Major Appliances

[Sylvus]

So I'm going to be moving into my new house soon, and I have to buy a Fridge and a Washer and Dryer. Just wondering if there have been any advances in technology or special features added to any of those that I should be on the lookout for?

I think I'm going to go with a french door fridge, and I have no idea/preference on the laundry appliances. Any advice?

[Winnow]

If you want your GF to do your laundry, get a washing machine and dryer combo that vibrates a lot.

[Knarlz]

Unless you have very high volume and money to burn, skip those fancy expensive front loaders with lcd TVs and surround sound.
Generally most manufactures have 3 lines of top loading machines with various levels of features within each line. Skip the bottom end cheap line.
The top end front loaders always seemed the same to me other than cosmetics, to the mid range line.
I usually end up with the second best model of the mid priced line. Seems to work out to the best value. Should get 10 years or so out of these.

Watch out for and take into account delivery charges.

Compare energy usage.
Compare prices on-line.
Consider used! It's not the best time of year for that but I have seen outstanding deals on newer used stuff before when folks move.

If you can hold out, Feb. is the best time to buy new appliences of this type.

[Zamtuk]

I've been using a front loader for the past year or so and I can't tell the difference. They make those high concentration detergents, but I am apparently unable to use the appropriate amount and usually burn through a bottle every 2 weeks. If I had to do it again, just get a set of washer and dryer for 500-600. My girlfriend has a set like that, and they work just as well.

But mine look cooler.

I think refridgerators are personal preference appliances. The only thing I have to have in my fridge is an automatic ice maker.

[Xouqoa]

I'd check Craigslist if the one in your area is active. Often times there are people moving who want to get rid of their lightly used appliances. You could save a lot of cash that way, if there are any available.

[Siji]

I got the Oasis washer/dryer from Sears and they suck. They're somewhat high-end (or were when I got them) and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Look for practical things that you normally might not think of.. do the blades in the washing machine for example, go all the way down or will any strings and the like get caught up underneath them? (straps, sweatpant strings, etc) That's one of a few horrible problems I have in that the string(s) will catch, and then the garment will wrap around the center agitator and either tear or be a pain in the balls to get out when it's done. The dryer isn't bad design wise, but takes forever to dry.

Also, if possible, I'd avoid Sears completely. I know they've been like the 'go to' place for stuff like this for a long time but in the last 6 months alone there have been 3 people besides me with horror stories about appliances from Sears. (And that wonderful warranty service Sears is known for? Sucks these days) I'd rather shop at satan's Wal-Mart than Sears anymore.

[miir]

In the past 6 months we have bought a washer/dryer, fridge, stove and dishwasher from Sears.
All but the dishwasher were purchased from their Warehouse Outlets (scratch and dent, etc).

Washer/Dryer are Kenmore Elite.
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000Z31DF8/
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000Z33DEM/

We paid $1400 for the pair ($2800 regular). There was a small dent on the left side of the dryer but the washer was brand new (still in original packaging)
Washer is great, uses hardly any water and is unbelievably quiet. Dryer is excellent.
The best thing about the front loader is that it uses hardly any detergent and doesn't destroy our clothes like our old top loader.


Got an amazing deal on the range.
Regular price $3500, we got it for $1200.
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000SIOLVI

There is a small ding on the left rear corner of the top. Virtually unnoticeable. There were also numerous scratches and small dents on the sides but are unseen with the stove in place.
Was missing the burner caps and one top grate but some jackass 'stole' the remaining two grates before it was delivered. Sears was kind enough to order us all 3 replacement grates... no charge.
The burner caps were about $100.


The fridge was a pretty good deal as well.
Regular price $3500, we got it for $1900.
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000F9CVZI

There's a pretty nasty dent on the left side from halfway to the top. Luckily it's completely hidden by the cabinets. Counter depth, French door fridges are usually stupidly expensive and we were about to settle for a side-by-side fridge when we saw this one. No frivolous crap like an ice dispensers or a touch screen.


I've been very happy with Sears' prices and customer service.

[Xatrei]

We bought this Whirlpool Duet washer and its matching dryer about 3 months ago from Lowe's, and it is the greatest washer & dryer set I've ever owned. They're fast, super-efficient and quiet. I'll never go back to top-loaders again after these. We decided not to get the pedestals for them because they make a nice work surface at their normal height.

I haven't bought a new refrigerator in 13 years, so I have nothing to add on that front. We did buy a dishwasher from Sears a few weeks before we bought the washer and dryer, and I like it, but I've got to say I wasn't really happy with Sears' service or their delivery people. In the past I've bought washers, dryers and a refrigerator from Sears, and was really happy with them, but they no longer use their own in-house staff for delivery / installation or for repairs (at least not around here), and the contractors that I dealt with were horrible. This is the main reason I bought the washer & dryer set at Lowes rather than from Sears.

[Fairweather Pure]

I have a Sub-Zero refridgerator. It came with my house when I bought it. The realtor told me the seller was likely to take it with him because it's an $8,000+ appliance. I couldn't fucking believe that anyone would spend that much on a goddamn refridgerator. I told him that I would happily let him take the frige if he knocked 8k off the asking price. The problem for me was the fact that it matched all the other kitchen appliances and I couldn't think of where I could find a replacement fridge that would fit the space. Well, he left the fridge, but only after he priced how much it would've cost him to crate and ship it to Florida

Anyway, I know it's only a goddamn refridgerator, but I have fallen in love with it. It's huge as fuck and whisper quiet. When you shut the bottom freezer drawer, it actually vacume seals itself shut. There is no frost in my freezer. There is no ice anywhere in the freezer except for the ice maker. The entire fridge is modular. I can fit a 35lb turkey in there. The thing has a 30 year warranty or some shit. It's made of sculpted stainless steel. It really is a beautiful appliance.

If you are going for high end, Sub-Zero gets a 10/10 from me.

http://www.subzero.com/BuiltInRefrigeration

[miir]

Sister in law has a Sub Zero fridge and a Wolf range.
I think they paid about 30k for the pair.

[Sylvus]

I ended up going with the Frigidaire Affinity 8000 Series 3.5 Cu. Ft. Front Load Washer, and the Frigidaire Affinity 7000 Series 5.8 Cu. Ft. Super Capacity Dryer. I mostly went that way because my friend owns an appliance store and he hooked me up for like $1070 for the pair (the dryer was a floor model and may have a couple scratches or dings, but I don't really care - it's a washing machine). I like that front loaders use less water and are gentler on your clothes.

For a fridge, I went with the Amana AFD2535DEW French Door Refrigerator. While I would have preferred to go stainless, the other existing appliances in my house are white, and I just can't afford to replace them all right now, so I went with white. It seems like a great fridge, tons of room, internal water dispenser in the fridge, ice maker in the freezer. My friend who owns the store has (I believe) a Viking fridge in his house, and he said that they are made by Amana and branded by Viking and sold for a lot more, even though they are basically the same fridge.

TV is next, maybe I'll hit up a TV thread to get some opinions...

[miir]

The design of our kitchen pretty much required a counter depth french door fridge.
I just love the design.
You don't have to bend over to see what the fuck is in the fridge and you can fit wide stuff in it.

[Ashur]

You people buy some seriously expensive shit.

[miir]

You people buy some seriously expensive shit.

The economy is fine....

[Spang]

Only the fundamentals of the economy are fine.

[Ashur]

I think I paid under $600 for my washer/dryer (OK, I guess that was in 1999...) and last year paid under $400 for a range and under $350 for a dishwasher. All with decent features. The idea of spending over $1K on any of these items boggles my imagination.

[Bubba Grizz]

For purchases like this I don't mind spending extra to get what I want because it isn't something I plan on replacing for many many years. So the whole water in the door of the fridge thing, yah I got it. The flat top electric stove, yah the wife got that (I wanted gas but as most married people know, she's in charge).

[miir]

The flat top electric stove, yah the wife got that (I wanted gas but as most married people know, she's in charge).

I told my wife that she would be doing all the cooking if I didn't get my gas stove.

Even the best electric stove is shit.

[Ashur]

Yeah, we got a flat top electric range which is nice from a "Hey we can set the George Foreman grill there!" and "Look, no burners to clean out under" perspective, but it's pretty basic otherwise. I think I prefer gas.

I think if my wife told me we were going to spend $2K on a new refrigerator I'd tell her she was going to have to get a job and cover childcare costs on top of paying for it.

[miir]

Well we had budgeted 20k to reno our kitchen... top to bottom.
Even spending 2k on the fridge, we came in under 17k.

[Truant]

I just want to go on the record as saying I fucking hate those fucking flat top ceramic electric ranges.

[Winnow]

You should spend 5K on a microwave. That's where there real cooking is done!

[Xatrei]

I use my microwave for reheating leftovers and nuking a bag of popcorn every blue moon. It's the one appliance in my kitchen that I could most easily live without.

[miir]

My microwave isn't even in my kitchen... that's how much I use it.

I just want to go on the record as saying I fucking hate those fucking flat top ceramic electric ranges.

I've had to suffer through using one of those for the past 3 years... they are fucking horrible.

[Xatrei]

re: flat-top electric ranges: My parents have one, and I HATE using it when I'm cooking at their place. I don't think it's much different than any other electric range until you're done cooking and it's time to clean up. Then its true suckage is revealed.

[Winnow]

I overclock my Microwave.

[miir]

I don't think it's much different than any other electric range until you're done cooking and it's time to clean up. Then its true suckage is revealed.

If you have one of those, you gotta use a ceramic cooktop cleaner like cerama-bryte.
Cleaning using that stuff makes it no different than any other cooktop.


I just hate them because the heat distribution and consistency is horrible.

[Xatrei]

If you have one of those, you gotta use a ceramic cooktop cleaner like cerama-bryte.
Cleaning using that stuff makes it no different than any other cooktop.


I just hate them because the heat distribution and consistency is horrible.

I haven't cooked on theirs enough to really notice a problem with heat distribution, but the clean-up drives me nuts. You're right that the cleaning itself isn't that difficult with the ceramic cleaner, but the fact that you need to clean it so much at all annoys me. After I use my range, I wipe it down with a clean, damp rag to get any spills off, and then wipe it down with a few squirts of 409 and I'm done. On theirs, the top gets carbonized anywhere it was in contact with a pot or a pan, and any spills get cooked onto the surface. It still requires a bit of elbow grease to remove even with the ceramic cleaner. It would drive me nuts if I had to do that every time I used my range.

When we eventually redo our kitchen, I want to put a gas range and oven in. Ideally we'll get a commercial-style 6 burner range and double oven. I had a gas kitchen at the first house I owned, but not since then and I miss it.

[Bubba Grizz]

Renovating my house doesn't make sense for us right now. The house itself is only 1100 sq ft though the basement is finished. I'd really rather just get a bigger house really. This economy though there is no way we could do that. I have friends who are paying mortgages on two places because their house/condo won't sell and when they finally do they will take a loss on it.

So depending on how things turn around or not we may be in our house another 5 years. Scarey thing though changing houses.

[Jarori Bloodletter]

I just want to go on the record as saying I fucking hate those fucking flat top ceramic electric ranges.

I TOTALLY agree, its a bitch to get them damn things clean, and ive got popeye fucking arms too.

[Psyloche]

For a fridge, I went with the Amana AFD2535DEW French Door Refrigerator. While I would have preferred to go stainless, the other existing appliances in my house are white, and I just can't afford to replace them all right now, so I went with white. It seems like a great fridge, tons of room, internal water dispenser in the fridge, ice maker in the freezer. My friend who owns the store has (I believe) a Viking fridge in his house, and he said that they are made by Amana and branded by Viking and sold for a lot more, even though they are basically the same fridge.

How do you like the fridge? It's been a year or so since this topic, and right now we're looking at buying a new one. My only stipulation is I have to have an ice maker because our current doesn't, most fridges now have them so it's not a big deal. My wife really wants to have both french door design and a water dispenser.

While having a water dispenser is nice, I don't mind having to buy/refill/change water filters for our Brita water jug. I should really price out how much it costs buying filters vs just having it in door. I see us staying in this house for at least another 8-10 years unless I get some crazy new job or something, so I'd like to get something decent.

How do you even rate refrigerators? What criteria do you look at? I think the only thing right now that I dislike is our Kitchen is somewhat small with the one we have, so opening the door is obnoxious, which is why we are leaning towards french doors. Also, I guess in ours sometimes shit actually freezes in the fridge, even though it's not set that cold.

I do not want to spend more than about $1,500 on one, and probably less if possible.

[Sylvus]

The fridge works great, I like it a lot. The water dispenser, at least on the model I have, is on the inside so it requires you to open the door to get water. I don't have much of a problem with that. It's very quiet, keeps things cold, the fruit/vegetable drawers seem to keep things fresh for a good while... there is an ice machine that you have to open the freezer to get to, but I don't have a problem with that.

Overall, I like it a lot. The only issue I have is that I like to keep a lot of beverages cold, and I tend to run out of space in the fridge, but that's my own fault. I'm thinking about picking up a cheap fridge to put in the garage and then my problems will be solved.

[Ashur]

It's 2010 and my <$600 1999 washer and dryer pair are still very much alive and kicking. So's the "came-with-the-house" refrigerator.

[Aabidano]

I'll <whatever> the dislike for the flat top stove, other than looking nice it sucks.

[Aslanna]

I agree. I have a flat topper and I think it sucks for many of the same reasons others already listed but mostly for the cleaning issues. They stay hot so long after the fact that you can't do your cleanup right away. For actual use I much prefer old fashioned burners.

[Fairweather Pure]

With 2 children under 3 in my family, I'm glad to have the big-ass Sub Zero. I have 8 gallons of milk on the middle shelf alone, along with some OJ and a huge container of apple juice. Still plenty of room left for everything else.

We will be getting a dedicated freezer for the garage though. We currently do not have enough room to buy in bulk which would save money in the long term.

[Xatrei]

We've got a 2nd refrigerator in the garage (just off the kitchen), which has been super handy. We keep sodas and overflow from the main unit out there, and the freezer is usually about 3/4 full of stuff we don't have room to keep in the kitchen's freezer. When we first ended up with the extra refrigerator, I thought it would be kind of dumb to actually use it like we are, but my mom suggested that we give it a try before getting rid of it. I'm a convert now. We've only got the one kid, who is only just starting solid foods, so I'm sure it will be getting even more use once we have to start stocking more stuff for her.

[Aabidano]

Most of the things we keep in the fridge don't keep long enough to buy in bulk and we don't drink soda\beer. When we got a new one the old one went to Salvation Army.

We already had a chest-type deep freeze in the garage.