ᐅ Kitchen appliances, seeking advice.

Hello everyone,

We are currently in the decision-making phase for the appliances for our future Schüller country-style kitchen, and we are still quite undecided, especially on this point.

Range hood:
Visually, a retro-style range hood would probably fit best. However, these are usually quite expensive (for example, from Smeg). At the moment, we have planned for an AEG X68163BV10. However, this does not seem to be the best option in this price range. Does anyone have suggestions?

Refrigerator:
For aesthetic reasons, we chose the Geronje ONRK193C. Is it any good? (It costs around 1,100 EUR — we will not buy this together with the kitchen.)

Oven:
For the oven, it was important to us that it has as little stainless steel as possible (we don’t like that) and includes a pyrolytic self-cleaning function. We narrowed it down to three models (Siemens, Bosch, and Neff). Among these, the following Siemens model was the favorite regarding price/performance: Siemens iQ700 HB678GBS6.

Cooktop (Induction):
We are still uncertain here. Currently, the AEG HK6542H1FB cooktop is planned. However, this also doesn’t seem to be the best choice for the price. Perhaps you have better suggestions? But please nothing much more expensive.

Dishwasher:
For the dishwasher, a Neff GX665 (S52P65X0EU) was recommended to us. However, I have read online that models with zeolite technology are also popular right now. With Siemens/Bosch, there are many reports of problems (error code "E31") online... So we are also quite unsure here.

We are really looking forward to your help and tips.

Thank you very much!
Gatho

Extractor hood: Siemens LC86KB670 (or the 90cm (35 inch) version LC98KA671)

Cooktop: Neff TT5486 (this is 80cm (31.5 inch), but with TwistPad control and flexible cooking zones)

Refrigerator: If you can go one size up, then Samsung RS 7528

Oven: Bosch HBG 676 EB6 – sleek black with almost no visible stainless steel and great features, should also be cheaper than the Siemens model

Dishwasher: no idea, we have a current Neff model with zeolite technology (expensive) and are very dissatisfied because the dishes don’t come out properly clean.

Our house isn’t built yet, but we have already purchased the kitchen. Initially, I thought about buying the electrical appliances myself. However, I decided against it. The kitchen company is offering me display models at a 30% discount. This gives me a price I would never find, even after thorough online research. We are buying everything from Miele, except for the refrigerator (Liebherr) and the extractor hood (Gutmann). In our current home, we have one from AEG, which works perfectly but is much noisier than what we want now. After trying everything with the kitchen studio’s consultant, only Miele or Gutmann appliances were left as options. There are certainly cheaper possibilities, but you don’t buy a kitchen every day. When I read what Nordanney writes about his dishwasher, I wouldn’t want to trade. I also compared Neff appliances with Miele’s. Not only are they cheaper, but they also look that way.

Gatho schrieb:

Oven:
For the oven, it was important to us that it had as little stainless steel as possible (we don’t like it) and includes a pyrolytic cleaning function. We narrowed it down to three models (Siemens, Bosch, and Neff). The Siemens model was our favorite among these three, especially considering the price/performance ratio: Siemens iQ700 HB678GBS6

Cooktop (Induction):
We are still undecided here. Currently, we have planned the AEG HK6542H1FB cooktop. However, it’s not really outstanding for the price. Perhaps you have better suggestions? Just nothing much more expensive, please.

Dishwasher:
We were recommended the Neff GX665 (S52P65X0EU) dishwasher. However, I read online that models with zeolite technology are popular right now. On the other hand, there are many reports about Siemens/Bosch machines showing error code “E31.” So we’re also quite unsure here.

I can’t say much about the appliances:
Oven - we own a Siemens with pyrolytic cleaning and are very satisfied with it. In my opinion, it’s hard to go wrong here. The pyrolytic cleaning makes my wife happy—and me whenever our photovoltaic system is producing well (pyrolysis consumes quite a bit of electricity). Make sure to always remove the racks during pyrolytic cleaning—otherwise, the rubber holders on the racks can suffer from the high heat.
Consider whether pull-out racks make sense for you—we have them on two levels and are very happy with that. Is this the oven that suggests cooking times based on the product, weight, etc., and displays temperature and duration? We thought that was very elegant but ultimately too expensive. So far, I don’t miss it, though I might have tried recipes I rarely use if we had it.

Cooktop: An important question for you—do you have induction-compatible pots and pans? If yes, what sizes? An oval cooking zone is pointless if you don’t have a matching roasting pan.

When we were planning our build, zeolite gas heating was quite the new trend. However, we were advised against it—too expensive for too little benefit. I don’t know to what extent that has improved or if it’s now successfully applied to other appliances (like dishwashers). How big is the price difference between a zeolite dishwasher and a regular one? On the other hand, compare the difference in energy consumption and calculate whether it would pay off after X years.

Refrigerator: Do you still have an external freezer? If so, I would choose a model with the freezer compartment on top. Otherwise, make sure that the fridge section is easily accessible up to the top shelf for both women and men.
For open kitchens, pay attention to the decibel level.
The same applies to dishwashers: cheaper models, such as those from AEG without extra features, are also sufficient.

What is zeolite technology?

One should always ask themselves – do I really need this feature, or am I paying for unnecessary stuff?

For example, why would you need Wi-Fi for an oven? At most, if the mentioned oven has a recipe function and you want to upload new ones. On the other hand, this probably won’t work through websites like Chefkoch or similar – so you are likely paying again for the recipes from the oven manufacturer, since only they can convert everything into a format the oven can read. However, I find it unlikely that the manufacturer will upload the exact recipe you found on Chefkoch and want to try out.

Preheating? Usually, most dishes have a preparation phase (chopping, etc.) in which you can preheat the oven.