Appliance advice urgently needed

[bayouelton]

I'm finally getting around to rebuilding my house on the Mississippi Gulf Coast so when I get to the kitchen part I'm obviously going to need everything. The house I'm building will be a small cottage style 1 BR house so space utilization and kitchen efficiency are major concerns. However, the information out there has caused me such a sensory overload that I now have an swollen heart and an enlarged head - and I don't mean it's made me any smarter. If anyone out there could help me here with a couple of basic questions I would be most grateful.

1) If wall ovens were sports cars then the one I would like the most would be the GE Monogram ZET1SLSS (racks slide out on roller bearings and it looks really neat). However, Consumer Reports gave it a luke warm review but the model they reviewed was for a ZET1SOL1[SS]. What's frustrating, though, is that there ain't no stinking ZET1SOL1[SS]! See GE Monogram Collection: Appliances: Built-In Single Wall Ovens. So was that an old review or what? Does anyone out there actually have a ZET1SLSS??? Ever heard of one?

2) I'm also interested in the Monogram Speed Cooking Advantium. Is there any reason to get the 240v model instead of the 120v model ($1000 difference)?

3) The above appliances are described with a language and dizzying array of terms that is totally foreign to me. What is the difference between:
- integrated and electronic convection?
- trivection and "speed cooking" technology?
If I can find and install a combination electronic convection stainless steel tri-vecting speed cooking double wall oven will I be breaking any federal laws or violating local statutes?

4) The refrigerator I'm interested in is the counter depth side by side LG LRSC21935TT. Any inputs on LG refrigerators?

5) For washer - dryer I'm looking at the LG Steam Washer WM2487HRM type. Thumbs up or down?

6) Haven't thought much yet about vent hoods, trash compactors, and dishwashers.

Thanks so much in advance to anyone who can help,
Elton
bayouelton@aol.com

 

[Andy M.]

Hey, Elton. Welcome to DC. Several of our members have been through a kitchen remodeling recently. I trust one of them will be along soon to offer an opinion.

 

[Robo410]

Alton Brown likes GE monogram. I don't like GE at all. Not liking Frigidaire much anymore either. Look to THermador Dakor Wolf Kitchenaide Miele Sears Pro. LG fridges caught fire a while back...don't know if they're anybetter now. (So don't go Sears fridge LG..)

 

[Mirandgl]

Welcome Elton and good luck with your rebuild. The model number question puzzled me a few years ago when we were shopping for some new appliances. I called the manufacturer direct and confronted them about the issue. The verbal response I got was that they issue a specific model number code to some of large retail outfits. For example: I found identical GE stoves at places like Lowes and Sears. I matched the specs with the online catalog that had yet a different model number. They were all the same item so I went with the best price and service.

 

[Yakuta]

Model Numbers do change so best thing to do is to go to a large appliance store that has a good reputation and a lot of different brands. Here in Chicago we have ABT and you can actually order stuff from their website too. It's an awesome place and the variety of appliances is mind boggling plus they ship anywhere in the US and best thing you can see all the latest models that are available.

Mongoram comments - I don't have a Monogram oven but do have a large all refrigerator Monogram unit ( pricey one) and I absolutely love it. I have had great luck with all my GE appliances (even in my older house) but as with any appliance (even subzero, wolf, viking etc. that cost a pretty penny ) you should always get warranty. It's a peice of equipment and if your luck is not in your favor atleast your warranty covers you.

I have high end Kenmore appliances (not sure what that line is called) but it's all stainless with all the bells and whistles made by Kitchen Aid and marketed as Kenmore. I could not be more thrilled. I have been using my oven, cooktop, warming drawer, dishwasher day in and day out for almost 3 years now and they not only look as good as new but have been totally problem free.

You may want to check them out as well because you may save some money. I also hear great reviews of the Kenmore Trio. A lot of people have that refrigerator and love it.

I personally am not a huge fan of side by side refrigerators (LG or whatever brand). It just is not practical for my type of cooking or storing of food. I could barely fit anything in that narrow/awkward refrigerator space and even in the freezer.

I am lucky to have a 36 inch all refrigerator unit but if I could not afford that one I would have gone with something like a Trio.

All the best.

 

[bayouelton]

Ge ?????????

GE monogram. I don't like GE at all. Not liking Frigidaire much anymore either.

Thanks for the input, Robo - but why not???

 

[spdrdr]

Good luck with your rebuilding! I love my Kenmore appliances - If I had it to do over I would go with the stainless finish instead of the Black I have now. It shows every little dust mote & careless smear!

 

[Constance]

I have a friend who is an appliance repairman, and he has worked on all kinds of refrigeraters, both domestic and commercial. He says Amana is the best refrigerator made. He also recommends AGAINST side by side, as a lot of cold air is lost every time you open the freezer door, and AGAINST a drink and ice dispenser in the door, because they give so much trouble. I got an Amana with a freezer drawer and icemaker in the bottom, and a filtered water dispenser inside the top. It's has a stainless steel front and black sides, to go with my other appliances.

You can't beat Whirlpool or Kenmore (also made by Whirlpool) for washers and dryers. I also have a Kenmore glass topped stove, and love it...it's the best stove I've ever had. The Kenmore dishwasher is quite efficient, also, and has not given us a single problem.

 

[Katie H]

Except for our Jenn-Air dishwasher we bought at the Salvation Army trift store for $15, all our major appliances are Whirlpool. We are more than happy with them and when we redo our kitchen, we'll definitely get Whirlpool again. Our washer/dryer and upright freezer are Whirlpool, too. All quality appliances.

When we moved into this house, there was a side-by-side refrigerator. I've never been more frustrated with a refrigerator in my life. It was a constant challenge trying to fit larger containers in it. Hated the freezer part, too. Feel the whole concept of this type of refrigerator is very inefficient.

We now have a nice large "regular" refrigerator with multiple adjustable shelves and couldn't be more pleased.

You mention that you are building a modest home. When it comes to saving space, I couldn't be happier with our "stacked" washer/dryer. Until we moved into this house, I had had the traditional seperate washer and dryer. I didn't realize that a full-sized washer and dryer were available in the stacking configuration. We had to do it here because of the available space.

I LOVE my set. If I'd known many years ago what I know now, I would've chosen a stack model hands down.

 

[Caine]

Both my refrigerator and chest freezer are Frigidaire, and although they are nothing special, just palin everyday units, they have behaved respectibly for the few years that I have had them. The warranties ran out at least twice now, perhaps 3 times, according to the extended warrantie offers I keep getting from Frigidaire but never respond to, and they've never broken, except for those bars that hold stuff on the door shelves of the fridge. I have had to replace them several times because I have a tendency to lose my temper when something I know was in there has disappeared and slam the door. HARD! Fortunately, I haven't had that problem since Plague of Locusts got married and moved away.

On another note, does anyone know anything about Gaffers & Sattlers stoves, and especially microwave ovens? They are no longer in business, and my microwave just went Phhhfft! overnight a few months ago. The interior light comes on when you open the door, so it has power, but the entire front panel is blacked out: No digital clock and the buttons don't work. I would repair/replace it, but like I said, G&S went out of business and I can't find anyone local that knows how to repair them. The microwave and vent hood are an intregal part of the stove, and the stove and vent hood work perfectly, so I do not want to replace the entire unit. All I can think of doing it to wait for someone else in the condo complex to replace their stove, if they all haven't already done so, and snatch the microwave out of it.

 

[Andy M.]

A generic appliance repair shop may be able to replace the digital panel for you.

 

[CharlieD]

I have a side by side fridge, Can't wait for it to break so I can get one with freezer on the bottom. As far as stoves go. It is believed (by many) that the best stoves on the market today are dual fuel. Gas top and electric oven. If you are not that much into cooking i wouldn't worry about all those tripleconvection things. Though convection oven is nice. Washer and dryer are front loader without any reservation.

 

[Michelemarie]

WElcome and congrats on new appliances!

I have just gone through a kitchen remodel and have all GE appliances except for the refrigerator. I HAD a side by side and hated it but DH loved it. We now have a french door (side by side with bottom freezer) and love it. I have a Kenmoore which is made by LG - I would recommend it.

I have a built-in GE Profile double convection oven and, so far, am very happy with it. The fan does stay on for a bit after I turn the convection off and it is not loud but not silent either.

We have the GE advantium microwave and we love it. DH HAD to have it and I argued til I was blue in the face, he was right, it is awesome! I highly recommend it.

We have a GE gas on ceramic built-in cooktop which I love also. Continuous iron grates, it is nice. The only difference between ss and black is a stainless piece on the front and stainless knobs, but I didn't want plastic knobs so fessed up the extra money.

WE are having problems with the GE Profile DW #PDW9700 - we are on our THIRD new one and this one is now having problems. All four times it has been a different p roblem. I love the DW just wish it would work. WE are in the midst of deciding what to do here.

PM me with any questions you might have, I did do alot of research on all appliances and I would be happy to help you.

 

[Robo410]

Thanks for the input, Robo - but why not???

Read MIchaelMarie above...unaccountable problems, rusting, burnout of elements, fan motor, you name it...leaks etc in fridge and dishwasher. Frigidaire has also gotten shoddy recently. Whirlpool is still decent as are many high end lines .. THe one to avoid there is Viking...lots of problems, poor customer service.

 

[Michelemarie]

Robo - does Whirlpool make an integrated dishwasher - one that will take a cabinet panel as the front? I will have to check it out.

I am so frustrated with the darn dishwasher. Problem is we had a cabinet panel made for this dishwasher. I have called several appliance dealers and no one has had any problems with this model - argh! The store has been wonderful about getting us new dishwashers every time - first one leaked and they didn't know why, second one made a loud noise and they didn't know why AND the pump "holder" cracked so that had to be replaced so they just gave me a new one but it broke before the new one came, the third one, the current one, had the heating element go on by itself and it smelled horrible, we opened the dishwasher, it was so hot it burned my utensils on the top rack! Then I saw dish detergent on the bottom - the repairman said that the smart dispense (dispenses by itself whatever soap is needed) was probably burned. He was incredibly concerned about the heating element, he said no appliance should ever get that hot. Now we are trying to get through to GE - that is where we are now. Problem is, I have this expensive door panel that will fit only this model. Even if we eat the cost of the door, there is no other dw I want except maybe the 3-rack kitchen aid but I hear they have horrible customer service (I have heard this from 5 different people, two of which sell them and three which own them). All appliance dealers that I have checked (4) have t old me to stay with this model because it is one of the best domestic ones on the market and there have been no other problems! Argh!

I don't want to go Boshe or Miele because they don't have food grinders, I must have a food grinder. I did like the Kenmoore Pro which is also a three-tier - I think made by KitchenAid but serviced by Sears - however, they don't have an integrated one meaning my door cannot be used! Sorry to go on and on, maybe I should move this to the venting thread!

On a brighter note, I do like all the other GE appliances I purchased and have had no problems with any of them.

Thanks for your info Robo!

 

[bayouelton]

Boshe

I don't want to go Boshe or Miele because they don't have food grinders,

What's a food grinder?

And funny you should mention Boshe as I'm thinking about a Boshe refrigerator. It was encouraging to hear that you like all your other GE appliances, though.

 

[carolelaine]

We got GE appliances when we built our house 4 years ago and we hate them. Everyone one of them has been repaired more than once and the self cleaning function on the oven has never worked. I had a Bosch dishwasher that was great, but now I have a Whirlpool dishwasher, washer and dryer and they have been very reliable. No problems at all. We would never buy GE again.

 

[GotGarlic]

Side by side refrigerator

When we moved into this house, there was a side-by-side refrigerator. I've never been more frustrated with a refrigerator in my life. It was a constant challenge trying to fit larger containers in it. Hated the freezer part, too. Feel the whole concept of this type of refrigerator is very inefficient.

We're renovating our kitchen and I just wanted to mention, in case there might be some misunderstanding, that the refrigerator we're buying (can't remember the brand, sorry) has a freezer on the bottom and what they call French doors - it looks like a side-by-side on top, but when you open the doors, you have a full-width fridge. I was wondering if the original poster may have meant a fridge like this.

 

[Michelemarie]

Gotgarlic, that is the fridge we purchased - dh likes side by side and I hate them, I wanted a freezer on the bottom so this was a nice compromise. The only issue I have with this refrigerator is that we have ice and water in the door and the ice maker is small - making 124 cubes a day, which is fine for me, but my mother in law just visited for 10 days and drained the entire freezer of ice! Might not be good on a party day either.

Bayouelton - a food grinder chops up all the food particles left on dishes and disposes of it. None of the foreign dishwashers will have this. The food trap at the bottom needs to be cleaned. I don't know, only heard, that this starts to smell.

I also heard that other than GE, Amana makes all brands of domestic french door bottom freezer fridges now except, of course Kenmoore and LG. Again, I don't know that for sure but just was told that by a large appliance center (ABT). The insides of them sure do look alike.

To add to my rant and rave about GE dishwashers yesterday, just yesterday GE listed a recall of 2.5 million dishwashers - fire hazard! This is almost the same problem I am having except this recall is for the dishwasher drying agent and mine is from the smart dispense dishwasher soap! Sadly, my dw is not in the recall but I am afraid all these people who could get rebates will go to the store and buy my dishwasher -which has almost the identical problem. I have been on the phone today the US Consumer Affairs and the store I purchased it from is trying to get in touch with Corporate office of GE - this is dangerous - there have been 191 reports and 56 reports of actual property damage and 12 reports of fires that went outside of the dw - serious stuff. If you have a GE dw check this link out:

General Electric Recalls Dishwashers Due to Fire Hazard

It was on the local news here too. Very scary. I don't know what will happen in my situation - I'll keep you posted.

Also, I agree with CharlieD - gas cooktop and electric oven - very nice.

 

[jaymonaghan1]

Model numbers are always something to watch....but if you are dealing with a large reputable reseller its usually not a problem. Always Always check model numbers against the manufactuer web site and question when they don't match.

It is a common thing in the PC industry for a shop like Bestbuy to get a specific model number granted to them. This way they can offer price matching without worrying that they will be undercut by anyone.
Ie They sell a HP1101 while the rest of the world sells a HP1100.

There are also what is referred to as grey market sellers. These are either dealers that are unauthorized to sell a product (often internet resellers) or the store purchased the product at a signficant discount and owns the cost of warrantying the item. This is fine if the store stays in business and actually does honor the warranty. Some times its invisble to the consumer. Ie Whirlpool comes out and fixes the unit but the bill gets covered by xxx retailer vs whirpool proper.

Leons and united have been known to go grey and has been cited before for failing to disclose an item is refurbished (vs new).