Cohousing-L Mailing List: Professional Grade Appliances -- Fridge thank you

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Oct 16, 2014, at 8:23 AM, heidinys [at] earthlink.net wrote:

> That is a real drawback to commercial appliances imho.  It is the same 
> drawback to our commercial dishwasher.  Which has cost a fortune in repair-- 
> and to which folks cling tenaciously.

A major problem with our sanitizer -- service. The minute you say "commercial" 
you have passed over the line into commercial expectations which seem to be 
sky's the limit and big customers get first service. We needed our Hobart 
sanitizer and wash table disconnected from the  wall for new linoleum 
installation. After a low-cost estimate of under $100, they sent a bill for 
something like $1,000. (We negotiated it down.) Hobart is unresponsive to 
questions and it's hard to get service at all from the one authorized service 
person. It takes weeks for them to come out sometimes. In the meantime we have 
nothing. And this is DC, a large metropolitan area.

From my experience with the cooktop, various dishwashers, and other equipment 
in various contexts, the best service and use comes from "professional grade" 
residential appliances. Many people can service them and they are solid quality.

When we purchased a new cooktop for the CH, we chose one with 5 burners, a very 
large one in the center. The knobs immediately started melting on one side. 
When I was redoing my kitchen I bought a professional grade cooktop and noticed 
it had stainless steel knobs. I contacted the maker of the CH cooktop to find 
stainless steel replacements that would fit. The answer was they wouldn't sell 
them to me, because the knobs are matched to the capabilities of the cooktop. 
If the knobs are melting the heat is too high for that cooktop to sustain. It's 
dangerous. 

The plastic knobs were actually a guide to its safe use. Did the manual say 
that? Of course not. Nobody tells you this stuff. You only hear it here.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines, Washington DC
"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities." Walt Kelly