Reddit reviews Luma Comfort Portable Clear Ice Maker 28 lb Daily, Perfect Countertop Icemaker Machine, IM200SS Stainless Steel

I can say that using those ball ice makers with boiling water does make them less cloudy but not perfectly clear. There are devices you can buy which do make clear ice but they can be kinda spendy.

https://www.amazon.com/Luma-Comfort-IM200SS-Portable-28-Pound/dp/B00DYJNNWQ
Luma Comfort IM200SS Portable Clear Ice Maker, Stainless Steel

Like many of my brothers in this sub, I'm always thirsty and always want water. In particular, I want it ice cold and in massive quantities. A while ago, I got this refillable 100z "cup":

Pic with pint glass for size comparison

I lived near a gas station with really well filtered water that let me fill it up for free, so I was set. Unfortunately, after moving, all the places near me want like $1 for an ice water refill in that thing. Fuck that. Here's an overview of all the components needed.

Pitcher - I use this Brita pitcher. In the past I used the bigger one here, but it honestly sucks to fill up because it's heavy and unwieldy, whereas the pitcher form factor is really easy to just refill right after you use. It also pours quite a bit slower. Apparently my new place does some filtration of water before it comes out of the sink, so I might switch to this guy for instant filtration. Also make sure to change that damn filter often enough. Having charcoal leech into everything when it breaks down from too much use won't hurt you but it definitely looks bad and takes some time to clean out.

Giant Cup - Valero Corner Stores sell this, though the 64oz and 52oz variants are more common. Plenty of other gas stations sell identical 100oz cups with their branding, but you just have to find one. If you don't mind paying the pretty steep cost (~$20) some people sell them on Amazon, like this one. I really really wish Yeti or some other company made a 100oz cup made for drinking that insulates as well as theirs do, but I haven't found one.

Reusable Straw - The big cup comes with a plastic reusable straw which you can see in the pictures of the one I linked to, but I don't like it. The ridged structure that makes it easily bendable also causes drag on the water and makes it harder to drink. So what I use are these. They are just the right size. They get a bit off smelling after a while (a month or two), and there's a brush included to clean them, but I can never really get them cleaned well, so I honestly just toss them and use another. It's $8 for 5, so you're looking at maybe $15 or so a year in straw costs. I had also looked at some of those reusable metal straws but then I realized how bad it would suck to pick up the cup too quickly and bash my teeth out with the inertia of a full 100oz cup.

Ice - Here's the the tricky one. This is basically why I filled it up at the gas station in the past. I'm really picky about ice and will only use clear "restaurant quality" ice. The kind of ice made in most freezer ice makers is cloudy because of air bubbles in the water, meaning that it also picks up any off smells in the freezer, melts far too quickly, is weirdly soft, etc. If you do it right, you can get pretty clear ice from ice trays, but if you're doing that for a cup that big, it's gonna take a lot of time. Here is a pic of the ice maker I bought to solve this problem (I bought it here). It does a really good job making clear, good tasting ice. I fill it up with a full load of water from the pitcher and usually within 90-120 minutes, it's full of clear square ice. Here is a pic of some extra ice I stash in the freezer from it. I'll edit this with a pic of some fresh super clear ice in a bit, I don't have any on hand right now. Overall, I like the ice machine, though I will say that it costs quite a bit to run (it runs at around 150W, spiking to 190W) and should be wiped down every week or two. It might just be easier to grab some of the 10 or 20lb bags of ice from the gas station or grocery story and use that. It is nice to be able to make it on demand though.

Every morning I get up and fill the ice maker up to the top, sip on the leftover water from last night while I wait for the new ice, and then refill when I'm done. I usually drink two cupfulls of water a day.

But what if I want my water to get me drunk?

The best part about water is that it makes the best mixed drink for sipping at home. Just carbonate it and mix it with a spirit. The Japanese highball is the height of such mixed drinks, but I've found that some experimentation yielded a variety of great options. I usually do around 5:1 water to spirit, but usually I eyeball the spirit pour and just full up the glass.

How to make it at home? Sodastream of course! Here is a picture of my Sodastream bottle, a very fancy eau-de-vie, and the resulting beverage. Here are my top picks for spirits to mix with your delicious spicy water:

• Plantation Stiggins Pineapple Rum - This is distilled with pineapple to give it some good pineapple flavor, but it's not too sugary. It's 20g/L of sugar, meaning that a drink made with 3oz of it has under 2g of sugar, making it a great option for ketohomies who miss fruity cocktails.
  
• Dingle Gin - Any decent gin will do, The Botanist is another great option. Mixing it with the water brings out the gentler botanical and herbal notes and makes for a refreshing drink.
  
• Lustau Solera Gran Reserva Brandy - This can be tricky to find, but if you can, try it. There's a $35 Gran Reserva and a $25 Reserva. The Gran Reserva's a bit better, but both are good. It ends up tasting like delicious sherry soda. Subtle nutty, chocolate, and maple syrup notes, but not sweet at all.
  
• Any bourbon - Japanese whiskey is good but my dirty secret is that I'll take a good bourbon highball any day. Weller OWA 107 is a great option that goes really well with the sparkling water, though it's next to impossible to find. Something with high value like McKenna Bottled in Bond, Wild Turkey 101, or Old Grand Dad 114 will do the trick.
  
• Green Chartreuse - I was amazed this works, but it does. Really REALLY herbal, so if that's your thing, go for it.
  
  There are tons of other great options and plenty of bad ones (funky rum like Rumfire or Wray & Nephew, mezcal, peaty scotch, etc. are things I love that don't work)
  
  Hope this inspires people to drink more fuckin water.

Not sure what your budget is like but you could get something like this. Pretty sure you can find similar stuff for cheaper.

You can combo this with some steel inserts for an ice well and bottle chilling.

Here's one that makes 28 pounds a day, and requires no plumbing:

https://smile.amazon.com/Luma-Comfort-IM200SS-Portable-28-Pound/dp/B00DYJNNWQ

EDIT: Ah, now I see your edit and I understand why you need a larger machine.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYJNNWQ?keywords=clear%20ice%20maker&qid=1458555811&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYJNNWQ?keywords=clear%20ice%20maker&qid=1458555811&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1