Luxury Appliances - Recommendations/Warnings?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Blue Star has some huge cleaning problems in my opinion. If you don't care about the appearance of the grill, or are able to clean it as it gets dirty should be fine. Any boil overs, etc, will go subsurface, where as viking and wolf it's all contained. Easier to clean.

You can basically disassemble the entire Blue Star. Grates, etc are all removable to be washed and there is a stainless tray is easily removed that catches anything that falls down.

[calgarywinning]

If you get a chance goto the Wolf/Subzero showroom by the distributor. Bradlee distributors and spend an hour or so there. The latest models of fridges have just come out.

I was leaning towards a Bluestar until I went to Jarome's on McLeod trail and the guy showed me all of the problems, which I was not fond of. Part of the design of the appliances is their ability to clean, get out of the way and just serve their function.

Also, be careful of exhaust issues. The trend this days is to get indoor charcoal burners, griddles, etc and then you need professional exhaust which can be expensive to install and operate.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

If you get a chance goto the Wolf/Subzero showroom by the distributor. Bradlee distributors and spend an hour or so there. The latest models of fridges have just come out.

I was leaning towards a Bluestar until I went to Jarome's on McLeod trail and the guy showed me all of the problems, which I was not fond of. Part of the design of the appliances is their ability to clean, get out of the way and just serve their function.

Also, be careful of exhaust issues. The trend this days is to get indoor charcoal burners, griddles, etc and then you need professional exhaust which can be expensive to install and operate.

I am somewhat dubious regarding what the salesmen say because they are just pushing whatever they can make the most money on. I am much inclined to believe user reviews. ..

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Consider the new Samsung fridges that have a soda stream built in, a cool feature. That said, subzero is a higher end product. Our fridge is a KitchenAid and it's nice but not subzero nice.

I have this fridge and it is... AMAZING. Seriously. If you enjoy a sodastream, this beast of a 31cu ft unit is a must have.

[AMG_G]

We just finished picking appliances for my new place a couple of weeks ago. We looked at Dacor, Bosch, Wolf, Miele, Thermador, Viking and SubZ. We really liked the wolf and SubZ but it was a little too pricey.

Thermador had their 1,2 free promotion on which got me a free hood fan and dishwasher when I bought a fridge, cook top and oven/microwave combo.

Can't wait to try out the induction cook top.

AMOUNT BILLED TO BUILDER (BALLOWANCE)

N/A -1 $12,619.05 ($12,619.05) N/A

MARVEL WINE/BEV CTR, LH,BLK/SS (6BARM-BS-G-L)

$36.99 1 $1,399.99 $1,399.99 N/A
Note: THIS BAR FRIDGE WILL OPEN FROM THE RIGHT TO THE LEFT.

MARVEL WINE/BEV CTR, RH,BLK/SS (6BARM-BS-G-R)

$36.99 1 $1,399.99 $1,399.99 N/A
Note: THIS BARE FRIDGE IS SET TO OPEN FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT. I
WILL NEED TO KNOW IF THIS IS WAY IS OK.

ISE, DISPOSER, EVOLUTION EXCEL (76336B)

$149.99 1 $489.99 $489.99 N/A

ISE, SINK TOP SWITCH (STS-00)

$89.99 1 $89.95 $89.95 N/A

KINETICO, SOFTENER, PREMIER (S150)

$279.99 1 $2,799.99 $2,799.99 N/A

KINETICO, DRINKING WATER (K5-CH)

$310.99 1 $1,799.99 $1,000.00 N/A

Rebate (Expires 11-Jun-14)

($799.99)

KINETICO, FAUCET COMBO, CHROME (K12965)

N/A 1 $299.95 $299.95 N/A

VACUFLO, 466Q POWER UNIT (8540)

$499.99 1 $899.95 $899.95 N/A

VACUFLO, EDGE PLUS 35' (9496-UNIV-35-HS)

N/A 1 $769.99 $769.99 N/A

VACUFLO, HOME & GARAGE ACC KIT (9568)

N/A 1 $270.00 $0.00 N/A

Rebate (Expires 11-Jun-14)

($270.00)

MIELE PLUMBED COFFEE SYSTEM (CVA6805)

$189.99 1 $5,399.00 $5,399.00 N/A

THERMADOR, FRIDGE, 2-DOOR BM (T36IB800SP)

$370.99 1 $8,756.99 $8,756.99 $599.95*

THERMADOR, C/T, INDUCT, BLK (CIT365KBB)

$160.00 1 $3,945.99 $3,945.99 N/A

THERMADOR, W/O, COMBO, SS (MEDMC301JS)

$170.99 1 $5,629.99 $5,629.99 $599.95*

THERMADOR, D/W, CUSTOM PANEL (DWHD440MPR)

$210.99 1 $2,117.99 $0.00 $259.95*

Rebate (Expires 12-Jun-14)

($2,117.99)

THERMADOR, HOODFAN, SS (HDDW36FS)

$250.99 1 $3,416.99 $0.00 N/A

Rebate (Expires 12-Jun-14) ($3,416.99)

[mikephoen]

We moved in to our new place about 8 months ago. We have a Wolf oven, Wolf gas cook top, Miele dish washer and Subzero fridge. We've been super happy with everything so far. The miele dish washer has easily been the best I've ever had. Only downside is it's a little smaller than some other brands, so you have to run it more often.

We also have the Wolf microwave/convection oven combo. It's really cool. I didn't even know such things existed until we started building our new house. We skipped the warming drawer though. We just weren't sure we would actually use it that much.

[squiggs96]

Be careful when looking at Bosch. They used to be a very high end brand, and still do make some good stuff. The problem is they licence their name to low end products, many of which are sold by the Brick. Putting a Ferrari sticker on a Prius, doesn't make it a fast car.

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

We skipped the warming drawer though. We just weren't sure we would actually use it that much.

Good call. We have one, but it's really a very expensive pot drawer....

[redforever]

Originally Posted by AMG_G

We just finished picking appliances for my new place a couple of weeks ago. We looked at Dacor, Bosch, Wolf, Miele, Thermador, Viking and SubZ. We really liked the wolf and SubZ but it was a little too pricey.

Thermador had their 1,2 free promotion on which got me a free hood fan and dishwasher when I bought a fridge, cook top and oven/microwave combo.

Can't wait to try out the induction cook top.

I can attest to Thermador being high quality when it comes to ovens. I was going to get either a Dacor or Thermador oven but as you mentioned, there was a great sale by Thermador at the time so went with them. I have had mine now going on 6 years without one problem or repair.

It has options for regular bake, roast, and broil, then for pure convection, or convection bake, convection roast or convection broil, and also for proof (which I always use when making bread), warm, probe, and dehydrate. It has two timers, and then normal stuff like self clean, timed cooking and the like.

The oven is also very large so I can put any roasting pan or cookie sheet in it with no problem and some of my cookie sheets are 15" x 18".

[VladtheImpaler]

This is really tough. Virtually everything has positive and negative reviews - it's so hard to choose. The only thing that seems to get almost universal love is the Blue Star range.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

This is really tough. Virtually everything has positive and negative reviews - it's so hard to choose. The only thing that seems to get almost universal love is the Blue Star range.

You won't be disappointed with a vent-a-hood product - performs well, relatively quiet, and clean-up of the grease trap system is easy.

[VladtheImpaler]

Yes, they do seem to have positive feedback. It is only somewhat amusing to pay as much for the hood as for the range...

[DFO]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Yes, they do seem to have positive feedback. It is only somewhat amusing to pay as much for the hood as for the range...

Yup. Also keep in mind the potential changes/additions to HVAC depending on make-up air requirements. Turns out that doesn't come cheap either...

[calgarywinning]

I still strongly think the cleanup on the Blue Star is the fault in it's performance from a consumer point of view. That is a massive disadvantage.

LaCanche is also higher rated than BlueStar in user reviews, but try to find someone to service them. I just think that you can't beat BlueStar for in house performance BTU wise, but it comes with the caveat. Also look at Le Cornue, this is the highest rated stove and costs as much a entry level car. It's not all about the BTU's on this one, but about the planche and the range of cooking offered and the control. A true chef would choose this stove, but again it's service, cost versus value.

Just go to the showroom and take apart the bluestar and take apart a wolf or LeCanche stove. Now imagine a pot of soup overflowing and tell me I am wrong.

Anyways, I'm just being persistent because I was intent on buying one until I actually looked at this factor.

[Ducay]

All I know is my old coil top electric range was a sealed burner and the daily smoke outs from any spills were the bane of my existence.
Having spills fall down into the drip tray, which is easily cleaned, might be better aesthetically than having all the gunk collecting in plain sight, as often happens on sealed burner gas stoves. (You don't see most families cleaning them out after each use as they should).

At the end of the day, I'm not disagreeing open burners don't have their downsides (otherwise everything would be using them), but there is no competition if I can either get a $3k BlueStar with comperable features, look, and performance to a $7k Wolf. Its a no brainer.

[VladtheImpaler]

Thanks for the warning, but I have not seen cleaning brought up as an issue on any of the cooking forums - presumably, somebody would have mentioned it somewhere.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Thanks for the warning, but I have not seen cleaning brought up as an issue on any of the cooking forums - presumably, somebody would have mentioned it somewhere.

Well I don't have that stove and am not all that familiar with it but if someone is really cautioning you about the cleanup of that stove, the very least I would do is go to the showroom and check out what he is cautioning you about.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by redforever

Well I don't have that stove and am not all that familiar with it but if someone is really cautioning you about the cleanup of that stove, the very least I would do is go to the showroom and check out what he is cautioning you about.

Of course. Except that his warning is theoretical, and I have not seen any "in-use" complaints. With all these things, there is so much out there. I am just noting that BS seems to have consistently the best reviews and it doesn't hurt to save $4500, even if price is not the primary consideration.

[VladtheImpaler]

In case anybody cares or would benefit from my experience... wound up getting the Blue Star 6-burner from Costco, a Bosch dishwasher, a Ventahood hood and a Viking fridge (this kind of by accident - were looking at Miele at Trail and noticed a marked down Viking - somebody returned it because the door opened to the right, instead of left; saved $3k). Really happy with everything so far. The gas oven takes some getting used to, but cooks so much more evenly than electric convection. The dishwasher is fantastically quiet (and good). Really happy with everything. In particular, want to thank Ducay for putting me on to Blue Star.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I can also give the thumbs up on the Vent-a-hood fan and Kitchenaid dishwasher. Both really good. The dishwasher is unbelievably quiet, compared to the older model I had.
I also have a Viking range, and I really like it. Frankly, I don't see what can go wrong, other than the ignition, and it has been fine for 3 years now.