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kennyx_gw

What are your thoughts on Amana?

17 years ago

Recently bought a condo that has standard black/white Amana appliances (refrigerator, range, dishwasher, etc...).

The upgrade to stainless steel (which is what I want) is also Amana ($1800upgrade, plus an extra $850 for an Amana slide-in range).

The builder isnt giving credit for unwanted appliances, and it seems like a huge hassle to keep the standard and then buy, transport and setup any new appliances (of my choice)... not to mention the huge increase in costs.

The problem is, I`ve been hearing contradicting reports on Amana, -though most have been pretty bad (especially their ranges).

Just wondering what your thoughts were on the Amana brand? (specifically on their ranges and refrigerators)

Comments (17)

  • 17 years ago

    valleyappliance's reply IMHO is written like the salesman's spam that it is. I guess on the bright side you can't call it stealth spam, it's right upfront. Amana, Maytag and Jennair shared one manufacturer for many years even before Whirlpool bought the whole thing. Do you suppose that manufacturer is going to the expense of using different burners, different control electronics in each of three? Of course not. So we wouldn't expect an Amana oven to behave differently than a Maytag one. And it doesn't. My experience with two Amana ranges (in different houses) is there is no "extra fluctuation" in oven temperature, they behave perfectly.

    kennyx, I have no idea about how Amana is "tiered" (I note that although our friendly spammer writes apparently knowledgeably about the performance of Amana ovens despite not selling them). It may be possible that some bells and whistles may be missing but I doubt they would be anything you'll miss. On refrigeration, if it's a bottom freezer we're talking about, *all* of the Whirlpool brands (Whirlpool, KA, Amana, Maytag) are Amana-manufactured and were even before Whirlpool bought Amana/Maytag/JennAir. I've had no issues with three of those of varying vintages, two badged "Amana" and one "Whirlpool Gold". No idea on top freezers.

    One thing valleyappliance is right about: that's one horrendous price you're paying for the upgrade to stainless. A quick look at the Amana site tell me they want about $100 per appliance extra (MSRP). (The fridge is actually "silver", not stainless - otherwise I'd guess it might be more). We're talking about range, fridge, DW, hood, right? That would be about $400, with the builder paying even less than that.

  • 17 years ago

    yes, it's for the range, fridge, DW, hood (and microwave).

    The next upgrade package is for a Liebher Fridge, Fulgor cooktop and oven, Porter Charles DW, and a Panasonic microwave... all built in for $8900. Everything looks nice, but it's well above my price range for appliances.

    To be honest I dont really care about any bells and whistles, Im a single guy who just wants something that looks nice (open concept condo with the kitchen and living area attached) and is reliable.

    So from the two responses it seems like Amana is no worse than other brands in terms of reliability?

    Thanks for the responses guys!

  • 17 years ago

    We have a newer Amana coil-top range in our vacation home. The top is fine but the oven (which is enormous) takes forever to heat up (45 minutes for 450 degrees) and is never at the correct temperature.

    Had it serviced and the tech blamed the condo building. Old GE stove 25 years old did not have the problem.

  • 17 years ago

    stir_fryi, that's interesting about your pre-heat, it really sounds like something's wrong. I have no such issues with my three-year old Amana gas range. I've never timed it but I'd guess you'd get to 450 in less than 15 minutes and the temperature performance has alwayss been perfect. You're right about the size, though, the biggest oven I've ever seen in a 30 inch range.

    I visited the Amana site and note that Whirlpool has apparently had a re-think about the brands. My range has a 16K BTU/hr big burner, tops in the models they now offer is 12.5K. And where three years ago Maytag and Amana models were very similar - the Amana actually had sturdier grates, now virutally all the Maytags have the second little oven. At only 12.5K BTU, I probably wouldn't consider an Amana range if I were buying now.

  • 17 years ago

    My apartment here in NYC has Amana appliances. The dishwasher does a great job (cleans the dishes without pre-wash)...but it's noisy. The refrigerator is great. The smoothtop electric range (the electric board) has gone out twice in the past three years. They come out and change the board....other than that it works fine.

  • 17 years ago

    Amana is the builder grade nametag in the Whirtag lineup and has a lack of features and options comensurate with builder grade appliances.

  • 17 years ago

    I am one of the unlucky owners of an Amana electric smoothtop range, model ACS7270. The electronic part that controls the oven broke 8 times in 5 years at $500 a pop. It was covered under warranty, but the part only lasted 3 months at a time and they would not replace the range. It finally ran out of warranty so I am stuck with a broken range. I would never buy Amana again. It would have broken more frequently, but I had warranty issues on a couple occasoins and lived with a broken range for several months (first had a 1 year manufacturers warranty, Amana extended it a year due to the number of repairs needed, then a different warranty kicked in from Lowe's. Then that ran out and my extended GE warranty kicked in. It was very confusing and I was shuffled from one phone operator to another while living with small children and no stove!

  • PRO
    17 years ago

    The real question is what Amana appliances are they. Amana is currently transitioning from the Maytag family of products to the Whirlpool family of products. Specifically their ranges and refrigerators are being changed to Whirlpool built pieces versus the older(and stove wise inferior) maytag products. The dishwashers have not changed yet, though they will be in the next 6-12 months. Just get the exact model numbers before finalizing a purchase and do some homework.

  • 5 years ago

    It is a dud. You virtual assistant is a dumbo. I ask a question and it keeps asking how can I help? Waste of time.


  • 4 years ago

    I have a refrigerator made by Amana and its lousy, made by Whirlpool. Less than 3 years and 2 service calls, one to replace the relay ($319.00) and the other to replace the condenser ($275.00). Worst appliance I've ever owned other than GE (just as bad).

  • 4 years ago

    This is an old, old thread, but since HU-8695060 revived it, I'll respond by saying we're on our 2nd Amana bottom freezer refrig. I loved the first one so much I didn't even look for another brand when replacing it. Note they are enclosed compressors, so cannot be easily fixed.


    Our problem with the first one (which lasted 10 yrs) was that I didn't realize our electricity is "dirty". Lots of line fluctuations and that eventually plays havoc with the Amana. The new one is on an appliance surge suppressor (easily bought through Amazon if your local HW store doesn't have one).


    The Amana holds an enormous amount of food. It doesn't look any different inside than my old Whirlpool refrig did, which was 5 cu. ft. bigger - yet I can fit even more into the Amana than I could into the WP. It's also very quiet, which we appreciate with an open floor plan.


    I have been told by repairmen, however, that Amana refrigs are noted for lasting only about 10 yrs. If you expect your fridge to last a longer time, you may want to look into another brand. But these days I'm not sure any of the WP corporation brands are any better, unfortunately.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Well my mother's Amana washer machine is the worst I have ever seen. Even on what to me is considered a small load (1 pair pants, 2 shirts, 1 sports bra, and 1 thin dress ) this washer will not spin without knocking so i tried to balance everything and it still knocks like crazy. The tub is so loose and I know anyone can see that that is not right. This brand should just make it the washer tub with hand ringer on top. My mother stays in the country so far from a laundromat so I found myself rinsing and ringing out the water by hand. Now hands hurt. Unfortunately my mother can not do that with her health issues so for Whirlpool to sale such a lousy washer is so shocking to me because i have had nothing but good experience with Whirlpool products. If you are going to make a washer that will not spin even for that size, then for the cheap model just put the old hanger on it because you will be sitting all day babysitting this washer. Bring your phone charger, TV and food and find a good series because you will be washing longer at home than going to a laundromat.

    Sorry this machine does not even deserve a rating star.

  • 4 years ago

    @HU-431203857,

    Regards to "loose" tubs, all toploader washers nowadays (except Speed Queen) are designed with the tubs more freely-moving than in the past, hanging from spring-dampened suspension rods. It's not unusual that the suspenion rods go bad in 5 to 10 years, depending on how much use the machine gets. People think that small loads are less wearing on the machine than large loads but that's not true. It's how often the machine is run that increases the mechanical wear. Replacing the suspension rods is a common and reasonably simple repair.

    Whirlpool took control of Amana in 2006 when it came along with their purchase of the Maytag company. Amana washers produced by Whirlpool at that time were the older Whirlpool design. They introduced a different mechanical design in 2010 which presumably is the design of your mother's machine ... but that is not known for sure without the model number. Cite the model and serial numbers here, they are coded respectively with market introduction date and the factory production date. The model number allows look-up of the parts diagrams for the mechanical design, regards to what may be involved in the spin knocking.

  • 3 years ago

    I bought an Amana gas stove in 2020 and it's the worst stove I've ever had. Granted it wasn't their top model, only $600+ dollars, It appears to have no insulation or very little. The oven doesn't bake well and the burners shoot gas flames out one side of the burner like a flame thrower. I will;l never touch an Amana product again.

  • 2 years ago

    My old landlady replaced an old gas stove with an Amana cheap piece of junk, the grates were absolutly terrible, my pots would slide because they were not made of cast iron. My husband and I ended up buying the place from her and got rid of the stove and bought a Samsung instead, the grates on our new one are cast iron. I will never buy any appliance with the name Amana. Buyer beware !!

  • 2 years ago

    Amana has roots back to 1934. It was known for refrigeration (commercial coolers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning). Raytheon (discovered/invented microwave cooking in 1947) acquired Amana in 1965 which positioned Amana to introduce home microwave ovens. Amana Radarange, anyone? Goodman (which also owned Speed Queen at the time) bought Amana in 1997 which led to Amana-branded laundry on the Speed Queen platform. Goodman sold Amana appliance division to Maytag in 2002. Whirlpool bought Maytag in 2006, including Amana (and some other appliance brands that Maytag owned) and has positioned it as a "budget" appliance line. Goodman still has the Amana HVAC division.

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