Kitchen Appliance Recommendation

10 years ago

Hi All,

We are needing to replace appliances in our kitchen and are looking for some recommendations on the following:

- 30" Slide-in/Island Gas Range (All gas or Dual fuel under 4.5k)
o Currently we are debating between GE Cafe(CGS990SETSS) and Wolf (RG304S) / Thermador(PRG304GH) and wondering if the premium markup for the pro style range is worth it.

o Not really looking for extreme heat, or self cleaning, would like something that bakes evenly and has a decent simmer capability.

- 36" Counter Depth Refrigerator (Dispenser not needed, under 3k)
o We are thinking Electrolux (EI23BC30K) or LG (LFC21776ST)

Any recommendations for brands, models or stores in the seattle are appreciated.

Thank you

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Comments (4)

deeageaux
10 years ago
Gas Range

There are no ranges certified for residential use that have extreme heat, just heat that allows proper sear or not.

Thermador burners gets down to 100 degrees/375 BTU. It does so by cycling the burner on and off creating a clickity clack sound that many find annoying others are ok with. Wolf gets down to 350 btu. 1 cup of nothing simmers that low.It is really a warm plate feature.

Bluestar offers burners that offer much more even heat that Wolf and significantly more even heat than Thermador. It goes down to 130 degrees. Plus you can pop out rotate and elevate the burner grate to increase the distance between the pan and the flame. Lowering the temp. Here you can simmer the absolute most delicate sauces even when cooking a dinner for two.

And you can give a restaurant quality sear to a steak.

The 30" oven also can accept a full size professional bakers sheet.

Below in link is an out of box floor model Bluestar RNB for $3300 plus $300 for shipping.

I am not a big fan of the LG gasket on gasket French Door design. It is a good candidate for early wear and repair. Although many perceive the LG to be quitter than the Elux I would still go with the Elux. Without the ice dispenser, these have proven to be quite reliable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestar RNB
zigandazag
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you deeageaux. Really appreciate the feedback. We talked to our appliance shop about BlueStar and he recommends against it (no development in a while, service not as good) and suggests American Range, do you think AR is a good choice ?. Any thoughts on DCS Fridge and Range ?.
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I've been faithfull to one brand for most of the thirty years of marriage with great results . I find the newer appliances are pretty and have a lot more functionality but don't last as long so when I found myself in sudden need of a new fridge I was clueless ! I did aa the research and looked at hundreds of reviews then realized you rarely here when someone is happy with something . So reviews can be helpful but misleading . I went to a box store got a load of garbage from the salesperson who in the end told me appliances aren't his usual department . He was convinced one brand was the best . I went to another box store and this time interviewed the salesperson first who has sold appliances for 30 plus years . I came away with a real education ! He broke down every make what they were and weren't good for . The one brand the other fella was pushing was apparently the worst for service and repairs ! This other experienced fella refuses to even sell them. I ended up saving over $700 on the fridge I purchased because this store price matches and they do the checking for you . I bought an LG with the option to purchase an extended warranty after 11 months which I plan on doing . I didn't want French doors because I thought of less storage , not so ! I have more storage ! He also showed me dishwashers my next purchase . There was so much I did not know and found out it doesn't make sense to have all one brand ! Bottom line I advise talk to a really experienced salesperson .
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I like the KA counter depth units personally. The KRFC302ESS is a good unit and has ice and water inside. Exterior dispensers are very unreliable so I would avoid them unless you absolutely have to. They cause far more service issues than any other component. If you can find the recently discontinued bosch version its worth while. That would be a B22CT80SNS which they no longer offer but there are some floating around distribution channels for sure. Its the same as the KRFC302 but with the bosch handles (and my match some of my other suggestions) Bosch DW makes a solid fairly priced machine. If you want no handle look at a SHP53. You can also just get an SHE53TL which is their most popular machine for good reason. 30" ranges depend. You can step up to say a Capital MCR305N (or MCR304 with 4 burners) without spending a ton more than a high end KA or GE range. Remember that 5 burners never equals 5 pots. Basically you can choose if you want to cook 4 things...or 1 thing in the middle. Not both. If you look at others GE and Electrolux offer pretty solid mid line ranges. You can get both between $1500-$2500 for most of their product line. Wall Ovens I like the bosch units for value. Thermador makes a good one...but that's going to be $4k ish. Bosch makes a combo that is the HBL8751UC. The biggest plus is that the units are joined, but not one piece. If the microwave burns out its entirely separate from the oven. Plus you get some oven functionality out of the microwave portion. Bev centers...I'm not super high on. If you don't mind your beverages being a little warmer than refrig temperature the monogram ZDBR240 is a decent unit. Otherwise get a marvel which will be a lower temperature but more basic shelving. ML24BCG0 is the base model around $1400
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deeageaux
10 years ago
The consensus here is that American Range is a good choice but Bluestar is a better choice.

If going with American Range then the Performer Series is the way to go.

Things that I don't like about AR include their double burner grate. A one burner grate is heavy enough to lift and clean. Double burner pro-style grates are very heavy. The only AR that does not have this is the step up range. That is just a silly gimmick. The other thing I don't like is the black coated cooktop surface. IMO difficult to clean. Much easier to clean cast iron or just let the small stuff patina over.

I have never baked in the double convection oven offered by AR. I imagine it can't be worse than standard pro style gas oven.

DCS fridges are rebadged Whirlpool/KitchenAid fridges. Usually good but not best in class.

DCS ranges were considered very good before they were bought out by Fisher Paykel but seem to have suffered a bit lately. There is really nothing particularly innovative here. They do offer an All-Gas model with self-clean but the simmer is 140 /~750 btu and it is above your stated limit of $4.5k.

Capital offers a Culinarian with self-clean, 23k btu very even heat burners that go down to 145 degrees plus one small pot burner that goes down to 500 btu.

no development in a while

They have developed quite a bit lately. In the Platinum Series.25k btu burners, true European convection, and quick preheat. And in the larger models they offer French plates and double griddles, and French doors. In 30" they offer standard grates that convert to wok grates, copper and different metal finishes, all the colors in the RAL color book including custom color knobs.

In my perfect world I would add self-clean and heavy duty motorized rotisserie to the Bluestar Platinum Series like in the Capital Culinarian plus the knob bezels that light on when a burner is on like Dacor.

But nobody makes that perfect range.
feisty68
10 years ago
I'm delighted with the 30" BlueStar RNB that I have been using for 6 months! I consider it a no-frills workhorse that is all about *cooking*. I am amused by the "no developments" comment. I consider that a selling point because I don't want to pay for things that light up and features that I won't use ;) . The price was great for what we got.

I did have a repair under warranty (that was a grey area because it may have been caused by a child's misuse) and they were great about sending the part to a reputable local appliance repair company that went about doing the fix. No problems with reaching a human being on the phone, diagnosing the problem and fix via photos/email, and arranging the service call. It did take a while to ship the part here, because I'm in Canada, but I don't blame them for that.

My only concern is that if I had a toddler or baby in the house I would want to train them to avoid the oven door and lower area which can get hot.

Kitchen Appliance Recommendation

Comments (4)

deeageaux

zigandazag
Original Author

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feisty68

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Kitchen Appliance Recommendation

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deeageaux

zigandazagOriginal Author

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zigandazag
Original Author