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Old 05-26-2015, 07:27 PM   #21
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Two brands you should stay away from for the fridge;
Samsung and GE Profile. I had both in french door /w bottom freezer. The problem; they are way too 'complicated' to the point they fail for the tiny things and end up costing a fortune to fix. The Samsung has separate compressors for the freezer and the fridge. The fridge defroster failed, the main control board failed, the evaporator sprung a leak. A $2500 fridge would have cost me more than twice that if not for the warranty.
Then I changed out all the appliances to GE Profile Stainless. The fridge is even worse than the Samsung with the compressor leaking twice, the fridge door latches failing so that they never would close completely, the main control board failing over 3 revisions of that board. How can someone build a revision twice and STILL not get it right??!!

The GE Profile stainless dishwasher is just about the noisiest machine I've ever heard. A cycle is about an hour and a half too. Stupid design.

The GE Profile 1500 watt microwave, stainless, has caught on fire twice now. I'm on the third one because of the space it occupies was custom built.

The GE Profile propane stove can't get the oven preheated to 450 for a pizza in under 40 minutes. 40 minutes and it's still not up to temp. What a waste of propane!!

You have been.....
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Old 05-26-2015, 07:29 PM   #22
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I have found the GE Cafe appliances to be luxury items, and a total waste of money. Our GE Profile is as nice of a range as I'd ever want--with the over/under dual ovens--1 of which is convection.

We bought a Whirlpool refrigerator at Lowes with double refrig. doors on top, a middle refigerator drawer and a bottom freezer. And we absolutely adore it. It was $1,298 on sale, and is more like $1,795 regular price. It's also available under their Maytag brand. We also loved our old Amana side by side unit with the same compressor that the SubZero uses. Amana's are also premium quality units.

Dishwashers are no longer the quality of the old Kitchenaids. The newer ones use very little water and they run double the time to do the washing. Then, they don't blow hot air or have any outside heat drying the dishes--relying on chemicals to do away with water marks. We went with a Bosch with the top controls, and it's as good as a dishwasher as there is. We paid $500ish when Sears was changing out their models, but it was about a $1,100 unit retail.

We asked our appliance mechanic what brands he suggested. He said he can tell you which brands not to buy, but that he works on all brands. None are trouble free. Just don't judge a book by their cover, as many substandard appliances look good in the stores.
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Old 05-26-2015, 07:34 PM   #23
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We remodeled our kitchen ten years ago and have been very satisfied with the appliances, which are:

Electric wall ovens -- Wolf
Natural gas stove top -- Wolf
Refrigerator/freezer -- Subzero
Dishwasher -- Asko
Microwave/convection -- GE Monogram

The only thing I would change would be to get a larger fridge (but still same brand).

Edit to add: I would also get the six burner stove top instead of 4 burners with a grill in the middle. We always grill outside and more burners would be helpful.
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:01 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Gumby View Post
We remodeled our kitchen ten years ago and have been very satisfied with the appliances, which are:

Electric wall ovens -- Wolf
Natural gas stove top -- Wolf
Refrigerator/freezer -- Subzero
Dishwasher -- Asko
Microwave/convection -- GE Monogram

The only thing I would change would be to get a larger fridge (but still same brand).

Edit to add: I would also get the six burner stove top instead of 4 burners with a grill in the middle. We always grill outside and more burners would be helpful.
Wow, that's some collection of kitchen appliances. Kudos...

Do we know you from a Food Network show? Gumby de Laurentis?
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:16 PM   #25
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My DW just reminded me;
We have a used fridge out in the garage we got at a garage sale over 20 years ago, so it's gotta be 30 years old, and it still runs fine, never needs defrosting, and uses much less electricity than any one I've bought for inside since.

Same with the microwave. We spent over $1200 for a fancy stainless steel version that's been replaced twice in 8 years but the $30 one I got my kid when he went to college to use in the dorms is still working fine as my mw popcorn popper in my man-cave.

You want an appliance that stannds the test of time? Find something on craigslist for under $50.
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:18 PM   #26
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Wow, that's some collection of kitchen appliances. Kudos...

Do we know you from a Food Network show? Gumby de Laurentis?
The young wife, who is equally cute and cooks about as well as Giada, picked them all. I just said "Yes, dear".
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:21 PM   #27
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The young wife, who is equally cute and cooks about as well as Giada, picked them all. I just said "Yes, dear".
Smart man...
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:36 PM   #28
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I would recommend Whirlpool. Our fridge, 2 microwaves, and oven are 21 year old Whirpools and haven't had a problem with any of them. DW has done some research for our upcoming remodel and has proposed that we go with Wolf/ subzero. Glad to see Gumby's recommendation.


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Old 05-26-2015, 08:53 PM   #29
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I had a LG french door refrigerator that died at 3 1/2 years . Getting service from LG is a real challenge . I would avoid an LG fridge . The funny thing is the fridge it replaced was a GE side by side that is still going strong in our garage at 20 years old.I also agree with Midpack the bottom freezer is like the great abyss .
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Old 05-27-2015, 07:45 AM   #30
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... The funny thing is the fridge it replaced was a GE side by side that is still going strong in our garage at 20 years old.I also agree with Midpack the bottom freezer is like the great abyss .
We have a 20 YO fridge in the basement, and a 25 YO freezer in the garage - they just keep ticking (and no, they are not energy hogs, each uses ~ $6/month). I sure hope the new one lasts as long, it's a basic, no frills unit.

While the bottom freezers are less convenient for getting into the freezer, I find we get into the fridge section at least 10x more often. I much prefer having the stuff I access the most often at eye height, and keep the freezer tucked away at the bottom.

Unless you are going to install a very short unit and put it on a pedestal, something has to be at the bottom. Personal preference of course, maybe the freezer access is more important to others (since we have a separate freezer)?

-ERD50
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Old 05-27-2015, 02:44 PM   #31
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I have a KitchenAid dishwasher that was bought in 2007. Cost like $900 at Lowe's. Actually got the extended warrantee for $30 for 4 years.
First time I ever got it.

The repairman was out at my house 8 times in 4 years for that dw. Control panel replaced multiple times, leaks, just various junk. They would not replace it. It's been running well for 4 years but needs special soap, close it a certain way. I will not have another repairman come out for it again.

For a stove I bought a gas one with no electronics. That has worked perfectly. Fancy electronics and appliances are nightmares. I still have my w/d with no electronics from 1998. I rebuild them once every 10 years for $20 worth of parts.
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Old 05-27-2015, 03:35 PM   #32
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For a stove I bought a gas one with no electronics. That has worked perfectly. Fancy electronics and appliances are nightmares. I still have my w/d with no electronics from 1998. I rebuild them once every 10 years for $20 worth of parts.
The old almond colored electric dryer from 1986 keeps going, and I plan on having it go forever. I don't see much need to replace it since "efficiency" and "electric" don't mesh well anyway on these devices.

Too many cases out there of $0.023 capacitors incapacitating $2000 electronics. It is really a crime.
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Old 05-27-2015, 04:48 PM   #33
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Too many cases out there of $0.023 capacitors incapacitating $2000 electronics. It is really a crime.
almost everyone I know that has had appliance problems has been with fancy expensive electronics. Some of the prices quoted here for a single item, like a range, I can replace everything in my kitchen. What in the world does a $4000 dollar range do that my $500 one doesn't. I only need it to prepare/cook food. must be missing something.
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Old 05-27-2015, 05:35 PM   #34
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almost everyone I know that has had appliance problems has been with fancy expensive electronics. Some of the prices quoted here for a single item, like a range, I can replace everything in my kitchen. What in the world does a $4000 dollar range do that my $500 one doesn't. I only need it to prepare/cook food. must be missing something.
Prestige, man. How can one go thru life with cheap (cost) appliances?
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Old 05-27-2015, 06:12 PM   #35
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Too many cases out there of $0.023 capacitors incapacitating $2000 electronics. It is really a crime.
I strongly suspect that US appliance manufacturers (and a couple auto companies) really don't get electronics. Given the choice between a modern FR-4 board and additive copper on bakelite, they'll go for the bakelite every time. Now picture a piece of resin-treated cardboard (bakelite) in the steamy innards of a dishwasher. Why, yes, it does disintegrate in a couple of years. The warranty was for 1 year, so it doesn't matter...

Test methodology isn't any better. I had the displeasure of working with a major manufacturers test team once. Most places, a test of a board would be judged by test coverage, or what portion of the components and functionality were exercised. In this shop, tests were judged by how many could be done per hour. They'd contract out for a test program that would use a special machine that put probes on every component connection, test every part, and do the functional testing. Then they'd take that test program and start removing tests until they hit their production goal. This meant that boards could have not jut defective, but missing parts, still pass test, and be installed into products that shipped to customers.

That's how you get batches of microwaves that catch on fire. ("Clamping diodes? Oh, they didn't put them in these boards. Probably ran out. Worked fine without them. Were they important?")
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Old 05-27-2015, 07:15 PM   #36
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I would stay away from the LG French Door. We have one we bought last year and it has been an absolute POS. it's noisier than any fridge we have ever had, the defroster module died within a month and we are still required to do occasional manual defrosts when the bottom drawer fails to seal properly. Run, run a way from the LG. It is a beautiful thing to look at, but a real pain in the arse as far as a fridge goes...
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Old 05-27-2015, 07:55 PM   #37
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Now picture a piece of resin-treated cardboard (bakelite) in the steamy innards of a dishwasher. Why, yes, it does disintegrate in a couple of years. The warranty was for 1 year, so it doesn't matter...
Of course it matters. It's built-in obsolescence. Things are designed to fail so you replace them. Prices to fix things are what they are so you are not encouraged to get a repair, but to replace. It's the reason our portfolios do so well!
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Old 05-27-2015, 08:24 PM   #38
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While the bottom freezers are less convenient for getting into the freezer, I find we get into the fridge section at least 10x more often. I much prefer having the stuff I access the most often at eye height, and keep the freezer tucked away at the bottom.
Height is not the issue with any of the French Door/bottom freezer units I have seen. It's having everything in one huge drawer, as opposed to having shelves. Partitions and lots of smaller containers helps, but you still have to dig through a lot if you intend to use most of the freezer space. If you search the subject, you will find a lot of first time French Door refrigerator/freezer owners who describe the bottom freezer drawer as a PITA.
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Old 05-28-2015, 01:38 AM   #39
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Good info on the French Door frig models. I've always wanted one, but now may have to re-think that. We have an old side-by-side GE that was installed when we built this place back in '93. Still going strong but a few dings here & there. (A dishwasher repair guy said they don't make them like that any more and to hang onto it as long as we can.) A relative has a Samsung French door and says she likes it, but who knows.

We've gravitated to Bosch appliances. Love our pedestal W & D, then we replaced what would be our 3rd dishwasher several years back with a Bosch. Sis was over last weekend after I put on a load, and she said, "Please tell me your dishwasher isn't going--it's so quiet!" (Apparently hers is pretty loud.)

Then we replaced our built-in oven as well as our gas stove-top with Bosch. Still happy with all of them.
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Old 05-28-2015, 05:29 AM   #40
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Personally, we haven't had any issues with our 5 yr old GE Profile french door frig model. However, when I went to buy a fridge for a rental, the salesman/mgr did mention to stay away from the 'designer'/special name fridges as they were not worth it. I still prefer the glass shelves over the wire shelves anyway.

We were too lazy to move/downsize at retirement. We re-did our small, existing kitchen last year. i waited 20 years for the fabulous kitchen we now have. I kept the fridge above, but did add a Miele mid-range dishwasher, a 36"Wolf dual fuel with griddle. DH had a bit of a problem swallowing the cost of stove, but did fall into the 'yes dear' protocol upon seeing it in person. I researched 'for years'. We are happy with all the products. If you google the product/model of interest, you should get lots of feedback. In particular, Check out the gardenweb/appliance or kitchen forums for lots of feedback also. Gardenweb is to the kitchen reno as this site is for retirement info.
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