Freestanding Bosch vs Thermador fridge?

19 days ago

We need a 36" counter depth fridge without ice maker in the door. We don't have the height for a built in like subzero (nor desire to spend that much). But would like something higher end looking than Samsung or LG.

There are surprisingly few options without ice makers. Kitchenaid - but I don't like the grooved handles. That mostly leaves us with Bosch and Thermador freestanding models. Both look quite nice and meet all our needs. So it comes down to reliability issues.

Google tells me these are essentially the same fridge (same parent co) but with some minor differences in the details, and a $1500 price difference.

I read terrible things about Bosch fridges and peeling coatings. Genuine concern or overblown?

And does the Thermador have the same issue? Would it be worth $1500 for the Thermador to avoid any potential issues?

Featured Answer

rj vost

8 days ago

last modified: 8 days ago

We have a Bosch 800 (just under a year old). I will share pluses (mostly) and a couple of minor minuses, and also comment re Thermador. (They are indeed the same but with slight differences not adding up to $1800 in itself.)

Pluses: I really like that it's 72" high so there is a little extra capacity up higher and efficient use of space overall. No bending!

Lots of ways to configure the shelving, and plenty of storage in the doors. Excellent lighting, can see everything well given the shallow counter depth. The back of the refrig is stainless steel so (supposedly) can keep things you place toward the back a little colder.

The freezer has huge capacity and also easy to configure (I just flash froze a sheet and half of goodies). Tons of ice with an ability to "catch" more if you need.

The frig looks nice and it is easy to wipe with just water (per manufacturer, just use mild soap and water).

Minus: My biggest irritation which would be the SAME in the Thermador is the interior wide drawer is very flimsy. It's hard to open with one hand because it sticks (the seal) and so have to use two hands. Compared to the two crisper drawers which are on gliders, I think the wide drawer is a design flaw. BTW, on the 4-door Bosch, that middle drawer is where the two crispers are, so the problem with the flimsy wide interior drawer exists on that model as well.

Another slight irritation is the doors have to be pushed closed (esp the right door). Compared to the Fisher Paykel, which are self-closing, this is a negative.

Regarding the Thermador fridge, it has a white all LED back wall, but I think I prefer the SS back wall of the Bosch. The Thermador otherwise has exactly the same pluses and minuses (not including the cost).

However, one reason to consider Thermador right now is there is a promotion (buy more, get some free thing). So if you are purchasing more than one appliance, your overall investment might be fine.

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Comments (9)

M Miller
19 days ago
last modified: 19 days ago
The peeling, spotting and streaking is a concern with any brand when they use "fingerprint-resistant stainless steel" or what is called "easyclean stainless steel". That issue is not confined to Bosch. Evidently whatever is that coating to create "fingerprint resistance" is not stable and will peel, spot and streak, and those spots and streaks do not come off. What you want is regular, actual, stainless steel. I don't know if all the Bosch refrigerators have that fingerprint-resistant stainless steel. If they do, then look at Thermador which perhaps has refrigerators with actual stainless steel. Or any other brand refrigerators that do not have the fingerprint-resistant stainless steel.

If you go on the Abt dot com website, it allows you to sort counterdepth refrigerators for finish of just "stainless steel". Do not sort for any of the other varieties of stainless steel that they have listed for choices for color. You can also sort for no water in the door (under "external dispenser"), and of course the size.

Check out Fisher & Paykel refrigerators. Though I do not have one myself, I have heard good things about them.
Toni Hamlett
18 days ago
I have the Bosch 800 series counter depth from 2017. Never had any issues with the finish. I did buy from Bosch a SS Conditioner and it along with Dawn dish soap are the only things I use on it. Actually I use the SS Conditioner on all my Bosch appliances. As for how well it works, it is a great refrigerator. Keeps food at correct temperature and the drawers are really good. My vegetables and fruit (especially berries) seem to last longer than my previous refrigerator.
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artemis78
18 days ago
We have the same model as Toni—so far so good, though it’s only a year old. Also looked at and really liked the Fisher & Paykel but didn’t like the interior design as much and it was more expensive at the time. The only finish issue so far is that a kid dragged a magnet against it and it scratched, but I don't think I can fault Bosch for that! We are very careful only to clean with soap and water (per manual) because of the finish concerns reported here and elsewhere, though. To date that seems to work fine, though some didn’t have issues until several years in.
wdccruise
18 days ago
"Would it be worth $1500 for the Thermador to avoid any potential issues?"

Actually, it's $1850 as shown in this table that compares the Bosch B36CT80SNS, B36CT81ENS, and Thermador T36FT810NS.
H202
Original Author
18 days ago
Thanks, all. My husband and I both work a ton - so reality is that the only person who will be cleaning this fridge is our once-every-two-week housecleaner. Because we're outsourcing, it's inevitable that someone is going to use the wrong product on the fridge a handful of times over 15 years. I'm sure someone is going to scoff that I should do my own cleaning... but it's just not realistic. I wonder how many cleans with the wrong product cause the peeling issue?

I checked Thermador and it's not clear whether they have fingerprint resistant finish or true stainless. But with that said, even the Bosch webpage uses super vague language. I'll just have to do deeper digging. I think it might be worth the extra $$ if I eliminate the future issue.

I really like the look of the F&P fridge, so thanks for that rec. The only issue is that, on the F&P webpage, one of the handful of reviews complained about slow icemaking. I never even thought about that, so started down that rabbithole: Apparently, Bosch has the faster icemaker of all fridges with something like 80-120 cubes a day, while F&P churns out 8 cubes every 4 hours. My husband works from home and drinks more water with ice than anyone on earth. He probably grabs a fistfull of ice every hour. So I don't think F&P would serve us well. I'm now trying to determine if the Thermador fridge has the same fast ice maker as Bosch.....

Fridges should not be this hard!
H202
Original Author
18 days ago
Thanks wdccruise. Way to blame the customer for trying to do their research! I'd say having to look at the spec sheet of each individual Bosch fridge to get info regarding whether the fridge has a fatal flaw is "hard". That's why I said I'd have to do "deeper digging". The easy answer is designing a fridge that doesn't peel when you use standard cleaning supplies on it, so it's not on the customer to track down this info.

Classic gardenweb!
RoyHobbs
18 days ago
“Kitchenaid - but I don't like the grooved handles.”

It seems like Kitchenaid hits your checklist. And the grooved handles - seriously, with your other requirements, the handles are not a big deal. I cannot for the life of me recall what any of our kitchen appliances handles look like. I’ll have to go in the kitchen to check. Can you recall your appliances handles without going into the kitchen to see them?
dan1888
17 days ago
The most popular frig in Japan is a Hitachi. We need quality products here.

Freestanding Bosch vs Thermador fridge?

rj vost

Comments (9)

M Miller

Toni Hamlett

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Freestanding Bosch vs Thermador fridge?

rj vost

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M Miller

Toni Hamlett

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wdccruise

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