It seems after reading many posts on this forum, most slide-ins have a noisy cooling fan. A free standing range will not have a cooling fan to listen to. I have decided ( after 3 problem new ranges) to go with a free standing. I know they do not look as nice as slide-ins. A slide-in will always have a much smaller oven and I have not found one that has a warming drawer. Yesterday while looking at slide- ins, my husband pointed out that the reach from front of the stove to back burners is much greater on a slide-in than a freestanding range. When you are a pip squeek with back problems , like me , it is something to think about. My 2nd last range from Sears was an all white Kenmore Elite. It is a nice looking range, however the reason I sent it back was because of the white smooth top. Even if I did not have any spillovers there were always hard to remove marks on the white top. The cream cleaner would not touch these marks. So if I were to get another Kenmore Elite I would definetely get a black top.

Hi Nicole, I had a Bosch slide in all electric and did find it to be quite noisy. I can't speak for the dual fuel but I would imagine it would be the same. I did get rid of it finally because of a defective cooling fan(it would only run about 10 min and then turn off). It is supposed to run for an extended period of time. I don't know how long that's supposed to mean. Also the cooling fan runs from the time you turn it on until it is cooled to 170 degrees. That's what Bosch told me.

I now have the Kenmore Elite, again all electric and the cooling fan is almost silent. It may not be the look everyone wants but it works for me. The cooktop is powerful(more than the Bosch) and the oven cooks/bakes well. I have black and don't have cleaning issues.

There are some here who don't mind the fan. I could have lived with it if everything was working properly.

Hope that helps.

Tracey

I have the Bosch Integra slide in, electric, and yes the fan is loud when you use the oven and it runs for awhile after turning the oven off. For the first week I was really annoyed and thought about returning it to get the KA slide in instead. However, now I am used to it and don't even notice it.

nigel-bigel:

The noisy cooling fans have been a source of complaint for some time now on both Bosch and Thermador ovens. During oven operation you will normally hear the noise caused by the cooling fan's air flow.

The reason the fans are very noisy is because they only operate at high speed. The noise could be reduced if the cooling fan speed was based on the oven heating mode. For example, on high temperature, self-clean the cooling fans would operate at high speed, while at normal baking/roasting temperatures the cooling fan could operate at a moderate speed and still maintain a safe oven, outer cabinet temperature. The Gaggenau brand of oven uses this technology, but it is more costly and Bosch/Thermador have chosen not to use it.

However, you are fortunate if the factory operated Bosch/Thermador showroom is still open for business in your area. Apparently, due to cost cutting measures, Bosch/Thermador (B/S/H/ Home Appliances Corp.) has started to close down their Regional Sales Showrooms, with the Boston/New England showroom and sales office being the first to close on September 1, 2007, according to ApplianceAdvisor.com... Who knows what the future holds for this German based appliance giant? See the attached link, August 2007.

Here is a link that might be useful: Factory Owned Bosch/Thermador Showroom To Close, September 1, 2007

Hmm, Isn't the deal that BSH showroom/sales office is moving out of Boston to open up in Texas somewhere? They've got a few on the East coast if I recall right, and i understood that they wanted a central footprint as well.

mindstorm - I heard the same thing. That they were closing a couple of their showrooms to concentrate their efforts in creating a showroom /training facility in the Houston area. I have read that Texas is giving big incentives to various companies to build there. It's my understanding that the tax laws are very advantagous to businesses who locate there.

But leave it up to svcmgr to report with glee a 2 month old story. The funny thing about it is the same source he is quoating with gloom and doom has also recently promoted BSH to it's Big 5 in the US.
This doesn't sound like BSH appliance company is on it's death bed. But I guess this is giving scvmgr nightmares.

BSH Corp. is of course not on its deathbed. They are also notable for their attitude of indifferent customer service on all their brands.

We have had a Bosch slide in all electric range for almost three years now. Yes, you can hear the fan when using the convection oven but I would not call it noisy. And the fan does not run for 30 minutes after the oven is turned off.

We have no complaints about our Bosch appliances - range, dishwasher, microwave. They are all quality built and we expect at least 15 years of quality service out of them.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

The showroom here in the Detroit area isn't owned directly by BSH, but rather by a distributor named Radio Distributing. There are no sales conducted at the showroom, only demos. IIRC, they also had Gaggenau products on display.

Between my schedule and my saleswoman's vacation I haven't discussed this with her yet but hope to have the chance today. Based on eal51's experience, I think there is something wrong with my unit.

Thank you for all of your feedback!

Nicole