Posted on 08/11/2007 4:50:01 PM PDT by Sonny M
I’ve started out with consumer reports, I went to some electronic stores and checked with the salesfolks, now I’m trying to get personal feedback, when it comes to big purchases or stuff for the kitchen and the like, the more info the better.
Trash compactor. I scoffed. I wish I hadn’t.
Agree.......
Keep me posted if ya have time as to pros and cons !
I’ll do the same as to what I find around here !
Stay safe !
Geeze, Chickensoup - now I feel like dirt for recommending Kitchen Aid. Could it be that they just aren’t as good as they used to be? ;-)
I replaced a 1994 WORKHORSE kitchen aid with manual dials because it was starting to rust and the front was beat up. I wanted their stainless tub upgrade, had to take the lousy solid state computers and it has been a mess.
I know. They just don’t make stuff like they used to, do they? I now have a Thermador, and it is so quiet I’m never sure if I turned it on or not. It also leaves my dishes spot free.
You may have to start, just so you can get a cool coffee maker or espresso machine.
I was told by an appliance guy recently that the stoves that are built for the middle to high end market are not built to take any serious cooking, instead they are made to heat frozwn food. I had a ge profile that couldnt hack scratch cooking for more than 9 years. So I have upgraded to a better and more durable line of stoves and ovens
You may have to start, just so you can get a cool coffee maker or espresso machine.
Very interesting about Chambers stoves. They look very practical. Rachel Ray must like them for a reason. I saw her flip open the stove top broiler (?) the other day to toast bread. Never saw that in a stove. Plus nice retro 1940s look same as her refrigerator and rest of kitchen.... I think. I will look more closely next time
FWIW I don’t like ultra slick kitchens with marble counter tops and top of the line appliances. I vastly prefer ye old Formica counter tops and average appliances. Mine are 1974 vintage GE and I like them just fine. You can have the best appointed kitchen on your block but if you or your wife cook stupid food in it that puts you in an early grave, what’s the point?
I've been thinking abour doing just what you mentioned. We have a Durango with a hitch and can get a trailer so it would be no problem to go get one,. Even if it's in poor cosmetic condition I bet I could get it looking and workd great with little ofr no problem.
Kitchen renovation has been ongoing for about a year at a smail's pave but it looks like this fall we'll be getting things together. It's a SMALL kitchen but I"m kicking around the idea of opening up a wall and a a brick fireplace. The stove could fit where the fireplace is and there would still be some of the brick left for ambiance. I think it would look great.
Don't enven think to ask what we're considering for a sink, hehehehe. Basically it will be in front of a window but the bottom of the window is below the sink. I'm thinking of usig a siblge tub kind of affair, maybe a copper tub but probably a rectangle granite or some synth material with the space between the window and sink taken up by a planter.
I know it sounds strange but I've seen something similar and really liked it. Now it's just getting the time to do it. Wife and I like to do everything ourselves but recently that's getting to be a bit much.
prisoenr6
Do a Wiki on Electrolux. Two separate companies. The American Electrolux vacuum cleaner was a company apart from Electrolux Europe, of Swedish origin, which makes appliances
Whats the best dishwasher, Bosch or Miele?
Bosch. Hands down reliability, quiet, and simple to use. Your dishes
cannot get any cleaner for the cost.
Is Viking the best oven?
Viking is a great range, but when it comes to ovens all you should consider
is what functional purposes you need it for. IE, entertaining.
Get what you'll use because I see people who buy the mother of all
ranges and only boil water on them.
Is sub-zero (not the mortal kombat character) the best fridge?
For the home, yes. The condensing unit is placed high so that
it requires minimal service cleaning (2-3 years) and they also
contain duel compressors so if one fails, you'll have either the
fresh food compartment, or freezer to get you by until any repair is done.
Don't buy any of the Frigidaire knock offs of the Sub-zero.
The oven is going to be a 60 inch viking with grill and griddle,
is this the best choice?
Only if you plan on actually using the functions other then boiling water.
Also what is the best range hood out there, and is there anything I am
missing or not thinking about that I should also be getting?
Get one that has a high CFM and is adjustable for fan speed.
Also consider sound levels. Some have sound insulation so that you can
actually talk while cooking.
Remember, I only see the broken appliances. :-)
Good Luck,
MaxMax.
GE makes the Advantium. I had a couple of small service issues with mine, over the last six years. My biggest disappointment was a shortage of preprogrammed recipes. They had just come out when I bought ours and there were blank switches that sort of implied that there would be upgrades available. There never were. I imagine that the newer ones are better that way.
It even does a nice job on biscuits and such. Once, in a pinch, it saved a big dinner with the in-laws when we ran out of propane while cooking (I live in the boondocks) It cooked up a turkey breast real fast and real good. You would never have guessed that it came out of a microwave.
I used to be a cabinet maker and I will agree with your love of Formica (Wilsonart, Pioneer, etc.) entirely. The herd drive to high-end stone surfaces is beyond me. For starters, they scratch, chip and pick up stains - there are more complaints, but that’s a start. Formica just keeps on going - when it expires - a couple hundred bucks and you’re like new.
Cooking, or the ability to cook, brings in an entirely new dimension. I can’t tell you how many women I know that couldn’t cook a decent meal to save their souls. Oh sure, they have a dish or two they use to impress people, but real cooking (i.e., biscuits, canning, bread, pot roast, etc.) is several leagues outside their experience. Still, the demand for commercial appliances and tools has never been higher.
Go figure.
Your advice needed.
Try this - if you’ve got a University in your area, see if they’ve got ‘re-use’ center open to the public. I picked up three 2’X 3’X 1-1/4” slabs of soapstone countertop for nothing. I’m going to make a sink out of it with a drain board side. The only tooling I need are the carbide bits for a router and the epoxy glue to hold the joints. Purchased, something like that would cost thousands. Your’s for the taking and making!
Two things that I really like about the Bosch is that you can't hear it. I'm not saying it's quiet, I'm saying you can't hear it at all unless you are listening real closely. We have the stainless one, with the hidden controls so you can't see the lights unless the door is open. I have opened it more than once after my wife started a load, not realizing that it was running.
I also like that it heats the water to 180 degrees. I know that anything that comes out is not just clean, it's sterilized.
You are talking about the old time womanly art of cooking for the family. It's a rush rush affair these days, with some exceptions of course. It's prestigious to buy commercial grade and gives bragging rights. But most commercial installations in the home will be (vastly) under utilized. They just feed fantasies of being a master of the kitchen arts. It's like those very expensive cookbooks with fantastic photography, that are only looked at, but from it never more than one or two recipes are ever utilized
Save your money on the fridge and just get a regular one. If you watch the rebate programs that the utility companies are being forced to implement, you could go with a grid tie photovoltaic system for almost nothing.
I installed a 10kW PV system and aside from my own sweat installing it, it cost me nothing after rebates. It supplies all of my electrical needs, including heating, hot water and air conditioning. My electrical bill in zero and I have a big ol GE, side by side, Arctica fridge.
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