Which dishwasher to buy?

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ashnizzle

196 posts

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#106570 26-Jul-2012 13:34

im after a new dishwasher in the market. from your experience what brand is a better/reliable to go for? or any other brand that you would recommend?

ive been looking at couple of them which are the LG and Bosch.

http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/lg-14-place-setting-dishwasher.html

http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/bosch-stainless-steel-built-in-dishwasher-en.html

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#662369 26-Jul-2012 13:43

The last 2 houses we've bought we have installed brand new F&P Dishwashers into (full size ones, not DishDrawers) and we've had flawless performance from them. The first one for 5 years (we then shift house), and the second one has been going for 6 years so far with out an issue.

I've not owned any other brand so cannot comment or make comparison on anything else, sorry.

robertsona

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#662379 26-Jul-2012 13:48

Late last year we bought a Bosch model that looks to be similar spec and price. It's a fairly simple model - performance and reliability are good - does what it should do. However, I do have a couple of things to point out. The main one is the design of the upper rack - the spaces just don't allow things like mugs and glasses to sit well. It can be difficult to get the machine packed well (and as primary dishwasher loader, this causes some discomfort). Other aspect is the wash cycle time - nearly 2.5 hrs for a normal wash.

scuwp

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#662391 26-Jul-2012 14:00

We love our F&P dish drawers. Not sure where they are in the reliability stakes but we have had no issues (touch wood) in the last 5 years. We also use them at work and they get a thorough thrashing there with no worries (about 2 years use so far).

Love being able to set one drawer going while still being able to load the other, especially with a large family.

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keewee01

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#662393 26-Jul-2012 14:04

scuwp: We love our F&P dish drawers. Not sure where they are in the reliability stakes but we have had no issues (touch wood) in the last 5 years. We also use them at work and they get a thorough thrashing there with no worries (about 2 years use so far).

Love being able to set one drawer going while still being able to load the other, especially with a large family.

I'm pretty sure F&P sort out the Dish Drawer issues that use to exist. It took them a few years, but they got there.

Hiamie

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#662394 26-Jul-2012 14:05

My last two dishwashers have been Fisher and Paykel. The first one lasted exactly (almost to the day) 10 years then had a pump problem. A replacement pump was more than the dishwasher was worth, so we replaced it with a new F&P Nautilus 920.

It's 11 years old now, and and oh the problems! ...

Within a week it gave a flood alarm. The repairman couldn't find a fault, so replaced the main electronics board and tightened the door screws. Since then it was fine until about a year ago when it did the same ting. As it was no longer under guarantee, I had a look, couldn't find any problem or ongoing leak and it carried on fine until about 2 months ago. Same thing, only this time there was a leak, but again I couldn't find it, and its been good since!

About every 3 months one of other of the door balance springs breaks! I remove the spring, and reshape it back to a hook at the broken end. The repair lasts about 6 months, but the same thing is happening to the spring on the other side. My sister in Australia has the same machine, and has the same door spring problem, but she chooses to live with a "heavy" un-counter-weighted door.

The door handle assembly has broken on the inside, and again I have repaired it, this time with glue and some ingenuity. The screws that mount it to the inside of the door have broken.

Maybe I have been unlucky, but I don't intend buying another F&P dishwasher.

keewee01

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#662396 26-Jul-2012 14:09

What is the expected (realistic) life span of a dish washer?

As time goes on, newer models will last less and less given the move to a consumer society. Our current dish washer is a Nautilus so it sounds like we might have issues with it in another couple of years...

robertsona

168 posts

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#662398 26-Jul-2012 14:10

Hiamie: My last two dishwashers have been Fisher and Paykel. The first one lasted exactly (almost to the day) 10 years then had a pump problem. A replacement pump was more than the dishwasher was worth, so we replaced it with a new F&P Nautilus 920.

It's 11 years old now, and and oh the problems! ...

Within a week it gave a flood alarm. The repairman couldn't find a fault, so replaced the main electronics board and tightened the door screws. Since then it was fine until about a year ago when it did the same ting. As it was no longer under guarantee, I had a look, couldn't find any problem or ongoing leak and it carried on fine until about 2 months ago. Same thing, only this time there was a leak, but again I couldn't find it, and its been good since!

About every 3 months one of other of the door balance springs breaks! I remove the spring, and reshape it back to a hook at the broken end. The repair lasts about 6 months, but the same thing is happening to the spring on the other side. My sister in Australia has the same machine, and has the same door spring problem, but she chooses to live with a "heavy" un-counter-weighted door.

The door handle assembly has broken on the inside, and again I have repaired it, this time with glue and some ingenuity. The screws that mount it to the inside of the door have broken.

Maybe I have been unlucky, but I don't intend buying another F&P dishwasher.

Our Bosch was a replacement for an F&P - it gave us exactly the sort of problems you mention - we had door springs replaced at least three times and the latch handle was so problematic.

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timmmay

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#662406 26-Jul-2012 14:18

We just got the top of the line Bosch (one model above the one you linked to) it's awesome. It has a third tray up to for cutlery, which gives heaps of room in the bottom tray for plates and things. It's great - very quiet, washes very well, and it really just does what it says. The mode you linked to is almost identical, I think it just has no top tray.

Consumer says about reliability:
    Better: Bosch, Miele, Asko
    Average: Whirlpool, Westinghouse, LG, Simpson
    Worse: Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer, Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher

I have F&P fridge, washing machine, and drier, Bosch dishwasher. I'll probably never buy F&P again. They work ok, but they're generally just a little problematic. In 5 years the drier has needed servicing four times, the washing machine has needed the pump unblocked twice, and the thin plastic tray in the fridge to keep the vege bins sealed cracked and we can't work out how to get it back in.

I don't want to post all of the consumer article, but if you post your budget and priorities I can give you a few ideas. Otherwise pay the few dollars for their report.

myopinion

938 posts

Ultimate Geek

#662410 26-Jul-2012 14:25

We just got a basic Bosch and are very happy with it. However robertsona is correct, the normal cycle takes bloody ages! So we always run it on the fast/quick cycle which is around 25-30 minutes. The dishes coming out the other end are always clean and mostly dry. However you really need to use rinse aid in addition to the normal powder for the quick cycle. Also we rinse our dishes quite well before stacking it.

timmmay

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#662412 26-Jul-2012 14:29

I've never tried the Bosch quick cycle. The full cycle take 2-3 hours to run, but it's water and energy efficient so that doesn't really matter - it's not like you have to watch it.

We don't bother rinsing much, only really heavily soiled stuff, it manages fine 99% of the time.

dclegg

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#662417 26-Jul-2012 14:48

keewee01: The last 2 houses we've bought we have installed brand new F&P Dishwashers into (full size ones, not DishDrawers) and we've had flawless performance from them. The first one for 5 years (we then shift house), and the second one has been going for 6 years so far with out an issue.

I've not owned any other brand so cannot comment or make comparison on anything else, sorry.

We had the Fisher and Paykel One Touch model in our last house, and when we recently moved and found the existing Smeg dishwasher was hemorrhaging water, we purchased another One Touch. Very happy with its performance, especially if you're after a quiet dishwasher. It also is generously sized inside, and has no problems fitting the large plates that our previous dishwashers used to struggle with.

The one issue you may have is if you like complete control. As the name implies, using it is simply a matter of touching the 'GO' button, and the dishwasher analyses and chooses the best cycle to use. We've never had a problem with this, but if you want full control over the cycle to use, this may not be the droid you are looking for.

dclegg

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#662419 26-Jul-2012 14:52

Hiamie: My last two dishwashers have been Fisher and Paykel. The first one lasted exactly (almost to the day) 10 years then had a pump problem. A replacement pump was more than the dishwasher was worth, so we replaced it with a new F&P Nautilus 920.

It's 11 years old now, and and oh the problems! ...

FWLIW, we had a Nautilus when we were in Australia, and had problems with it from day one. Our current F&P dishwasher is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of build quality.

gregmcc

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#662421 26-Jul-2012 14:58

In the past I would have said buy a F&P, but the current dishwasher we have (Elba about 4 years old) has given us problem after problem

2 x pump failures
1 x door switch failure
1 x door latch failure

While the extended warantee has paid for all the repairs I can see why things have failed, F&P now use parts sourced from Haier (Yes the cheap chineese brand that brought in to F&P).

I won't even mention the F&P fridge of about the same age which has suffered failures of the ice maker (but that's a whole other story)

While F&P were reliable and wholy NZ owned they were good, but now they are not reliable or totally NZ owned, go buy something else

BlueShift

1692 posts

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#662444 26-Jul-2012 15:29

dclegg:
Hiamie: My last two dishwashers have been Fisher and Paykel. The first one lasted exactly (almost to the day) 10 years then had a pump problem. A replacement pump was more than the dishwasher was worth, so we replaced it with a new F&P Nautilus 920.

It's 11 years old now, and and oh the problems! ...

FWLIW, we had a Nautilus when we were in Australia, and had problems with it from day one. Our current F&P dishwasher is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of build quality.

What he said... We had a Nautilus from new, it lasted nearly 9 years, but had quite a few visits from the repairman - 2 sets of new rack rollers, door springs, door rubbers, the fascia plate at the bottom fell off. We replaced with the F&P one touch as above (member of family is partially sighted - less options=good) have had no problems in 18 months (but wouldn't expect to anyway)

LookingUp

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#662449 26-Jul-2012 15:32

Miele.

17 years ago I was working for a company that had an electrical service division, and among other things, they did dishwashers. When I asked what to buy they said Miele, because the only ones they ever saw were over 20 years old, and then only issues they saw were perished seals!

17 years on, we haven't had a single problem with our Miele. I'm starting to get the feeling it will last longer than I will!

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

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