Appliances

[Rocky]

@Rocky That's a nice set up you have. I have an empty space above my wall oven. Is that a microwave or oven above yours? I don't microwave, so I am still trying to figure out what to do with the space.

That is a microwave, Vinny, and one of the things I regret when we built this house (22 years ago). I could have had either a double electric oven or a double oven with a microwave on top. We only use the microwave for heating liquids, melting butter, warming stuff from the fridge, etc., and not for any cooking. I wish I had the double oven with microwave, but it went in one of the cost cutting measures when we were building.

 

[vinny]

Replace it with a SSR?

I've chosen to go with putting music on. It's usually on anyway.

I am handy enough to accomplish it, but everything has Chinese electronics in it now. Jiggle the wrong thing and you could be done for. Seems like a recipe for disaster opening up anything that works these days.

 

[vinny]

That is a microwave, Vinny, and one of the things I regret when we built this house (22 years ago). I could have had either a double electric oven or a double oven with a microwave on top. We only use the microwave for heating liquids, melting butter, warming stuff from the fridge, etc., and not for any cooking. I wish I had the double oven with microwave, but it went in one of the cost cutting measures when we were building.

I hear you. Kitchens are not cheap!

I was also thinking a second oven would be nice, but the Samsung oven is pretty well everything you could ask for. You can divide it in half if you want to cook at different temps. It has steam, proof, dehydrate, warming settings and everything else you would expect. I just don't know what else I need, thus the hole where the microwave was.

 

[Wayne Freeman]

When my Dad passed away in 2013, the fridge in the basement bar was the same Hotpoint that my parents bought when they got married in 1940. It still worked perfectly. The one in the kitchen was a GE they bought in 1957. It, too, still worked perfectly.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Very happy with our Samsung fridge with french doors, bottom freezer and ice in the door (which was a first at the time). Purchased in 2009 and going strong without any issues.

View attachment 89480

We have the same fridge about the same age. I had to replace the icemaker. Did it myself wasn’t hard.
the little lights on the control panel are very dim now. A problem with the circuit board i read. Other than that it’s good.

 

[Jim Welch]

Whirlpool fridges get my vote. The one we have now I bought late in 1994 when we had 4 children in the house, a 12 yo, a 10 yo, a 7yo, and a 5 yo. Those doors have been opened and slammed countless times. The icemaker gave up the ghost about 6 years ago but instead of having it repaired I bought 8 Rubbermaid ice cube trays and it will 3 batches a day. My wife had her knee replaced the summer of 2020 and to feed the knee cooling gizmo she was prescribed I had to make a lot of ice and that bad boy kept up with the demand. 3 of those children have had LGs and have not been satisfied overall with them.
As for a stove I've always wanted a high end stove just could never justify the cost. I can cook very well on my basic gas stove but someday I would love to have an induction range top. I have a portable one I use outside in the summer sometimes and I love the very fast temperature reaction they are capable of. Only downside to induction is you need cookware that a magnet will be attracted to so no aluminum nonstick without a steel plate.

 

[Rocky]

Thank you all for your input on this. I truly appreciate your time and responses.

The more I read and hear of peoples' experiences, the more I think it is a "crap shoot" when buying appliances. By this I mean, I have found people who have had good and bad experiences with a given brand and no brand seems totally reliable, regardless of the price one pays. For example, Consumer Reports rates LG highest in both gas ranges and refrigerators and I have heard horror stories from people who had major issues with the brand. Moreover, they rate Frigidaire lowest among those tested but I have heard from people who love their Frigidaire.

I am not sure the Alexander Pope was accurate and that "too much learning is a dangerous thing!" I think I might take my top candidates, put their names in a hat and draw!

 

[ibglowin]

Could not agree more. When we purchased the Cafe' range and had lots of free time on my hands for research I ended up making an Excel spreadsheet with our top choices and then adding in columns for things like oven size, price, ratings, and then gathered ratings from all the big box stores (they have the most reviews) and of course Consumer Reports who loves the LG stoves but it was a nightmare for us. One thing to consider is that people who are happy with a purchase may not feel the need to leave review so perhaps the reviews are skewed by the people who have problems more so than those who do not have problems.

I just realized I didn't mention another HUGE issue with our LG range. If you looked at the knobs wrong the burner would turn on without you realizing it. I found out the hard way when I was installing the new LG Microwave right above the new LG range and I placed a plastic trash bag on top of the electric cooktop so I could drill new holes for the Microwave and capture the drywall on the bag. Well I bumped the cooktop knob and turned a burner on high without noticing it. Within 30 seconds the trash bag was basically on fire and the house was filled with the stench of plastic burning and smoke. It took weeks for that smell to clear. We found out later that there is a child safety lock which was a PITA to use every single time you wanted to turn on a burner but if you wanted to be safe that is what you had to do each time. Engage or disengage the safety lock or risk a possible house fire.

About a month later a condo a few blocks away from us had a new owner moving in. The movers set boxes of stuff on top of the new LG range the new owner had just installed and you guessed it. They set a couple boxes of stuff on top of the smooth cooktop and bumped the burner and turned it on and then they left to go back to the house and load up more boxes. When they returned ~40 mins later the kitchen was engulfed in flames......

The more I read and hear of peoples' experiences, the more I think it is a "crap shoot" when buying appliances.

I am not sure the Alexander Pope was accurate and that "too much learning is a dangerous thing!" I think I might take my top candidates, put their names in a hat and draw!

 

[cmason1957]

From what I can tell there are five major manufacturers of Fridges: (Appliance Brands - Who owns who? - Fred's Appliance Academy)

Whirlpool - Jenn-Air, Maytag, Amana, Roper, KitchenAid
Electrolux - Frigidaire, Tappan, Kelvinator, Gibson
GE (Really Chinese company Haier, since 2016) - GE, Hotpoint, Cafe, Profile, Monogram
Samsung - Dacor (luxury brand endorsed by chefs at Le Cordon Bleu)
LG - LG

That may help, might add another level of confusion, who knows.

Here's another link with even more brands mentioned - Appliance411 The Purchase: Who Makes What?

 

[Rocky]

Could not agree more. When we purchased the Cafe' range and had lots of free time on my hands for research I ended up making an Excel spreadsheet with our top choices and then adding in columns for things like oven size, price, ratings, and then gathered ratings from all the big box stores (they have the most reviews) and of course Consumer Reports who loves the LG stoves, but it was a nightmare for us. One thing to consider is that people who are happy with a purchase may not feel the need to leave review so perhaps the reviews are skewed by the people who have problems more so than those who do not have problems.

This is an excellent point, and we should all bear this in mind when reading reviews.

 

[my wine]

When I need a new appliance I start with Consumer Reports and look at their top 5 or 10 recommendations. I go with the assumption that whatever might have been good 5 or so years ago is not the same thing (company, manufacturing location, design or spec, parts and suppliers, etc.) today. Another assumption is that CR uses a standard approach to the appliance review so it is the closest thing to apples and apples comparison on more recent models of appliances. That said, the one that actually gets delivered may not be the best one coming off the manufacturing line. So I basically improve my odds in the "crap shoot".

Less than 12 months ago we bought a GE refrigerator. So far, so good.

BTW, I'm glad your wife is getting you new appliances for Fathers Day.