Why does Consumer Reports love Bosch so much?

[neptunebob]

If you read any recent issue of theirs, Bosch dishwashers are the top 10 along with Bosch made Thermador and the IKEA (made by Bosch?).

Consumer reports also says that people they survey Do Not Like GE machines, with a 1 out of 5 in Owner Satisfaction.

Some people here say the Bosch is not so great and GE is not as bad as CR makes them out to be. I have been reading the debate about the older GE machines as noisy but what is the opinion of more recent models?

This year I replaced a GE Artistry dishwasher with a Bosch 100 series premium dishwasher and I have opinion about both of them but I want to see what other people here say first.

Combo, you also say it is not a good idea to use the Speed 60 setting on the Bosch all the time like i do. It does a good job on the dishes. What is the problem, is there some reason why I should not?

 

[appnut]

The Bosch is the best cleaning dishwasheer I've ever owned--even the GE Potscrubber and couldn't hold a candle to either KA produced Kenmore Elites. I Purchased in May 2021 during the pandemic. I had wanted to purchase a KithenAid, but I won't buy BOL appliances and that's what was only available duringg the pandemic and I wasn't willing to wait 8 weeks so I opted for the Bosch 800 that was available in 10 days. I love the cleaning. I love the flexibility and the full knowlege is what cycle offers what temperature targets. And CrystalDry produces dry results similar to KitchenAid dishwashers from the 1960s. [this post was last edited: 7/27/2024-13:31]

 

[petek]

I've had my Bosch Ascenta about 5 ish years, loved it, but was a bit let down last year when the sump hose developed a pin hole leak under pressure unbeknownst to me. The water eventually soaked its way thru the floor and was dripping in my basement. I bought an new hose and replaced it. That being said, I know quite a few people with them and mine is the only one. Seems like I always end up with a dishwasher leak every 5 years or so. It's a shame they use that molded thin translucent plastic tubing, like you'd use to empty a fishtank or gas can where the bends are sort of ribbed to make it more flexible.

 

[peteski50]

Bosch!

I have my Bosch DW about 5 years now. It is the 300 series. It does a excellent job.
I mostly use the Auto cycle. And the drying is good. I did have one problem after 1 1/2 years where the main board went. I was under warranty. So I had the board replaced for nothing. I recommend everyone take a warranty in todays day and age.
Peter

 

[petek]

As to why are they always the top rated machines is simple. They purchase them anonymously and they test them scientifically which means the results are consistent and most importantly they are repeatable. Repeatablity means that if any other manufacturer questions them or threatens to sue them they have data and they can physically repeat the tests in front of that manufacturer. Same with vacuums and all the appliances they test. And they aren't doing all this testing "in secret" as they welcome manufacturers into their facilities.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

My experience

My experience with a Bosch built Kenmore does a great job. I use the smart wash HE cycle, and will occasionally use the turbo clean option. Water shoots from everywhere inside the machine. The first time I opened the door while it was running, I got splashed in the face with water. I also keep the dry assist on.[this post was last edited: 7/27/2024-23:38]

 

[panasonicvac]

My local service technician who's been fixing appliances in our home for 30+ years says that he recommends Bosch for dishwashers today. Our KitchenAid just recently started to leak and if we ever had to replace it (highly unlikely), I'd get a Bosch. We'll see what the technician says.

 

[jamiel]

Been perfectly happy with the cheapy Ascenta (plastic bottom) Bosch we got about 10 years ago. The pump is slightly more audible than it seems it used to be, could be on it's way out, but then again the KA Superba side by side refrigerator clunks when the compressor shuts off and has done it for the 15 years we've owned it (it's probably a 2000 unit).

TLDR: Bosch has a winner of a design. If your crockery fits you'll not do better.

 

[rinso]

I replaced a KitchenAid TOL with a Bosch 800. The Whirlpool made KitchenAid was unreliable and couldn't dry dishes acceptably. After the warranty ran out, it ran for a couple more years until the motor decided to give up on life. The Bosch does a great job of washing and especially drying. I'm hoping that it will be reliable in the long term as well. The only observation I've had so far, is its quirky racks which took a while for the learning curve for me.

 

[cfz2882]

mostly liked my Bosch

do not know what series,but it was 2010,German,all SS,with the built in water softener.Machine was great until ceramic wet bearings of the BLDC wash motor wore out after a decade of use:New motor was not very expensive,but washer not really designed to be repaired:big plastic base tray crimped onto the SS wash chamber and some other details i don,t recall that made getting to and replacing the motor very difficult.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

bldc motors

What do you think of the bldc motors in Bosch dishwashers? I noticed that they slowly start up. What do they look like?

 

[cfz2882]

The motor did run good-ramp up to speed was quite fast and it was very quiet with no external moving parts-just a faint whirr was heard.Pump parts were light gray plastic and white plastic motor casing.A water heater was built into the pump.The drain pump was also variable speed BLDC. The actual motor parts of the main pump were quite small:stator laminated iron was ~2 1/2" square and a little over 1/2"thick,10 coils.Rotor about 1 1/4 dia.6 magnetic poles.Stainless steel shaft turns in water-lubed ceramic bearings.Wash impeller 5 backward curved blades.drain impeller 10 straight radial blades.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Kenmore 630.13902011

I suspect my dishwasher has this type of motor. I'm still trying to figure out the turbo clean option and what it does. I don't see any turbo jets in the arms or behind them. Does your dishwasher ramp up and slow down the pump during the cycle? Mine does. And yes, mine is a Bosch unit under the Kenmorelabel. I can hear the BLDC motor.
What are the speeds on this motor?

 

[gelaundry4ever]

to cfz2882

Did your dishwasher alternate wash arms or run them simultaneously? What did you think of the wash pressure changes?

 

[gelaundry4ever]

silence

I think they love them due to their silence. I like hearing water swirling and splashing and spraying around. The only motor noise I hear is the variable frequency drive that sounds like a CRT TV.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well, I do like Amäna...

Bosch is today's Hobart-built Kitchen Aid, surely must be even monopolizing the market...

Yet, I picked a Samsung for a lower, more economic price, but wish I'd picked a Whirlpool for boasting its famous Sami-Wash, the way when it built Lady Kenmores and higher-end Kenmores, those would feature the Sani-Temp I would see...

And perhaps if Kitchen Aid had that small rack over the top rack which my Samsung has, making its top rack the middle rack...

Then I'd have a good Graceland-equivalent, I wanted to own a Kitchen Aid for, though sans the Hobart-ownership, and the one there was an Avocado Imperial...

Whereas, just about anything on the market that anyone maybe including Elvis were still around in the kitchen is 90% hi-endy, and perhaps The King would go for Bosch, too!

Although I'm German on my mom's side, I don't quite go for things that are that, I'm of Northern Russian and Ukrainian on my dad's side... Maybe I'm Italian at heart, and at a time culture-wise, though I'd only been to Rome, Venice, Florence and the Tuscan region, though I want to go to Sweden and my daughter is peripherally even studying and even fluently speaking the language...

So, then, just Germany boasts cars like Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, BMW, and VW as well as audio like Blaupunkt founded by Robert Bosch, the very entrepreneur of the company which makes these appliances, engineering and putting out the very best, ad Germany does its cars...

-- Dave

 

[combo52]

Why does consumer reports like Bosch dishwasher so much?

Generally, they have cleaned pretty well and they have done well in their testing, if you look back and consumer reports about 15 years ago, it was one of the most unreliable brands, Bosch has improved. Their quality and their performance is very good. There’s no doubt about that.

The problem is consumer reports does not take into account how much the dishwashers hold wash dishwashers are difficult to load and don’t hold a lot. They’re also very difficult to repair. You have special programming materials. You can’t fix yourself for example.

Because consumer reports his recommended them so many times people like to pat themselves in the back and they don’t report all the problems when they do the user surveys and tends to feed on itself. It’s just like everybody thinks Toyota is the best car made when there’s really not that much difference,it is better than a lot of cars , but it’s not as good as people think they still have plenty of problems.

But Bosch dishwashers like European cars are often finally tuned. Great performing products, but they’re not the most reliable by any stretch of the imagination we turn down 10 to 15 calls on Bosch dishwashers every week and we’re a small company and most people tell us when we turn them down. They say nobody wants to work on these what’s wrong ?

Bosch dishwashers are not The KitchenAid dishwashers of old, when Hobart made KitchenAid dishwashers they were also making commercial dishwashers that shared a lot of the same design and parts just like Speed Queen laundry today is all based on commercial machines and quality.

Nothing about Bosch or a current KitchenAid or a current whirlpool or Maytag or a GE has anything to do with a commercial dishwasher none of them are built the way old Hobart Kitchen aids were built.

John

 

[pinkpower4]

I ended up getting the Bosch 300 Dishwasher...

I was trying to choose between the KitchenAid 604, Maytag MDB8959SKB, and the Bosch.

I kept going back to Bosch. I love the idea of no melted plastics! However, keep in mind that plastics still have to be dishwasher safe as it gets hot!

All dw have their lemons. However, it did concern me that I came across more than a few reviews where KA had issues with touch controls or pumps. With Maytag, it seemed to be with the chopper assembly or leaks.

I ended up with the Bosch 300 as my Home Depot had them in-store at less than $700 for stainless steel model only (the newer one with Wi-Fi). Note that on the website, it was still showing full price. Slickdeals.net might be helpful if Home Depot isn't so close to you to know when they are having these unadvertised sales this or other models. Lowes also had an in-store price for a different style 300 that was less website price.

I use the heavy cycle with extra dry, sani, and max rinse aid. I didn't think I'd like the WiFi, but it does come in handy to alert me when the cycle is done as opening the door on this model seems to aid in drying. I have Corelle dishes, nuglass tumblers, and 18/10 flatware. I use glass storage and stainless steel mixing bowls. All come out dry with plastics only requiring a quick swipe. I am currently using the Finish powder until it runs out (discontinued, but why?).

The racks take a bit of getting used to. KA 604 definitely shines here! This model does have the simple third rack, adjustable height middle rack, and some adjustable tines and other middle and bottom rack. However, Bosch has a helpful video on how to load the dishes. I ended up keeping the flatware basket from my old machine (holds twice as much as included Bosch flatware basket) and just using the third rack for odd stuff. I scrape my dishes. I haven't missed the chopper of my old machine or noticed a build up of junk in the filter of the Bosch.

There is a tray on the bottom of this one (leak protection), so it won't be as easy for me to change out parts. I am getting older with some mobility issues now. I hope simple is better works out in this case. NOT having the pop-open door might be a plus as far as repairs go. Also, if the crystal dry fails, it seems there would be an error one could not permanently get rid of even if one chose to no longer use it or at least that is why I read not to mention seemed like an expensive fix.

Don't like stainless steel? Bosch offers the outer door for less than $50.

I hope to get at least ten years out of this.

 

[petek]

That's just conjecture that people aren't honest in their CR survey responses. Since only paid subscribers can fill out the survey it would seem to me and like me, that they are all the more honest about their highly rated appliance having problems and want them to know. That's the purpose of the magazine in the first place