Thoughts on our new Bosch appliances

[rustwood]

We finally finished (mostly) our long delayed kitchen renovation at the end of June and had a suite of Bosch appliances installed.   Now that we've had them for a few months, I thought I'd post my impressions of them so far.

 

Slide in induction range (HII8056U) - we had long planned to have a gas line run for our range, but we opted for an induction range instead and we have no regrets.  It does make some noise in our usually very quiet kitchen, but most of the time it isn't very loud.  It is quite loud when using the speed boost setting though, in part because a fan blower sometimes also comes on.  Fortunately speed boost will boil a 2-quart kettle of water very quickly and we've gotten used to it.  In fact, I am even glad that it hums a little on low because it reminds me that it is on.  The markings that denote the locations of the induction hobs could be improved.  They are rather subtle, so I often find myself turning on more lights and looking closely to ensure that I have the cookware in the right location.  While shopping for appliances I thought the led "flames" on the Samsung induction ranges were a gimmick, but I now understand that they would be helpful.  I suspect the markings were a design concession because it wouldn't look as sleek if they were more prominent.  Sadly, we haven't used the oven enough to comment on it in any detail.  We haven't encountered any shortcomings thus far though.  It does have an internal fan that makes some noise when you cook at high temperatures (not the convection fan).  I have only used the warming tray to proof bread a few times, but I do frequently pop it open when my foot bumps into it.   It is a minor annoyance, but it seems like there is some room for improvement there.

 

Over the range microwave (HMV5053U) - as a microwave, it is great.  As with many such devices, the exhaust fan is less than ideal.  We knew that would be the case, but we couldn't find a better place to put the microwave.  The exhaust fan is annoyingly loud on the higher speed settings and it barely seems to move air unless it is on high.  I am going to check the vent cover on the roof to ensure that there isn't an issue with a flap or something, but I think that is unlikely.  Another issue is that the LED lighting is not as bright as it should be.  I had read this in reviews, but I didn't expect it would bother me as much as it does.  There is more expensive model which reportedly has much better lighting.  I believe the fan specs on that model are the same, but I wonder if it would be any quieter.

 

Dishwasher (SHP865ZD5N) - given all the praise heaped on Bosch dishwashers, it is not surprising that we love ours.  It is super quiet and works great.  This is our first dishwasher with a 3rd rack for cutlery.  It took a few runs to get the hang of quickly arranging utensils in the rack, but now we really like using it.

 

36" counter depth refrigerator/freezer (B36CT80SNS) - this has been another winner.  I've been using a lot of ice this summer and it keeps cranking it out without issue.  I've never been one to carefully close doors, so it is a good thing that there is a warning beep when you haven't completely closed the refrigerator door.  You can open either door first, but you must firmly close the last door that is open to seal it.  FWIW, our previous refrigerator was built in Sub-Zero that came with our house and our new Bosch hasn't left us wanting in any way so far.

 

I have one additional note on the refrigerator and designing the kitchen.  Because the refrigerator is counter depth, it is a bit taller than many.  We made the mistake of ordering our cabinets before picking out our exact appliances and it ended up being a much tighter fit than we expected.  We considered switching out the 18" cabinet over the refrigerator for a 15" cabinet, but we thought it would fit with enough room to spare - until the cabinet was installed and the ceiling height turned out to be surprisingly uneven in that area.  Our carpenter was able to make adjustments though and we are happy to have the extra space in the 18" cabinet.  Also note that like other such units, only the main body of the refrigerator is actually counter depth.  The doors stick out about 6" - not including the handles.  We expected that when we did the initial design, although we had hoped we would find one that wouldn't stick out quite so much. 

 

When we started working on the design for our kitchen remodel, I read that you should start by picking out the exact appliances and actually buy them.  That seemed a little extreme at the time, but I now think it was good advice.  It would be even more important if you were picking out something special that isn't a standard size.  At the very least, we could have picked out specific models that were relatively new and thus very likely to be available 3-6 months later.

 

I hope this is of some use to someone in the future.  Of course, I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.