We purchased this dishwasher 3 weeks ago to replace a 5-year old Whirlpool that had begun leaking.  First mistake: this "KitchenAid" dishwasher is made by Whirlpool.  I never would've purchased the "premium" brand KitchenAid if I'd known it was made by the same people that made the poor unit it was replacing.

The main problem with this dishwasher: the interior design is just terrible.  Even though it's a standard size, the inside layout is so poor that we can't fit nearly the amount of dishes as any previous dishwasher we've had.  The upper rack is adjustable to two different heights.  If you set it on the upper setting, glasses won't fit in the upper rack because they bang into the silverware tray.  If you set it on the lower setting, normal size plates won't fit in the lower rack.  Which means you're basically hosed.  We've spent 3 weeks trying every combination we can think of to fit in a standard load of plates and glasses, and it's just impossible.

You can remove the silverware trays on the silverware rack, but you may as well then just buy a much cheaper dishwasher that doesn't have that feature.  The store manager where we purchased it said to set one side of the upper rack high, and the other side low, so it would slide in "diagonally", allowing us to fit plates and glasses normally.  But that won't work; the tabs that lock the rack into place won't engage if you try that.

So you can just forget washing anything other than small cups and small plates in this dishwasher.

Secondly, don't believe their hype about how "quiet" this dishwasher is.  When it's washing, it's about as quiet as any regular dishwasher we've ever had (at probably less than half the price).  But when the water is filling, which is frequently during the normal cycle, it's super loud.  Loud enough to be heard in any room in the house.

As for cleaning ability, it's about average on plates and glasses.  We've tried silverware in both the upper tray, and in the removable holder on the lower rack, and silverware comes out less clean, and more spotty, in both locations compared to any other dishwasher we've ever had.

The unit has a feature called "ProDry", which I guess is supposed to be a premium feature to ensure items come out dry despite the new energy efficiency standards which came into effect several years ago.  But don't believe that one either: nothing that isn't loaded perfectly vertical, like a plate, comes out dry.  We need to manually dry off probably half of the contents of each load, even after it's run overnight.  Never had that problem in any previous dishwasher either.

And the cycle time for normal wash is incredibly long.  Almost 3 hours total, and then a fan runs for another few hours (assumedly to dry the items inside, which doesn't work).  That fan is also loud enough to hear in the next room.

Due to all these problems, we tried to return it just three days after it was installed, but the retailer wouldn't take it back.  They said I would have to get approval from KitchenAid for that.  So after over an hour on hold over the phone with KitchenAid, they told me I was out of luck, and they would not approve returning it, because it technically wasn't broken.

The list price on this dishwasher is $1849.  Obviously making it priced as an extremely high end unit.  But as these problems make clear, this is an extremely poorly designed product.  I wouldn't recommend it an even 1/3 of that price.


7/4/16 post -
  Oven 5 stars,  Parts availability 1 star
The oven works wonderfully.  After one more call to the warranty company they found a part in the office and overnighted it to the local repairman. He did a wonderful job including scavenging a circuit off the old part to make the new part operable. Maybe there was a reason it was sitting in the managers office.
To make a long story short The oven works fine.  The convection is true European convection (ie an element can heat the convection air) and there are about 10 different cooking modes to operate the 4 elements. So far I have cooked pie crust, muffins, ribs and roast etc and all have  worked above my expectation.
Would I order it again. Definitely.  It is the only oven on the market that has my desired features (side opening door, convection, fits in my kitchen) and in my price range. But get the extended warranty because this European company needs to work on customer service. It is is polite but not prompt.  US manufactures need to get on the ball. Larger is not better and side open doors are often not a luxury - ADA needs them as an option.
 6/16 post - I was excited to find this oven. We needed an oven that opened to the side (ADA issues), had convection and would fit in the space (all us brand ovens have grown to large for our fairly new kitchen cupboards.)
The oven arrived 5 days after placing the order.  We had a local electrician install it and it worked great for 2 hours.  The 2nd time I turned the oven on POP a big blue spark and voila no oven just a large square of metal sitting in my kitchen.
I called the warranty number 3/30 and filed a claim.  It is now 6-15 and still no working oven.
Problem # 1 no no response to my warranty request
  6 weeks after my first warranty contact I followed up because no technician had contacted me (the long delay was partly my fault as I
  was unexpectedly away from home for 4 weeks, but there was no attempt to contact me during that time.)
Problem #2 no local technicians.
  after a followup call a local technician was found who would do the warranty work but the warranty company wanted to send the probable
  part for the repair. OK
Problem #3 part has not arrived
  After two emails stating that the part had been shipped and calls to the local technician determining that the part had not actually been
  shipped a follow up call to the warranty company determined that the part was not yet available and might take 3 to 4 weeks to get to their
  facility. This is already 10 weeks since the first warranty contact and 4 weeks from the email stating that the parts were on their way.
Problem #4
  Today after another follow up initiated by me I was told that there was no way to know when the part would arrive.
  Within an hour I got a call back and they have found a part in the managers office.
It appears that this oven is sturdy meets all my requirements, the warranty folks have been kind, the local tech has always responded to my inquires quickly and with a helpful manor but the length of time I have been cooking only with a toaster oven has made this experience a nightmare.
 I will let you know when I have a working oven.


This is a true story. I posted this review on the Bosch Canada website as well (waiting to see if the company will post it).

First stove:  I purchased this model of Bosch stove in October 2015 on sale from Lowe's Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada). I paid to have it delivered and installed by Lowe's. According to the installers, sparks flew out of the stove when it was plugged in. I heard the noise but did not see where the sparks came from. The stove control panel was still working so the installers continued with the installation. Later, when I went to use the stove, two burners were not working. I also realized the installers had installed the stove so it was resting on my quartz countertop (which it should not because the stove weighs about 250 lbs). The countertop was damaged in about four places as a result. Lowe's is responsible for the countertop (still unresolved) and Bosch arranged for a stove replacement.

Second stove: The replacement stove was delivered and installed by Lowe's in November 2015. At time of delivery, the following issues were evident: 1) bubbles in the control panel finish 2) warped glass stove top and warped metal trim (photos attached). I needed a stove, and given the concerns with possibly damaging the counter top further, it was decided to repair the second stove rather than replace it. Numerous phone calls and emails later (weeks would go by with no response from Bosch Customer Service US), arrangements were made for a service technician to complete the repairs. In the meantime, I realized the oven fan was not working properly. The speed of the fan cycled erratically. I went to Lowe's and listened to the floor demo to compare! I found many bubbles in the oven finish as well. When the Bosch service technician visited my house (twice), he confirmed all of the above issues. This process has taken about two months. Now it's the end of January 2016, and it's been determined to order a third replacement stove.

Additional issues:

1) The Bosch installation manual says, under "Parts Included, that foam tape should be included "unless already installed on underside of cooktop sides". For both stoves, no foam tape was provided by Bosch, nor was it on the underside of the cooktop, to protect my countertop. When I mentioned this to Bosch Customer Service, the supervisor replied that the installers should have not installed it without the foam tape! I purchased and installed tape for the second stove installation which seemed to help slide the stove in more easily.

2) Also, for both stoves, the chemical smell of the oven finish was extremely strong when the oven was on. Eventually, the smell dissipated, but until it did, I did not cook any food in the oven.

3) I find the stove top elements do not simmer at all well.
4) Lastly, its tricky to move the stove because of its weight and the lip on the sides of the stove top.

Funnily enough, during all this, my Bosch dishwasher was recalled for a fire hazard issue with the plug.

You may be asking yourself by now, why would I get a third replacement stove by Bosch? I'm hoping the company will get it together and send me a quality stove? The price I paid was a really good deal. It matches my made-in-Germany dishwasher (which did not give me problems). Are there other stoves out there much better in this price range?

Needless to say I cannot recommend this stove, especially not at full price.

Good luck with your stove shopping.


Don't...
buy a Bosch induction cooktop until Bosch explains the conditions that cause the cooktop to automatically shut off at some arbitrary time during use.  This applies to the 500-series, 800-series and Flexinduction models.  I discovered this can happen while reading manuals during my web research on induction cooktops.

Here are the respective web pages and page numbers advising of this stipulation in each model's "Use and Care" manual:

500-series:
http://i.sears.com/s/d/pdf/mp-tc/spinpdf/spin_prod_975580612
(page 14)

800-series:
http://i.sears.com/s/d/pdf/mp-tc/spinpdf/spin_prod_975587312
(page 16)

Flexinduction:
http://www.goedekers.com/assets/PDF/Bosch/bosch-nitp666suc-use-and-care-manual.pdf
(page 15)

I called Bosch Customer Support 5 times over a two-week period and each time talked to a different rep including a Support Supervisor on my last call.  I asked for an explanation about the specific circumstances under which the cooktop would shut off.  I cited several examples of cooking situations where one would not want the cooktop to "just turn off" on its own.  On my last 4 conversations with Bosch support reps, I was told they would research the issue and "get back to me with an answer".

Well, they didn't get back to me, and I still don't have an answer.  The support people don't know and further, they told me they don't communicate with Bosch engineering (who certainly would know the answer).  How strange is that?  But I was copied on an email from a Bosch Senior Support Representative to "an unknown at Bosch".  The email contained the following exact wording from one of the manuals:
"Automatic time limitation
If the element is used for prolonged periods of time without changes in the settings being made, the automatic time limitation function is triggered. The element stops heating. "F8" and the residual heat indicator "H/h" flash alternately in the display. The indicator goes out when any symbol is pressed. The element can now be reset. When the automatic time limitation is activated depends on the selected heat level (from 1 to 10 hours)."

The email also briefly revealed that "a customer" (me) wanted to know the conditions that can cause the cooktop to shut off, but didn't offer any relevant explanations.  Whatsoever!  I was told by a couple of support reps that the cooktop turns off for "safety reasons" but no other details were offered.  Safety reasons?  Really?  Does that mean the cooktops are nearing a dangerous state?  Are these Bosch cooktops the only cooktops ever made that turn off  "for safety reasons"  Maybe, but if so, I'm not aware of any others.

I hope I am not alone in thinking Bosch needs to inform prospective customers exactly what conditions can trigger these (expensive) cooktops to shut off?  Or better yet, just make a cooktop that doesn't arbitrarily turn off.

Bottom line is, buy one of these Bosch cooktops only if you are willing to risk it automatically turning off sometime between "1 and 10 hours".  Or, if you'd be content to just stand watch over it to be sure it stays on while you're cooking a corned-beef for 4-5 hours.

Bosch engineers take notice!


So far we are pretty happy with this fridge but there's a few things to be aware of:
- The shelves have little in the way of adjustment options, up or down and that's it. None of the shelves slide out or fold up, this is a nice feature in much cheaper brands and models.
- No butter bin!
- The very top of the fridge tends to freeze whatever is up there, in our case that would be our eggs. This happens when our fridge is set at 38 degrees even, which happens to be the recommended and preset temp from the manufacturer.
- The produce drawers are very shallow, this is a trade off for having a water dispenser in the fridge, the reservoir (keeps the water cold) sits behind the drawers. I'd say you lose a good 4" of drawer depth from the reservoir... but the water dispenser is pretty awesome (more on that later).
- Has adjustable feet instead of adjustable rollers, that means when you adjust the feet it lifts the rollers off the ground. Pain in the butt if you need to pull the fridge out for some reason, not like you need to do this often but still a minus none the less.
- Lighting is not the best we had seen in our search for a fridge, All the other brands had lights all around to eliminate shadows and dead spots. This has two lights at the top which are blocked easily by eggs or pizza boxes.
- The left door is a bit harder to close than the right one since the door spacer is on that side. Which is a pain since the water dispenser is on that same side. If you open both doors at the same time it's not an issue. Wish the spacer was on the right side.

Okay on to the things that I love about this fridge:
- It holds magnets! Love putting our kids artwork on the fridge and our GE profile fridge didn't allow for that.
- From the time we plugged in it was cooling groceries in 4 hours. This thing keeps food COLD, notably our lunch meat which has an extra three days of life (8 days total) over our last fridge.
- Ice! This thing cranks out ice like I've never seen before. 18 hours after I plugged it in we had a full bin of ice. It breezed through our last dinner party where most were drinking mixers. Love the ice maker, which btw comes with a built-in scoop holder and scoop and with the flip of lever it attaches to the door so it slides out upon opening.
- Water dispenser rocks. We used to buy bottled water since our tap water tastes so gross, not anymore. Water comes out cold and it tastes like deerpark water.
- It's a beautiful fridge and it fits like a glove in our cabinet cut-out.
- All the drawers open and close smoothly, including the freezer drawer and inner storage.

If you add up it up appears that the negatives outweigh the positives but I don't think so. We went into this knowing that every fridge we considered would have it's drawbacks. I only found one negative review in my countless hours of research and that is worth peace of mind to me. It seemed that for every good review I found of another brand there was an equal amount of negative reviews. We are a family of four with a 5 and a 2 year old and it's plenty of space for us at the moment, we do have another fridge in the basement that holds a decent amount of frozen goods though. No regrets here I would buy this fridge again for sure.

 As a side note this is the same fridge as the kitchen aid architect II series and another jen airr model. Tried finding the differences between them but I could not.


Oven racks are dangerous and ignition can take 30s of holding the knob down.

1. Who thinks designing a flip UP lip on an oven rack is a good idea? Hmm? You cannot slide a cookie sheet in (nor out) and if you have something of heft, you will need to put your arms entirely too far into the oven to put the cookie sheet or roasting pan down. It is such a HORRIBLE design flaw that the oven does not deserve to be in any kitchen. Even well trained adults will have trouble with this. What seemed like a strange irritation has become a personal hazard.

The designer clearly does not cook. Or even know how.

2. The other strange irritation is with the gas ignition. The burners finally start in a reasonable time, but they needed several warm-up days before they started working correctly, which brings me to the oven . . . again. The first few times I used the oven I waited until I heard the telltale sign that gas and fire were alive in the oven; I left to allow the oven to preheat, and I returned to the oven 15 minutes later to discover it lukewarm. It was in attempting to use the broiler that I realized I have to hold in the broil (aka bake) knob for at least 30 seconds in order to get the oven to keep the fire going. Fire will start but it peters out if not depressed for 30s+.

I'd consider gas company issues if the burners were still trouble, but the burners seem fine.

One star because the oven sheets really are a very serious burn accident waiting to happen. They should be recalled.

Update 6/7/2014
A reasonable question: are the oven racks installed correctly?
Before I wrote the review I had turned, flipped and tested the oven racks in every conceivable configuration - should have mentioned that in the original review. I ended up going back to the way they were installed when I moved in. Here's why:

When you look at the side of an oven rack you should see a divot. That divot stops the forward motion of the oven rack should you need to slide the oven rack out to remove something particularly heavy/sploshy, etc.

Both lips up: the divot stops the forward movement of the rack without changing angle - in other words, it holds steady. So while you have to be crazy careful lifting items vertically off the rack, at least it won't send the item careening toward the floor when you pull the rack forward.

Both lips down: The divot stops the forward movement of the rack and very unpleasantly changes angle. This means your lamb roast will come sliding at you. Catch!

Based on the welding seams and the divot, I put the oven racks back the way they were installed when I moved into the apartment. Were they installed according to directions? I don't know. The contractors did not leave those behind and I had no problem testing different configurations. A reasonable person should be able to figure out the installation of the oven racks.

The point is - you can do better when it comes to buying ovens. The ignition is still a problem 13 months after installation - it takes at least 22 seconds depressing the bake/broil button for the oven to stay ignited (ignites immediately but will extinguish when you let go of the knob "prematurely"). The oven racks are a hot mess, and it just isn't functional/stylish/cool enough to overcome its flaws.


I purchased this stove new at a deep discount from Lowes in May of 2016. It was discontinued shortly after, but this review may be useful to those purchasing used or those looking to purchase newer similar models.
In a word: Don't.
It works well enough, but it's nothing spectacular. The high heat burners aren't as hot as I was hoping for. And the flame pattern diameter puts all the heat very close to the edge of any commonly used pot or pan. This leaves a center cooler spot. The effect can be verified with a thermometer. So not the best piece for deep frying, where you need a LOT of heat fast. Unfortunately, you can't really use larger pots, as the burners are too close together.
These same larger burners are too hot for most other cooking. And there are two of them, right up front. The single mid size burner at left rear is the most versatile, but still too hot for simmering.
The special low heat simmering burner has such a small diameter that it is nearly useless. It heats only a very small section in the center of any pot. Often heating the center hot enough to burn your food while the outside edges are too cool. Useful only if you'll be stirring constantly.
Oven: When baking multiple sheets of cookies, I can see no difference between convection fan on or off. Different areas are hotter or cooler either way. And no difference in time till done. I was really looking forward to the advantages of convection ovens, but can't see any.
The dehydration function does work well.
Reliability: POOR Four months after purchase the thing woke me up in the middle of the night with a series of 10 loud beeps. Upon investigation, noted an error code on the touch pad display. "--SE--." All touch pad operations inoperative. After googling the issue, discovered SE means a shorted key. I was able to reset the range by unplugging it for 30 seconds.
This solved the problem. A couple months later I noted that the touch membrane was bubbled up and separated in a couple small spots. And then error sequence happened again.
I had purchased the extended warranty, so wasn't too worried about it. The problem continued off and on for several more months. It has now finally broken. Reset lasts only a few minutes. Stove burners are still operative, but NO oven functions, clock, timer, or any other function controlled by key pad.
I have extended warranty service scheduled, so I'll see what they say. Internet investigations seem to indicate this is a common issue.
At age 65, I have owned several ranges. This is actually the first one I ever bought new. All my previous ranges came with the houses I have bought. Not one of them ever failed in any way. When I buy an "appliance" I fully expect it will last 20 years or more. I'm sure glad I didn't pay anywhere near the $1200 this stove originally retailed for. And I'm sure glad I bought the $100 service policy.  I almost didn't buy this range, because I own a very expensive high end Samsung "smart" TV that is so glitchy and buggy it is barely watchable at times. My significant other recently threw away a $1000 Samsung galaxy phone because it it worked so poorly.
I will never buy another Samsung anything.
Coincidentally, I bought an LG gas range around the same time from Best Buy for my girlfriends house. A discontinued floor model, similarly featured and priced, it has functioned flawlessly.


So far so good! I must have spent HOURS reading reviews on refrigerators before settling on this one. Seems they all ALL have one issues or another. I think a lot of it just comes down to personal preference, which is hard to know until you own it. We were upgrading from an older GE profile side-by-side SS fridge that suddenly died (while we were on vacation of course). After several trips to Home Depot and Lowes testing out different designs, this fit the bill when it came to size, look, design, and price. It also had a lot more reviews on the HD and Lowe's websites, with most being positive. I decided to purchase it through the seller on Amazon since it was about $500 cheaper than Home Depot or Lowe's Memorial Day appliance sale price. I knew I was taking a risk with delivery, but took a chance thinking "hey, we've moved fridges before". Overall the delivery process was smooth. I didn't receive notification from the shipping company right away, so called and from then on they were ON IT and gave me updates almost daily. The shipping info did say it would only be delivered curb side in certain states, but CA was not on there so was hoping they'd bring it all the way in. Turns out it was too wide for our front door, and removing door hinges etc is against their policy, so it was left in the garage. Not going to lie, getting it into the house was a bit of a nightmare and the only reason I may consider spending more next time and having HD or Lowes deliver (assuming they bring it in no matter what obstacles). Had to take the front door off the door hinges, remove a patio light, and even with 2 big guys and a commercial dolly, it leaned against our outside brick wall and dented a small area. The dent is small, but seeing it is a constant reminder for my husband so we will be purchasing a new left door (fyi, no magnets will stick to the area to cover it). Replacement left door is $200 on Sears parts, so even with a new door, the fridge was still cheaper than HD or Lowes.

Not going to list all the pros because they're covered in other reviews. I will say the showcase door though is fabulous for households with kids. I stick their drinks and snacks in there for easy access and they don't have to call me every 5 sec saying they can't find something (heaven forbid it's not right in front of their face and they have to move something over...same goes for the husband). Also, we have friends/family over frequently and this is a good place to put water/beer/soda etc so people aren't rifling through your fridge judging your food purchases :)  I was also worried about fingerprints since our last SS fridge was hard to keep clean and stainless steel cleaners only streaked and made it look worse. Happy to report that smudges and fingerprints clean up beautifully on this one with Weimans SS cleaner. Looks as good as new (aside from the dent...grrr) after that.

Some cons are: 1) the water/ice maker dispenser sits at an angle to where it's easy for water/ice to overshoot the cup 2) condiment space on the left door isn't the best with the ice maker taking up room, but I've still been able to fill it up with smaller condiment bottles  3) no egg storage, but really, is it that big of a deal to keep them in the carton? Sure it looks nicer, but it always seemed liked unnecessary work moving them from the carton to a plastic tray. If it's that important, sure you could buy an egg storage tray on Amazon for a few bucks.

Overall we are totally happy with our new fridge.


This is a great range for the price. Actually better than ones costing double. We've been using it for 2 months. It cleans easily. The grates are heavy! with heat resistant rubber feet so they always set properly (flat) on the stove top and no issues setting them on counter tops with scratching. The only issue, and other have had this, one burner is hard to light. No matter what you do, it sparks fine, gas comes out but it won't light. Researching the fix. We did notice that the chromed aluminum burner ring will get dark spots when hot grease gets on it while in use. A bit of elbow grease and a good chrome polish will fix that in a couple of minutes. The variety of burner outputs is super handy. We decided on this configuration because others told us that the layout with the burner in the middle, it's hard to use the others when in use. We can put a large pot on the big burner and still use the others. And that big burner can boil stuff fast!
Yes the stainless top is thinner metal than others. Not an issue once installed. The total depth of the unit is exactly what we needed to allow for a drawer under the cooktop.
So far, so good.

Update: July 2018
The unit has held up well. We throw the grates (well carefully lift..they are beefy) and put them in the dishwasher to clean. No discoloring or rust thus far. We are having the same burner lighting issues others have experienced. The solution is counter intuitive. Set the burner to it's lowest setting while lighting and it works fine every time. The flame sensors are not as sensitive as we would like. If you don't hold the knob in the start position once lit, for 15 seconds, the flame will go out. Some where down the road, replacement of these with better quality flame sensors might fix this. It's minor in the scope of things.

Cleaning has been easy. Lift off the grates and the burner assemblies, pull the knobs and you have an easy, accessable cleaning area. We use Windex and a sponge, wipe down with warm water and a hand towel. Occasionally I will use some stainless spray cleaner and polish. After a year of use, it still looks great. Well, accept for the area we learned not to use the scrubby side of the sponge.

The unit's biggest 2 issues are: the stainless surface scratches easily and the aluminum burner rings are now black. DO NOT clean hard to get off grease or whatever, off the stainless surface with the scrubby side of your sponge. It will permanently scratch the surface. This tells me that this is not great stainless metal. The burner rings appear to be cast aluminum that is machined. Any grease that gets on them will burn in place and leave the ring spotted black. This is a bad use of materials on their part. I am going to get them power coated and that will fix the issue.

The burners all work great and the big on boils a big pot of water darn fast. I brew beer and this will take hot tap water to a boil in half the time using any of the other burners...or any other stove we have had. Monster BTU output. 5 burner cooks tops always get crowded when they are less than 36" wide. But having the big burner on NOT in the middle, makes this cook top way more useable with multipul  post and pans going at once.


No, I didn't purchase this part; but, I have something useful to contribute regarding a leak at the bottom side of the dishwasher door.  Since this is a Whirlpool parts number replacement as per my Kenmore owner's manual, I gave it five stars so I could make my comment.  We own a Kenmore Ultra Wash model 66515795790 purchased 1998.  It had worked flawlessly all these years except for minor parts replacement on the upper spray arm and dish racks.  Recently we started getting leaking from the bottom door corner.  I researched, read/watched videos, etc to learn the possible issues.  Be aware, many videos I watched did not perfectly match my dishwasher design; so, be careful before you start doing some of the steps prescribed for replacing the door gasket, bottom baffle, etc.  I had no clue how the door gasket was cemented in place; it's not cemented; it easily/carefully pulls out and the new gasket merely pushes into position.  In both the bottom interior corners, near the front, there are "tub corner baffles."  They also just pull out of position.  There is also a "door vent screen" which is rectangular on this dishwasher and is located on the top, interior side of of the door; it's made of plastic.  It simply pops off by carefully inserting a butter knife and prying it out from the inside of the door.  There are two interior tabs that hold it in place.  Here's what I did to correct a leak that had become pretty serious.  The tub gasket had calcium-like deposits adhered on the front side of the gasket.  I sprayed the gasket with a Lysol style cleaner and let it soak for a couple of minutes; then I used a super soft brush and cleaned the front of the gasket.  Starting at one end, I carefully pulled out the gasket and discovered "crud" along the side/back of the gasket; I cleaned the groove the gasket pushes into and reinserted the gasket.  I discovered the tub corner baffles easily pulled up/out of position; I removed them; cleaned them and the holding slot; and reinserted the baffles.  From researching, I learned on a blog that if the door vent is clogged, unusual pressure will build inside and force water out.  I had no clue how the vent face came out so I inserted a flat blade along the edge of the vent and could see it giving way; with a little force, the vent door popped out and I discovered an unbelievably disgusting amount of soft slime crud inside the vent.  That got cleaned out and I snapped the vent grill back into place.  We've been using the dishwasher for about two weeks now since the maintenance and we have not seen even a drop of leaking water.  So, I must believe water leaking from the bottom side of the door can be attributed to the door/tub gasket, corner baffles, and clogged vent -- or a combination of all three.  You should also check to be sure the spray arms are sound -- they do have quite a bit of "play" in them, but the screws should securely hold them against their own gasket.  If cleaning these parts does not fix your leak, or if the gasket is actually deteriorated, then this is one of the parts you'll need.


I did not buy this part from Amazon, but I am posting detailed instructions to help anyone else who may be a novice at this. The instructions that came with the wheel were correct, but were too brief for us to fully understand them. (Updated 8/1/16 after I had to replace a rear roller)

How to replace ROLLERS (front roller part # 2166108, or rear roller part #2150304) for  Whirlpool Refrigerator model G2IXEFMWS00

You need 2 people for this job - primarily when tipping the fridge and propping it up.
1. Unplug refrigerator or turn off breaker to the outlet it is plugged into
2. Unload all contents in the refrigerator/freezer and remove door shelves (interior shelves can stay in, although it is best to make the refrigerator as light as possible)
3. Roll the refrigerator out from the wall until you have enough space to walk and squat behind it. Since you have a broken wheel, try to lift it up at that corner so you don't damage your floor.
4. Remove the plastic grill at the front floor level. To remove filter cover, twist  turn to left and pull.
5. Remove the plastic bolt cover for the freezer door bolts at the top of the cabinet
6. Remove the  three freezer door bolts and lift the door off the post (5/16")
7. There are 3 bolts holding the refrigerator door on (5/16"). Remove the inside most bolt. Loosen the other 2 bolts on the outside edge about ". Once loose the door will twist and lift off.
8. Lower both level adjustment screws at the bottom front sides by turning left. Remove them completely (3/8")
9. Remove the rear bottom cardboard/particle board cover at the bottom of the back side. You can remove all screws (1/4") except the one next to the electrical cable, and you likely will have enough room to reach behind it. The rear cover should flap freely.
10. Remove the 4 bolts (1 at each front corner and 1 at each rear corner) that hold the base plate on. (3/8") Once these are removed, push the base plate toward the back about 1 inch. At that point, it will drop down.
11. Tip the refrigerator up on the side where you need to replace the roller by propping it up on one 2x4 (1 "). Make sure the 2x4 is only under the lip of the outside box and not under the base plate.
12. To replace FRONT ROLLER , push down on the base plate until it extends about 1" below the bottom of the refrigerator. Reach fingers inside from the front, and push the pin out that holds the wheel assembly, remove the pin, install the new wheel assembly, and replace the pin. Make sure the wheel is pointing down (rotated toward the front) and not pushed back up in the cabinet. To replace a REAR ROLLER, you should be able to push the base plate back far enough to access the pin without pushing the plate down. Play with the base plate to line up the holes for reinserting the pin.
13. Lower the refrigerator back to the floor.
14. Push up on the base plate from underneath in the back, while pushing it forward. It needs to come all the way forward so you can see the base plate up against the bolt holes that hold the plate in the front.
15. Reinstall all 4 corner bolts for the base plate.
16. Then reverse the directions going backward from step 8, and you are done.

This document shows the door and roller parts (Cabinet Parts) and the base plate (Unit Parts)
[...]


*edit*  I fixed the poor design of the burners.  Read below to see why the burners were so frustrating to me.

The fix:  I drilled a 3/16" hole through the center of the large burner cover.  This gives me a bunson burner type center flame (at a little velocity) in the dead center of the cover that rises about 4", kind of like a burning oil well.  The ring flames still work, I just now have two sources of heat -- the center flare and the ring.

I tried heating a pan with a hamburger in it and it started to sizzle after only about 20 seconds.  That same sizzle would have taken 3 minutes or longer with the oringinal ring design.
*end of edit*

There is something odd about the stovetop part of this range.  When the grills are install, the bottom of a pan sits about 1 1/2" above the burner cover.  That seemed high to me.  The small burners in the back are 1 5/8" from the pan bottom, and the two larger burners are 1 3/8" below pan level.  With that large amount of clearance, a lot of the heat from the flames dissipates in the air before it hits the pan bottom.

So just for fun I took the grate off, and put my frypan right on top of the flame.  BAM!!!!  started heavily sizzling in like three seconds.  Put the grill back on, set the pan down, nothing.

Bottom line is that frying (or water heating) performance depends on how far the pan bottom is from the flame.  If it's like 1 1/2" as it is with this stove, the performance suffers a lot.  I read some people thought it took too long to heat water, which didn't make sense to me given the high BTU from the center and the right front burners.  Well, know I know.  The grates simply remove the pan too far from the burner

Bottom line is about half of those BTUs are getting sucked up by the air between the burner and the pan.  Which means stuff heats up a lot more slowly, AND, the burners are heating up the house as much as they are heating the bottom of your pan.

***edit***  I decided to really learn how much slower heating is up on the grate vs. sitting on the burner cover, so I did this experiment:

Test:  How quickly I can get  of water, about 16 oz. to come to a boil

Pan used: Cuisinart 722-24NS Chef's Classic Nonstick Stainless 10-Inch Open Skillet

Method 1:  Pan resting directly on left front burner cover, burner to high

Visible Steam:  1:12
Gentle boil, edge of pan:  2:00
Rolling Boil, edge of pan:  3:15
Rolling Boil, Center of pan:  4:10

Method 2:  Pan sitting on elevated Grate (the normal way)

Visible Steam:  never, actually
Gentle boil, edge of pan:  5:15
Rolling Boil, edge of pan:  14:00
Rolling Boil, Center of pan:  never, gave up at 15:00, wasting too much gas

Now what I'm trying to figure out is whether it is possible to raised the burners by about 3/4"... I have to take a look at how they're mounted.  Just hate, hate, hate waiting a long time to boil water, and hate even more wasting so much gas to heat air and not the pot.


I did not buy this at Amazon. I mistakenly bought the front roller but I needed to replace the rear one, and was able to retrofit it. Here are installation instructions in case you, like me, find the ones that came with it to be a little too brief.

For front roller part # 2166108, or rear roller part #2150304, for Whirlpool Refrigerator model G2IXEFMWS00

You need 2 people for this job - primarily when tipping the fridge and propping it up.
1. Unplug refrigerator or turn off breaker to the outlet it is plugged into
2. Unload all contents in the refrigerator/freezer and remove door shelves (interior shelves can stay in, although it is best to make the refrigerator as light as possible)
3. Roll the refrigerator out from the wall until you have enough space to walk and squat behind it. Since you have a broken wheel, try to lift it up at that corner so you don't damage your floor.
4. Remove the plastic grill at the front floor level. To remove filter cover, twist  turn to left and pull.
5. Remove the plastic bolt cover for the freezer door bolts at the top of the cabinet
6. Remove the  three freezer door bolts and lift the door off the post (5/16")
7. There are 3 bolts holding the refrigerator door on (5/16"). Remove the inside most bolt. Loosen the other 2 bolts on the outside edge about ". Once loose the door will twist and lift off.
8. Lower both level adjustment screws at the bottom front sides by turning left. Remove them completely (3/8")
9. Remove the rear bottom cardboard/particle board cover at the bottom of the back side. You can remove all screws (1/4") except the one next to the electrical cable, and you likely will have enough room to reach behind it. The rear cover should flap freely.
10. Remove the 4 bolts (1 at each front corner and 1 at each rear corner) that hold the base plate on. (3/8") Once these are removed, push the base plate toward the back about 1 inch. At that point, it will drop down.
11. Tip the refrigerator up on the side where you need to replace the roller by propping it up on one 2x4 (1 "). Make sure the 2x4 is only under the lip of the outside box and not under the base plate.
12. To replace FRONT ROLLER , push down on the base plate until it extends about 1" below the bottom of the refrigerator. Reach fingers inside from the front, and push the pin out that holds the wheel assembly, remove the pin, install the new wheel assembly, and replace the pin. Make sure the wheel is pointing down (rotated toward the front) and not pushed back up in the cabinet. To replace a REAR ROLLER, you should be able to push the base plate back far enough to access the pin without pushing the plate down. Play with the base plate to line up the holes for reinserting the pin.
13. Lower the refrigerator back to the floor.
14. Push up on the base plate from underneath in the back, while pushing it forward. It needs to come all the way forward so you can see the base plate up against the bolt holes that hold the plate in the front.
15. Reinstall all 4 corner bolts for the base plate.
16. Then reverse the directions going backward from step 8, and you are done.

This document shows the door and roller parts (Cabinet Parts) and the base plate (Unit Parts)
[...]


Don't...
buy a Bosch induction cooktop until Bosch explains the conditions that cause the cooktop to automatically shut off at some arbitrary time during use.  This applies to the 500-series, 800-series and Flexinduction models.  I discovered this can happen while reading manuals during my web research on induction cooktops.

Here are the respective web pages and page numbers advising of this stipulation in each model's "Use and Care" manual:

500-series:
http://i.sears.com/s/d/pdf/mp-tc/spinpdf/spin_prod_975580612
(page 14)

800-series:
http://i.sears.com/s/d/pdf/mp-tc/spinpdf/spin_prod_975587312
(page 16)

Flexinduction:
http://www.goedekers.com/assets/PDF/Bosch/bosch-nitp666suc-use-and-care-manual.pdf
(page 15)

I called Bosch Customer Support 5 times over a two-week period and each time talked to a different rep including a Support Supervisor on my last call.  I asked for an explanation about the specific circumstances under which the cooktop would shut off.  I cited several examples of cooking situations where one would not want the cooktop to "just turn off" on its own.  On my last 4 conversations with Bosch support reps, I was told they would research the issue and "get back to me with an answer".

Well, they didn't get back to me, and I still don't have an answer.  The support people don't know, and further, they told me they don't communicate with Bosch engineering (who certainly would know the answer).  How strange is that?  But I was copied on an email from a Bosch Senior Support Representative to "an unknown at Bosch".  The email contained the following exact wording from one of the manuals:
"Automatic time limitation:
If the element is used for prolonged periods of time without changes in the settings being made, the automatic time limitation function is triggered. The element stops heating. "F8" and the residual heat indicator "H/h" flash alternately in the display. The indicator goes out when any symbol is pressed. The element can now be reset. When the automatic time limitation is activated depends on the selected heat level (from 1 to 10 hours)."

The email also briefly revealed that "a customer" (me) wanted to know the conditions that can cause the cooktop to shut off, but didn't offer any relevant explanations.  Whatsoever!  I was told by a couple of support reps that the cooktop turns off for "safety reasons" but no other details were offered.  Safety reasons?  Really?  Does that mean the cooktops are nearing a dangerous state?  Are these Bosch cooktops the only cooktops ever made that turn off  "for safety reasons"  Maybe, but if so, I'm not aware of any others.

I hope I am not alone in thinking Bosch needs to inform prospective customers exactly what conditions can trigger these (expensive) cooktops to shut off?  Or better yet, just make a cooktop that doesn't arbitrarily turn off.

Bottom line is, buy one of these Bosch cooktops only if you are willing to risk it automatically turning off sometime between "1 and 10 hours".  Or, if you'd be content to just stand watch over it for 4-5 hours to be sure it stays on while you're cooking a corned-beef.

Bosch engineers take notice!


This is a good little machine for the price. Having said that it is much more labor intensive than using a conventional washer and dryer. I definitely don't look forward to doing laundry, however I have to admit that it is satisfying to have clean clothes without having to pay an arm and a leg at the laundromat! Plus, even though it takes more time and effort than if I had my own washer and dryer, it takes less time than if I had to pack up my clothes and drive to the laundromat. So I just grin and bear it.

Insofar as how it cleans...well I was surprised that it cleans my clothes very well. I work in a factory, and while I didn't think that my clothes were that dirty, the wash water always turns dirty and brown, lol. So it's really getting the dirt out, I believe even more than if I had used an HE washer, that didn't use much water. It does, unfortunately tangle and twist my clothes together, however. When you're taking them out you have to untwist them from each other before you can dry them, but it hasn't seemed to cause any damage.

It's also difficult to fill. I tried the completely ineffectual hose, but as I'm in an apartment I don't want to modify the faucet or anything, so I just use a bucket and consider that I'm getting a workout while I'm washing clothes, lol.  I personally fill the wash tub to wash them, drain that, and fill it with fresh water to rinse. It works well for me. I think that other people rinse them in the spin dryer part, but without a hose I'm not sure how I'd do that.

The spin dryer has good and bad points as well. Yes, it does spin rapidly, and does a decent job with getting the water out. I've never used it beyond two minutes, and usually I just use one, because very little water comes out after the first minute, and, because I'm in a third floor apartment and I don't want the vibrations to bother the downstairs neighbors, I balance it on the side of the tub and hold the washer while It's spinning. The spin dryer doesn't hold much either, and you will have to dry your clothes in bunches rather than the whole thing.

The dryer does have a huge flaw: small items are pulled out through centrifuge and sucked out onto the outside of the spin dryer basket. This wouldn't be so bad, but I had an issue where my dryer was absolutely not draining and I couldn't figure it out...lo and behold I finally saw two washcloths down there, blocking the drain. It was a pain to get them out, and I finally resorted to turning the whole washer/dryer apparatus upside down in the tub. I'm being more careful now, and trying to put small items on the bottom, but it could still happen. It does come with a plastic disc that you put on top of the clothes in the dryer basket, presumably to prevent this from happening, but it still did.

So it's not caviar, it's more like a plain tuna sandwich that is better than nothing. I would buy it again to avoid the laundromat, if that means anything. (I have to admit though that I only use this for clothes, not sheets and towels as I don't know where I'd dry them, so I do utilize my apartment's laundry or a laundromat some, but not nearly as much.) It does what it says though: washes your clothes very clean, and dries them to a little more than damp. Best wishes for your own washing!


This purchase was a regrettable mistake that I made. I bought the Samsung clothes dryer because I had such a good experience with their TV. It does dry clothes, but what a pain to use, and a risk to my clothes.

The sensor dry in my opinion has only been useful when drying towels or large loads. It doesnt work nearly as well as my sensor on my 40 year old kenmore that I got rid of.

I have used this machine for over four months now and am totally dissatisfied with it. Its a hassle to use because the sensor dry feature in my experience is super sensitive to fabric weight and load size. I mean SUPER SENSITIVE, and if you don't get it right you have to fiddle around trying to finish drying, or worse it may just shrink the clothes by frying them. Mine is biased to over drying the clothes big time and Samsung advises that is my fault for not getting the load size figured out correctly. And,I can not envision myself ever needing to use very dry or more dry.

The thing that makes it worse is that the manual timer is extremely limited. Its called manual, but the only four choices you have are 20, 40, 60, or 80 minutes. So, I tried using damp dry so as not to shrink my long sleeve shirt sleeves. Ive had a lot of experience washing and drying over a thousand loads of laundry and Im pretty good at estimating the amount of time a not dry enough yet load will take to finish drying without shrinking my shirt sleeves, but there is no way to select anything less than 20 minutes with this machine.

When I first started using it (before I knew I had to be careful) the dryer shrunk a load of my long sleeve shirts, and fried a load of my underwear. I always wash my shirts separately and my underwear separately.

In summary, The automatic sensor dry is not something that can be relied on to take the effort out of drying your clothes, and the manual timer is very limited. Its a real hassle to dry anything other than towels or a big load of rugged clothing. My poor experience with Samsung service will be considered when deciding on whether to purchase other Samsung products.

For those who are interested there are more details below:

I am very dissatisfied with the performance of the automatic sensor dry. I tried to return or exchange it with Best Buy right away but they would not do an exchange, and referred me to the manufacturer who I promptly called. Samsung quickly sent a repair tech out, and the only thing he did was start the empty dryerwatch as it ran for a brief time and shut off. Then he said it was operating normally and there was nothing wrong. That was it. He did not test anything more, and never even brought a tool box or any instrument in. I continued to call Samsung and was eventually, after much time on the phone, placed in contact with a supervisor, who continued to tell me it was operating as designed and they also denied my request for an exchange.

A minor annoyance that was not noticeable until I began to use the machine is that when its leveled properly nothing will stay on top of it while it is running. The top tappers off quite a bit at about 9 inches from the from of the unit and there is no lip at the edge. Anything set on top will fall off the front. The paint durability of the top from a scratch perspective is poor. It is really very soft and the top of the machine scratches so easily. I bought a rubber mat with enough friction on the bottom of it to stay put, as well as to protect the paint from scratching and that issue is solved. Samsung obviously doesnt want me to set anything on top of the machine.

On the positive side, the filter size is generous and is easy to clean, the machine is an attractive design, the wrinkle prevent is a convenient feature and works well, and the paint color is a pleasing modern white.


The OEM part was a 3/4 inch snap disc that opens at 130C to protect the Kitchenaid oven while this part, the Clinac CS-7, is a 1/2 inch snap disc unit that opens at 150C. Unfortunately, our oven is rated for 4.8KW  which requires 20A at 240VAC while the Clinac CS-7 is only rated at 7A though it should last a long time if it only activates during a clean cycle. A few months ago our oven failed. It actually turned out to be a bad cooling blower that allowed the temperature to rise too high and trip the thermal cutout. The repair guy replaced the old unit with a CS-7 bearing the correct part number and installed a new cooling fan. The first time my wife ran the cleaning cycle yesterday the CS-7 failed. Since they say it is a replacement for the 4452223, the original OEM part number, I'm giving it a one star since the original OEM part lasted 13+ years and probably over 25 cleaning cycles.

After talking to my repair guy I'm looking for a different part to use in my oven. According to him he has a lot of clients with the same problem on KitchenAid, Whirlpool and Dacor ovens. These units fail during the cleaning cycle and have to be replaced before the oven will heat again.

Update 3/27/18: I think I have found another part that will perform better than this part in my oven. I found it on Amazon for $5.99 and I bought the last two (hopefully more coming in soon). It is the Emerson 3L01-300 Snap Disc Limit Control. It opens up at 300F (149C) and self resets when the temperature drops to 250F (121C). I don't know if Emerson is the manufacturer or not since the label on it shows it's a Thermodisc 60T11. It's rated for 100,000 cycles at 25A and 240VAC with a resistive load like in an oven. The benefit of the self resetting feature is that it will automatically turn the circuit back on after the space behind my oven cools to 250F so I won't have to pull the oven out, remove the back panel and either manually reset the unit or replace it. Since it was half the price of the other units available I purchased two of them. This is not a surface mount type unit so I will use 3/8in standoffs under the mounting flange to just bring it in contact with the surface being monitored. Since it automatically resets, and thus is subject to wear over time, I'm going to mount two 3L01-300s in series. One of them will likely have a slightly lower turn-off temperature and thus do the switching, if it ever gets hot enough to turn off, so that unit will take the wear and tear. If it ever welds the contacts together then the second unit will still act as a fail safe. I'm pretty comfortable with the 3L01-300s since it is the same design (different mount though) that was in my oven originally. It was also made by Thermodisc and was a model 60F24, a one-shot 130C turnoff that had to be replaced if it ever tripped. I'm not an appliance repair guy so I can't guarantee anything but I thought I would share this info since so many people have problems with the aftermarket units tripping during the cleaning cycle.


Don't plan a brew day to coincide with delivery and inspect it well. My unit came damaged, but my yeast starter was already going and I had taken the day off work to brew.

But for the price, this gives unit gives you (almost - see accessories) everything you need in a much smaller space than a typical three pot burner/brew sculpture setup would. The unit is well made, and when paired with the free app, makes brewing a breeze without taking the hands on art out of the picture like a picobrew or other fully automated unit would.

I have made two brews in a week already. One I did in my backyard, and the second in my kitchen on a rainy day. This gives you an idea of the portability of this system as well. Something you just can't do with a huge brew sculpture.

Packaging
Terrible. I guess it could have been worse, the unit could have arrived non functional. Even though the packaging did not appear damaged, the unit came with several dings and dents. I have attached a photo of the worst. It does not effect usability, it just made me very sad. The counter-flow wort chiller on the other hand was not so lucky. The unit comes packaged inside the GrainFather with a plastic ring to prevent it from damaging the stainless brew kettle (great!). But something punched a hole in the outflow hose of the wort chiller (photo attached). I have made it work by setting the unit upside down until I can repair the hose. In this orientation it sucks air and aerates rather than spraying wort all over. Because I feel I could repair the hose, I did not request a return. It seemed wasteful.

Quality
The unit is well made. It seems the stainless is a bit thin as you can see in the attached photo. There were several dings that were already in the GrainFather when it arrived on my doorstep, and I do feel that I have to be careful not to bang it up even more.  Time will tell with the pump.

Assembly
This is nitpicking, but the temp control unit has a supporting bracked bolted to the grainfather. It blocks access to the screws used to permanently mount the temp control unit. I had to remove it to do this. Other than that, its a breeze.

Pump
The pump seems to be perfectly paired to the unit and the shutoff flow valve makes it very easy to control the flow of the wort during mash. Having the pump right on the boil kettle makes everything so much easier. Nuff said. The only issue is that if you are adding your hops directly to the boil, you will find that your flow becomes quickly restricted during cooling. This can cause a much slower chill period than you are expecting. I hate hop socks. I like my hops to flow free.

Accessories
A hop spider would be a great accessory to include with this unit (see Pump). Heck, include that shiny mash paddle I see in all the videos and you really up the ante with this unit. Taking the lid off during a boil can be a challenge as well. Wear gloves and get one of these Lunarland Lil Devil Oven Pull - Joie Hot Bakeware Rack Heat Resistant Safety Puller. Works pretty good for lifting the lid through the hole in the middle. You are still going to need a second pot to boil or the companion Sparge Water Heater GrainFather also sells.

Overall
I love this unit. I probably will sell off my other gear!


After reading many reviews about washing machines before making a decision, I decided to purchase this GE washer. I've always liked GE products, but after owning one of their previous HE models for about four years and being terribly disappointed with it's performance I almost purchased a competitor's product. I'm happy that I didn't.

Note that this is not a paid review.

Now for the review:

Cleaning - 4 stars. This top load HE washer gets clothes clean. I would rate my previous GE HE at two stars, so a great improvement. I considered going back to an agitator washer but worried about capacity and the detrimental effect that an agitator has on clothing. The only reason I didn't rate a 5 is that I haven't tried to clean grass stains yet. It's winter time here so I have no grass stains to work with.

Capacity - 5 stars. The 4.6 Cu. Ft tub has plenty of room for larger articles, including a king size quilt that I recently washed. The last load washed consisted of 4 pairs of jeans, a pair of work pants, 6 shirts, including a 2X flannel shirt and a 2X sweatshirt, and a few pairs of socks. There are settings on the washer for washing jeans separately from other colored articles, but that isn't the way we wash laundry in our household.

Features - 5 stars. As mentioned above, there are plenty of settings for your laundry, 13 total, including one to sanitize with Oxy. There six water temp settings, four levels of cleaning (light through extra heavy), and four levels of spin cycle from no spin through max. All are controlled with easy touch buttons. If that seems like a lot of choices, no worry. You can set the "my cycle" button to remember your settings. I especially like the  slide out detergent and softener dispenser tray located at the top of the tub that mixes the detergent with the load as the washer fills. This also makes cleaning easy, although I've washed more than 30 loads and there is no residue showing yet. If you've experienced clothing stains in the past from fabric softener dispenser build-up, worry no more. For those who remember warm water rinse, that feature has also returned with this model. There is also a "deep fill" button, which I use frequently. Press that button and 5-6 more gallons of water are added. I like to see my clothes bathing in water. Also included is a "deep rinse" button, recommended for use with fabric softener. This uses a bit more water and increases cycle times over the 34 minutes they boast about, but I feel more at ease. The glass top makes it easy to see what is going on in there.

Noise - 3 stars. This compares to 1 star on my previous washer. I don't worry a lot about noise as my washer isn't setting next to the television. It does make some odd noises during the wash, also not a bother to me.

One drawback is the dreaded walk that washers sometimes do. The only time I've experienced this issue is when the load became unbalanced on the king size quilt. If this happens, press the pause button and wait about 30 seconds for the lid to unlock to situate the items in the tub.

The washer "walk" and the fact that I haven't tried to clean grass stains yet is my reason for rating at 4 stars instead of 5. I could have spent up to $200 more for another competitor's top load or twice as much for a larger capacity front load but I'm happy that I didn't. We aren't a large family and the 4.6 capacity is plenty enough for us. If you fall into that category, do some shopping for the lowest price and I think you'll also be pleased.


I am a self-proclaimed "Messy Marvin"; I just am.  Clumsy, clutzy, sloppy, messy... so many adjectives to describe the walking disaster area that I am.  However, I LOVE to create in the kitchen--cooking, baking, prepping; it's all fun to me. The trail that I leave behind me is not so much fun.  And, it seems that whenever I try to be most careful, THAT's when something explodes or oozes down the counter, or (inevitably) between the counter and the stove.  Therefore, I had been searching for a "gap-filler" for just this purpose.  I have looked at so many different ones, added them to my Amazon cart, then changed my mind for one reason or another.
When I stumbled across this set, I decided to take the plunge.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover how pliable they are--I kept thinking that there's no way any of these crack-covers will fit my uneven counter tops.  Low and behold, a little silicone is all it takes to save the day.  They set nicely in place and because of the tackiness of the silicone, stay in place.  This,  though, also attracts lots of dust and fuzz, too, so you'll need to be sure to wipe them frequently.  I find that my Norwex kitchen cloth removes the lint with ease.  Black seam protectors may not show the dirt as readily, though, as the white ones.
The set in the stock photo when I'd ordered them was black, so I had expected to receive them in black.  Mine arrived as White.  At first I was bothered by the discrepancy, since my stove-top is black and counters are dark.  The body of my stove is white, though, so it really is not too clashing.
Overall, my opinion of these is favorable and lines up with the company's statements:
  THE SET OF 2 MULTI-PURPOSE SILICONE OVEN SEAM PROTECTOR; while it can be utilized to seal the gap between the stove and counter, it can also be used to cover the space between your counter-top and dishwasher,washer and dryer and other home appliances,  as well as other gaps that you have difficulties cleaning.
 ELEGANT DESIGN; once you install this stove and counter gap cover, you will be surprised by how well it fits in the decor of your kitchen, featuring an elegant design that makes it the absolute best choice. it does't look intrusive in your kitchen.
 HIGH-QUALITY SILICONE; The Practical Ideas Silicone Oven Seam Protector has been designed with top-notch silicone, which is very durable, special flexible material will keep always flat to your stove and countertop won't warp or melt,it can resist high temperatures up to 446 F and 230 C.
 EASY TO CLEAN;  Stop feeding insects and rodents at your own kitchen. Due to being made of  high-quality 100%  food-grade silicone, the Practical Ideas, oven seam protector can be cleaned in just a few minutes with a damp cloth, Its also dishwasher safe. - FDA Approved -
 GREAT ADHESION; unlike cheapish products, this oven seam protector  has the flexibility needed to properly fit to both even and uneven surfaces, ensuring that it always stays flat and securely fixed. DIMENSIONS 20 1/4 x 2 1/4 x .5 Can be cut to fit your size.

*****Complete with a 100% Money back guarantee.*****
That part is key--if you don't like these, they stand behind them and will give your money back.  That makes it a pretty secure bet--why not try them?
I had received this item at a discount in exchange for the opportunity to share my opinion and honest review.


Well, I can't speak to its long-term longevity as I have only had it for a few months. But I can speak to how well it works as well as its relative noisiness (or not).

1) This machine has a LOT of customizable settings. Additionally, with the 4 different small basins inside the drawer for different laundry liquids, it can get confusing at first. I came from a very old top-loader with limited settings. You put your powdered detergent and non-chlorine bleach whitener in with the load. Later, you hope you time it right to add fabric softener.

With this, it's all done automatedly, and has to be done with liquids. There's a small basin each for Pre-Wash, Detergent (where I put liquid non-chlorine bleach), Fabric Softener, and a bin for Chlorine Bleach use (which I don't). Each bin has a minimum and maximum fill line (as the machine uses siphoning). The 617 also has an extra pump and reservoir to mix the liquids prior to them reaching your clothes. This was designed to render a superior cleaning, and reviews attest that this might be the best cleaning machine on the market.

What I do know is that, with all of the customization for temperature, spin rate, amount of soil, and much more, that it's very gentle on my clothes. And as a front loading washer, it uses much less water than a top-loader, so it's much more eco-friendly.

Regarding noise, well, it's actually really quiet, certainly compared to my old top-loader washing machine. When it was first installed, I noticed it rocking a lot when it was spinning dry, but I called the store I bought it from and they sent the guys who delivered it to recheck the balance. Sure enough, it was off. They readjusted the feet to balance the machine, and once they did that, the machine is really quiet and doesn't rock (as long as whatever is in the machine is not poorly distributed). Some machines are direct drives. This one is a belt-drive. There's good and bad with each. Belt-drives help absorb some vibration. That's probably why Electrolux offers the 2nd floor guarantee. But belts can wear out. The nice thing is that belts are cheap to replace. Direct Drives? Well, the motor is attached to the basket, so if the motor is somehow off, you'll hear it and feel it. AND, direct drives are VERY expensive to fix. But a direct drive can last longer than a belt drive (Again, think of how a pulley system requires less power on a motor, vs the power needed to directly spin the basket). Kind of a toss-up, in some ways.

Funny that it's very "futuristic looking", even reminding me of Dave the computer from the film, 2001.

Now let me add this - I have read some reliability issues about this machine. Our dealer even said that they have had issues getting parts on a timely manner from Electrolux. Okay. We took a gamble on a floor model. The cost was about 60% of retail. We paid for a 5 year extended warranty. We figured that with the extended warranty, it would be a worthwhile gamble and still less expensive than the equivalent level LG or Maytag front loader. Because NO washers made in the 2010s are going to last the way machines from the 1970s did, any washer is likely to be a gamble. I'd still get an extended warranty. If this machine were to only last beyond the 5 years of the warranty, we'd still be ahead due to the great buy we got on it.

But as a machine designed to clean clothes, it does that job exceptionally well, in my experience.


As I began to read this book, I was again reminded of how deceptively complicated the word "stranger" is. It could refer to someone we have never heard of, of course, but it could also refer to someone we have met or heard about. We know their name but nothing else about them. Then there is another type of "stranger": someone we think we know well but really don't. We have false assumptions, a mindset, about who they are and aren't, what they can and can't do, and whether or not they would be willing to provide or receive assistance.

Alan Gregerman wrote this book to explain how and why - with all due respect to the importance of one's family members, friends, and associates -- it is imperative to engage, learn from, and collaborate with strangers. "People who are very different from us are essential to our growth and success as individuals and organizations." Just as Henry Chesbrough has devised an open business model, it could be said that Gregerman offers an open people model. How so?

"Each day we pass by more than one hundred people that could change our lives but we never make the time or effort to connect. The best way to solve any challenge or create any new opportunity is to begin by being curious about the world around us and realize that it is filled with remarkable people, insights, and possibilities." Nonetheless, there are those false assumptions and, perhaps, at least some concern about being rejected and feeling embarrassed or even foolish.

He suggests a new paradigm individuals and organizations "wise enough" to incorporate exploration and openness in their DNA. Here's its formula:

Business and Personal Success =
What I Already Know +
My Knowledge or Understanding Gap +
A Stranger (or Strangers) Who Can Fill It

His citation of one of my favorite Charles Kettering quotations is dead-on:

"Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier."

Gregerman devotes a great deal of attention to explaining how to develop the necessary mindset, one that embraces rather than recoils from exploration and openness. There are four core principles that provide its foundation: humility, curiosity, respect, and purpose. For those who are especially reluctant to become explorers of what is -- for them -- not only unfamiliar but perhaps terrifying territory, I presume to suggest one other: the courage to which Jack Dempsey refers when explaining that "champions get up when they can't."

These are among the passages that caught my eye:

o Questions that strangers can help to answer (Page 9)
o The Race to the South Pole (20-28)
o What Science Tells Us (30-39)
o From Mindset to Guiding Principles (51-56)
o Helicopters. Hairstyles and Cars That Won't Collide (64-73)
o Finding the Right Strangers (78-84)
o Recognizing the Genius in Everyone (89-93)
o Rethinking Employee Engagement (96-103)
o Why Collaborate? (110-118)
o The New World of Customers (131-134)
o Understanding and Empowering Strangers (138-143)
o The Promise of Strangers (152-155)
o Changing the Game (158-163
o Getting Past the First Bite (174-176)
o Essential Tools for Implementation (189-201)

When concluding his book, Alan Gregerman acknowledges the difficulty while stressing the importance of "taking the first step" toward understanding the potential importance of strangers to us and (yes) our potential importance to them. He observes, "As humans we have the amazing ability to be open and to dream, imagine, explore, learn, connect, share, collaborate, innovate, and grow, to go big instead of going home. So get out there and find the stranger or the [strange] idea that could change your life." Who knows? We may be that stranger or have that idea that someone else needs. Nothing ventured....


Bought a bunch of these replacement filters (10, I believe) for my Honeywell 2000 series humidifier.
This "enviracaire" blue wrapping was a new thing for me. HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HAC-504 Replacement Filter Pad Never seen it before, but figured what the heck, maybe it's new technology & will improve the filter's capability.

WRONG!!

My experience has been just the opposite.  1) It doesn't last as long, working only 2-4 weeks before it's efficacy diminishes, whereas the 'older' filters with the plastic/wire mesh would easily last 3-4 months, sometimes longer depending on use.  2) Using the old filters, I would often take them out after some heavy use, clean them, and descale them before continuing to use them.  Only after months of use & hard build-up would they lose their efffectiveness & need to be changed.  With these "enviracaire" filters the build up isn't heavy at all, it maybe something else (see #5 below), they just lose their effectiveness very quickly.

Read more...

3) I've been using humidifiers for nearly 9 years.  I have a wine cellar & walk-in humidor, and for those of you who partake in those hobbies, you know how important it is to maintain proper storage conditions.  So you might say that, yes, I do have experience in the use of humidifiers and environmental control.  4) I bought my last batch of (these) replacement filters from KAZ.  When I began using the filters & encountering problems I contacted kaz to complain.  Well, the customer service person who contacted me proceeded to tell me how it must be MY HUMIDIFIER that's not working properly as the filters work fine in hers!  RIGHT!!!!!  Does she use hers as extensively as I use mine?!  I've been using the current humidifier(s) for three years with no prior problems to this!!!

MORE . . .

5) Now here's the worse part, IMO.  WHAT'S WITH THE FILMY/MOLDY STUFF THAT BUILDS UP?!  When I began using these "enviracaire" filters, I began seeing a filmy, moldy build up in my humidifier's water system.  Even after I thoroughly clean the filter housing & install a new filter, at about the 2-4 week mark (when the filter's efficacy starts to diminidsh), the unit gets this filmy/moldy build-up in the filter housing compartment and in the water (but it doesn't get into the tank).  Whether I use a few drops of a bacteriostatic or descaling in the water tank or not doesn't make a difference.  Never seen that before, never seen it with the older filter types!!  This filmy stuff may be the reason for the decreased function of the filetr, at least that's what I suspect.

So!  Should you buy this filer?

You decide.  Personally, I think that the manufacturer needs to know about these problems and take care of them.
As for me, I'm trying desperately to find the older style filters that had a wire-like/plastic outer mesh. Honeywell HAC504 Replacement Humidifier Filter They seemed to work just fine!!


Total success.  I hate those metal louvered things, and big-surprise, they don't keep pests out of the house.  A neighbor's dryer had stopped working entirely a few years back, upon his return from an extended inlaw visit (part of the reason I bought this, as you'll soon know).  Due to his limited retirement income, I helped him pull the dryer out, and we poked around to see just what had the dryer belly-up.  Maybe we two knuckleheads could fix it by accident?  Anyway... Guess what will stop a clothes dryer?  Answer:  pecans - lots and lots of pecans

A mouse (we guess) started putting back pecans for the winter, and by remaining steadily at it for we estimate the entire couple of weeks he was away, managed to get enough pecans into this dryer to jam up the whole works!  I couldn't believe it, but true story.

Anyway, fast-forward to me getting this vent thing and using it.  It fits standard (4-in?) extension dryer pipe (solid kind, not flex/corrugated) that you would run through a wall, and sealed up perfectly just pushed in - you can seal further at your option, which I did.  Then, you pop 6 holes in the side of your house, run in some screws, and voila!  You have something I associate more closely to a "commercial-duty" vent solution than the old standard.

Everything that's true about occluding pests is just as good for cold air.  You don't stop it from being cold outside, but you stop cold air from pouring in through your dryer.  In the right weather and prevailing wind, I could keep beer cold in my dryer (when not in use), to say nothing of the energy wasted by chilling that whole end of the house.  This was probably far and away the largest inefficiency with my heating/cooling - you'll hear builders talk about 'the envelope'.  Well, mine had a large gap in it, through which I was throwing money each month.  Guaranteed, the first February alone, this paid for itself.  I've never felt even a puff of moving air come back through this thing.  It's still connected to the outside air, and not particularly insulated or anything, so it isn't magically warm ... but it's the air movement I wanted to stop, and that's what it did.  I'm trying to guess just which way the wind would have to blow and swirl to defeat this design.  My guess is, if that ever happens, you have bigger problems at that particular moment, considering shingles are held down on one end largely by gravity too...just sayin'.

This is particularly important the closer to the ground or more easily accessible your vent location is.  You cannot install this upside down or sideways though.  The inner cap floats up and allows air to escape when the dryer is pushing air, and when the dryer is off, the cap floats back down and seals perfectly by being 100% in line with gravity (in contrast to a flapper that is based more on 'leaning' closed, rather than 'falling' closed).  I say that to say this:  critters know how to nose and pry their way into things, but don't generally posess thumbs and all the finer motor skills and intellectual prowess to arrive at "YOU MUST lift both sides of the cap straight up at the same time, or it'll bind in the housing".  Truth be known, I've witnessed full many a human found wanting in that particular comprehension...  Anyway, forced air does that nicely ... mice, not so much.

BOILERPLATE:  It beats the standard vent cap/flapper (which my neighbor had intact on his older home), and I dig it.  It also doesn't rattle/flap in the wind, so it's the silent option.  I generally go for the cheapest thing first if possible, but this seemed to be, and later proved to be so superior that I don't miss the extra duckets.


I'd like to thank all of you for your reviews of this machine.  It made the decision to buy it a whole lot easier.

I've had this washer for about 2 1/2 weeks and couldn't be happier.  No leaks of any sort. No problems hooking it up, well, except that the gooseneck on the drain hose is too small to hang over my sink, so I tie it to the faucet.  Eventually I'll replace the hose with a better one but it's not a big deal.

To roll it around, I bought an adjustable file caddy, like you put under a filing cabinet to move it around. Made it as small as I could (14"x18") and while it's not a perfect fit, it makes moving it from the sink to the closet and back a lot easier.  I take it off to wash since the casters on it don't lock. Good thing it's a light machine.

In about 14 loads I've only had to balance a load once when I washed a single pair of jeans instead of my usual two.

As far as detergent goes, I switched to liquid detergents a long time ago, but I've found that even the regular detergent, as opposed to the new HE ones, do not create a lot of suds.  I'm use to seeing more suds in a big washer so one time I did put in 3 oz. but all that did was force me to run the rinse cycle again to get the soap off my clothes.  That's how you learn.  But it still did not oversuds and leak.  I normally use between 1.5 and 2 oz. of detergent for a large load and that seems to do the job.

How dry the clothes come out seems to depend on the type of material.  Sheets come out almost dry.  Towels and jeans have quite a bit of water left in them but an extra spin cycle takes out a lot more.  Everything else seems to fall in between.  But I can do a load at night, hang everything up and they're all dry by morning.  As far as wrinkling and clothes being knotted up, I don't find it any worse than any of the full sized washers I've used.  At least I don't have to untangle my clothes from the agitator.

I finally had a chance to try the Reset control and it worked fine.  I started out with a medium load and decided after it had started that it should have been a large load.  Just turned the knob to Reset and put it at Large.  It stopped pulsating, added more water and then started washing again.

The manual says it will stop in the wash cycle if you lift the lid.  Mine doesn't but does if it's in the spin cycle, which to me is much more important.

Funny, I thought the Jingle Bells that everyone mentions was going to be very loud and annoying but I don't find it that bad.  I know you can stop it by turning the machine off but I find that it gets rid of quite a bit of water in that last minute so I let it finish.

One comment about the pricing.  I'm in Canada and while we can get other Haier products, the washers aren't here yet so I had to find a place in the US that would ship to Canada.  That involves extra shipping costs, duty, taxes and then converting it to Canadian funds. I bought it for $169.99 US and my final cost in Cdn dollars was $337.00, which to me was a steal.  Every other machine I looked at locally and online, LG, Kenmore, GE, Danby, etc., would have cost me a minimum of $600, plus tax. I must admit that ordering something as big as a washing machine online was kinda freaky but it arrived here safely, right on schedule, and right to my door.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this machine to anyone who lives in an apartment or for any other reason needs a small washer.


This is the washer you should get if you are tight on space.  I am rarely at home, always between here and there, but I still can get my laundry done with this guy on the off-weekend that I've got an hour or two to spare on cleaning.  In my research, this was about the best mini-washer I could find.

Don't bother getting the cheap kind; it is throwing your money away, and it is painstaking to do such small loads.  Also, you would have to wring out your clothes and wrinkle them, instead of having a spin cycle.

I had some trouble with set up - I ended up with two random washers leftover.  So sometimes the part that connects the sink into the hose leaks, and sometimes the bottom of the washer piddles on the floor.  Still, it's never a big deal, as I keep it in the kitchen.  I think I may check the connection of the hose to the machine sometime.

Sears guys I have talked with in the past recommend having something around the base of washers, anyway (they would know, they've heard the horror stories) - I'm sure you could find a plastic bin at a dollar store or something.  The drain hose can be annoying to deal with in terms of finding a way to secure it.  The booklet assumes you have a utility sink that you can just hang it on, but I have a kitchen sink.  We've found that we can actually just lay it in our sink, but do get as much slack out of it as you can before you close the base of the machine.

For leakage, sink adapter, and drainage problems, several reviews here can give you good advice on things you can get at home depot.  I don't have a car, but for those of you who do, consider the idea if you need to.

I have a Brita filter on my kitchen sink, so I can easily switch between it and the washer.  Also, keep in mind that the temperature that your sink is at is the temperature your clothes are washing at.  I have a "lever" sink - the kind that doesn't have two separate hot and cold controls to control temperature.  Basically I have it on the cold side when I first put clothes in (to remove stains), and move it to warm for the final rinse (to reduce wrinkles and stretching).

Here's how I do a load:

* Reset to "low" water level.  Turn the sink on to cold, start regular wash. When it starts to swish, I add less than  cup detergent. (Never add too much; too little is better than too much.)

* I gently drop clothes in to about halfway up the tub. I reset to "high" water level.

* I set my cell-phone for half an hour.  When it rings, the final rinse is about to begin.  I change the sink to warm and add half a measure of Downy.  Both these measures reduce the wrinkling you get when you air-dry clothing.

* Wait a little longer, and jingle bells plays (off-key.  To turn off the jingle bells, just push down the washer button to "off".) Take out clothing immediately and hang.  (I purchased a well-rated Polder drying rack on Amazon.  Happy with it.)

I have only had an unbalanced load once.  I could hear the pain from the other room, and then the washer stopped.  Again, it was only once.  I suggest you read the manual.  (I heard someone say they just opened and closed the top, which isn't helpful for an unbalanced load - you actually need to rearrange clothes!)  I never needed to level the washer.  I think people who are having problems are either stuffing their washers with clothes or haven't leveled the machine.  Another possibility is that they're misinterpreting the pause and clicking right before drainage as a problem.

As far as "babysitting" the machine goes, I wouldn't say it was necessary.  You should stay around more often than you would if you had a regular washer, but usually I'm doing chores in my apartment on laundry day so it isn't a big deal.


I like this fan. I replaced an "over the range" microwave with this fan. It fits the space perfectly and since it is a lot more shallow than a microwave I now have more room to cook on my stovetop - especially with the rear burners. I like the bright lights on this new fan too. I went for a mid-range price Broan because my kitchen set up (open concept room) requires a non-ducted fan (unless I wanted to hire a contractor for a major overhaul which I didn't). Logically, there is no way a non-ducted fan will ever give the same level of performance as a ducted to the outside fan, so it didn't seem to me worth it to pay more money for a more elaborate fan. Also, I noticed in reviews that the more expensive Broan fans have an automatic feature where if the fan senses too much heat it will turn itself on and run until the heat drops to a certain level - you can't turn it off manually when it goes into an override mode and reviewers said they hated that feature - I would hate it too. This model of Broan fan does NOT have that automatic on feature so that was a big plus for me. This model also has a completely smooth underside (other than the mesh filters) and I think it will be reasonably easy to clean. It has "rocker" style switches for the fan and the lights and I like that type of switch better than a soft touch button, I think they are more durable. Installation was fairly easy, my son-in-law helped me because it is awkward to hold something above your head while trying to fasten it. I purchased a cord (on Amazon, Broan HCK44 power cord kit) to modify the fan from direct wiring into a plug wiring and was therefore able to just plug it into the electrical outlet that had been used for the microwave. This was quite easy to do, the cord came with good instructions, just follow them carefully. I also purchased the charcoal filters that are used for non-ducted use of this fan (Amazon, Broan BPSF30 non-ducted filter set) and those were also easy to install. I also purchased the lightbulbs (Amazon, Sylvania #14700 50 watt PAR20 Halogen, set of two) and installed those in the fan after it was mounted. I'm telling you all of this so that if you want to install this fan non-ducted and not hard wired you will know you have to purchase these things separately (fan, power cord kit, charcoal filters and lightbulbs). It would be annoying to not have everything you need while doing the installation. As far as function I am happy with it. The fan has two speeds which is fine by me, high and low. The low is very quiet the high is louder but not unbearably loud. The lights also have low and high. In my opinion the low lighting would be a little too bright to function as a nightlight and halogen bulbs get hot so I wouldn't use the low setting as an overnight nightlight. The reason I'm not giving this product five stars is that the first one I bought arrived very poorly packaged, basically thrown in a huge box with a few handfuls of packing peanuts. The peanuts had even gotten inside of the fan blade part of the unit and I had to pick them out. I thought it was poorly packaged but unharmed and it wasn't until my son in law and I got the fan fully installed that we noticed a big "ding" right on the front top of the fan. It was such a bad dent I had to return the fan to Amazon which meant taking it down, packing it up and running to UPS with a big box. Amazon did pay for the return shipping and sent me a new fan (same model) without an additional charge. The replacement fan was very securely packaged in stiff foam. But it was a hassle, I had to wait for my son in law to have a free evening to help me again, plus the packaging and trip to UPS. If you receive your fan and it is poorly packaged, take it out and examine it very carefully before you install.


2 speeds.  Low is whisper, but not doing much except air out itself.  High speed noise is actually acceptable.  Unacceptable would be distracting normal sound of a tv or radio about 6' from the range.
My hood is about 27" above the range, little high.  It sucks out the steam well enough.  Bit of frying smell lingers.
The filter mesh is rather light.
I am using appliance bulbs.  Short flood light bulbs may be harder to screw in/out.
Thin metal construction.  Came with 7" dia and 3x10 duct adapters.  Plastic round fan and the fan blades connected at the outer edge.  All in all, a small step up from cheap hoods.  Still prefer these push button controls than expensive circuit board based switches.
edit: 10/27  Frying steak, even breakfast eggs, thinking the vent wasn't working well.  Removed the filters, put my hand close to the fan, then even my face.  I can feel a strong wind.  The fan is actually throwing out a lot of air away from the center of the fan.  There is also some holes on the top of the hood that is throwing out air.  The fan center has a decent suction, but overall, it does not work well.  It is actually kicking half the cooking smoke/smell away from the hood.
Using foil duct tape, I formed a barrier around the fan housing.  Now I can't feel the thrown out air.  But half of the hood area that's supposed to catch the smoke is disabled.  Using a cigarette smoke, I can see that suction goes to the fan, but I can't see it removing adequate amount of cooking smoke.
I don't know if this matters, but this time I used 3x10 adapter for existing duct.  In another house, I had the 6" round duct and the exhaust was better than this.  This is a cheap hood, working at half the capacity.
Cooking soy sauce marinated meat.  Smell is all over the first floor.  I am sick of this hood.  Took it off and put a round duct on.  Tested on the floor.  The "ring" around the fan blades does blow air away from the duct.  Sawed off the ring and the blow away is even worse.  These blades are just bad.  I used to have (another house) Whirlpool (homedepot) with a fan and just blades.  It worked much better than this.  Broan allure 2 was good, except its expensive control board.  QS130 is for looks only and some cheap, unthought-out off market fan stuck on it.  Do not buy this if you cook.

final say on this hood:  I tried another fan blade.  It is broan replacement blade.  The motor shaft diameter is 5/16.  It isn't working.  I think any kind of fan blade creates a turbulence at the edge that throws some of the air away from the hood.  The flat top also deflects the air away.  I tried cutting the top to 9" dia and create a funnel (instead of flat top) using foil tape.  None of this worked.  The blow back is just bad.  So  I bought a Whirlpool.  It was on sale at homedepot for 158.00 (black friday sale).  It is actually similar style to this, but better built and better fan blade.  It does not come with round duct adapter.  It has the blow back, but not as much as broan.

Why talk so much about a cheap hood?  I expected too much, I guess.  How cheap it is, I expected a vent hood to remove air, not actually blow it back into the kitchen.  I talked to the broan tech as well.  He blamed my duct.  I told him that I tested this disconnected from the duct, and he would not acknowledge it.


After reading some of the reviews I figured I would take the time to say a few things....

First off... The reason dryer moisture is vented outside the house is because the designers knew too much moisture in the house can cause mold and health issues.  That being said I can only recommend this product as winter use only when the humidity is low to start with.

Here is a few thoughts.

1.  As others has mentioned this is not really a filter per say.  It's simply a small bucket that has water on the bottom of the unit.  You add in the water yourself.  The thoughts are that the lint will hit the water and get suspended and out will come semi clean hot air from the drier.  I would caution that the moisture from the clothes will be dispelled into the room in a good amount.  You can solve this issue by turning on your furnace fan to recirculate the air around the house if you have a vent in your laundry room.  Or... Just get a small clip on fan and push the moist air out of the room.  I use the furnace fan option and have no issues.

2. It will not catch all the lint.  You will have to dust a bit more in that room.

My purpose for this small unit is to add moisture in the house in the winter as it gets really dry down where I live.  Additionally if you stop to think about it.  All the air you are blowing outside the house is also leaking into the house in the same amount. Go outside and feel how hard the air comes out of the vent.  That same amount of air has to be pulled into the house so you are actually sucking out the heat you paid to make in the colder months and raising your bills.  In winter we have a heat pump that struggles in the winter to heat the house.  I decided to plug the outside hole from Nov to Feb and use that heat from the dryer I paid for to help warm the house instead of waste it outside.

You have to find the balance with this product.  We noticed some laundry soaps when vented in the house caused us to get head aches.  Obviously you need to be aware of this.  We bought a more natural soap and the issue went away.  You figure it cant be too bad because you are putting the clothes on your body but you really need to be aware of what you are doing.

All in all after a bit of trial and error we have a nice balance of adding moisture to the house as well as stopping heat loss.  Plus its nice to know the house is getting the benefit of the dryer heating the house in winter a bit.

One might ask.  Am I that cheap I am worried about dryer vent heat?  Overall no.  What I have done over the ten years I have lived in this house is look around at things I can do better.  As an example.. Install a clothes line in your basement and hang jeans and things you really don't need to dry.  Turn down the hot water heater to the lowest setting that you can tolerate showering. No reason to store extra heat your not using. Radiant barrier in the attic. Deflects heat back into the roof not your attic. Solar powered attic fan. Works like a charm and the sun powers it. House is all LED light bulbs.  Amazing difference in the power bill if you change them all. ( Save your old bulbs you take out and take them with when you move. LED bulbs last 10 years or more supposedly ) Install on off electric eyes on out door lights. Now we don't have to forget to turn off security lights in the daytime.  All these things together have chopped over $30 to $40 off my bill and I always have the lowest electric bill of my neighbors. That's over $400.00 bucks a year I can spend on buying other things on amazon. :)

Anyhow you will have to be the judge on this product.  The price is fine.  It is a bit hard to snap the two parts of the bucket together at first but I think as time goes on it will be easier.

Good luck.