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beth09

Who went conservative/budget on appliances?

beth09
8 years ago

Would love to hear from you, good and bad. I will be redoing my entire kitchen sometime in the (hopefully) near future. I have no need nor desire for terribly expensive pieces. I don't want the cheapest they make, just affordable and well working.

Comments (101)

  • Texas_Gem
    8 years ago

    Well, I had to go pull out my owners manual and do some reading!!

    Yep, apparently I can lock the door if I hold the cancel button down for 3 seconds.

    Also, the manual does say to remove all the racks, not just the bottom one because the racks can turn blue from the high heat and won't glide efficiently.


    The reason I didn't know this much (and why I've never used the quick bake or self clean) is because I don't use the oven that often.


    I have double wall ovens that I use on a daily basis, that oven only get used when I have large meals. I do also use it as a proofing oven every week.

    So I suppose I can't answer questions as to how well the oven works but I LOVE the cooktop.

    beth09 thanked Texas_Gem
  • Bunny
    8 years ago

    Beth, sorry, forgot you asked that. I think my water is right in the middle. Is a rating of 5 in the middle? I don't have a water softener. It just seems like normal water to me.

    beth09 thanked Bunny
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  • Micki-Micki
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I bought budget. It was a game to me. Lol. I was able to flip shop your way points at Sears for discounted appliances.

    The only true splurge is my Bosch dishwasher (that I got at lowes). I really like it. It is super quiet.

    i am not a fan of my range. I made the mistake of buying a whirlpool range with Aqua lift. I hate it! I prefer the old school self-clean cycle. I should have purchased the Samsung, but this was in line with what I wanted to pay. But the level of cooking, it gets the job done. I am a Sunday huge meal cooker and a simple meals during the week.

    beth09 thanked Micki-Micki
  • Gracie
    8 years ago

    My water is soft, around 2. Some Miele models have a water softener dispenser which dispenses their own brand of salt. DK if other DWs have a dispenser.

    beth09 thanked Gracie
  • sheloveslayouts
    8 years ago

    We bought our new fridge and gas range at local Sears Outlets for 50% off retail. The fridge had a dent on the side near the bottom and the range was a model that was discontinued.

    http://www.searsoutlet.com/

    It took a while to get appliances that fit my criteria. I checked stock regularly (obsessively) online and then cross referenced the available, criteria-meeting appliances with online reviews. We've only had them since the end of February, but I'm pleased. There's a lot more to choose from if you want stainless steel. I wanted white.

    beth09 thanked sheloveslayouts
  • toriat
    8 years ago

    Our new house went over budget so we decided to stick with the appliances the builder offered. They are whirlpool and seem nice enough.

    beth09 thanked toriat
  • sherri1058
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I had 2 splurges with my last reno. The first was my entry level Miele DW which I love. The other was my KA range. I have to say that because of the range, my cooking skills have improved exponentially... In part because I enjoy it so much more, and in part because it is just a better appliance. With my upcoming reno I am reluctantly giving up my range because as I get older an induction cooktop plus wall oven seems like the right way to go.

    Also, I forgot to remove my oven racks during the self clean, and yes they discoloured, and they screeched when I slid them out, but a little olive oil on a paper towel run along the edge of the rack silenced them perfectly!

    beth09 thanked sherri1058
  • zorroslw1
    8 years ago

    We are building a new home, hopefully it will be finished in 2 to 3 weeks. We are purchasing a Maytag gas stove $800.

    A Maytag refrigerator about $2000 but only paying that much for the. Fridge because the hubby insisted on the water/ice dispenser on the outside door.

    Maytag microwave under $400.

    A Bosch dishwasher about $900. Because I hate my current GE dishwasher. It does not always get the food off the dishes. A little speck here and there. I had a Bosch previously and it did an a great job, I never had to check to see if the dishes clean.

    I tell my husband, I don't need all the bells and whistles because I don't use them.




    beth09 thanked zorroslw1
  • practigal
    8 years ago

    My water is very hard. I have been using a portable Danby dishwasher which requires that you use drying agent and salt. Initially I didn't use the salt and my glasses began clouding up. After I started adding salt they all cleaned up very nicely and now everything comes out sparkling. I think that the bosh is the only other dishwasher that allows you to add the salt.

    beth09 thanked practigal
  • javiwa
    8 years ago

    Not sure what our water hardness is rated around here, but it was too hard for us! We purchased a softener forever ago, and our dishes/glasses come out spotless. No hardwater marks to constantly wipe up around faucets/sinks, and I'm sure we're using less detergent (laundry and dishwasher) than if we didn't have our softener. Did you just add water softener to your shopping list? :)

    beth09 thanked javiwa
  • ediblekitchen
    8 years ago

    Beth, I have terribly hard water. So even though I was all set to get a less expensive DW, when I heard about the Bosch model with the built in soft water, that is what I went with. Best splurge ever. It even cleaned my old filmy glasses back to their sparkly newness.

    beth09 thanked ediblekitchen
  • pnwraingal
    8 years ago

    Hi Beth,

    When we remodeled (total gut job) our kitchen in our 1925 bungalow 2 years ago, I kept my 4 year old white Kenmore Elite bottom freezer refrigerator, which I had bought new on sale in 2009 for $900 because it runs fine and I like it . I did buy a new white Whirlpool Stainless Steel tub DW at Home Depot for $550, and was incredibly fortunate to find a 30" GE Profile Dual Fuel (gas cooktop, electric oven) range in white at a neighborhood appliance store that had been part of a display kitchen for a now-defunct home remodeling company. It had never been used and was still under full warranty from GE! It would have cost well over $2000 new, I got it for $999! I absolutely love it! That was the best score I made in the remodel

    We saved money by keeping the existing fridge and buying white appliances, but we have an all white kitchen in a vintage home and we wanted all white appliances. It all looks perfect together. All the appliances fit our lifestyle and I can cook any meal I want with them.

    I had a 1970's electric range and 1970's DW in my old kitchen that came with the house when we bought it in 1992. What I have now is a huge step up. We wanted to keep the prices low and did spend the extra money for wood custom cabinetry, quartz counters, and oak hardwood floors. The old kitchen was remodeled in the 1950's and was all wood site built cabinetry so we wanted to keep the new one with the same quality cabinets and timeless style.

    beth09 thanked pnwraingal
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Jenn, fun? Gee, I wish I was finding it so. But so much money riding on so many things that may or may not work as they should, leaves me feeling more apprehensive than anything. lol I will get back with you when it's all over. ;)

    TG, lol Thanks for the extra info. And totally understand why you wouldn't be particularly familiar with the oven part. Isn't it great having more than one oven?! (I have an extra range in the basement) And thank you again for all your effort to bring me the info on this range. :)

    Linelle, thank you. I looked it up, there seem to be a couple ways of measuring the hardness. We had a guy come out right after we moved here to test the water. I want to remember a score of something like 21, hubby wants to remember around 18. All I know is, the guy said it was the hardest water rating he had ever seen.

    Michelle, what is Aqua lift?

    benjesbride, great finds and great sleuthing!

    sherri, nice tip on the racks. But this begs the question, why don't they all make racks that can take the cleaning? Must be cheaper this way...

    javiwa, what it has done is make me want to write my hubby a note that says, we have needed a softening system for 29 years, and guess what, we're getting one! :) When we first moved here and found out how hard the water is, we had 3 kids and that (softener system) seemed like more of a luxury. So it didn't get installed. Then life happens and you just live with things. then we talked on and off a few years ago, but nothing was decided. Time to decide. Not only does it cause nightmarish film deposits in the showers/tubs/glassware, I know it has to be hard on the appliances.

    edible, impressive!

    pnwraingal, What a GREAT score indeed!

    Well, it sure does seem like Bosch wins the prize for happy customers. Thanks again all!

  • javiwa
    8 years ago

    beth -- completely understand and have walked your path. It was DH who really, really, really felt like he couldn't live w/ soft water, so who was I to tell him no? :) He installed it himself, so DIY always brings down the cost drastically. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to afford it.

    beth09 thanked javiwa
  • mrspete
    8 years ago

    Count me in the camp of "I can afford to buy any appliances, but I'm going with mid-range options". As several others have said, they need to do what they need to do -- I'm not impressed by size or fancy features that're never used anyway. I rarely use more than two pots on the stove at once -- I doubt any of us do. I've never quite understood the "need" for double ovens, and I've never seen the point in paying more to separate your oven from your stovetop.

    Not to be braggy, but I am generally acknowledged as the best cook among my family and friends, and I use my kitchen constantly. I think my appliance purchases would be termed low-end-of-moderate. I don't want the cheapest of the cheap, but bells and whistles are things that're just going to break.

    Things that matter to me in my new house appliances:

    - I'm not sure whether this is an "appliance" or not, but I'm definitely splurging on a Kohler Stages 45 sink. I want the large size sink, and I'm sure I'll use the cutting boards over the sink regularly. If the same thing existed without the ledge/shelf, I'd consider it. One faucet is plenty for us.

    - I love that my current range has a "raised lip" around the edge so that spills don't hit the floor. However, that range'll be a simple 30" standard model -- maybe GE or Kitchen Aid.

    - I will probably go with a French door refrigerator, but I'll never have another side-by-side. I will definitely have an ice maker, but I'm ambivalent about water through the door when a sink is located two steps away. I would never pay for all that touch-screen stuff; after all, I do own an ipad, and it trumps standing in front of the refrigerator checking a recipe any day.

    - I want a quiet dishwasher, and I love the start-it-later feature. Beyond that, I just want it to wash dishes.

    - I am kind of ambivalent about stainless steel, but I'll probably go with it. Why? Because my current appliances are all black, and when I went to replace my dishwasher, I found only FOUR choices in black. I don't love the one I chose, but my selection was so limited! I'll probably go with stainless just so I'll have options.

    beth09 thanked mrspete
  • lilacinjust
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I've never quite understood the "need" for double ovens, and I've never seen the point in paying more to separate your oven from your stovetop.

    *******

    For many like me, a cooktop is used every day and having 4 drawers with everything I need right underneath is wonderful. I also like having my ovens higher up and appreciate that I can cook using both oven and stovetop without any hot air blowing on me.

    I really like having 2 discrete stations.

    Having 2 ovens is a wonderful asset when I need it.

    I am glad that we didn't get the additional warming drawer, underneath, but we did have that drawer plumbed out electrically so that at any point in the future, that storage drawer can be converted.

    beth09 thanked lilacinjust
  • 12crumbles
    8 years ago

    amck & linelle - which Zephyr models did you get? Vertical or horizontal vent and how is the noise level?

  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    We went middle to high, each for a particular reason.

    DW - Bosch 800 - wanted the third rack in particular, and because it's in a room that combines living-dining-kitchen, it needed to be very quiet. We wouldn't spend the additional money the Miele would have cost.

    Cooktop - Bosch 500 induction - no gas available, and there was no way we were going with old-fashioned electric. Now that we have induction, we'll never use anything else. We got the particular model because of the layout of the burners, the individual hob timers, and the direct power-select buttons. The 800 series had a few other features we were not interested in.

    Microwave - no place to put it other than the island (all other appliances are along the wall - no choice in our 100-year old industrial loft conversion condo), so we got a drawer microwave. Stupidly expensive for a microwave, but it works great, and it fits the space perfectly.

    Oven - our choice was limited by location and size. I coveted the Electrolux with the easy-glide racks and blue interior, but unfortunately it would not fit under the induction cooktop. We had to get a European sized oven, and went with Fagor, which is a simple oven that turns out to work great. I still miss the easy-glide racks though.

    Refrigerator - relative splurge. Thermador built-in. First, it had to be 84" tall (which could have been accomplished with cabinetry above had we gone with a "regular" refrigerator", but since we only wanted to use 30" in width, that would have been very small). Second, I was told that in my area (downtown San Francisco), for resale (and we will sell within 5 years), a high-end refrigerator is a must. Third, it had to panel-able (again, because it's in a "great room", and I couldn't stand the stainless finish on my previous 3 or 4 refrigerators).

    beth09 thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • 12crumbles
    8 years ago

    Sjhockeyfan325, I've seen you mention the direct power select buttons several times. Is there a way you could describe them, or post a picture? There are very few induction cooktop displays in my area and sales people are not knowledgeable beyond "faster than gas". Temperature selection/control is going to be an important factor for me. Thanks.

    beth09 thanked 12crumbles
  • cpartist
    8 years ago

    I like the bosch because the power selections are numbered and they have half numbers too so it's easy to push the "button" for the power you need.

    beth09 thanked cpartist
  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    12crumbles, on mine (they're all different), you press "on", select the hob you want (I have four hobs and there are little circles to press corresponding with the location of the hob), and then press the power # button (if I want high temp, I can just press the "9", when I want to lower the temp, just press a different number). On other cooktops, including the newer Bosch 500 series, you have to turn it on, select the hob and then go "tap-tap-tap" up or down until you reach the desired setting (so for ex., to go from 9 to 5 and through the half-steps, you'd have to tap the button 8 times, whereas I can go from 9 to 1 and vice-versa just tapping once). Others have sliders, but I haven't tried those. Mine is perfect for me.

    beth09 thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Oh javi, no need to explain! I was just rambling. lol ;)

  • Bunny
    8 years ago

    Crumbles, I have a Zephyr Breeze, not sure if it's I or II. It was about $200. I know that some folks prefer a more robust hood, but this works great for the cooking I do and replaced an old Kenmore of similar size. I'm pretty sure it vents vertically. Noise? Whenever I use it I turn it up high and it's noisy-ish, but it's not on long and I'm more concerned that it's doing its job.

    Zephyr Breeze

    beth09 thanked Bunny
  • laughablemoments
    8 years ago

    Scratch n dent, all the way. : ) I went with a high end Miele wall oven unit, but it was half off, so slightly easier to swallow. We bake all. the. time, and I wanted something reliable with a good warranty. Miele 42" gas cooktop, bought for the price and burner configuration. If I had to replace it, I would look for something else, but the something else I want doesn't yet exist: 6 burner induction. Z-line range hood, about 1/2 off. I would buy this again. It's relatively quiet, and seems to do a pretty good job. Samsung French door fridge from Lowes, had been used for a week or 2 before we got it, quite happy with it. Bosch panel ready DW from ebay, very happy with it.

    beth09 thanked laughablemoments
  • greasetrap
    8 years ago

    We went both high and low with our kitchen renovation. We started out with a 10 y.o. Thermador dual-fuel range, a 3 y.o KitchenAid dishwasher and a 25 y.o. Hotpoint fridge. All have performed well, and the fridge in particular has had just one service call in the entire time we've owned it.

    Our new kitchen plan calls for a 36" range top and double ovens, so we've scrapped the Thermador and replaced it with Wolf products. i can't see spending a lot of money on a dw or fridge though, so we're re-using our current ones.

    The hardest choice to make was what to do with the fridge. It's definitely old and probably uses a lot of electricity. On the other hand, it's been exceptionally reliable and it's a nice cream/bisque color that you can't find nowadays. In the end, we decided to keep it as well.

    beth09 thanked greasetrap
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    One shameless bump just in case anyone else with a budget suggestion might like to chime in.

  • mrspete
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Mmipadv -- I hear what you're saying, but I still can't relate to it. The cabinets on both sides of my stove hold all the things I need in that area, and it's a matter of reaching out my right or left hand instead of stepping back and opening a door under a cooktop -- I don't see that a cooktop is any more convenient in terms of storage. I don't understand what you mean by "hot air blowing on you"; unless I open the oven door, the hot air stays inside. Having the oven up higher -- that makes some sense.

    As for scratch-and-dent purchases, you have to be careful. My mom did GREAT at the scratch-and-dent store: She bought a range and refrigerator for low prices, and the damaged areas are hidden behind her cabinets -- big win! But when I tried to find a dishwasher last year, I found that the scratch-and-dent prices were actually HIGHER than the prices at Lowes. I think it's a "your mileage may vary" item, so perhaps that's a good reason to start buying your appliances earlier rather than later -- you know, to allow yourself time to look around.

    beth09 thanked mrspete
  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    I don't understand what you mean by "hot air blowing on you"; unless I open the oven door, the hot air stays inside

    Some ovens vent out the front (mine does, but it doesn't bother me -- I don't use the oven nearly as often as the cooktop, and rarely at the same time)

    beth09 thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • Micki-Micki
    8 years ago

    @beth09

    Aqualift is Whirlpool/Maytag's self-cleaning technology. It uses water and low heat. I don't find that the oven is as clean as I would prefer.

    http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/06/does-maytag-s-low-heat-self-cleaning-oven-get-the-job-done/index.htm

    beth09 thanked Micki-Micki
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Michelle, thank you for getting back on that. Wow, not so hot (ha!) reviews. :/ I really appreciate you mentioning this!

  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    For those that went the Craigs List way, do you not mind that there's no warranty with your purchase? I dunno, the older I get, the more I want someone to be held responsible on any purchase of any real amount/importance, should something go wrong.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    Beth, if you save enough money on the purchase, you can afford to pay for the repairs yourself.

    beth09 thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • Lily Spider
    8 years ago

    Beth- or..... You could put in a pool with all that money you save :)

    beth09 thanked Lily Spider
  • PRO
    Linda
    8 years ago

    I have bought 15-20 used appliances from Craigslist, ReStore, garage sales and word of mouth. Probably 1/4 of them have broken, although nothing has broken in less than a year. The price difference is quite high, so I'm willing to take my chances. Plus, my partner and I have a truck and appliance dolly and friends willing to lend a hand for a few dollars if needed.

    Typically I pay around 1/3 of new price for appliances 5-8 years old, sometimes less. I purchased a 6 month old LG steam washer for $200 (new with pedestal about $1,000) which was probably my best deal to date. That same house also has a very nice stainless steel stove bought for $100...I can make the trip to Ace Hardware for the missing screws to attach the oven door handle for that level of savings.

    beth09 thanked Linda
  • mathteachr
    8 years ago

    Beth, for the price of a new appliance, I could replace it from craigslist 4-10 times (not to mention pay for the repair myself for even less), so the missing warranty doesn't bother me at all. Plus I don't have to deal with the warranty people, waiting for a certified repair person, and whether they'll deny my claim.

    beth09 thanked mathteachr
  • Texas_Gem
    8 years ago

    I was raised by a handyman father, the kind of guy who literally would NOT let me drive until I knew how to change a tire and do an oil change.


    When things broke, we fixed them. I can not recall ever having a plumber or electrician come to the house.


    The dishwashers broken? Let's pull it out and tinker with it to figure out the problem.


    My car is on the fritz? Let's buy the Haynes manual and figure it out. (Did I mention that we built our house largly without contractors?)


    I say all this to give my background. Purchasing something with a warranty and having others fix it for me is a relatively new and weird experience for me.


    A few months ago I took my car (purchased brand new a few years ago) in for the "free oil change for life" and mentioned a problem with the thermostat but stated specifically that I didn't want them to fix it. After all, I'm not paying someone else hundreds or thousands of dollars to do something I can do myself.


    They called a few hours later. Turns out the thermostat issue had to do with a leaking water pump that was under special service/warranty.


    They fixed it for free and I was flabbergasted. The mechanic even ribbed me about it when I went to pick up my car.


    My point being that I'm so accustomed to fixing things myself that even IF something breaks under warranty, I don't think about calling a repairman under warranty to fix it.

    I research, discover the problem, and fix it myself.


    For me, buying used, CL, scratch and dent, etc is no problem because even when I buy brand new, I expect to service and repair if myself.


    Guess I should pay more attention to my warranties. ;)

    beth09 thanked Texas_Gem
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thank you to everyone who answered my question. I kinda thought that might be the train of thought there after I asked. But now here is another question that just popped in my head. Has anyone ever had a bad experience with bringing in bugs (roaches) in an appliance? Because that does happen (especially if it is just sitting and not being used, they can live anywhere, even in "clean" houses). Ick.

    Lily, you get a cookie for best answer! ;)

    TG, sounds that your dad was a great guy. Good for him teaching you so well. ;)

  • Lily Spider
    8 years ago

    Beth- it took me 10 years to pull the trigger on our pool. I had my DHs approval the whole time, I just couldn't get over the cost (and I spent twice my budget! Yikes!!) He's the spender; I am the saver. Keep dreaming... You'll get there one day :)

    beth09 thanked Lily Spider
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    highend, really, really good advice. Thank you!

  • laughablemoments
    8 years ago
    You don't necessarily have to have a local source for scratch n dent. Our cooktop and ovens are from Goedeker's online, which is nowhere near where we live.

    eBay is another source, but watch the prices carefully, since some of the appliances I looked at on there were more than the local options new.
    beth09 thanked laughablemoments
  • hatethecold_gw
    8 years ago

    beth09,

    I can't give you advice on what to buy, but I can give an opinion on what not to buy, sadly. we bought both a dishwasher and French door refrigerator from Samsung, and have regretted it deeply. The dishwasher doesn't clean very well and gets a black buildup near the door seals. The frig freezes up and we have had to disassemble it every 2-3 months to. defrost the coils. Evidently this is well known problem, to the extent there was a class action lawsuit regarding it.

    Never again for us for Samsung kitchen appliances.

    beth09 thanked hatethecold_gw
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    laughable, were they advertised as damaged though?

    htc, thank you. I do want your types of posts so I and others know what to avoid. I am so sorry you got not one, but two lemons. :/

  • laughablemoments
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Yes, they explained what was wrong and had good pictures of the issues. The scuffs on the cooktop were livable to us. In fact, they took a little pressure off trying to keep the unit looking pristine, lol, so I didn't have to feel guilty about leaving the first imperfect mark.
    The ovens were "open box", and pictures of it were included as well. They were still sold with warranties, except for cosmetic issues.

    I did have a problem a few weeks ago with the face of the oven control panel coming loose and dropping down. This is when I found out we weren't covered for cosmetics. Fortunately, my hubby was able to fix it with some double sided tape frome Home Depot. When he went to put it back together, he found a section of double sided tape that wasn't attached properly during the manufacturing process. Only one side of the stick- um was atached. They never peeled the paper backing off the other side of the tape. So, even $$$ appliances can have manufacturing mistakes.

    When we were appliance hunting, I tried to look up reviews on the appliances I came across. Viking comes to mind as one that I steered clear of based on reviews, and an appliance salesman who told us to avoid them, even though there were some good deals on Craigslist for these. It's tough to go on reviews alone, though, because happy owners are often busy living their lives, rather than leaving reviews. It's the disgruntled owners that have been dealing with the headaches that are more likely to leave feedback. In this case, I try to look for common themes to the problems to see if it's a problem I'm comfortable dealing with or not. F. E. Our Old Maytag Gemini repeatedly had complaints that the touch pad buttons were hard to push. Guess what? All those folks were right! They were hard to push! But a little extra finger exercising every time I went to use my stove was a livable annoyance.

    beth09 thanked laughablemoments
  • dmeah
    8 years ago

    I have to agree with @hatethecold. We had a Samsung dishwasher, and it was terrible. We could have re-used it and saved some cash for our remodel since it wasn't technically broken, but it didn't clean well and required 2 repairs in only 3 years of ownership. Don't buy Samsung, at least for kitchen appliances!

    beth09 thanked dmeah
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    laughable, lol. I could definitely see the advantage of buying scratched in a visible place to "take the pressure off"! Isn't that "waiting period" awful?? Interesting about the double sided tape.

    I have started reading reviews for things I might be interested in on Amazon, even though I may not buy it there. I think you tend to get more of the negative reviews, which is really just as important to me as good ones.

    dmeah, thanks for the back up on Samsung. Duly noted.

  • funkycamper
    8 years ago

    FWIW, I have a 10-month old Samsung range and I love it. No problems yet (fingers-crossed) and everything works great and it's heavily used. I hope it has the longevity of previous ranges. No experience with their other appliances.

    beth09 thanked funkycamper
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    " I hope it has the longevity of previous ranges. "

    Me too fc!

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    8 years ago

    I bought all of mine (stove, dw, frig) at Sears Outlet also. I tried to research and look for the brand that sounded best, but in the end I ran out of time and went for a combo of price + features desired out of what was available. So far, not really impressed with the frig and dw. The dw is a Frigidaire Gallery model, which cleans simple things just fine as long as it is set on the highest water temp, but I have to hand wash baking dishes -- like for biscuits or brownies, it won't get those clean on a standard wash. I also don't like the lower rack; my dishes don't fit well. My (very) old Kenmore dw cleaned better -- but had rusting racks.

    The frig is a Kenmore (made by LG I think). It's okay as far as cooling and freezing. Shortly after getting it home I started having trouble with one veggie bin and the deli drawer sticking, hard to move in and out. Repairman came under warranty and could not find the problem. Turns out (after warranty expired) that the actual frame for the drawers was cracking and bowing. No, I wasn't storing bowling balls in there! The Kenmore made by Whirlpool frig it replaced didn't have any issues except cosmetic after close to 20 years.

    The gas stove ( a Kenmore made by ?) has been fine, except the oven is slow -- by about 20 degrees. That same repairman checked it and found it to be "right on". So I just set the desired temp higher by 15 than the recipe calls for (eg, 365 instead of 350). This stove also replaced a whirlpool that was 15 years old and still working perfectly but also had cosmetic damage.

    They are all brushed stainless steel, and I find them easy to keep clean.

    beth09 thanked raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
  • beth09
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Thanks raee, sorry your results weren't a bit better. It really can be such a crap shoot... Good to hear on the cleaning part though!