Professional Refrigerators

SubZero manufactured the first professional refrigerator back in the 50s. With the building boom in the last 20 years (deduct the last 2.5), every manufacturer produced these ultra high end refrigerators.

I have always defined a professional refrigerator simply as products with compressors on the top like a commercial refrigerator.

Here is what they look like and what to look for...

SubZero

Viking

Thermador (Bosch, Gaggenau, Miele have the same box with different interior)

Monogram

KitchenAid

Liebherr

The best of the bunch is still SubZero with 2 compressors, the best seal and temperature control. In 2009, they added an air scrubber to keep food fresher and an advanced water purifier as well. However, there are less expensive alternatives...Here are the best of the rest.

Bosch, Thermador, Miele, Gaggenau: This is an integrated refrigerator, which is really great looking with panels as it blends perfectly.

Liebherr: This German company is also the greenest and has some interesting configurations of products.

Viking: Bought Amana's tooling 10 years ago, and has finally righted the ship

Buying Tip:

1. Rebates: Even the venerable SubZero company has one when combined with their sister company Wolf...There is not a huge price spread between all of them and features have been replicated.

2. Panel Vs Stainless: Look at the product with both.

3. Repair: Insure there is service available....it is different than fixing a regular fridge.

4. Price shock? Consider a regular shallow (non top compressor) refrigerator and save $5,000 plus.

Monogram Joins The Rebate Fray

Monogram has always been an enigma. GE started by calling their best products Monogram and thus the "new" line was born...and flopped. Then they went the OEM route with their professional ranges by sourcing from DCS (poor choice) and it flopped.

Finally, they started manufacturing stylish and compelling products especially their hoods and new ranges, just in time for the depression...sorry recession. With their competitors rebating their products, Monogram joins the herd.

Their rebate is as follows:

Buy any pro range and hood or cooktop, wall oven and hood and receive $1,000.






Add a Built-In refrigerator and add another $1,000.

Mistakes To Avoid...Part 1

2 Posts today. More for your blog dollar. Lets take a look at some paneled shallow depth refrigerators...



There are a bunch: SubZero, Lehberr, Viking, Thermador, Bosch, Gaggenau and Monogram...But what about KitchenAid?



Good news: It is less expensive.

Bad News: It protrudes way more than the others.

Yale PSA: The Yale Home Show

I always plan the Home Show for 9 days and two weekends. There is certainly enough to cover with induction, LED and other interesting household products, but truthfully I always plan on losing one weekend to snow.

Last weekend, they closed the exit to actually drive here, so there is the aforementioned planned lost weekend.


With all due deference to Ming, Paul and Brenda, this weekend will likewise be great with Nelson from Kouzina, Tagare the corporate chef from Monogram, Chris from Dbar, Regina Dvorak(great young chef) and Steve Shipley from Johnson and Wales. Steves' demos are incredible.

Have a look

http://www.yaleappliance.com/homeshow09/boston.html


One last note, we are more than competitive with the Presidents Day sales...The above is just bread and circus without offering value

Yale Home Show...A Yale PSA

The 9th Annual Yale Home Show sponsored by Electrolux February 7-16

If you have never been to a Yale Home Show, it is well worth a visit.

Each weekend, we have some of New England’s best chefs cooking in our 9 kitchens showcasing different cooking techniques on all the major brands like Wolf, Viking, GE Monogram, Miele, JennAir and Electrolux. This is our best lineup yet with Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger, Jay Murray of Grill 23, Paul Turano of Tryst, Steve Brand of Upstairs on the Square, and Nelson Cognac of Kouzina.

We will also concentrate on newer technologies like LED lighting, speed cooking and induction. We will teach you how to plan recessed and track lighting for your home. Vendors from every manufacturer will be on hand to answer any questions.

If you want to see how appliances really operate, need some technical expertise for a house plan or are just looking for a great deal, The Yale Home Show is a great place to start or finish your project.

Small Spaces For Less

Meet Dave Kiley. Dave serves many purposes. He is (the best) part friend and part customer. Dave is also my next door neighbor and is a nut about home improvement, especially lighting and appliances.

He is also extraordinarily talented and perhaps the best contemporary renovator in Boston. Look what he does in a small space.



Samsung French door refrigerator, Miele dishwasher, Bosch cooktop, Thermador wall oven and Best hood.

Dave is a style conscious, upscale guy. In a $4500 per month rental, it is somewhat expected...but lets spend less and still have a great look.



By replacing the Thermador with a Bosch oven, Zephyr for Best, Bosch(or GE Monogram) for the Miele and LG for Samsung, we can save about $3500.

Ge Monogram....Part 4

I have blogged about the new GE Monogram products over the last 2 weeks. Lets look at the range and hood. We also look at how to buy these products in general:


The Range:



The new Monogram has decent specs, but the desirable specs are:

1. BTU output: The average pro is 15-16,000 BTUs...GE is 18,000.
2. Simmer: A Good simmer is 500 BTU...GE measures by temperature at 140 degrees.
3. Surface has the ability to be purchased as 6 burner, 4 burners grill or griddle.
4. Oven is convection or double convection.


Ventilation:





1. CFM...Cubic foot per minute. For a 36 inch stove, the hood should be 600 cfm and 900 if purchased with grill or griddle
2. Capture Area: A Pro hood should be 24 inches deep in order to pool or capture the smoke

A few other tips:

1. Size the duct properly...Use at least 8 inch round for Pro installations.
2. Duct straight: Efficiency is lost with bends.

Cool New Products

Lets look at this Monogram Kitchen again...





The undercounter lighting is a new LED product...Simple to install and less expensive to purchase...





The recessed is trimless or seamless to the ceiling.





How do you light the inside of this wine cooler....Press the button.

Cool New Stuff

The Monogram from last post is certainly new. There are plenty of other new products now available to early adopters of the appliance industry.


Thermador 5 burner 30 inch cooktop....Hey 5 is better than 4.





Remember Thermador has $1000 package rebates.


Electrolux 4.7 cubic foot washer and dryer. Front load is now twice larger than top loader and still uses a fraction of the electricity, water and detergent.





42 inch built ins have been around for 18 years....Electrolux is the least expensive at $4959 with a trailing rebate program.

GE Monogram

I have always been ambivalent about GE Monogram. In a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, it is tough to focus on producing great appliances. For a company like SubZero, it is their livelihood and their passion.

Of course with multiple billions to spend on R&D, good products can happen on occasion. I actually like the line(right now). Monogram has decent features at a fairly attractive price.

Have a look:





We will look at the merits of the individual pieces in subsequent postings.

Undercounter Refrigeration

Perhaps the least understood product sold is the undercounter refrigerator. Smaller refrigerators have become more popular augmenting larger refrigerators in kitchen or as part of bar/entertainment areas.However, there are not any major brands and the starting price is roughly $1000. Many consumers consider throwing in a dorm refrigerator for $200 and be done with it.





Well you can't...True undercounter refrigerators have compressors at the bottom instead of the back, so it will not overheat when placed in a cabinet. So lets make this easier.

First, undercounter refrigerators, like other appliances, are designed to fit cabinets at 15 or 24 inches wide. The dominant brands are Electrolux, GE Monogram, Uline and SubZero. Now all you have to choose is the configuration: refrigerator, wine storage, refrigerator with wine storage, icemaker, refrigerator with icemaker, freezer, refrigerator with freezer, freezer and icemaker.

More Shallow Depth Ideas

Shallow depth refrigerators are desirable in a kitchen, because the sides do not protrude. Thus the kitchen looks more linear and more attractive. SubZero pioneered the pro niche in the 60s and 70s, and were followed by GE Monogram, KitchenAid and Thermador. Later, Amana decided to manufacture the regular shallow depth product and were followed(and beaten up by) GE Profile, KitchenAid and JennAir.

Now there are a number of alternatives from an endless number of companies. Unfortunately they tend to be somewhat expensive starting at $1600 as well as only fitting a 36 inch or over cabinet.





Fisher-Paykel and Blomberg manufacture smaller widths, and are decent alternatives to traditional shallow depth products.

Vineyard Part 2...The Bar

Our last post was about affordable luxury. This one is about luxury period.

Typically when you plan a bar refrigerator, the space is either 15 or 24 inches. Appliances follow cabinets, and this is the standard or almost universal size. In this space, the choices could be refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, freezer alone, icemaker, wine cooler or refrigerator and wine cooler.

Buying a decent brand is my only guideline. The case is produced with metal instead of plastic. The compressor also breathes from the front instead of the back, so the product can be enclosed in cabinets.

There are plenty of decent brands: SubZero, Uline, Marvel, Viking, Scotsman and Monogram. Rick (from our last post) does not seem to be satisfied with one. He did create a magnificent bar and game room.

Have a look:

Shallow Depth Refrigeration..Part 2

As we said in Wednesdays post, there are three types of shallow depth refrigerators: Regular, professional and integrated. Todays' post is professional style shallow depth refrigeration.


Pro style really just refers to the compressors being on top. In this way, it just emulates a commercial refrigerator. Most of these products are similar in function to a regular refrigerator. SubZero is the exception with 2 compressors instead of one, magnetized crispers and a vacuum seal.

Typically, this product becomes the focal point of a kitchen, as it is 84 inches tall. The most common brands are SubZero, Viking, Monogram, Thermador and KitchenAid Have a peek:

Ge Cafe..Part 2

GE is a funny company. Rather than rebrand with new names, they use their own name and then rebrand...Their best appliances became GE Monogram and their second best is GE Profile.

Their latest iteration, GE Cafe(who thinks of these names), is arguably their most successful. Cafe is full featured, commercially inspired products that seem to market to the premium segment of the market.

As successful as the line has been, it is strangely limited. The most notable exception has been a french door, shallow depth refrigerator. Its an odd omission because, french doors now outsell regular side by sides by 6 to 1.


Well now the GE Cafe french door is now available.








The rest of the line(for now):

Dennis Macdonald And Range Hoods

Dennis Macdonald became the sales manager of the store effectively replacing me sometime 1 or 2 years ago. He is actually a great guy, good with staff and customers (which means I will have to fire him in a rage of jealousy)...

Dennis is motivated by the strangest things, refrigerator handles, coffee systems, and now range hoods. He has placed 16 new hoods on display from Miele, Monogram, Zephyr, Faber, Franke and whatever else he has decided to hang today.

The average stove burners are 20-30% more powerful than stoves manufactured 10 years ago. Hoods and ventilation in general need to reflect this change

Which one is best? Have a look...The answer is below



Hoods are based on capture area and CFM(blower speed). The cooking product really determines size of hood...There are some decent ventilation posts on the blog, but for the people who need info now:


How to vent:

Capture area: The deeper the capture, the better

CFM: Motor speed, the higher the CFM(cubic feet per minute or literally how many cubes of area are vented

Size of duct: A bigger motor needs a bigger size duct so the volume of smoke can travel efficiently

Duct run: Shorter is better without turning the duct..If you have more than one bend in the duct, you will have greatly diminished the efficiency

Small Kitchen Appliance Ideas

Unquestionably, our earlier small appliance posts garnered the most feedback. I have been thinking long and hard about this post. It seems like a predicament, because small appliance are built like...crap. Avanti is OK, but most people want self cleaning on a range and a decent refrigerator.


Keeping the refrigerator and stove at 30 inches is important....So lets look at decreasing the size of the dishwasher and still have a marketable kitchen


How about this:

A plug in countertop dishwasher...True it uses counters, but not cabinet space





How about a in the sink dishwasher? A tad pricey and rather large at 36 and 42 inch widths., but an interesting idea




Would an 18 inch dishwasher help? Try a GE Monogram or Miele for a decent product.

Small Appliances....Dishwashers

As I have said on occasion, appliances fit cabinets. Dishwashers fit a base 24 inch cabinet, so consequently dishwashers are all 23.75 inches wide. Somebody should tell Dacor as their dishwashers are 24 and 30 inches wide and are for new construction only.

There are three options for 18 cabinets. All of which are surprisingly good.


Frigidaire is a basic dishwasher with decent cycles.





Miele is an exceptionally good dishwasher with a stainless tank, quiet operation and unsurpassed product quality(quality means great repair record). Then again at roughly $1200, it should be





The sleeper pick is GE monogram. Stainless tank and decent features, but is half the price of the Miele





An interesting alternative is the Danby countertop dishwasher...A product without cabinet requirements

Whats in the Name?

There are four major appliance companies in the industry plus a few aspirants. Often times, a manufacturer will produce the identical product under several different labels. With rebates, it is possible for a $200-400 price disparity on the same product. This information can save money when purchasing new appliances...Take a look

Bottom Mount Refrigeration:
Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana andWhirlpool
LG and GE

Top Mount refrigeration
Amana and Maytag
GE and Hotpoint

Dishwashers
Siemens and Bosch
Thermador and Bosch
Uppper Maytag models and JennAir

Gas Stoves
Siemens and Bosch
Amana, JennAir and Maytag

Electric Stoves
JennAir, Maytag and Amana
GE and Hotpoint(basic models only)

Wine coolers
Marvel and Viking

Wall ovens
Monogram, Profile and GE...A few features different, but inherently the same

Pro Refrigeration
Thermador(not freedom) and KitchenAid
Thermador Freedom and Gaggenau