ISO: SUgggestions for major kitchen appliances...

[Lys]

HI all...

My DH and I just purchased our first home (YEAH!) ... we are eagerly looking forward to the move but need to make some big purchases for our kitchen... we are looking to buy a refrigerator, stove (electric - we aren't on a gas line) and a dishwasher. I am looking to see if anyone has any recommendations for brands, etc. for any of these major appliances... any suggestions/ recommendations would be appreciated, we really don't know much about purchasing these sorts of items. I do like the convenience of the bottom freezer refrigerators, but am at a loss for what to look for in other major appliances. Thanks!

[blazedog]

This is an excellent forum as the people are obsessed with appliances

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/

As for general tips, I have always had good luck by going with CR recommendations in terms of reliability. Anecdotal data from individuals is obviously less reliable -- one person could have a terrible experience. You can subscribe on-line for about $4.00 and get access to all their data/reviews etc.

First determine what your total budget is for the appliances. Then determine what is really important for you.

In stoves/ranges, I really wanted a true convection oven. I also wanted the kind that had the oven coils hidden on the bottom -- this narrowed it down to the GE Profile (at least in SS when I was looking).

That said -- what color do you want?

Do you want to get all of the same manufacturer -- some products are better for some manufacturers and/or the price is better. For example, Amana makes most of the bottom freezer models. Do you want a built in look for your refrigerator?

Kenmore DW are a very good price and highly rated by CR.

[swquilts]

I LOVE my Amana stainless steel, freezer on the bottom fridge!! MUCH more convenient!!

[Cookin4Love]

I recently remodeled with all GE Profile SS appliances and love them. We have the glass cooktop stove with the electronic touch pad, true convection oven, and hidden coils. I love, love, love the convection and would never want to go without it again. We're really happy with all the appliances. Love the over-the-stove GE Profile microwave, too. The dishwasher is quiet and very versatile for loading. The refrigerator has the same limitations as any side-by-side, but I've never had any problems with it freezing anywhere like my Maytag freezer-on-the-top did.

[Lys]

I really appreciate these tips, they are so helpful! A few questions though... what is the upkeep like with your stainless steel appliances? are you constantly wiping fingerprints off? I am torn between SS appliances and the "bisque" color I have seen. In terms of budget, I would say we are looking to go middle of the road, not the most expensive models, but not the least expensive either (not sure if that makes sense). I have looked at Consumer Reports (and subscribed as you suggested Blazedog!) and they seem to be recommending a lot of Kenmore appliances (most of which seem to be found only at Sears).

also, if you don't mind sharing, what are the benefits of the convection ovens? I have only ever had your standard, gas stoves at my apartments and at home with the 'rents.... thanks again for the input, this is reallyhelpful!

[Cookin4Love]

I don't find the SS to be terribly difficult to keep up. Does it get fingerprints? Sure--so did my white appliances. I thoroughly clean it about once a week with a stainless steel cleaner and microfiber cloth. In between, I wipe it down with a barely damp microfiber if it really, really needs it.

We were also looking to land somewhere in the middle as far as price, and the GE Profile fit the bill there.

As for convection, you can't even imagine what a difference it makes in baking, roasting, and broiling. Things cook more quickly (baked potatoes in 40 minutes instead of 60 or more) and get more crisp. I'd never had one and didn't think I cared one way or the other, but I'm hooked now.

[blazedog]

Kenmore is the house brand for Sears. They are generally very good appliances at slightly lower prices. For example, CR highly rates a Kenmore SS DW which looks almost identical to the much more expensive Bosch and the Kenmore model also is more reliable.

Your feelings about SS really depend on how fanatic you are or if your kitchen doesn't have to be pristine at all times. There is something called miracle cloths which makes it easy to wipe down. On the the other hand, realistically, all colors will show smudges and dirt. One thing to consider is that a SS kitchen is generally a huge selling point whereas a bisque is considered less desireable -- may or may not matter to you.

True convection has a third element so the heating is very even -- no hot spots - you don't have to turn cookie sheets and you can actually cook several cookie sheets in the oven for example. Things also cook more quickly. There is also "fake" convection (don't know what else to call it) which has the standard two heating elements with a fan to blow the air in the oven.

Have you considered a speed cooker? Many people rave about them.

P.S. The Great Indoors is the upscale store run by Sears comparable to Home Expo which is the upscale store for Home Depot. If there is one in your area, you can see Kenmore appliances as well as the top of the line stuff to compare. Once you choose your stuff, you can really get some good prices by doing comparison shopping especially since you are buying a bunch of appliances -- i.e. get quotes and then shop around.

[Peweh]

I don't have much of a problem with the SS and fingerprints; my KitchenAid fridge was touted as 'brushed stainless' and seems to show the prints less than my Kenmore Elite DW. The fridge handles get a little smudgy but I'm sure a black handle would do the same. The DW gets pawprints on it when the cats use it as a down ramp off the counter; I don't bother with special SS cleaning agents, just a paper towel spritzed with Windex and everything looks spiffy. Other spray cleaners leave streaks.

My house had vintage built in SS ovens when I bought it (LOVE them, and 2 ovens let you cook things at different temps, plus the wall ovens don't heat up the room in the summer like a range would.) We replaced our old white cooktop with a Whirlpool SS coil one (I hate ceramic for some reason! My mom has one and I find it hard to clean). At $188, this cooktop was the cheapest and sharpest looking model and it adjusts heat almost as quickly as gas. And I'm finding electric is better with a low simmer for sauces than gas.

Hope this helps! Of course, we don't have kids, so if you do or plan to, the fingerprint problem might be worse. But my mom said she had SS when we were little, and just did the Windex thing to maintain.

[cooknmom38]

We recently bought a house as well and the appliances in it were all new already. I have to say that I have the Amana super duper big fridge with the freezer drawer on the bottom and I love it.
I also have the GE profile electric stove with the flat glass top( it also came with the house). I love the oven.. it bakes so beautifully and I like the choice of having the convection if I want. The cook top takes getting used to since it is electric and you cant change the temp of the heat as quickly as you can on a gas stove top.

We also have the GE profile microwave with all of the gadgets. Its good and its strong. But I have a better option for you. There is a new product out on the market that is a super duper microwave that is called the G2?? Or something like that its by I think GE...or Whirlpool. (I cant remember the name right now...) It bakes, broils and frys. Ive tried it out as my husband had to run tests on it as a professional chef. We had it home for a week or so and we tried it out. Also they just featured a story on it on the HGTV channel as well.
Our dishwasher is the Kitchen Aid stainless and Im not to thrilled with it. I would definetely get a garbage disposal in your sink and a garbage compactor also. It keeps the garbage can from taking up space in your kitchen and keeps an open garbage can out from under your kitchen cabinets...Its like a separate unit for garbage that is self contained.

I also love the Instant Hot for hot water, and Warming drawers. One other thing also, I dont known if you would really consider this a kitchen "appliance" but a flat screen( like a thin flat computer monitor) tv is a good choice for a tv in the kitchen. It doesnt take up any counter space and it just hangs on the wall! You only really need a 20 inch or so.. nothing too big...Thats what we have and its cool! and affordable!( PS if you go for the flat panel make sure you can see it from all angles... viewing from a side angle, and looking up at it if youre standing at a lower angle as well. Sometimes the view/angles arent visually good in some brands.)

[blazedog]

Just had an additional thought -- if you are having counters put in and your stove sits between two cabinet bases, you might consider a slide in range -- essentially this "looks" built in because it rests on the counters. It eliminates that horrible gap between the stove and the counter on each side and so everything is much easier to clean and sleeker looking.

GE Profile makes a model as does KA - these have true convection. I believe Kenmore and Frigidaire also have slide ins (SS) with convection).

When I was looking Bosch had just come out with an electric range with convection. It isn't slide-in but it was gorgeous. As I recall (it's been awhile) it also had an additional feature which eludes me -- warming drawer?

There is a Maytag and I believe a Kenmore model with a double oven in the stove. The top oven is small but large enough to hold a small roasting pan -- people who had it loved it because they were able to cook small amounts of meat or a sheet of cookies without using the whole oven. Obviously it might also come in handy in a pinch if you needed two ovens.

I think Kenmore also makes a model in which the smaller oven can double as a warming oven -- depending on lifestyle people either love them or find them useless.

[cooknmom38]

Oh thats what I have the slide in oven type and it is nice...good point Blazedog....it does prevent all fot he food particles from dropping between the cracks and it looks a lot nicer.

[blazedog]

I think cooknmom is referring to what is called a "speed cooker". Some people love them -- It uses infrared heat to cook foods so they brown -- it's really good for things like fish, steak, burgers that you would ordinarily broil. It's also supposed to be wonderful for "junk" food like pizza, fries and frozen fried foods because it crisps things -- doesn't actually fry.

There are a number of different makers -- GE is the first but I don't think it's considered the best anymore because it is significantly smaller than the newr models and much more expensive. Kenmore makes clones of both kinds. These are combo microwave/hoods for over the range if you need that kind of functionality.

[cooknmom38]

I just got some of the paper work from the microwave that my husband tested becasue you got me thinking on what the heck was that thing we had sitting on our kitchen counter for a week taking up space? LOL!

Ok Its called the "g2Microoven Speedcook" and its put out by Whirlpool. They include special metal type sizzle pans that you can fry items on and there is a halogen light that is inside of the oven also for cooking purposes. The unit is supposed to be mounted over the range like a regualr microwave oven.

Blazedog is this the same thing that you are talking about? I personally think that if I want to fry something I will do it on my stove top in a frying pan! LOL! Using a microwave for this is useless for me! LOL! But for other items it was ok...Maybe it's good for someone who is lives in an apt.that has limited space...

[blazedog]

Yes that's the appliance -- it also microwaves.

It doesn't fry as I posted previously but if you are broiling steak, fish or chicken it does that beautifully in a very short time. It's also great for cooking frozen food -- don't know if you eat that much -- i.e. it will crisp up french fries, nuggets etc. The advantage is that it gives you the speed of a microwave with the crisping/browning of traditional baking or roasting in the oven -- I think "frying" is not actually what it does unless you are talking about frozen fried foods -- and then it "crisps" them as they would be crisped in an oven but much more quickly.

[SamanthaD]

I have had two side by side refrigs. and I don't like them. DH does. I don't care that much about water and crushed ice from the door, but he loves that feature. I can't stand the freezer space in the side by side. It is not user friendly or very accomodating.

I have a new Kenmore Elite dishwasher (that the sales rep said is made by Bosch) and I love it. It is super quiet and cleans nicely. And it just looks good I think.

I hate the stove/oven that I have right now. It was in this house when we moved in. It is by GE, called a Spectra. It is flat surface, which I don't really like b/c I have a difficult time keeping it pristine. The oven lets out a big "poof" of hot air when you open it and if you aren't careful it will burn. DH forgets and puts his face down low when openning the door and then gets all dramatic about the fact that he was overwhelmed by the heat.

Also the handle on my GE Spacemaker microwave cracked and seems as though it will be difficult to repair. I won't buy GE appliances again.

congrats on the new house!!!
Sam

ETA: this post sounds so cranky and I'm rarely that way...just sleepy I guess

[Andrea_2]

I'm not an expert on the best appliances, but I can definitely tell you one dishwasher to stay away from... the GE Triton! I've had trouble with that thing from day one, and I can't wait to get rid of it.

[rburganmckinley]

We just replaced all of our appliances last month. I ended up deciding on all Kenmore appliances. Kenmore has the most consitant reliability rating across the different appliances, and also has the largest number in the top 10 (both per consumer reports) of any brand. We too wanted middle of the road appliances, not bottom end but not top of the line either. I think all in total we spent $1800 on the appliances (refridgerator, stove and dishwasher). I can't believe the difference from my old ones. The oven bakes SOOOO evenly, and the ceramic cooktop is a TON easier to clean than the coils were. Also the one we got has what they call Simmer Select, and allows an absolutely perfect simmer. The cooktop also has a warmer burner, and a dual sized one that I can choose whether I need a small one or a big one. I love love love the range.

The dishwasher is awsome too. Our old one required that I rinse everything before I put it in, getting any pieces of food off otherwise the food would be all over everything in the dishwasher. This one the only things I have found that I need to pre rinse are items with cooked egg and cheese on them. Everything else comes out spotless. I can also adjust the top rack to fit larger items, but even on the high setting I can still fit a wineglass or my small plates up there (neither of which I could fit in my old one). I can also fit large platters and all but one of my cookie sheets on the bottom rack. It's spectacular.

We bought the refridgerator on top, freezer door (not drawer) on bottom. I really like this too. The shelves are spillproof glass (my old ones were wire) and 4 of them pull out for easier access. They are split, so I have more flexibility in configuring the fridge to fit the kinds of stuff I use. Also there are nice deep moveable buckets for the door that hold almost all of my condiments! The old fridge I had to use an entire shelf dedicated to condiments because the door storage was inadequate. The drawers have individual humidity control and are a clear plastic so I can see that there is stuff in there and have a general idea what is in there. I love my fridge too!


One thing to note, most of the features I talked about are available in most brands of appliances. The other thing about Sears that I thought was great was their service. The sales person was incredibly helpful and asked us questions to figure out our price range and the types of features that we were looking for and actually steared us away from the appliances that wouldn't fit what we were looking for. He wasn't pushy at all, just helpful. Their delivery was smooth, they showed up in the 2 hour time frame promised, cleaned up their mess and hauled away all of our old appliances. This alone for me would be a great reason to purchase appliances from Sears.

Oh yeah, our old fridge was a kenmore and was at least 25 years old and (unfortuneately) still ran. It's pretty incredible how far appliance technology has come in the past 25 years!

Good luck appliance searching!

[bobmark226]

I LOVE my Amana stainless steel, freezer on the bottom fridge!! MUCH more convenient!!

Susan, could you please explain why you find this to be true?

Every time I consider this, it seems to me that it would be more awkward to bend over and dig down into a bottom freezer rather than standing upright and digging back. What am I missing?

Bob

[Lys]

I cant' tell you all how helpful this has all been... everything that goes into buying the house can be so overwhelming, but this has been helpful in narrowing some things down! I have looked on consumer reports and have read a lot about the kenmore brand - it seems that they seem to have the higest ratings and some of the best models - I had also heard that the service through Sears was great. Right now I am thinking that we will get a Kenmore refrigerator - freezer on the bottom (door, not drawer) - the one I am looking at is the consumer reports best buy, a Kenmore and was about $720.

For the range I am looking at a kenmore - ceramic cooktop, with a warming element and a warming tray (as opposed to a storage tray) underneath. It sounds similar to the one that you are referencing rburgan... it also is a convection - it's a little pricier than what we wanted - currently it's retailing for $1200 - does this seem like too much for a range? DH pointed out that I love to cook and spend a great deal of time in the kitchen (by choice) - and I also realize that we are only going to buy a range once (hopefully) so I am thinking I should really get the one that I love... any thoughts???

as for the DW - the one in the house is fairly new and doesn't need to be replaced - maybe eventually we will replace it but I don't want to throw out a working dishwasher!

again, thank you so much for all the recommendations - this is so helpful to hear from everyone what they like, purchased, etc. Based on this BB alone I am now going to get a convection!

[bobmark226]

it's a little pricier than what we wanted - currently it's retailing for $1200 - does this seem like too much for a range? DH pointed out that I love to cook and spend a great deal of time in the kitchen (by choice) - and I also realize that we are only going to buy a range once (hopefully) so I am thinking I should really get the one that I love... any thoughts???

I went through this when I was about to spend $1700 on the Jennair dual fuel with convection. Everyone I mentioned this to said the same thing, "you love to cook, you live in the kitchen, go for it." They were right, the range was everything I'd ever wished for and I'm very happy with it.

Bob

[blazedog]

1200 for the Kenmore model stove with a convection oven is just about the right price. I had considered that model but it didn't match my other appliances as well as the GE -- but it is loaded with features. If it is the electric top I am thinking of, it also has a ribbon burner so that you can put a large griddle on two burners, a warming feature on the top as well (for keeping sauces warm) plus the explandable element.

Regarding the freezer on the bottom, most people find this to be more convenient because typically most people are getting stuff out of their fruit and veggie bins and bottom refrigerator shelves much more frequently than they need to access stuff in the freezer compartment. I am constantly stooping to get at the veggies etc. as compared to accessing the freezer. Typically the units with freezers on the bottom have two bins that slide out which is again much handier for accessing stuff in a freezer as with a more standard freezer on top, you have to take everything out in the front to find stuff in the back. Of course as with anything, one's own personal patterns may differ.

The problem with standard size SXS is that you can't store wide stuff.

A refrigerator model to consider is the new French door unit -- It has a freezer on the bottom and two doors on top so it gives you some of the advantages of a SXS without the disadvantages. The reason why some people NEED SXS is because if you have a wide refrigerator, that is a fairly large door to open which might block movement around it.

[aggie94]

A refrigerator model to consider is the new French door unit -- It has a freezer on the bottom and two doors on top so it gives you some of the advantages of a SXS without the disadvantages. The reason why some people NEED SXS is because if you have a wide refrigerator, that is a fairly large door to open which might block movement around it.

This is what I have (the LG counter-depth model), and I love it.

[Lrimerman]

If you are looking at dishwashers, I just had to replace mine and after researching online (the appliance forum posted above is great) I went with the Kenmore Elite. I got white outside, but it is stainless inside. We love it, it is quiet and cleans so nice, the racks are adjustable and they are very well designed, you can fit so much in at one time.

It retails for around $850, but I got it on sale and they had a nice rebate for installation. I did add on the service contract and they dented it when they brought it in, so they gave me another $150 off, which really made it a nice deal.

Lisa

[swquilts]

Bob -

Since I don't get into the freezer as often as I do the fridge I like the freezer on the bottom. The Amana (aka Kenmore too) has a pullout drawer with a sliding shelf inside. The only thing I don't like about the freezer part is that the icemaker takes up a bit of room. It could be smaller and still function.

HTH

[Lys]

Blazedog - that is the range I am looking at... it definitely seems worth it the more I think about it - I spend so much time cooking and love being in the kitchen that it seems only natural to go with a range that has all the features that I would utilize.... not my "dream" oven, but the one that I really think will benefit us the most.

Again, thanks for all the input, this has definitely been a learning experience

[blazedog]

Alyssa,

I would definitely go with that stove as it has everything going for it -- consider how much pleasure you will get over the life of the stove and then consider the difference between this great stove and what you might get -- chances are only a relatively small amount. When I was looking at it, the only thing it had against it was the styling on the SS model which didn't match my other SS appliances as well but it had all the features of the GE Profile at a significantly lower price point.

Within reason I would rather spend a few extra dollars on a long range durable investment that will give me pleasure every day for years and forego an extra pair of shoes that I don't need. Heck I stopped my Starbucks habit and saved $1000 right there. Economists actually call it the Starbucks budget fallacy -- people will think nothing of spending large amounts on daily small amounts but not multiply them by the actual monthly or yearlly costs -- Once I started multiplying some of the stuff I wasted money on, it was really easy to stop spending on those things and start spending on things that actually increased the quality of my life.

[Peweh]

The problem with standard size SXS is that you can't store wide stuff.

I'm pretty sure my SxS is a standard size and you can store a full size pizza box on the shelf; I couldn't do this in my old traditional model because of the way I had the split shelves spaced. Unless I'm going to be entertaining, I can't think of anything wider than that I'd need to store. Mine is a Kitchenaid model and the shelves and drawers are fully interchangeable; this might help those who don't like leaning down for the crisper. I have mine set up with 3 shelves up top and then 3 drawers - deli/cheese, produce and meats. There's also tons of door storage including two little racks that hold 10 soda cans.

I'm not a Power Freezer user, I do freeze some meat each week if I'm not going to be able to use it in time; there's usually a couple of ice cream treats and DH keeps his coffee in there. No crazy make-ahead casseroles for me or anything that takes a lot of space. I love that the SxS has freezer baskets, they contain baggies of frozen meat much better than shelves for me, and I even have a spare basket I throw bagged garbage in in the summer so it doesn't stink up the place before trash night.

You'd be amazed how much stuff fits in here. Maybe we could start a thread for all the fridge shoppers and show them a pic of the inside!