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Induction Slide in Range, Kitchenaid vs Bosch

9 years ago

I need all new appliances except the dishwasher. I have a Bosch 800 that I bought last year. The biggest issue is the range and over range convection microwave. I need to purchase soon because my range is about to die. I have been hunting for a slide in induction range for awhile. One of my earlier requirements was knobs, and a month ago I purchased the Samsung, but canceled the order a couple hours later when I realized it didn't have a temp probe, which I feel is a basic feature. I just felt it was not for me because of Samsung customer service issues and general quality of the range though it has some flashy features. Don't like the frigidaire and miele is too expensive. After compromising on digital controls, I leaned toward the Bosch. I'm in a rural area and would have to ship or pick up from Bosch dealer 360 miles away. I can buy Kitchenaid at local Home depot or Lowes, for $1000 less than Bosch for range microwave combo. I had earlier discounted the Kitchenaid because it does not have the overlapping glass top to seal the edge with the counter for easier cleanup. Now I feel like maybe it's ok with trim kit or my husband says he could always put clear silicone in the gap, so now I'm neutral on this.

Kitchenaid pros: local, -$1k, slider burner control, can get taller 9" backguard, can get matching trash compactor

Kitchenaid cons: some reviews say oven preheat is slow. I cook and bake a lot. I bake all my own breads + lots of other baked goods, but I'm not sure if it would be worse that what I have now since my oven door is leaking heat, it has slower preheat.

Biggest con: Kitchenaid has 11", 6", and two 7" burners that bridge (I don't really care about the bridge but might be nice occasionally). I often use 2 big burners on my stovetop. I'm italian so at least weekly have big pot of sauce on + then need big pot for pasta. I haven't cooked with induction. Can I put a 9 or 10" pot on a 7" burner?

Bosch pros: 2 big burners, a 9" and 11", timed shut off for burners, kick open warming drawer, fast preheat

Cons: price, probably at least $1200 more with shipping, not local makes service or return difficult. Burner control with +- looks slower to use, only has shorter 4" backguard, some noisy reviews (I have a fairly open floorplan)

I also somewhat prefer the look of the Kitchenaid except I wish their logo wasn't so blazing big. I also wonder if it's going to look dated soon. I have a kitchenaid range now that is about 20 years old and has been through a lot of use and done great. It was my mother's before me. So I feel like it's been a good brand. I now feel strongly toward the Kitchenaid except for the burner size issue, or can I use a larger pot and then it's a no issue?

I do like that I could get a matching kitchenaid compactor. Fewer companies are making compactors and I need one cause we haul our trash, being rural. I would probably end up with the kitchenaid compactor anyway. I need a counter depth fridge with no ice maker. I don't really like the Bosch or Kitchenaid fridges much. I worry that the kitchenaid handles are so distinctive that it's harder to mix with other brands. Dishwasher, compactor and fridge are near one another at opposite end of kitchen from range and microwave.

I typed this whole message on my phone because my computer is having wifi issues, so please forgive any typos.


Comments (13)

  • 9 years ago

    What was the problem with your range?

    I did just look at the kitchenaid 5 door and it was pretty nice but not counter depth. Their counter depth seems flimsy inside and has flip up meat drawer lid. My fridge has the flip up lid which broke and I hate it and am determined to avoid the flip up lid. The Electrolux has a flush pull out drawer with no flip up lid.

    Anyway. I'm more concerned about the range. I rather feel I should just try the kitchenaid since lowes has the 90 day return policy. I am concerned about burner size, and just want to be sure that the burners are usable with larger pots and pans. In addition to pots, I also often use large skillet type fry pans. I fry potatoes in one and either chicken in another or a big pot of kale. I really don't understand why most of the ranges only have one large burner.

    Another pro for the kitchenaid is that the controls are on the top instead of front on the bosch, keeping controls out of sight and reach of my small children.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Adding to what Ron Varrial says, I will add the following for your consideration.

    Fridge choice: For a long time,
    threads here at gardenweb/houzz have reported that the North American
    Bosch refrigerators are subcontracted from Whirlpool which also owns the
    Kitchenaid brand and makes the KA fridges on the same lines in the same factories where it also makes Amana and Maytag fridges. Mechanically similar but cosmetically different.

    "Kitchenaid cons: some reviews say oven preheat is slow. " We have had a lot of threads here on the subject of oven preheat times. Here's a distillation: pretty much every stove actually
    takes the same time to fully and effectively preheat which is 20 to 30
    minutes regardless of what the preheat signals say.. The published
    oven preheat claims and signals are usually an exercise in creative
    fabrication for marketing bragging rights, not reality. Oven temp sensors are
    almost always up at the top of the oven. For preheat signals, they measure air temperature
    inside the oven. Oven air temp is probably the least important measure
    of pre-heating for baking and roasting. Most important to evenly baking and roasting is the energy radiated by the oven walls. If you like technical testing and the dozens
    of prior posts here are insufficient explanations, check out Nathan
    Myrvold's Modernist Cuisine site.

    Matching Finishes and Handles: have you run across the threads discussing this issue here? If not, then others will have to comment on whether you should care
    about matching the finish on trash compactor etc to that of your stoves
    and fridge.

    You asked " I often use 2 big burners on my stovetop. I'm italian so at least
    weekly have big pot of sauce on,then need big pot for pasta . . . Can I put a 9 or 10" pot on a 7" burner?
    "
    No problem at all for a pasta pot or that big pot of kale you mentioned. The water in the pot evens the heat
    throughout. Think about the many folks who over the last century have used 5 and 10 gallon canning kettles on 8" diameter 2500 watt coil burners. Anyway, there is is a rule of thumb for
    induction hobs that you can reasonably expect to have an evenly heated
    base of a pan out to about 1" beyond the nominal burner diameter/fleld. That may answer your question.

    Now, if you are making massive quantities of very thick sauces, it may nor may not get a bit more
    complicated. Do you make very thick but very delicate sauces which require totally and absolutely even heating across the entire 10" base of big pot --- say, when making 5 gallons of extremely viscous bolognese sauce? I do not have any problem with my ragu on such burners but then both my grandmothers were Swedish so I am absolutely disqualified in the "more authentic than thou" bolognese cooking contests. ;>) But you get the idea that there might be some limitations.

    Your follow-up post mentioned using large skillets for frying, and that might be a bit of mixed bag when it comes to burner size. Consider that most 12" diameter skillets fare down to a 9" base. Over a 7" diameter induction burner, you would be okay for frying chicken but for higher heat cooking (sautes and stir-fry) you might need to do a bit more stirring over the 7" burner because the outer rim of the pan would not be quite as hot. (Food would not be raw in the outer 1" of the pan bottom but it might not brown quite as well. Again, however, your pan's construction might take up most of the slack.

    Bosch Induction vs Kitchenaid Induction generally. The KAs's oven steam function seems to be only a water tray at the front
    of an oven rack -- seems to me you can accomplish that kind of steam
    generation with water in a cast iron pan or baking dish. (That's what I
    sometimes do for bread baking in my stove's oven.) Beyond that, it sounds like the trade-offs for you between the two stoves are mainly that the Bosch gives you more cooktop control and features (such as burner timers and finer power settings for the cooktop burners) where the Kitchenaid gives you a bigger oven with more features plus a better chance of local support for the brand in the event of problems.

    I guess the other thing to be said is that the Bosch has been out for several years --- long enough to work out kinks --- but the Kitchenaid/JennAir is so new to market that there may be problems such as the one Ron has hit with his baking drawer.

    Others will doubtless have more to say.

  • 9 years ago
    My baking drawer won't turn off unless I cut the circuit breaker and I can't regulate the temperature. They're coming this week to look at it. I had it on all day yesterday and it wasn't too big a problem, but obviously it can't continue that way.
  • 9 years ago

    I'm already annoyed with KA customer service. I called to confirm that I can use the 9" backguard with this range. It pops up when I look at the slide in range page on KA site. Lowes only has the 6" backguard available. I'd prefer the taller one. She didn't know and wasnt helpful. Now she finally came back and said the 9" only works with one gas cooktop. I guess 6" is better than the 4" from Bosch. I really wanted something taller.

  • 8 years ago

    Reviving an old thread, how is your KA doing? I am going through the same decision right now and have narrowed them down to, Bosch, GE, KA Induction range. I'm sure there are more things to consider but for me:

    KA will match my refrigerator and I like the look, but concerns are:

    -9 control points vs 18 on the GE and Bosch (no half increments on KA). Some people make this out to be a HUGE issue, not sure it would be for my level of cooking skill.

    -glass top does not extend slightly over the counter, it does on the Bosch

    -reported clicking and on/off cycling of the induction. I have never owned induction so not sure if that is all models, or just some complaints I have read on the KA

    -the GE's do not overlap counter, but they are glass top to the edge vs metal

    -GE's have 5 hobs, (one warming), other have 4

    Would love to hear how you like your KA and any other feedback from others who may have the above models


    Thanks




  • 8 years ago

    anyone have any positive feedback for the Bosch or KA lately?


  • 6 years ago

    need recent comments as well

  • 6 years ago

    I did go with KA for all othe appliances including the induction range. I'm happy with how it works. Slider control is great. I would post more but my words keep getting deleted as I type if I type a space. I have to select suggested words on my phone. Super annoying!

  • 6 years ago

    We upgraded to KitchenAid induction last year and love it. The cooktop is very responsive to temp changes you make. Can be at a full boil and if you change it to low it stops boiling right away. The simmer feature is also great. The cooktop has a lock feature which is nice. They were (and I believe still are) offering a nice set of free cookware with purchase. They are really great, but took several weeks to arrive. Until we received them we made do with some random pans we bought. The new pan set made all the difference in the world. I just didn’t want to spend several hundred dollars on a new set since I knew they were sending me a set. The oven is large and has a steam setting which I haven’t used yet. There’s also a shallow warming drawer. I have nothing but positive things to say about the range. We are building a new house and I researched gas ranges till my eyes crossed. In the end we have decided to get another KitchenAid induction.

  • 6 years ago

    Thanks for the responses. My biggest fear is the aqualift cleaning. There are several people not happy with it. To the point of a class action suit. Have you tried cleaning the oven yet?? I'm going to try putting out an aqua lift post to see if anyone else has used it.

  • 6 years ago

    I used the aqua lift a few times and didn’t really see the problem some have with it. It cleaned my oven fine and didn’t take very long to run. I had some baked on cheese and something else that had spilled and the cleaning cycle took it right up. I did take a plastic scraper and a wet paper towel and wipe those areas before running the cycle, but the oven was perfectly clean after running the aqua lift cycle. I prefer it to the other methods because it didn’t get so hot and there was no smell.

  • 6 years ago

    Thank you, that's very helpful to know! Have you had to clean meat grease? Say from high heat searing a roast ( my dh sears the meat for like 10 - 15 mins first before finishing the roast)? And does the outside of the stove get hot to the touch( another complaint I read ). I really appreciate your views.