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GE Cafe vs. Bosch Benchmark Wall Oven

8 years ago

Looking for help in deciding on an electric double wall oven. I think I have it narrowed down to two choices but am having a hard time making a final decision. Right now I am considering the Bosch Benchmark with the side swing door and the GE Café French Door oven. The oven will sit beside a 5 door Kitchen Aid refrigerator. I have measured the clearance for the oven door openings and I would be able to open the swing doors of both to about 110 degrees. I would not be able to open them to the full 180 degrees because of the proximity of the refrigerator and a wall on the other side of the oven. I have been able to see both ovens at a local store and have been able to replicate the max amount the doors would be able to open.

Just as an FYI the other appliances in the kitchen are an 800 series Bosch Dishwasher, Bosch Microwave and a GE Café Induction cooktop and all are standard stainless steel.

Weighing the pros and cons of each:

GE Café



Pros:

· Look of the French Oven Door with the handles and manual dials would fit with my kitchen and look good next to the refrigerator

· WiFi Connectivity

· Convection where the air is pulled through the top cavity and re-circulated

· 3 Halogen lights

· Overall power of the broiler and oven


Cons:

· Is a GE Oven which does not carry the same name as higher end ovens (Resale value)

· Full Extension and regular oven racks feel flimsy compared to other brands


Bosch Benchmark



Pros:

· The overall feel of the oven door as it closes is very solid

· A single side door would open towards the wall which would not interfere with the refrigerator.


Cons:

· Reviews online have complained about the electronics and the extreme venting of heat out the front

· Does not have French Door handles

Below is the refrigerator the oven would be next to.




The location of my current oven and the refrigerator.




Any feedback either positive or negative is appreciated. I usually don’t struggle with appliance decisions like I have with this one. All my other choices were pretty easy.

Comments (21)

  • 8 years ago

    I am opting for the Bosch side opening oven because it is functionally what I want. Your GE model only has one ergonomically functional oven as the lower oven opens normally.

    I don't really care if my appliances match as I am buying each one based on their function. The Bosch oven will be above a Sharp microwave drawer.

    Bosch is well reviewed - I hadn't seen negative reviews of it but I think ANY appliance will have some negative reviews so that is neither here nor there.

    Frankly if I were going for two wall ovens I would pair the Bosch side opening oven with a steam combination oven.

    I don't understand your other issues - the Bosch is a true convection oven and as I understand it, all ovens vent to the front now - I don't spend copious amounts of time standing in front of the oven so it's a non-issue and is applicable IMO more to stoves where you would be cooking something on the hobs while having something in the oven in which case you might not enjoy the hot air venting.

  • 8 years ago

    Thanks Helen, all good points!

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The convection differences between the two as I can see are as follows.

    On the GE Cafe the regular convect blows the air from the top and the fan pulls the air through the back to recirculate. On Multi-convect the air will blow from the back and circulate up through the top vents. See picture below.

    On the Bosch there are no top vents for recirculation. The multi-convect will utilize the fanned vents along the back and the air blows around the interior. See pictures below.

  • 8 years ago

    And do you think this difference will make a significant difference in the outcomes of foods you cook in the oven?

    At a certain point, as you noted, one can start driving one insane over trivialities as one hopes that one is making the "best" choice - and there are so many decisions to be made with my remodel that at times I felt my brain was going to explode and I would start focusing on small stuff in hopes of differentiating and rationalizing.

    I had a good sales person when I checked out appliances - high end where Bosch and Kitchenaid are low ends :-). In terms of French door ovens, he recommended what I recall as American but could have been Blue Star made in America.

    With regard to side opening ovens, he recommended Bosch and didn't think I needed to spend the extra $7000 to upgrade to its sister Gaggenau model :-)

    He recommended against a Bosch refrigerator - to illustrate he had no dog in the show as to recommending Bosch versus other brands.

    I will admit the French door ovens have a coolness factor. The Bosch side opening and GE model are relatively the same price and the other French door models are significantly more expensive.

    I wish I had a more rational reason for why I opted for Bosch versus GE Profile but I can't remember at this point LOL but I did research and check both out.

    I do remember that the Bosch ovens are separate so if one goes it doesn't necessarily mean the other goes - but I could be wrong on this since I didn't want double wall ovens so I didn't focus on that aspect.

    However, I do advise your not getting two wall ovens that provide the same functionality as opposed to getting a steam oven as one of the options.

  • 8 years ago

    Why are you buying new ovens? It looks like yours are pretty new.

  • 8 years ago

    I honestly have had the worst luck with GE large appliances and won't buy them again. I've had two ranges (the oven never kept a consistent temperature). I would do the bosch. But that's me. I've stuck to Kitchenaid and miele is honestly one of my favorites but they are very expensive. Best of luck!!!! Renovating my kitchen now....ended up with the same dishwasher as you!!!

  • 8 years ago

    yeah gaganeu is crazy expensive...it's if you are a tech person.

  • 8 years ago

    My current GE oven is being replaced to upgrade to convection. It was the builder grade version that comes with houses. It works great and I have no complaints there but I do a lot of baking and wanted a true convection. (Plus I think either French doors or side swing are cool looking.)

  • 8 years ago

    I love the French door oven but if you can't open the doors all the way, this would be a problem in the long run for me. I have the side opener Bosch paired with the speed oven on top and I love it. Cooks everything beautifully. It's been installed almost 2 years. I will say we had a rough winter with a lot of flickering lights and power cuts. Not sure if this had an effect on the oven (I hope not!) but last Saturday I had a panel malfunction (none of the buttons would work) and I had to turn the power off to get it to work again (this as I was readying a roast chicken for dinner, slight panic ensued!). This happened a few times with my former Kitchenaid range oven so I was familiar with the problem but I was very upset that this brand oven did that. It's been fine all week but my confidence is a little shaken.

  • 8 years ago

    I have the same ovens that you currently have & I have no issues with them & I bake a lot. I would just keep them for awhile.

  • 8 years ago

    I looked at both the GE and Bosch as well, one thing I did not like about the GE French doors is that the handles block view of what is inside cooking. The Bosch has a bigger oven window to be able to see inside but still has the advantage of side open /close reach. I did see a lot of bad reviews about Bosch display panels.

  • 8 years ago

    We were looking at the same appliances. If you can't obtain the required side clearances as recommended by manufacturer you may have problems installing and servicing the unit in the future.

  • 8 years ago

    DONT BUY THE GE, they are now bought out by the Chinese and the overall quality and reliability is nowhere near the Bosch. I sell and service appliances. Good Luck

  • 8 years ago

    With either oven, look carefully at the clearances specified in the installation manual. You need to look at how much space the doors need to open in order to get the racks out. There should be very specific details provided by the manufacturer for each of these models.


    For example, on the Bosch, you need to be able to open the doors 135 degrees to properly adjust the doors.

    With the appliance essentially against a wall to the left, you either need a right hinged door or a traditional drop-down door.

  • 8 years ago

    appliancesalesman's reply in big caps is a bit over the top. So the Chinese bought GE. So what, everyone is buying everyone. If they don't make major changes to reduce quality etc, nothing really bad will happen. In my personal experience, GE (even after the buy out) is way more responsive than other brands to customer service. ITS MY EXPERIENCE!!!

    Inga

  • 8 years ago

    Thank you to all for the comments. Lots of good ideas and suggestions!

  • 8 years ago

    Just one issue to consider. The french doors look great. I considered them too. But if you can't open them all the way I bet you get lots of burns reaching into that oven when it is hot. FWIW I am in decision process right not myself and am passing on the french doors for this reason only. Will probably buy GE Cafe with the normal doors.

  • 8 years ago

    And decision made here. GE Monogram, built in french door fridge. Double oven cooktop, downdraft, dishwasher and drinks fridge under the bar.


  • 7 years ago

    Need help on cooling fan noise

    Hi, all-- I'm considering the Bosch side open oven, and the GE Cafe or Monogram French door ovens for a new house. We'll get the double oven in whichever model we choose. I haven't been able to find any information on how noisy the cooling fans are. I've been able to test the Monogram at an appliance store and it was very quiet, but I don't know anything about the others. We have a quiet house so a medium to loud cooling fan is obtrusive. (We're in a house now with a 12-year-old Wolf range, which has an amazingly loud cooling fan.) Thoughts? Thanks!

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I have the GE French door wall ovens, newly installed, but already tested with a roast, a casserole and a side dish. The oven temperatures are extremely accurate ( tested with a professional oven thermometer to verify the oven settings) I

    I do not find the cooling fans to be noisy. Another point, even though you didn’t ask about this: the oven comes with 2 rolling racks which glide smoothly as well as some traditional racks which did not...at first, . I had to use graphite lubricant, supplied by the manufacturer to get the traditional racks to roll smoothly. Before my husband reminded me about the graphite, I struggled to get the traditional racks to slide.