This is right up my alley- I spent more time researching washers/dryers than I care to admit! I think it's because we have a lot of cloth diapers in addition to all of our other laundry. We went with a front loader for several reasons, so my research was limited to that type...looked at reviews from Consumer reports, best buy (consumer ratings,etc), amazon.com, epinions, etc. As far as front loaders go, Miele, Bosch, GE and Electrolux were on our short list. Bosch and Miele were eliminated because there seemed to be many complaints about either the washer or dryer and I wanted to buy the same brand of washer and dryer. These things spin at an incredibly high speed so you need to be strategic about where you put them and make sure they are installed and balanced correctly- otherwise you will have vibrations! GE was the next to go because the new front load model that we were looking at (it has a triangular door instead of the old circular one, if you need a visual) has had several complaints about a strange rubber smell. It seemed that the inside seam of the washer was dropping rubber shards into various reviewers' loads of laundry. Since I read this from several people on different sites we crossed them off the list. Maybe they have fixed the problem by now, who knows? Electrolux was new at the time so there were fewer reviews, but all the feedback was excellent. We installed them 2 months ago and I am really happy with our choice. The washer actually comes in a more expensive model that saves something like 50+ washing options/modes, but we went with the turn dial, less expensive one. The shortest cycle time is 18 min and the longest is almost 2 hours. Most cycles are 30-60 min. We use the long cycle to sanitize the diapers and the outcome is superb. Nothing like cleaning cloth diapers to test a machine! It is very gentle on our clothes and they don't take as long to dry (or I dry everything on a lower temp) since the machine spins so much water out of the load. With regard to the dryer- so far, so good. Both the washer and dryer hold an enormous amount of laundry (I think it has the largest capacity on the market, but don't quote me on that one ;). There is a neat option, which I haven't used yet, which allows you to put a shelf in the dryer and dry delicates in a static position (without tossing everything around). I haven't taken the time to read the manual yet and figure it out. Good luck- there is a lot of information out there and very little of it is consistent!

Perhaps you missed Tiger's remark a few posts back, but model (mdl) 8321 is the same as the thermsotat model your dealer is willing to provide. TH8321 is the actual product model number. You are good to go with that thermostat. I agree with replacing the lineset and adding a media filter cabinet to protect the equipment. Also agree that there is a good chance the 10 kW heater package is sufficient, but cannot say for certain unless a load calculation is performed (and one likely should be in my opinion). As stated, either way you would want the auxiliary heat to be staged (dependent on proper setup by installing techs).

I actually loved the research, but then I'm weird that way : ) The work was fine (partial DIY) as I love getting physical... up to a point. Now I'm just totally exhausted and sore. The decisions of what to buy, which to choose? My goodness yes I'm tired of it. Granted, some of it's been fun (easier choices) - all the kitchen 'jewelry' (faucets, pulls) were easy, as were the appliances (I can be pretty decisive about needs) but when it came time to tally up the cost, that was not fun! But big things like colors for cabinets, counter tops, "what type and how much and where" on the lighting... some easy, some hard. But I have to admit, despite all the difficult choices, I agree with oldbat2be when she said: "there's a lot of satisfaction involved in making the right decision and even more in recognizing that you didn't proceed with your original plan which wouldn't have been as good as what you ended up with" It's such a wonderful feeling to look at our choices and say YES, that's wonderful! And had we moved faster with our remodel, we would never have had the chance to change our minds or improve upon certain things. What I'm really tired of? Having to use the same utility sink to wash dishes, to clean up filthy hands, to clean up after our dog (who's in diapers now due to incontinence) and all the scrubbing and disinfecting of that dang sink! I hate carrying things all the way to it, carrying things back... oh to have a kitchen again! With a sink... no, 2 sinks! I'll be in kitchen heaven : )

When we remodeled our kitchen a couple of years ago, we skipped the range bit and went with a Bluestar electric wall oven and a Wolf induction cooktop.. We really like the Bluestar because there's no bending over, the french doors don't stick out very far, and you can put a full size baking tray in or a dozen "take to work" loaves. The induction cooktop cooks fast and keeps the kitchen cool. Next time it will be a Bluestar induction--which wasn't even announced when we did the remodel--cooktop because the Bluestar has knobs. The touchscreen and I don't get along all that well :-)