I forgot about this thread. I should add an update to my original post. The Kitchenaid started to crap out again and wouldn't complete the wash cycle so I called Lowes corporate line and complained about it. Next thing I get a call from the manager of the local store saying that if I can disconnect it and bring it back he will give me any similar priced model at a discount for all the trouble. We went in and picked out the top of the line Bosch model. I took it home and installed it and it's been working flawlessly ever since. And it is super quiet, you would hardly know it is even running when it's on. About the only negative thing is that I don't find the racks to be quite as well designed as the Kitchenaid. Other than that I love it. :luv:

I have a Samsung high efficiency model, 3 years old. I hate it. It takes FOREVER to finish a damn load.

Strongly influenced by Glatts Consumer Reports ratings we bought this

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool...SAEM/206135980

Wanted stainless inside cause they are quieter and I think stay cleaner, got stainless outside by default, which is nice as it seems to make our tiny kitchen seem a bit bigger.

Has a weird cutlery system where the basket attaches inside the door, this does seems to leave more space for dishes so I guess we'll get used to it.

The wash cycle takes a lot longer, 2 1/2 hours as opposed to 1 1/2 on the old machine, but it cleans much more effectively so I guess that's OK, especially as I put it on at night mostly.

It is very quiet, rated at 48 dB, you can only hear a gentle swishing standing right next to it.

We didn't want top controls particularly, but we like a proper handle

I misremembered this thread as being about washing machines, and came here to post the news that Samsung is recalling almost 3 million washing machines because the lids can fly off unexpectedly and injure you the way they have injured 9 other people.

What a coincidence! The Kenmore I posted about earlier in the thread died, and we got a new one on relatively short notice because 2-3 loads a day is a lot to wash by hand. We went to the store planning to get an LG we picked out online, because our fridge, washer, and dryer are all LG and we've been happy with them.

But it turned out the "in stock in store" thing online was wrong, our store didn't have the one we wanted. Mr. Clod and I didn't have time to get to another store with his truck, and without him I'd need delivery service which would mean another week of doing them by hand... so we instead went with a Bosch that they had in stock.

It has some nice-ish features, but overall I do not like it. For starters, we did not realize that "top controls" are a thing, and I hate not being able to see what's going on under the countertop there. We thought we'd installed it improperly and wrestled with it for a long time before figuring out it's supposed to be that way. Second, the silverware basket is wide and runs the entire length of the side, too much space wasted. Similarly, the vertical tines are too close together--great if you're trying to cram in extra plates because you're the kind of family that only ever washes plates (and silverware, I guess.) But it sucks if you're trying to wash big pots and mixing bowls and 9x13 pans all the time like I am, because they can't settle in anywhere.

Counteracting that, there is a third very shallow pull-out rack on the top for lids and flatter serving utensils and stuff, which sometimes leaves enough extra space on the top (middle) rack for said pots and bowls and stuff, but this of course leaves less height overall, making one thing in particular--the kids' outer lunchbox containers--nearly impossible to get in anywhere.

It is, however, insanely quiet. It has a little red LED that it shines on the floor when it's running, because during certain parts of the cycle you cannot hear it at all and run the risk of opening it early. I will get used to it because I have to, but I really wish we'd waited the extra week and got the one we'd vetted more thoroughly.

Was there much price difference? Maybe you can Craig's List the Bosch at a later date and get the one you went after in the first place.

We are thinking the Whirlpool needs to go :(. It's still super quiet, but the top rack keeps falling off the wheels, the soap dispenser doesn't always open...... but it doesn't seem to be possible to replace these bits easily. Not sure if we're even willing to limp on til July 4th...... Well pretty sure we're not in the circs......

2.5 years old? Ugh. Sorry my consumer reports steered you wrong. That settles it. I'm never getting rid of our 18 year old GE unless the mother board fries.

Oh no, don't worry about that, there was no mention of it, IIRC -probably no-one had had one long enough to find out. But basically the internal plastic parts are weak, I think. The motor is still working and still quiet and the electronics are good and those are the bits that usually go. they skimped where no-one would notice until it was too late..... It probably wouldn't even be an issue if it wasn't for current family circumstances. We just don't have the time/willing to fuck with it or put up with it.

So any suggestions for current models/good deals appreciated.....

Yes, our carbon footprint is huge :(

Appreciate a major and recent (in the past few decades) change in this white appliance industry. Various manufacturers were defined by their quality. A Hotpoint was a low end (and inexpensive) appliance. A Maytag was expensive and superior quality.

Business school graduates recently changed all that. The entire American white appliance industry has been merged in a process that massively enriched these bean counters. For example, I believe Hotpoint and Maytag are now the same company now making the same appliances on a same assembly line. Cost controls in the past decades have caused a massive decrease in quality from an industry long known for high quality products and innovation.

To pay for their money games, these bean counters sold off innovations. For example, Maytag's next generation products were the Neptune series. Bean counters sold it to Samsung.

Suddenly people are now buying Samsung, LG, and Bosch appliances. Because companies such as KitchenAid were merged into mega-appliance conglomerations. Quality of KitcheAid has also decreased in the past decade.

A perfect example are French Door refrigerators. Open either door. Then let that door go. It should close without any manual intervention. But frames on these doors are now cost controlled. Some refrigerator's left door binds - does not close on its own. No problem. Top management has cut costs to pay for the merger.

Its not your father's white appliance industry anymore. Be cautious. A company you bought a dishwasher from 20 years ago is no longer the same company. Quality has recently decreased substantially in some brands to increase profits.

To be fair, some of the beancounters' mentality came from very real learning experiences about the stupidity of the American consumer--Betamax, for example, was an inarguably superior product to VHS, and they went bankrupt because Americans chose to buy cheaper shit without regard to quality. If your choice is maintain quality and go bankrupt now, or slowly deteriorate quality and go bankrupt in 40 years, most businessmen will choose the latter, even if what they're really doing is crossing their fingers that quality will come back in vogue among consumers sometime before the 40-year mark.

The porn industry was responsible for VHS winning out.

No, really.

Yeah, but that was actually Sony's call. They were the ones who decided not to allow porn on Beta. Realistically, they couldn't have stopped a filmmaker who was determined to release in their format, but it was easy enough for the porn stars to go where they were wanted instead. In the end, it was still an issue of Sony wanting Betamax to be the quality, high-brow brand.

And that's why Sony Blu-Ray does offer plenty of porn. :)

Betamax suffered from one simple and obvious problem. Their higher quality recording made no difference on America's low resolution TV screens. A cheaper VHS looked just as good on those TVs. Betamax also had less storage (data) capacity - originally only 60 minutes - too short for a movie. The 120 minute VHS also was less expensive.

Other just as inferior products also existed. RCA's video disk was higher resolution and could hold up to 240 minutes of video. But again, nobody needed a four hour movie. And better resolution was irrelevant on a low resolution NTSC screen.

VHS clearly was the superior choice once all relevant factors were considered - not just resolution.

BTW, where was the VCR developed? Originally in America. Ampex Corporation only saw cost of the original VCR. Since top management were business school graduates, then grasping a $20,000 VCR eventually selling for less than $200 only ten years later could not happen. So Ampex sold what became Betamax to Sony.

Can you get dishwashers that play porn? Mine has blue lights rather than red ones :/