What I'm concerned with is the Stainless Steel base the burners sit in. The WindCrest is built like a box with a flat bottom and 4 separate sides attached with screws leaving seams all around the tray from spillovers and crumbs to get stuck in. All the other gas cook tops that I'm considering build their stainless steel base like a shallow bowl with NO seams inside what so ever.
If Windcrest had the one piece stainless steel tray I would buy it without any qualms!

Docsknotinn
I just received a flyer in the mail today from a local big name appliance store offering the Bosch dishwasher for $200 less that what I can get the Asko for. I was seriously considering switching my mind and going with the Bosch, after all Consumer Reports highly recommends them and I have heard many good things about them. And the $200 would go nicely towards some of the other many, many upcoming bills. However, your comments above have made me think again that maybe the Asko and it's 3 year warranty is worth every bit of the $200.

We have to decide on all the appliances this week so that we can get the custom cabinet guys going on construction. None one has posted any real negative comments which makes me feel more sure that an Asko should be a good choice. Thank you everyone

We're struggling to nail down what brands and models of major appliances to use for our kitchen reno. We're not concerned about matching brands we just want quality appliances without breaking the bank. We had thought that an Asko dishwasher was a good choice in that it compares pretty equally to Bosch in features and price but comes with the added bonus of a 3 year warranty.

I made comment of this on Candy's board "Who has bought a new dishwasher lately? " and mlgb May 21, 2008 06:58AM replied "They're kind of notorious for bad electrical components. There might be a reason for that 3-year warranty."

Does anyone else have anything good, bad or indifferent to say about Asko Dishwashers.
I would like to hear comments. Thanks

What about Asko? That's what we've been looking at and pretty much decided on.
They run about the same price as the Bosch but come with a 3 year warranty.
Can you beat that?

Has anyone bought appliances from Coast Wholesale Appliances before. I got a quote on some appliances including a hood vent and blower from one of their locations. Later that week I took my husband in to one of their outlets in a different area of the city so he could see what I had picked out. The sales person there quoted us $150 more for the exact hood. I had her confirm that price then after we left I checked with the original store to see if I had mixed up the model number. No! That original salesperson confirmed his original quote.

I know that Coast doesn't post their prices instore because they're a wholesaler but a $150 difference on the same product between 2 locations in the same city seems strange to me.

We just got the quote for Kitchen Kraft cabinets for our 11X10 kitchen. It was a joke!
They quoted on their low end cabinets in cherry with only a couple small glass doors, no fancy moldings, trim or lights. It included a mid quality granite counter top, instalation and the removal of the old cabinets (but not the disposal) They want just under $29000 with taxes. If I wanted to upgrade to solid wood dovetailed drawers with full extention and birch laminate boxes the saleman figured in would be about $35000 with taxes!

This morning a got a second quote from a small indepentant cabinet maker for custom cherry cabinets with plywood boxes, solid wood dovetail drawers with full extention hardware with taxes and labour at just over $20,000.
Guess who I'll be following up with!

The funny thing is my husband got his issue of Money Sense magazine in the mail yesterday. It was all about real estate and investing in your home. One article said "A $20000 budget will get you a 10' X12" kitchen full of neat gear inculding a 48" dual Wolf range, a 21 cubic ft Sub-Zero fridge, a granite counter, a hardwood floor and a built in island! If anyone knows where I can get all that for 20K sign me up!!!!!!

Thanks
I think I'll go with the 36" Dacor SGM365. It fits the budget and should be easier to keep clean than the WindCrest unless someone else has a better idea.

Does anyone have experience with the Fisher & Paykel gas cooktops? I've only seen them on line but the design looks and sounds nice. Also the DCS by Fisher & Paykel. I'm looking at Dacor and Wind Crest and thought I should include F&P.

Polish Girl.
Home Depot aren't the only ones that carry the Kraft Maid Line. If you really like that line go directly to the Kraft Maid website and ask them for the names of dealers in your area. That's what I did and have had 2 different franchise dealers come to my house free of charge to make suggestions and quote.

We're planning a kitchen renovation and want to switch from an old Modern Maid electric coil cooktop to a gas cooktop. We've never had or used a gas cooktop so we're not exactly sure what we need in terms of BTU's. My sister-in-law says she never turns her gas burners anywhere near high so not to be concerned about having a large BTU output burner but to look for something that has a low simmer burner. She has a Bosch and says the 5500 BTU burner is her lowest and it's still too high to simmer soups without burning.
We had seriously considered getting the Wind Crest CTG365D because we like the metal knobs and their placement, the burner configuration of highs and lows and the overall apperance of quality. Then a female saleperson pointed out how the stainless steel tray under the burners is not one solid piece and how liquid and other gunk could get into the seams and be extreamly hard to clean out. She recommended a Dacor cooktop because of the bead blasted top that would be much easier to keep clean. I would need to go with the PGM365 model to get a similar burner output to the Wind Crest and I'm not sure I like the placement of the knobs or the fact that they are plastic. I've also read several reviews that say the knobs crack, can easily melt, that the painted markings wear off easily and Dacor has very poor service. I would also have to pay about $300 more for the Dacor than the Wind Crest.

Does anyone have any experience with cleaning the Wind Crest. Would I end up hating it because I can't keep it clean? What comments do you have on the Wind Crest, Dacor and Bosch? Is there anything else out there I should be considering under $1800. Since I'll have to go to the huge expense of having a gas line run to my kitchen (another $1800) I want to make sure I won't regret my decision to cook with gas! I can't afford the high end names like Viking or Wolf.