freezer handle has broken off completely once, and has popped off again since being repaired. The interior drawer cover is worthless. The stainless steel is of poor quality and is easily dented (even dropping an ice cube on the top of the freezer drawer is enough to create a dent. One of the worst appliance decisions I've ever made.
We heard an alarm going off and found the Red side of our undercounter wine frig freezing and with expensive bottles with corks popped and ice-covered. As an engineer, my experience is that hardware is designed to fail in an off-state not an on-state. We are also finding out about some interlock with the shelves not being all the way recessed may be a factor. I will adjust review as we find out more information. This not cheap equipment has just destroyed thousands of dollars in wine.
The water and ice from the dispenser was beginning to taste funny. I inserted a new filter and the bad taste disappeared immediately. Easy to install. Sure wish they lasted longer and weren't so expensive.
