KA bites the dust again: A shoppping I will go

[petek]

Tonight in the midst of washing a load our KA (circa 2005)dw quit. The display panel is dead aka no lights, circuit is fine. Harken back to 2006 when we bought this house the previous owner had just installed it in 2005 I believe and it quit on us sometime shortly after. The heater needed replacing and they did a circuit board upgrade iirc per a recall or something. I don't think it's worth the cost of repairing which is bound to cost a few hundred dollars for a service call, parts and labor so I'm going to replace it. No point in saying get a trusty vintage KA which I'd love more than anything simply because the hubby won't have it and I have to bow to him on this. He puts up with all my other eccentricities around collecting except for the major kitchen appliances, it's non-negotiable.

So I'm going to be looking at Bosch and possibly another Miele if there's any deals to be had although I really don't want to lay out that type of money. We loved the one we had back in Calgary. Problem also is there is no Miele dealer here anymore, the closest is 60 mi away.
I'm looking at the website for that closest Miele dealer and see they also sell makes like Bosch, Blomberg? AEG, Asko as well as all the traditional brands like GE, Frigidaire, Elux ..

Bosch prices range all over the clock and it sure gets confusing.

Anyone know anything about this Blomberg (German made) brand? They look a lot like a Miele or Bosch. I'd be a little shy of buying one,, re future servicing etc.

Anyone with anything terrible to say about Bosch or glowing reports?

Primarily I the most quiet of quiet dishwashers..I don't want to hear anything but my hearbeat standing beside it, dead silence, like our old Miele. The lowest sound ratings I'm seeing are around 46 Db.

Lowes here in Canada has a Bosch Series 5 on sale for $999, anyone have one of those?

 

[coldspot66]

Your d/w might have blown the fuse on the circuit board. Not expensive to fix. Might be worth a try.

 

[petek]

One thing I forgot to mention with this machine. A few months ago it seemed like the rinse-aid light was coming on frequently to the point that after about 2-3 washes it was empty again. I don't know if it was all coming out in the rinse or leaking somewhere into the door.. if it was that could possibly explain something, rinse agent getting up to the electronics when the door is flat down or ?

 

[mysteryclock]

Make sure if you are opening it up to check on the fuse that you inspect the control board for any physical damage such as burns, warping, etc. After what happened to my 2004 KA - which nearly caught on fire - I'd recommend that.

We replaced ours with a Bosch with a built-in softener (link below.) It is the ADA version so certainly not a "tall tub" but remarkably, everything seems to fit and comes out perfectly clean, shiny and streak-free. Cycle times are quite a bit longer than the KA but I can handle that since I'm usually starting it later in the evening anyway.

Good luck!

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[tomturbomatic]

You might want to use the search function for Blomberg. I asked about it a few months back and there was a lot of information given about it in this forum.

 

[neptunebob]

Pete, it could be a loose connection at the junction box underneath the machine where it is hardwired into the house wiring.  How do I know?, it has happened to us twice after my mother bought a new KA.  Seems that the wire from the dishwasher to the copper house wiring becomes separated even though I used a wire nut.  So now I am going to have to find some kind of better wire nut so this does not separate again (possibly from the large current draw?).  Hobart KA units had a wiring block where one screwed the house wiring on, this one does not.

 

[qualin]

Pete,

I bought my Miele dishwasher from Coast Appliances here in Calgary.

They treated me right.

Good luck on your search.

 

[combo52]

2005 KA DW Fix ?

I would consider fixing the KA, as suggested it may just be a thermal cutout above the control board or a bad connection in the junction box where the house wiring connects to the DW. { Hobart has not had an actual screw type connection for the power since the 17 models ]

 

I would not recommend a Bosch DW to anyone,

 

1. They are MUCH harder to install and work on.

 

2. They have a poor long term relibility and some are under recall for fire potental.

 

3. They are MUCH smaller inside, if you like to wash lots of large items it gets full very quickly.

 

4. They have a messy filter so your final rinse water is strained over any left over food chunks.

 

5. They are not Union Built by employees that get domestic partner benefits.

 

 

This past Thursday I removed a 6 year old Bosch DW from a customers house [ it is a TOL all SS inside and out, buttons from one side to the other, impressive looking machine ] The customer got tired of having it repaired and bought a high end SS KA from us that I installed. When it was installed and I opened the door and pulled out the lower rack he and his wife could not believe how much larger it was inside.

 

PS If anyone wants a nice Bosch let me know I think it may just need a new fill inlet valve this time.

 

[estesguy]

Loose connection fixed !

Bob, I just had to fix that same problem on my inlaws dishwasher that I installed a year ago. She was complaining of a "hot electrical smell", and the wires had melted because of increased resistance, from them separating in the junction box. The house wiring was thick stranded copper, creating a problem of keeping them secured together. I cleaned up the ends and SOLDERED them together, then put a larger wire nut cap back on. Yes, they will have to be cut off someday when the machine is replaced, but until then, that problem won't re-occur, I guarantee it.

 

[petek]

I checked the connection and it's fine. So I spent a couple of hours perusing Sears, Lowes and the small independent dealer we bought our freezer from who will price match all comers. Sears had a Sears Elite (Bosch) TOL model on clearance for $1299 +tax and the independent store (whom I like btw) said he could get me a
KitchenAid KUDE40FXWH in white (which I want) for $943 , which is a very very good price for in Canada. I just checked on Amazon (US website) where it's selling for slightly more . 46db sound level seems pretty good too.

One thing I noted on the Bosch was that in order to get better drying results it says to use rinse aid AND choose the sanitize option which leads me to thinking it's not the best dryer. (read some complaints on that online as well) I don't want to have to run the sanitize option and I don't use rinse aid anymore since that's already included in the tabs.

So I'm thinking of biting the bullet and gambling on another KA

Amazon.com

 

[petek]

I noticed the newer Kitchenaids no longer have the 4 arm washarm,, just the same WP type.

 

[peterlondon]

999.99 I'd have a stroke!

A dishwasher washer here (the "B" brand) only around £250.00

I think I would be shipping one over and just hooking it up onto the stove line.

I was also wondering do you have insurance cover plans over there? Not that I want to do a plug,but for example british gas do appliance care for around £13.50 per month covering 3 appliances....unlimited call out too! (enuff of the plugging already, I really don't work for BG.)

Changing to subject a bit,I have always wondered if the outlets on your ranges is 220 or 110? I am still holding onto the dream that one day I will be able to ship one of them over the pond.
pete

 

[petek]

Actually Bosch dw's start at around $600 here but with rebates/sales etc you can often get them cheaper. They range up to around $1900 for the TOL model full price without any discounts.. They've got so many models to choose from it's very confusing.
I was just yapping with my sister on the phone who has a Kenmore Elite (Bosch) and she tells me she's had servicing 3 times in about 2 years and right now the detergent dispenser won't open automatically. So I think I'm going to pass on Bosch.

Dishwashers are 110v, Stoves and dryers are 220 v.

 

[peterlondon]

outlets

petek,my question about the outlets on ranges was because I wanted to know if companies had to make a 220 range of small appliances to would run from the 220 outlets provided on the ranges.

While I was living in spain,I bought a hamilton beach mixer that had an american plug.On closer inspection I saw the rating plate stated 110-220,so bought it.

Now living back in the uk and still using my HB.
pete

 

[foraloysius]

Overhere in Europe Bosch are quite reliable dishwashers. For many years Bosch dishwashers were the best sold in the Netherlands. I wonder if there is a quality difference between Bosch in North America and Bosch in Europe.

BTW, this KitchenAid has filters too that need maintenance, so I don't see what John's rant is about.

 

[firedome]

Bosch...

Our son's wife's parents bought a Bosch about 6 years ago and have had serivce calls 3 times already, they are fed up and looking for a different one now.

 

[petek]

Pete,, the outlet(s) on the stoves themselves are 110v. Someone more stove knowledgable could probably chime in here but I don't think they're available on US model stoves anymore for some reason. They still are on some Canadian models. I recollect something about a requirement they be fused? which all the Cdn models always had. If it wasn't that there was also something about identical US models did not meet Canadian electrical requirements and that if you had a US model stove your house insurance wouldn't cover any damage, aka fire etc attributed to have been caused by the stove.

 

[petek]

Louis. Hard to say about the quality, you have to wonder if perhpas they've been cheapened over the last few years like a lot of things, or is it the addition of all these electronic controls. Cutting back on the quality to bring them down to a more competitive price point over here? One thing I did notice about them when I was looking at a fairly new one that was at the Habitat store awhile back, the whole bottom frame appeared to be made of molded plastic, some of the new ones I saw yesterday, the bottom of the tub was plastic, not stainless steel.

 

[combo52]

Bosch DW relibility

Bosch DWs may be the most reliable brand of what is sold in Europe, I don;t have any way of knowing. I do know that North American appliances from stoves to refrigerators, washers, dryers and DWs have been the most durable and long lived here. Bosch DWs have been much better the last few years, I hope they continue to be relibile over the longer term, time will tell. When Asko DWs hit here 10-15 years ago they set new records for trouble prone DWs and the brand is virtually nonexistent now.

 

It has always been interesting working here in Washington D C as I have a lot of customers that have lived all over the world and used lots of different appliances. I constantly have people who are amazed that we have so many major that are 20-30 years old still working well who have lived in Europe and else where. They either think we are cheap to keep them so long or are amazed that they still work. Just this week I had a women say she only has Miele appliances but they never keep them more than 10 years, she couldn't understand why the owner of the house they were renting were having me fix a 21 year old WP DW, she did say it worked great but was noisy LOL.

 

New KA DWs with filters, I would avoid the machines that do not have the food disposer, the filter machines usually cost more and don't work any better.