Which appliance purchase was your worst mistake?

[gregm]

I bought a Westinghouse electric bacon cooker at a garage sale and boy was that a big mistake. I bet it's the same kind Essie claims she got about 40 years ago. I wonder when they stopped making them? I wonder why they
made them in the first place, since I can't believe Westinghouse couldn't
detect the product's problems before releasing it to the public. I sure can't find anything on the Net about the product (except here).

 

[gregm]

We also had a GE side-by-side refridgerator which was no good. Something went bad with it after only 4 years, something no longer under warranty, and too expensive to fix due to where it was located (labor costs) plus the replacement part was only going to be covered for 90 days! We bought a new fridge we'll be paying on for 2 years and already the ice maker has slowed down to the point where we're going to need to call the repair guy out again. This will be the third time. For the lack of space this side-by-side
has shown us, we regret not having bought a Sears large fridge (with no freezer section) and a separate under-the-counter (or standalone) icemaker. Since we already have two chest freezers in our basement, having a freezer with our new fridge wouldn't be a necessity. But that Sears no-freezer fridge was too big for the space we had. We told Sears they need to make a smaller version, preferably one with ice and water through the door, but I suppose there aren't enough customers with these needs. And I am not rich enough to have one custom built! So that's my story, and I stay away from GE now, and may stay away from Amana if my icemaker problem isn't resolved soon! Anyone else have troubles with GE or Amana? Is there no refridgerator brand which makes them to last, like they were in the 50s?

 

[justplainbill]

The Kitchen Aid RVSA rotor slicer/shredder($44.95)- most of the cones had pretty dull cutting edges and the cones seem quite susceptible to rusting. Best I can say is that it's pretty good for grating fair quantities of parmagiano & locatelli.

 

[GrillingFool]

Magic Bullet Blender/Chopper Piece of Carp.
Doesn't chop worth beans, doesn't blend, motor
smells like it is overheating after 3 seconds.

Pffffffffffttttttt.

Glad I got it super cheap.

 

[gregm]

To GrillingFool:
I came across the Magic Bullet at a garage sale for fairly cheap but
was wary, and passed it up. Now I am glad I didn't get it. How are they
able to make it seem to work so well on TV when it is really a piece of crap?
Has anyone else had the same experience?

 

[Katie H]

How are they
able to make it seem to work so well on TV when it is really a piece of crap?

Hype and aggressive marketing...and plenty of folks who are gullible enough to believe they, the Magic Bullet people, have built a better mousetrap. Plus, so many of us are desirous of doing things efficiently and quickly, to say nothing of the "healthy" aspect of what it was touted as doing for you with that regard.

 

[Corey123]

The Kitchen Aid RVSA rotor slicer/shredder($44.95)- most of the cones had pretty dull cutting edges and the cones seem quit susceptible to rusting. Best I can say is that it's pretty good for grating fair quantities of parmagiano & locatelli.

The K'Aid good grinder accessory (Model FGA).

What a piece of crap that is?!! It almost killed my K'Aid K-5SSUW Stand Mixer. It made the mixer start to labor and it almost siezed the transmission!

This accessory is all plastic, which I don't like, and to me, is flimsily-made!! Yeah, most of their accessories are made of cheap plastic materials which can break and become useless.

Only the grain mill is made of metal, and even THAT is said to be problemattic!

I returned it for a refund and bought a Waring Pro electric grinder instead, which performs very well, I might add. Its hopper is made of an all-cast metal housing and the worm drive as well. Even the feed tray is metal! The only plastic parts are the wrench and the pusher.

 

[foodstorm]

Our worst appliance mistake was the whirlpool microwave/range hood combo that we installed when we replaced our appliances a few years back. DH installed it, so it is definitely vented to the outdoors, but the thing is just wimpy, it barely pulls grease, smoke, steam, odors, etc up into it, even on its highest settings (and it is a real pita to clean!). After comparing notes with friends who have similar appliances in their kitchens, and after reading the comments here in this thread, it's clear these appliances just don't work well. If/when we can afford a remodel, the microwave is going somewhere else and I'm going to install a proper range hood with enough pull to practically suck my pots and pans off the stovetop!

 

[Poppinfresh]

I've had my fair share of useless appliance purchases. A food dehydrator and vacuum sealer...at least I used the dehydrator to make jerky a couple of times.

I have a Cuisinart waffle iron I've used maybe 3 times. Decided I like Eggos better.

I think I've got a breadman in my garage. I say think because I never took it out of the box and am not sure I took it with me in our last move.

And the king of them all...for some reason, someone gave me one of those hot dog cookers that uses the heated rollers. Needless to say it doesn't get much use.

 

[wysiwyg]

I'd say is my red Kitchen Aid stand mixer. The appliance looks great and cost me $ 100 (was a floor sample in clearance at Sears) but since I have little counter space, I rarely use it. Since I have granite countertops, I end up mixing dough by hand most of the time. Great investment, but little use.

The smoke and grease from the stovetop get trapped by a couple of fliter under the microwave. You must replace these filters about every 6 months.
At least, this is the way Jenn-Air does it.

 

[Andy M.]

...The smoke and grease from the stovetop get trapped by a couple of fliter under the microwave. You must replace these filters about every 6 months.
At least, this is the way Jenn-Air does it.

What material are the filters made of? If they are metal (aluminum) they are washable and reuseable.

 

[Corey123]

The portable a/c unit that I had. It was an expensive hunk of junk!!

As long as you sat in front of it, you were fine. But when you move away from it, the rest of the room was still torridly hot!!

Also, the thing had to be babysat with, because as long as it's on, you have to keep on emptying the water from it! I couldn't even leave the house or go to sleep with it on!!!

 

[wysiwyg]

Andy,
The filter units (two) are made of an Aluminium and Steel mesh and they are reusable. Jenn-Air recommends cleaning them periodically with just warm water and detergent.

 

[KCAT]

(hopefully I am posting this correctly and not accidently replying to someone) I would have to say my crockpot. I got it with the intention of making ribs, but have never gotten around to it. Other than soups, not sure what else I can make in it, so it sits in the counter under the sink, never used once.

 

[Katie H]

(hopefully I am posting this correctly and not accidently replying to someone) I would have to say my crockpot. I got it with the intention of making ribs, but have never gotten around to it. Other than soups, not sure what else I can make in it, so it sits in the counter under the sink, never used once.

Sorry to hear that, KCAT. I've had a crock-pot for over 30 years and use it all the time. As a matter of fact, last month I conducted a little experiment to see how many meals could be done in it for the month. I ended up cooking 17 of 30 of June's meals in my crock-pot.

I use it to make homemade applesauce and it's great for caramelizing onions for soup, etc. I find it to be a very useful and versatile appliance.

 

[justplainbill]

The CucinaPro rotary grater/grinder (nussreiber?) was a real looser. The gratinging drums did not fit properly into the housing (wobbled). The body of the grater was advertised as being made of aluminum (nonferrous) but a magnet stuck to it (ferrous). The suction cup base would not hold suction on glasslike surfaces. It was made in China.

 

[Mystic]

Being new here I found it interesting reading through this thread. I guess the moral is one person's junk is another person's treasure. It seems for everything one person hated, another used daily. Except maybe that pasta cooker thingie.

Reading about crock pots made me hungry so I searched and found a good crock pot recipie for tomorrow that I could cook while at work. Then I set out to find where I put my crock pot. I can't find it anywhere!! I know I have one, I remember buying it. It's gotta be around here someplace. But I looked everywhere!! It's not like it could've just disappeared. Maybe the kids where playing with it. Well, I'm sure it will turn up someplace.

Perhaps there should be another thread for the stuff we buy and use so infrequently we have no idea where we put it

Michael

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I love this thread since it illustrates that there really is no one way to get good results in the kitchen. I use my crockpot most of the time when cooking meats since it's the only way I can get prepare meat that doesn't resemble shoe leather! (I have had a recent success with ribs in the oven thanks to DC) But if you had asked me about it even 3 years ago, I would have said it was under the sink gathering dust since I hadn't really ever run into anyone who could tell me how to use it. I also find that I go through spells of using one thing or another heavily for a while and then not using it again - blender, toaster oven, stick blender etc. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one!

 

[Claire]

When I was young and single, I lived by my crock pot. I haven't owned one in years. Know why? Friends and family. When I need one now I call a friend and her son shows up with two of them. When I lived in Florida, I borrowed from my mom. There is nothing better than a network of friends who love to cook. But when I was in my 20s I would put some meat in it, along with veggies, and live off of it for the entire week. Plus feed my cat with it. Now I just need one for parties, so above mentioned friend supplies it for me.

 

[Corey123]

My old Rival Crock Pot Slow Cooker is 30 years old, and it's STILL kicking!!

It still kicks butt! I wouldn't part with it for all the money in the world unless it broken down.

And it's not showing any signs of that.