Preferred brands for kitchen appliances

Seamai

Shenshen wrote: »

I'll be honest, brand would come far behind functionality, BER rating, price and look in my list of important boxes to be ticked. It needs to do what I want it to do, do so economically, and look right in the kitchen.

That said, there is one brand I'd go back to if ever I needed a new oven, and that's Neff. I've got one with the sliding oven door, and I don't think I'd ever want an oven that doesn't have that.
Other than that, I'd look at any brand for anything.

I wouldn't be brand led either but when we were buying we did a lot of research, functionality was no.1 and for what we were willing to spend Bosch was coming out best.

That Neff sliding door oven is fantastic. I'd definitely fork out for that next time round.

tangy

Shenshen wrote: »

That said, there is one brand I'd go back to if ever I needed a new oven, and that's Neff. I've got one with the sliding oven door, and I don't think I'd ever want an oven that doesn't have that.

We are needing a new oven. Our current (and previous) oven is a Neff, but the sliding door on the new ones put us off Neff because
a) it feels gimmicky: something to break but with no advantages - I've not had a problem with an oven door opening normally into the kitchen
b) sometimes it's useful to put plates to warm on the bottom of the oven, and it looks like it stops you doing this.

Tell me more

Muahahaha

Shenshen wrote: »

I'll be honest, brand would come far behind functionality, BER rating, price and look in my list of important boxes to be ticked. It needs to do what I want it to do, do so economically, and look right in the kitchen.

That said, there is one brand I'd go back to if ever I needed a new oven, and that's Neff. I've got one with the sliding oven door, and I don't think I'd ever want an oven that doesn't have that.
Other than that, I'd look at any brand for anything.

Why the sliding door? I looked at the Neff versions with it last year and kind of thought it was solving a problem that doesnt exist (at least not for me anyway). In all my years cooking Ive never burnt my arms on a hot oven door so I didnt see the point of having one that could slide away. They were a fair bit more expensive than a regular oven so I just left it.

Agree with you on functionality. In the end I bought a Kitchen Aid combi oven, its a microwave as well as a regular oven. Its great because it means just having one appliance rather than two. You just have to be careful though not to run the microwave with the ovens metal tray inside it but other than that it suits me great. Picked up in that Gas & Electric store on Camden St, it was ex display from Harvey Norman in Tallaght for 1,600 full price (HN sticker was still on it, took me ages to get it off with the glue underneath) but he was trying to sell it on Adverts for a couple of months for 900. As he hadnt sold it in almost 3 months I chanced my arm and offered 600 and he accepted, was very happy with that.

Anyway it has a function I wasnt even aware of but now I have it I would never do without it. Its an internal temperature probe connected to the ovens software. So you just stick the probe into the centre of a leg of lamb, set it to 55 degrees C and the oven stops when it is perfectly medium rare inside. I think its great, any joint of meat or full chickens get cooked perfectly every time by cooking by the internal temperature. For me it completely eliminates any guess work on timings when you cook by internal temperature. Before you even carve the joint you already know it is going to be perfectly cooked inside every time. Theres none of the usual 'I hope its cooked right' because you already know it is.

Blowheads

Bosch, Siemens & Neff are all made in the same place, just a different badge.
We have all Siemens appliances and apart from the washing machine all still going strong. WM lasted 7 years with the 5 of us giving it hell every day of the year.
Think Miele give you 17-20 yrs, Siemens 15 and the rest less.. then again you can always be hit with a bad one

cubatahavana

harr wrote: »

Had you asked a few year back I would have said Zanussi ...but I honestly don’t think the brand is what it used to be. Never had any issues for years with the older appliances.
New kitchen a few years back with everything new and again Went with the trusted Zanussi but unfortunately out of all the appliances the oven is only thing we haven’t a problem with. So many brands now being made by the one company and I don’t think brand name matters as much it used to.
Unless of course you are going to the very top end brands .. neff and the likes would want to top class for the price you will pay.

Bought an apartment in 2007 with everything Zanussi (fridge, washing machine, dishwasher) they lasted about 6-7 years

We bought:
Fisher and Paikel fridge-freezer
Siemens dishwasher
Bosch washing machine

Not a problem with them. Super happy

Shenshen

tangy wrote: »

We are needing a new oven. Our current (and previous) oven is a Neff, but the sliding door on the new ones put us off Neff because
a) it feels gimmicky: something to break but with no advantages - I've not had a problem with an oven door opening normally into the kitchen
b) sometimes it's useful to put plates to warm on the bottom of the oven, and it looks like it stops you doing this.

Tell me more

I think the reason I'm so enamoured with it is that when you open it, you can reach into the oven really easily. It also makes cleaning the oven easier, as it's easier to get at the back.

I would say if you wanted to warm up plates in an oven you've just switched off after taking your food out, this is fantastic for it. You can sit them in the bottom, and leave the door open to make sure they don't get too hot, and the door won't be in your way as you move around the kitchen.
We've had this oven for well over 7 years now, and the only thing that went so far was the inside lightbulb (easy to replace). The sliding mechanism is really simple and sturdy, and always made me wonder why others haven't thought of this before.

When I was growing up, my parents had a Bosch oven that kind of pulled out - you hooked the shelves onto the front door, and the whole thing worked like a trolley. It was similarly great for easy access, but you had to get special shelves. I'm not even sure they make these ovens any more. But maybe that's why I liked the idea of the easy access so much?
I first saw these ovens on the Great British Bake off, maybe 10 years ago now? I just fell in love with the functionality. It might seem gimmicky to others, granted, but I just love it.

Shenshen

Muahahaha wrote: »

Why the sliding door? I looked at the Neff versions with it last year and kind of thought it was solving a problem that doesnt exist (at least not for me anyway). In all my years cooking Ive never burnt my arms on a hot oven door so I didnt see the point of having one that could slide away. They were a fair bit more expensive than a regular oven so I just left it.
<snip>

I haven't burned myself on a door yet, either, but I have burned myself on racks and shelves trying to pull them out at an angle. I just love the easy access, how easy it is to get stuff in and out and how easy it is to clean.
It's different strokes for different folks, I guess. That probe you mention would be utterly useless for me as a vegetarian, but I can see how it would be a godsend for people who like a nice roast.

Alun

I have one of those probes in my oven but I rarely use it. The problem with it is that you never really know how long it's going to take, so trying to get other things ready at the same time like potatoes and veg is a bit of a guessing game. It does try and predict when it's going to be ready but gets it spectacularly wrong. It estimates way too long to start with and then reduces the time very quickly as it gets nearer. It's an Electrolux.

raxy

We bought a Bosch dishwasher & it's been terrible. Constantly having to wash dishes that come out of it.
After about 9-10 months it started making noise & a burning smell from it (it wasn't in use at the time).
They came out to repair it & since they fixed it it's had check warning lights on it. When I tried to get them back to look at it again they were very aggressive saying the original repair was fixed & this couldn't be related & they'd charge me for the repair.
The programmes seem off too, says drying when its still washing.
I won't buy Bosch again after it. Terrible customer service.

meeeeh

Two separate tradesmen told me that the dishwashers to buy are Miele. One said only Miele and the other one also mentioned Beko as good quality. Everything else is supposed to be more or less rubbish. I don't know how accurate or reliable that is. Anyway just about all appliances in our kitchen are different make (Miele, Simens, BOsch, Waterford, Whirpool, Gorenje, Samsung) and except Fischer and Paykel dishwasher (probably the biggest waste of money of all the stuff we bought for the house) only Waterford single oven that had to be replaced because glass on the door shattered. I'm sure we could just replace the door but for some reason we had an unused new standard oven in the garage (as you do). The Waterford gas range cooker with two ovens is still going strong with no issues. I'm pretty sure Siemens washing machine will have to be replaced soon but I'll be happy getting 11 or 12 years out of it considering the amount of washing we do. I don't think anything we have is particularly stellar but I think everything is reasonably good quality. Funny enough Gorenje Pininfarinna fridge is probably the biggest extravagance despite probably being the least regarded brand.

Anyway many 'German' appliances are made just about anywhere so there often isn't much guarantee for quality. I don't think brand loyalty makes any sense. There is no guarantee that brand which makes good oven will make good fridge. You wouldn't want to buy a bicycle from VW just because you like VW Golf.

foodaholic

Any washer dryer recommendations
My whirlpool one is 8 yrs plus and giving up the ghost

gamblor101

We went through two Bosch washing machines in five years. Never buying their WM again.
The oven, hob, fridge & tumble dryer are Bosch too and can't fault them.

rubadub

limnam wrote: »

For the most part it doesn't matter too much anymore


A lot of them are just re brands of the other and for the most part the technology the same.

They can have the same technology but lower spec components. I would prefer to get a model which is on the market for a while, I hate the fact there are so many different models of machines, I would rather they focus on a few and them right.

Components will have expected lifespans, they want to to last past warranty. Under heavy usage some parts might fail so they improve them as time goes on, this is why a later machine would hopefully last longer.

It would be good to find a shop which has its own extended warranty, they might have insider info and know which models are not likely to break down. This is why I would check the likes of richersounds if buying a TV, they give their own 6 year warranty there is no way they would just randomly put TVs on sale, they are around since 1978 and do repairs as a service, they would obviously make sure to be confident about their warranty offer.

Does anybody know of a shop like this for kitchen stuff?

Fixing stuff was mentioned, I do this, you can replace with higher spec components, there are loads of guides on youtube these days. If an old mixer from the 70s or 80s goes you might be able to buy repair kits, they can be worth fixing as some components are pretty much supposed to have broken, like capacitors, you might want to replace several other ones as they will likely be gone too. The old stuff has big chunky electronics that is easy to solder and identify, compared to the stuff nowadays with micro size stuff.

Muahahaha

Shenshen wrote: »

I haven't burned myself on a door yet, either, but I have burned myself on racks and shelves trying to pull them out at an angle. I just love the easy access, how easy it is to get stuff in and out and how easy it is to clean.
It's different strokes for different folks, I guess. That probe you mention would be utterly useless for me as a vegetarian, but I can see how it would be a godsend for people who like a nice roast.

yeah like yourself I first saw those sliding oven doors on the Great British Bake Off and thought what a great idea. But in the shop I saw the price of Neff and it was out of budget so gave up the idea then. I can see the advantage of them but the cost was prohibitive for me. They would be a good thing to have if you've small children running about as an hot open oven door is a hazard in that situation.

Alun wrote: »

I have one of those probes in my oven but I rarely use it. The problem with it is that you never really know how long it's going to take, so trying to get other things ready at the same time like potatoes and veg is a bit of a guessing game. It does try and predict when it's going to be ready but gets it spectacularly wrong. It estimates way too long to start with and then reduces the time very quickly as it gets nearer. It's an Electrolux.

My probe set up doesnt estimate exactly how long but it goes from 20c up to 55c for medium rare so you've a good idea of the pace of it by taking a look when first using it. Nonetheless when I do roast potatoes and veg these days I tend to cook them in the airfryer rather than the main oven, for the potatoes I jsut feel the airfryer gives them a better crisp plus theres no real need to be turning them as the hot air gets to them from underneath.

DublinCJM

Just kitted out a new kitchen, did a lot of research on Which? and also some recommendations from a family member who researches thoroughly buying appliance.

Went with Bosch for double oven, induction hob, cooker hood, dishwasher, washing machine (expensive but quiet and little vibrations (was putting in upstairs), and also dryer.

Went LG for American FF with plumbed water / ice dispenser.

Only gripe with any of these is the timer alarm on the oven is only about 10 seconds, and if you're not in the room, you won't hear it, it's quite low sounding. It was flagged by Which, but I didn't think it would be a pain, but it is. Use a separate timer now on my phone or Alexa if I'm not going to be in the kitchen.

Normal One

I bought a Siemens washing machine, dishwasher and fridge/freezer 17 years ago and never had an ounce of trouble with any of them. I use a cleaner in the washers every couple of months because I live in a hard water area.

CJhaughey

We bought a load of Siemens ex-display stuff when we built in 2006, Siemens full size fridge, compact dishwasher and Electrolux oven, and an Admiral Top loader.
I haven't had to do any maintenance on the fridge apart from cleaning the drip port every so often, I fitted a new filter to the dishwasher a year or two ago, as the plastic support rings had gone hard and cracked. The cost was minor I think maybe €30 for the complete assembly.

The oven fascia was smashed by accident a few years ago and the replacement glass was €80 or so and the element went earlier this year again, less than €30 and 20 minutes to replace.

The Admiral toploader is a beast its like a Maytag in build quality and just this summer I replaced the snubber ring and the springs because it was making noise on the spin cycle.
It takes a 10.1kg load and the cycle time is very short, plus if you forget to add something you just lift the lid and toss it in!

Baumatic 5 burner gas Hob, this has been the poorest of the lot but in fairness it still works even though its getting tired at this stage.
I would probably still buy another though as I find simplicity in appliances is better, the more bells and whistles it has the more it has to go wrong.
Maybe its the KISS principle but it works for me!

All of the appliances bar the washing machine are stainless and have held up remarkably well to children and the beatings they seem to be able to deliver to appliances.

I'd buy all of them again in a heartbeat, maybe if Electrolux do a sliding door model I would consider that.