The Bosch "Ascentas/300 series" -- which are the entry level models --- have tubs whose sides and top are stainless and only the base of the tub is a a synthetic. This apparently makes the tub less costly to produce. The nylon/poly-whatever base is a dark gray, so not likely to yellow or brown the way a white plastic tub interior can. It will still dull and fade with extended use, if that matters to you. The poly-whatever tub base doesn't seem to make much, if any, difference in drying effectiveness or time. According to Consumer Reports' testing, the Ascentas/300 series have wash cycle times that are a bit faster than those of the the other Bosch DWs. CR says that the the Ascentas generally average about 95 minutes for cycle times while the 500 and 800 series average around 110 minutes in CR's testing. The difference is probably the result of the better water sensors in the 500 and 800 series acting on the highly turbid water and extremely dirty dishes that CR uses for its testing. On the SHE55 (500 series) unit that I bought last June, the cycle times actually run between 98 and 102 minutes. Probably because I scrape my plates and and the water is less turbid than that used in CR's tests. I don't have any problem with drying my dishes n my 500 series and didn't have any problem with drying with my previous Bosch DW which I had for 14 years. I tend to run the DW overnight, however, and so there may be more time for things to dry out. When I running multiple loads after a party or big holiday meal, some things do seem a bit damp right out of the DW. Also, hot. Giving them about 15 minutes to cool before handling takes care of the problem for me. Items with rimmed bases in which water can collect (colander bases, some coffee cups and wine glasses, for example) will hold a bit of water. Some plastic things (Gladware and Rubbermaid storage containers) do seem to hold water droplets. (OTOH, with no heater element in the base of the DW, there are no worries about washing plastics). Leaving the unit sit for a while after the cycles finish seems to take care of most of this. The Bosch capacity did not seem not noticeably smaller than other dishwashers I looked at when shopping last year. Some DWs seemed to be a bit taller, though, so you might be able to put taller items in a load. Never been a problem for me. The loading pattern is different and the bottom tines may be a bit closer together than some DWs I saw. Take some of your plates to a store and check this out. Took me a week or two to get used to it and I kept the racks from my old DW for "just in case." But, I quickly found that the new design was more flexible and had as much or more capacity as the old one. The 800 series will be the quietest with the 500 series being the next quietest. The 300/Ascentas are rated about the same as the old SHU333 Bosch that I replaced in June. I could hear the old Bosch running when I was in the kitchen but not when I was in the adjoining dining room. The first few times I ran the new 500, I had to put my ear to the DW door to hear it running. Two additional points on this. First, getting the DW positioned correctly and properly installing the toe kick are critical to nose suppression. Second, the final drain sequence is quite audible, as it is in almost every other dishwasher. On the differing model numbers, there are indeed a huge number of them, although they are pretty much all the same dishwashers. The differences within a line are largely cosmetic -- door color, do they take panels, top mounted versus front panel controls, etc. The store-specific ("exclusive") model numbers are basically for two reasons. One is that some stores (such as Sears and Best Buy) purchase huge shipments at one time, so the model numbers may help with routing and supply. Mainly, as deeageaux says, its a marketing scam. The store can say they only price match on identical model numbers so having "exclusive" models cuts down on the need to price match. If you need to buy ASAP, the Ascenta/300 series will be less expensive. Stainless exterior finishes run about $100 more than black and white and top-mounted controls also are more expensive than front panel controls. I happen to prefer front mounted panel controls. Too bad you weren't shopping a couple of weeks ago because holiday pricing can really reduce the price of the 500 and 800 series models. I got my 500 series on a holiday weekend where the price was only about $30 more at an appliance dealer than the Ascentas model I was planning to buy at Lowe's. But, if you need a DW ASAP, that won't work for you. (Too bad this couldn't have come up during President's Day weekend.) This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Mar 7, 13 at 15:48

We just had this unit installed yesterday (unit is installed on the return, with an elbow bypass to the warm air plenum feed going upstairs). I noticed that the drum is barely touching the water in the box, which I thought was normal. However, when the unit was running right now (i.e. furnace blowing), the drum wasn't touching any water at all. Is this normal? Will it wetten back up during the down cycle? I would think that it would rotate through the water continuously. Thanks for any ideas here...

Sounds like a foreign object is stuck in the trapway. Maybe a toy, feminine product, disposable razor part, Q-tips, etc.? Three ways to deal with it: 1) wait and maybe it will clear itself. 2) You might get lucky by trying to clear it with a closet auger (careful not to scratch the bowl, so have it retracted when you insert it so the rubber elbow is the only thing that touches the bowl. 3) pull the toilet up and see if something is stuck at the base of the toilet - no fun.

Open the pump skimmer lid and make sure the basket is clean, then take a bucket of water and fill it to the top. Put the lid back on and start the pump back up. This water will help it prime. If a lot more air gets sucked in from air pockets in the pipe, and the pumping seems to have stopped again, turn the pump off and refill it with priming water again. This should work! I doubt the pump was hurt. You will find out soon enough.