Shopping for new dishwasher...ugh

Parent Cafe
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<p>As time has gone on appliances are a lot less reliable, there is no doubt about it. I just went through this with our refrigerator, we have a subzero fridge that was put in when we renovated the house, and finally was going. I looked into new fridges, into Samsungs and such, and a decent fridge would run us over 2000 dollars, and quite frankly, they looked like they wouldn’t last past the warranty period. We ended up getting the condensor, compressor and evaporator replaced, and it cost us a lot less than a new fridge, and probably will go on for another 10-15 years…</p>

<p>Even the ‘best rated’ brands have problems, because a)they have all these sophisticated electronic controls and b)have replaced what used to be metal parts with plastic ones, that break. On washing machines, where they used to have a belt driving the drum, they went to a direct connect between motor and the tub shaft, and worse, today that link is plastic and it won’t last. I wouldn’t mind them being made that cheaply, but then you face having to replace them every 5-7 years, and it is expensive as hell. With the front loaders, there are all kinds of problems with mold and mildew buildup in the machines, and I also have heard the electronics tend to fail a lot…</p>

<p>And yes, it is true that older generations of appliances were not as energy efficient, in use of water, but for many of us I wonder if that is that big a deal, given that most of us are past the age of doing 5 loads of laundry a day with kids, putting out endless meals, etc. When my washing machine went, I replaced it with a speed queen, that is as basic as you can get but is built like a brick outhouse, I am pretty certain it won’t die unless someone shoots it with a 12 gauge, and is eminently repairable (the control unit is mechanical, not electrical, and the tub is driven by bronze gears, not plastic). Weighs a ton, but cleans great, has a stainless tub, and holds a lot. </p>

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<p>I can probably wait on the fridge decision til I’m settled on whether to go stainless. (Hate my flat top stove, too, would rather use gas, etc.) But at a certain point, an old model just isn’t as energy efficient. </p>

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<p>LF. The first appliance we replaced was our fridge. It was 19 years old. As my husband said…“it was on the other side of the bell curve”. We didn’t want it to die with a full stock of food. And the energy consumption was a consideration. So, my normally cheap husband told me to get a new fridge. I figured if I was getting a fridge, I might as well get a new dishwasher too (I liked my reasoning). </p>

<p>We did choose a French door to replace our side by side. We needed counter depth which limited our options…and they are very costly. </p>

<p>I stuck with white. I like white. My appliances are white, and my new sink is white. It looks terrific with my light granite, and oak cabinets. </p>

<p>If the next owner doesn’t like white…they can replace it!</p>

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<p>I’d love one where the refrig part is French doors at the top, but I don’t think a bottom freezer is going to do it for us. Even with two drawers, we’d be rooting through the frozen foods. Still, I was tempted by one on deep sale, the other day, then noticed it was 35" deep. Omg. My current is 28" deep (and was not marketed- or priced- as counter-depth. Whirlpool.) I’ve got off-white cabinets. An acquaintance had appliances that matched (not white, not almond) and the look was beautiful. But when we bought the dw, we were told the color was being discontinued. (I don’t think so.) So I need some look-see. </p>

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<p>@BrownParent‌ </p>

<p>I opened my links and they seem to all work, except the Kenmore one is down for scheduled maintenance so I cannot confirm it is still functional. I found the Kenmore community to be very helpful, however. </p>

<p>Note that for many models you can buy a heat probe, and I actually bought one but it wasn’t bendable and I would have had to remove all the refrigerator coils to get it attached (not happening!). </p>

<p>Site shows great photo of how to wrap the copper wire:</p>

<p><a href=“http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=9320.msg44959#msg44959”>http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=9320.msg44959#msg44959&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Site describes how he does a copper wire simple heat probe:</p>

<p><a href=“http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=3943.msg15729#msg15729”>http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=3943.msg15729#msg15729&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Site recommends #10 copper wire stripped:</p>

<p><a href=“http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=3847.msg15262#msg15262”>http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=3847.msg15262#msg15262&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Relevant Kenmore site: </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-model/Kenmore-Parts/Refrigerator-Parts/Model-10672003010/0582/0161000/K1111083/00002?blt=06&prst=&shdMod=”>http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-model/Kenmore-Parts/Refrigerator-Parts/Model-10672003010/0582/0161000/K1111083/00002?blt=06&prst=&shdMod=&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>OP here. Well, I didn’t expect our holiday weekend to be all about a kitchen appliance, but that was the case. We went out early on Friday with the intent of choosing between two models our local Lowes had in stock, a Whirlpool Gold and a Kitchenaid. With the sales, so much was back ordered and we couldn’t go weeks without a new machine. Hated the interior of the WG, and although they had the model of the KA in stock they didn’t have one on display to look at. Went to a couple more places, then went back to Lowes to buy the KA. Well, we ended up with a Bosch that was also not on display. Got it home and it was too tall for our custom cabinetry by a quarter inch, even with taking the feet off. We had to do some modification to the cabinet. I was having silent fits listening to my husband with a saw, let me tell you! Anyway, its installed, looks beautiful and we did our first load last night and we love it! Thanks for all the advice here!</p>

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<p>The Bosch is a little smaller than the KA, so be glad you got the Bosch. I really like my Bosch.</p>

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<p>which bosch did you get? And congratulations!</p>

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<p>We had replaced the flooring after our last dishwasher was installed, so we were really concerned about getting it out and the new one in. The installer struggled, but got the new Bosch in. He told us they normally recommend Bosch when it needs to be installed in a tight space, so we got lucky that we had picked one.</p>

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<p>I guess it could have been worse trying to get that into the space the old one vacated. We had no problem at all pulling the old one out, but the Bosch was just a little too tall. Created a bit of tension in our house as to what to do but it worked out. We did buy the 3 year extended warranty for $69.90 from Lowes as a precaution. We normally don’t get the extended warranty on anything but it seemed like the right thing to do with appliances not lasting anymore. Collage1, thanks! And it is the Bosch Ascenta SHX4ATF5UC which was on sale. Not as great a sale as some of the other models, but Bosch never seems to be that heavily discounted anyway.</p>

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<p>I think the Bosch I got has been discontinued. I love it, and it was under $600…some big sale at Sears Appliance…and I bought a fridge at the same time. </p>

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<p>Has anyone seen the commercial showing the Samsung Chef series DW with ‘waterfall’ washing? Looks pretty neat - until you check out the price $1600!! @-) </p>

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<p>Does it also unload the clean dishes? ;)</p>

<p>OP - congrats. Hope your Bosch works better than mine did. But just in case, I would turn the water supply to the DW off during long absences. It is awesome that your hubby was able to install it despite the height issues. We also had to come up with a solution to fit the new DW into the existing space - it was just a bit narrower than the space. I stained 2 solid oak planks to match the cabinets, and Mr nailed them to the cabinets - it looks like the cabinet was initially built this way. :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>Yes, for that money, I’d expect it not only to unload the clean dishes, but to serve me a drink!</p>

<p>I will take that advice, BunsenBurner! We will be away for several days next month to take daughter back to school and I don’t want to be worrying about it.</p>

<p>My hubby isn’t terribly handy so I was worried about the height problem and his sawing a piece out of my cabinets. The red oak crosspiece in the cabinet over the dishwasher was about 3/4" and we just went to Lowes, picked up a nice 1/4" piece of red oak and he cut it to length and installed it in the original piece’s place. Worked like a charm, and honestly, you don’t even see it because of the counter overhang.</p>

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<p>You’ll have to give us your consumer report in a few weeks :wink: </p>

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<p>I actually took some cutlery and bowls to the nearby appliance store to see how they could fit in a Bosch. The claims for number of place settings in any brand seems to be based partly on how close the tines are. Bosch has some very close- but will be able to fit in the bowls. Also, the top silverware rack is much easier to load than it looks. Saw the new Samsung- but - brand reliability, even if the pricing was better?</p>

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<p>If anyone’s considering a samsung, ask about service. When I was shopping for a washing machine recently, people at two different stores said getting parts locally is virtually impossible and I’d be wise to steer clear.</p>

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<p>I’ve just had the most wonderful experience and would like to pass on this info.</p>

<p>We have a 13 year old Miele. Recently it started having problems with the intake light warning going on and stopping the cycle. In the past this would happen about one or twice a year. It meant a piece of glass, bone or crab shell chip had somehow gotten past the filter and was not causing a problem. I’d have to scoop out the water, clean the non-return valve and reset the system. </p>

<p>Lately the indicator has been going on about once every 5 - 7 cycles. When going through the reset I noticed there was no obvious blockage. I also noticed more little things, like kale leaf flakes, were showing up past the filter. Last night while going through the scoop and reset one more time I noticed the valve which needs to be removed and cleaned had a cracked bottom. So, possibly it was letting stuff through that shouldn’t be getting through. </p>

<p>This morning I called Miele. The tech support representative spent 15 minutes on the phone with me running through diagnostics and tests. At the end of our session he said there was no need to dispatch a technician, the cracked valve base was very likely the problem and to just order one. Wow, that was amazing service.</p>

<p>But…the very very happy ending to this story…the valve will cost me $35!!! When the parts department quoted the price I asked if maybe they’d left off a 0. Although the part is ‘simple’ it still consists of three different components. So…</p>

<p>One very very big thumbs up for Miele!</p>

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<p>Anyone care to help me. I want to replace the noisy dishwasher. I don’t want to deal with Sears service, ie no Kenmore brand. Narrowed it down to two brands/models.</p>

<p>Comments wanted. Especially on ease of loading bowls.</p>

<p>Bosch 800 series-68- (rest of letters/numbers refer to door style) vs Kitchenaid architect series -204-. Differences that I’m torn between-</p>

<p>Bosch- 44 dcb, 3rd rack-one piece, not removable, no extra heated dry, tines so close I would have to retrain H in loading it with deep bowls, good reliability record, “self cleaning” filter, can have front controls.</p>

<p>Kitchenaid-45 dcb, 3rd rack removable and splits in 2 (helpful in unloading silverware), heated drying in addition to Bosch method, easy to put things in the same way have done for years here and at old house, similar filter, top controls only plus handle that sticks out (dish towel rack function).</p>

<p>Both are in same price and feature range with options I like (do not want water softener- have whole house one). </p>

<p>thanks. waiting for sales, where to buy not a problem. May just drag H to the store again.</p>

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Am I allowed to drag up an old dishwasher thread?

My dishwasher that had worked like a charm for 1 years finally sprung a leak. It looked at first like a small hole, but when dh poke it, it became a big hole. I think it’s time for something new. All I actually care about is a delay start and clean dishes. I like the layout of our current dishwasher, but can probably get used to something else. In our previous house we had trouble fitting bigger dishes in. Is everyone still happy with what they have? Reviews are so confusing all 1s and 5s.