Now that we talked about DWs , Its time to talk about reefers and ranges. Im’ buying em for my new house, that you guys helped build. Jeffysan
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I like GE. Their Profile and Monogram lines have been reliable for me.
Reefers, I like Amana. Ranges, I like Dacor.
Forrest
Dacor cook top has a lot of really nice features, one of them is their simmer flame deal that really is well designed.
You'll never go wrong with a Sub-Zero refrig. True built in look and great reliability. Not sure what the price tag is now adays though.
Ranges, I can't help you with.
sub-zero is rated very low by Consumer Reports and not that reliable. Lots and lots of call backs and problems with their ice/water in the door feature.
Ah that explains it. I hate ice/water in the door and never get it if I'm buying new.We had one over 14 years, and only had 1 repair, a freon leak.But I wouldn't be surprised if excessive demand hasn't degraded the quality.
You'll never go wrong with a Sub-Zero refrig. True built in look and great reliability. Not sure what the price tag is now adays though.>>>Mine was five wasted grand!! I hate Sub Zero fridges!! Works fine but its the most expensive fridge I ever bought and the worst ever! Why its five grand is wayyyyyyyyy beyond me.
If I didn't wrap it in my cabinets I'd have sold it.
Wish I'd have spent the five grand on some GOOD reefer...lol
Be well
andyCreation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
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Back when I was a ThermaTru suit, I attended all the annual NAHB builders shows. TT was and still is a big exhibitor.
Taking time away from our own booth one year, another guy from TT and I toured the rest of the show, stopping in to chat with SubZero's VP/Sales at his own display area. We asked him why in all the high end kitchens we see in new homes, SubZero fridges are so common. What was his secret to such market penetration?
He said it was the fear factor. Fear, in the minds of the builders, specifiers, architects, and kitchen designers, that if they didn't use SubZero, they would be considered sub-standard.
But that was over ten years ago. For quite a while, SZ was almost all there was. Nowadays, we have competition at the high end fridge category from a number of makers.
Having done a couple installations with GE's Monogram line, I am pretty satisfied with them. But I cannot speak to the long term ownership issue.
scratch and dent clearcence sale other than Maytag..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
agreed - run from Maytag.
The appliance repair guy told me the Maytag company went out of business - on warranty claims! They sold their name...avoid their products. They are the reason I know an appliance repair guy.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Another vote on running from Maytag. Even Sears stuff is better today. I got two years out of our last Maytag washer. What a piece of junk. When they were made in the good old U S of A they were really good.
Reefers?
Dang, THAT reefer....
Jeffysan, I bought all GE appliances when I built my house four years ago. Only problem I have had is my GE spacemaker/XL 1800 microwave, turntable no longer works. I have friends who bought the same model and have the same problem. I bought from a local appliance store and prices were better than Lowe's, but I have not made time to address or fix this problem.
Where do you want to be in terms of cost and performance? There's many levels.
I'll tell you what I have - the range is a 6-burner stainless, all gas, made by a company out of California called Capital. The founders of Capital were formerly employees and principals of DCS. The range is a solid, well-built, impressive piece. I also purchased a range hood through them as well. Thermador is also a good brand, and you could probably not go wrong with Bosch.
My fridge is a Frigidaire side-by-side, but it's only temporary untill I can cough up the coin for something better. It's all a matter of personal preference. Sub-Zero type refrigerators are not my favorites because they are very expensive and very shallow. Not easy to fit a pizza box or large sheet pan in a counter-depth fridge. I am leaning toward either the Kenmore Trio or LG model french-door fridge with the bottom freezer. They're also a third of the cost of the built-in models. With the Subzero, Viking, GE Monogram models, etc. I think you're paying for style and nothing else.
you might look at commerical refrigeration... look on ebay there are several vendors who sell only new coolers & freezers & drop ship... you can get some pretty nice stuff for less than good home grade...
p
There you go. Our next place gets a commercial fridge. Stainless with double glass doors. Compressor will be in the garage, relocated from top of the unit. Picked it up, with spare compressor, for the cost of hauling. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Commercial fridge sounds like an interesting choice. How does it compare in terms of energy efficiency? I would expect that it wouldn't perform as well with glass as the insulating material on the door as oppose to standard residential fridges. I read a little while ago that the newer fridges take the same energy as a 60W light blub left on, seems pretty impressive.Being able to locate the compressor in a different room to cut down on noise would be great, is this a custom modification you are making or does it come that way?
No idea about original efficiency, but insulation is easy to add when you're building. I will. Probably will leave the glass in the doors, but it's an option. Easy enough to measure the power draw and decide.
We replaced our very old fridge recently, found nobody in the state who could even order one of the more efficient ones in our preferred category. So we settled on one that claims 479 kwh/yr and measured a tad higher. Replaced one drawing 1772 kwh/yr after I adjusted the freezer door. Before, it was 1878 kwh.
Yup. 60 w x 24 hrs x 365 days = 525,600 wh or 525.6 kwh/yr Our new inefficient one is better. ROI is going to be pretty short. You've not measured your current model? Kill-A-Watt (ebay) works great.
This commercial unit had the compressor on top. Replumbed, allows remote installation. Box'll live on the opposite side of a concrete wall from the garage. Quiet, short lines, excellent venting, easy service.
My eureka moment occurred several yrs ago with a walk-in cooler. Some clown had stolen a truck and drove through a block wall trying to gain entrance to the liquor store. Picked the wrong part of the wall, behind the cooler. Did manage to shove the cooler out a few feet before the truck was inoperable. The owner, a friend, enlisted my help. I'd never paid any attention to commercial units before. They're incredibly simple.
Main drawback is lack of attached freezer. Not that SubZero doesn't make a similar unit, but they assume you'll purchase the matching freezer. We'll use a standard, probably upright, in the garage. Inconvenience for us is minimal. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
my first real building experience was building bars & rest & commerical kitchens... built many walkin coolers... whenever we could we always located the compressors remote... too much added heat in the kitchen the keep the coils clean factor ect...
for my current kitchen i set aside a brand new set (used 2 mo and removed) of 3 door matching freezer & refrigerator... high end commerical with stainless in & out... even stainless shelves... but at 84" wide each i think they will sit this kitchen out... even with over 15000sf i just can't see use'n the energy and the space that these would take... 14ft of wall space just for refrigeration is a bit much...
so i'm looking at new off of ebay single door refrigerator and a single door matching freezer all stainless both around 28-30" wide and 24-28" deep they all hold full sheet pans... the other option is i still have in my warehouse a few like new single glass door coolers, we call em coke coolers as that is what they are usually used for in conv stores.. i could pair one up with a frezzer... my hunt for the last few days has been for a stand alone ice & water unit... i have several smaller ice machine dispenser units adding water would be easy but that might be overkill as even small commerical units are 250lb ice a day ....
the gas range i have picked from my warehouse is a US Range 6 burner and a flat grill with double ovens 60" wide and 29" deep served it former life in Splash Casino the first riverboat casino in Tunica... I also have been saving a set of stainsteel stack built in ovens new in the crate for this project... so that will give me 4 ovens 2 gas 2 electric...
One of the main purposes of my unit in my loft project is to "pay back" so in my minds eye i see charity & political events/parties with over 300 people several times a year ie the 6 downstairs restrooms
i saw where GE had a new 72" wide home reefer in their line now for somewhere around the price of a small car...
p
How many cooks in your employ? Better you than me. We have trouble finding parking for more than a half-dozen here, too many trees. Alternative requires a serious hike. Plus, I have yet to meet a politician I wanted to bring home.
Wait a minute, you're conditioning 15k sq ft and are concerned with electric consumption of a couple of kitchen appliances? LMAO Unless you're going with passive heating/cooling...
My one client with a full-time cook had the pair of SubZeros. Wasn't anybody in the area who'd touch one for repair. Clients told me to figure out replacement 'cause the door didn't close properly.
Checked with GE owners of similar-sized models and learned that they work just fine, no repairs that I could learn of. But when I gave the clients the $15k estimate for replacing the SubZeros and a little cab work, they decided maybe paying the hr-each-way travel time for a SubZero tech wasn't unreasonable after all. LOL Cost them a few hundred for my shopping time...
Another matter was that pair of wall ovens across from the SubZeros. German, IIRC, and nobody in the state knew anything about them. Cook used to regularly ply me with goodies. Then asked if I could do anything to fix the ovens. Turns out it's a PITA when the oven(s) turns off at temp and never turns on again.
Tracked down the importer in Vermont and ordered 3 thermostats. They wanted to know why I wanted so many. Well, 2 were already bad and I wanted a spare. Had no idea where they were or what they looked like but figured if I had one in hand I could dissemble until I found something similar. Worked. First oven took 2 hrs, the second 10 min. Cook treated me very well. Oven installation was faulty but the fix would have been very difficult. Thermostats were around 20 bucks.
These things concern me. I much prefer to have something I can figure out how to repair. If it plugs in, it's gonna break. Unfortunately DW doesn't think a solar oven is the ultimate answer. And it's not always sunny days when I want to bake bread.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Wait a minute, you're conditioning 15k sq ft and are concerned with electric consumption....
yeah i know it's stupid and overkill... but about half of my space was at one point a freezer... slab then 12" of cork then another slab... roof 2x6 t&g 12" cork then builtup... no wall less than 14" thick... with NO hvac it's never hot or cold except in extreem times... why i took that end of the building... 40 x 70 is my gargage/workshop so living area not as big as it sounds... :)
p
"but about half of my space was at one point a freezer.."
Ah, I remember a distant thread. Hadn't connected. Ventilation ACH? Not that it's likely to be an issue. Isn't here.
You're correct. I gathered you were talking about 15k of living space, which is hardly unknown. But even reducing it by 2.8k for the shop still leaves a bit more than I aspire to. And you're only conditioning 7.5k sq ft?
I know, it's all relative... Same clients couldn't figure out how to squeeze them and 4 kids into 5k sq ft. Cook had her own house. Rest of staff lived off the farm. I only wander through to do the things nobody on the staff knows. Mostly furniture repair.
So they hired an archy to design a new place on the horse-breeding farm. Months went by, nothing but rumors from the staff. A couple of visits from an internationally known landscape archy... I was eyeing a mountain of hand-quarried 1'x3'x7' stone on the back of the property, once a RR bridge foundation. Looked into splitting it for the head gardener who thought it was too large.
Finally the Mrs. sat me down for a look at the plans. She was disturbed that the archy couldn't figure out how to avoid an elevator between the garage and the kitchen. Fortunately she knew me well enough to not be offended by my guffaws. And joined me. 2k acres and you have to have an elevator? Never got built. Somebody with enough money to get their attention wandered in and bought that farm.
Now the kids are gradually heading out on their own and, until the grandkids show up, there's plenty of room. Could always add a second guest house.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
GE's Monogram is good appliances. I've been happy with Jenn-Aire for cooktops (vented and not).
You did not say what sort of fridge you wanted--this makes a big difference.
Built-in is a bit different than free-standing is a bit different than "enclosable," too.
Free-standing, ice & water through the door--several choices there. The filters are easier to change on the Whirlpools, but the internals of Fridgidaires are slightly nicer.
Built in, especially the three-doors that are oh-so hip right now, probably the Monogram's are best (but plan where you are installign the filter for the ice maker well in advance).
We have been very plezed with our KitchenAid stove with the continous grates, two high heat burners, and convection oven.
Somewhat less plezed with the KitchenAid refrig, which needed a relay after 5 years. The relay failed while I was out of town, so kiss the entire contents of the fridge and freezer goodbye.
KitchenAid is basicly the hi-end Whirlpool product.
I looked at a whole bunch. Wanted some bang for not a lot of buck.
GE Profile 3 door, GE Profile wall oven, Jenn Air 6 burner cooktop, and a Braun Rangemaster hood. I know a bunch of you didn't like the Profile DW but so far all has worked out well.
I stayed within the same product line because I'm anal. I wanted all of the pulls to look the same. These even tie in to the cabinets.
My biggest concern was service being so far North. A friend has a DACOR range. Nice looking unit but not that reliable. It's had 2 circuit boards (the same one) replaced in 5 years.
I avoided the the $5000.00 24" deep fridges buy building the fridge countertop at 30". I opted not to buy the 30" base cabs, we just held them off the wall. It's on a short wall and it looks built in without the cost or the lack of space. My house here has the same detail. You need to be an eagle eye to pick it up.
Refer---- several good brands out there.
Choose the layout that works best for ya. I have a Kenmore french door style.
Fridge on top double doors 25 cubic feet, freezer is a drawer on the bottom.
Ice maker built in ----NO water dispencer, I will never have a water dispencer on my fridge.
Range----- I mainly deal in gas cook tops.
Brands----- Don't get fooled, gas is gas & they all burn gas----- look more at the features that suit your needs.
Carefull of what finish it has & how easy it is to clean.
I have a 45" 6 burner thermador¯---- retail about 2K
I love how it works, but hate how to clean it---- I'm gettin rid of it this winter & buildin a gas burner set right into my soapstone countertops.
When asked why is there four engines on a 747------ "cause we couldn't fit six" a Boeing engineer