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Kitchen Appliances Help

GregT

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All,

Our 11 year old refrigerator just conked out -- which means its time to get a new one -- which means that DW wants a stainless steel refrigerator -- which means we need a stainless steel oven and microwave. Drat.

The issue is that we really like a Samsung model refrigerator that has french door opening and water dispenser in the front -- but it's not one of those huge water dispenser so there is still good refrigeration space. It's a counter depth unit.

And Samsung doesn't make ovens......so we are currently thinking of Samsung refrigerator and a KitchenAid oven and microwave. The stainless steel matches well, but the handles are different.

How big an issue is it to have different handles -- they both curve the same way, but the Samsung has a "flat" top edge where the handle meets the door and the the KitchenAid has a smooth top -- don't know how else to describe.

We're shying away from the KitchenAid refrigerator because it doesn't have a built-in water filter, and the user reviews on it haven't been as strong as for the Samsung.

Does anyone have the KitchenAid refrigerator (counter depth/water dispenser in front/approx 22 cubic feet of space?) Do you like it?

Any thoughts and perspective? Thanks very much!
 
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UWSurfer

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I wouldn't give the lack of a built in water filter stop me from purchasing an appliance personally. You can always install an external filter in the line feeding the water supply and NOT be tied into the factory's choice of a required filter.

In fact, that's what we have under our kitchen sink & if the filters get too expensive, we can simply install a different model.

We have the commonly seen french door, lower drawer freezer in white made by Maytag, also seen under the Kenmore & Kitchen Aid labels for the last six years...so far so good.
 

Ken555

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I installed new KitchenAid stainless appliances in the last year, and the refrigerator works well. I also installed the drawer dishwashers (which is good, but not for everyone). The water filter in the refrigerator is good, and I am very sensitive to good water. That said, I've had a separate water filter for years, and with the recent renovation installed the Body Glove water filter system under the sink for much better water filtration. If you're interested in good water then I'd look for a separate system and not make that the deciding point on which refrigerator to purchase. Of course, having the complete kitchen match is really nice - and I know exactly what you mean by the handles, as I even chose door pulls that match for my cabinets!
 

Passepartout

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I don't know that the shape of the door handle is the biggest issue in selecting kitchen appliances. But so be it. If it opens correctly and seals properly and will outlast the one you're replacing, congratulations. You did good.

I agree that the inline water filter is preferable to a built-in one.

Be happy this is your biggest appliance problem. After we remodeled our kitchen, and built a really nice cabinet over the fridge for holding trays, baking sheets etc on edge, and other outsize items, we installed a nice, thick hardwood floor. Now I only have 69 1/2" of available height where the fridge goes. All the new refrigerators at I look at are about 70 1/8" or taller. Hope the old bottom freezer Amana lasts a while longer. I haven't measured to be sure, but I have a hunch I'll have the same issue with the dishwasher.

Jim
 
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Kal

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...Does anyone have the KitchenAid refrigerator (counter depth/water dispenser in front/approx 22 cubic feet of space?) Do you like it?

Any thoughts and perspective? Thanks very much!

I purchased a KitchenAid counter depth, french door refrigerator in July 2011. I looked at LOTS of options, but had to have counter depth, ~22cf, stainless with handles that would compliment my JennAir wall oven. I DID NOT want any water/ice dispenser on the front as that device WILL take away interior capacity. The KitchenAid model that I purchased has a very nice internal water dispenser that consumes no interior volume. After 4 months usage the unit is excellent, but I have to get used to the french door concept.

Samsung is a real problem because their parts/repair service has not kept up with their sales. Too steep of a growth curve. For repairs, parts are extremely hard to obtain as they have to come from S. Korea. It now takes about 3 months to get a part. Moreover, the number of qualified trained repair techs is very small. This means that repairs will be costly, time consuming and very lengthy.

Stay away from Frigidaire as that is a low end product with cheap parts.
 

Patri

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We are also looking at fridges, and salesmen recommend against Samsung (even if they sell them) because of the lack of repair facilities.
Folks, do you like side by side? We've sort of settled on bottom freezer, but there don't seem to be any (or many) larger than 22 cu. ft. at a decent price. Side by side don't seem to have as much room (just by looking at them) even if 22 or 25 cu. ft. Freezer seems to take up so much space.
 

Kal

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We are also looking at fridges, and salesmen recommend against Samsung (even if they sell them) because of the lack of repair facilities.
Folks, do you like side by side? We've sort of settled on bottom freezer, but there don't seem to be any (or many) larger than 22 cu. ft. at a decent price. Side by side don't seem to have as much room (just by looking at them) even if 22 or 25 cu. ft. Freezer seems to take up so much space.

This is the first side-by we've owned. I would rather have a single door as I never remember which side something is stored. Also, in order to open the full width drawer, both doors must be opened. The freezer is ample, but I would rather have a small frezer as I have a large stand alone freezer plus an adjacent second refrigerator/freezer. The kitchen unit is for current stuff while the others are for bigger items and longer term storage.

However, one law of physics is true. If you create a void space, something will always fill it up. Nice thing tho, I have a very wide selection of beer to meet anyone's taste.
 

stmartinfan

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I have the Samsung counter depth French door refrigerator and like it a lot. (Hopefully I'll not need repairs.)

I have a similar situation in that I've got a GE range and microwave and a Kitchenaid dishwasher. They all have round handles but as you describe they do look different as they attach to the door. I personally don't mind it at all. There are enough other things to look at in the kitchen that I'd bet not one person who's been in my new kitchen has ever noticed!

If you're looking for an electric range recommendation, I'm loving my GE induction cooktop range.
 

MuranoJo

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I also wouldn't worry about a perfect match. Top priority should be quality, features you like and will use, and fit for the space.

After fussing over getting a consistent look and fit in the kitchen, and not finding the perfect solution with any appliance line, we now have an 'eclectic' kitchen appliance arrangement. Even though we have several Bosch appliances now, some are white and some are stainless.

We've never had any of our more 'outspoken' friends comment on the mis-match, and they work for us.
 

Corinne

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Love the look of stainless, but...

I know Greg didn't ask, but does anyone else besides me find keeping the stainless steel appliances polished a real pain? We migrated to a stainless dishwasher and oven range year from black appliances and I find it takes constant work to keep them looking nice. Fingerprints and drips of any kind really stand out (much more than on the black imo) and you can't easily spot clean them - you have to polish the whole thing at once or it streaks. And the polishing itself is sort of an art form. I usually find I have to polish more than once before I'm satisfied with how it looks.

We haven't replaced our black refrigerator yet, but I'm sort of dreading the day. That's a lot of surface area to keep up with. And stainless steel polish is not nearly as cheap as Windex.

Meh. Listen to me. Complaining about stainless steel appliances. Geez.
 

Glynda

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Our Dacor stainless stove came with a bottle of stainless steel cleaner by Elco. I've just ordered some online. I've tried numerous products, including the wipes, but the Elco cream is the best of any I've tried.
 

Kal

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...We haven't replaced our black refrigerator yet, but I'm sort of dreading the day. That's a lot of surface area to keep up with. And stainless steel polish is not nearly as cheap as Windex.

Meh. Listen to me. Complaining about stainless steel appliances. Geez.

Next thing will be a "new color concepts" --> avacado or coppertone! :eek: Hurry and get that 1960's look all over again.

Actually, our stainless refrigerator works well with the black dishwasher and wall oven. The DCS/Fisher & Paykel cook top has a combination of stainless with heavy black grates so that tends to tie the two finishes together.
 

MuranoJo

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I love our stainless cooktop, but hate keeping it clean. And you're right--there just doesn't seem to be a quick & easy way to keep it clean, and it's important to even get the 'grain' just so.

Traded an old porcelin-type stovetop in for this, and I was looking for something easier to clean. Well, I got it half right, this new cooktop does not have all the seams and crevices to deal with, but it more than makes up for saved time in the effort it takes to get a smear-free clean.

We want only gas cooktops and about all they had at the time were stainless. Plus, it seems almost all appliances these days are predominently sold as stainless. I'll go out of my way to avoid them in the future.
 

GregT

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Thanks all for the advice and comments -- we ended up going with the KitchenAid for all three, but I don't think the handles would have bothered us. The repair comments were interesting, and since both refrigerators were very highly rated by users, we viewed it as a coin flip.

Thanks again for the info! Now we have to keep it clean.....

Best,

Greg
 
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