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WHY I DIDN'T BUY A NEW DISHWASHER FOR A WHOLE YEAR

Our old Kenmore broke down about a year ago (water didn't come into the washer).  My experience, in general, with electro-mechanical washers is that when it breaks after a few years of usage its best to just get rid of it rather than pay for an expensive visit from a service person.  The repair cost is often significant and if you decide not to repair it you're still stuck with the service call.  I'm a retired electrical engineer, and I'm pretty stingy about spending money.  This, together with the fact that my wife said she enjoyed washing dishes by hand, easily convinced me not to buy a replacement.

WHAT CHANGED MY MIND

After a year of no dishwasher I had some "points" accumulated using a Credit Card plus a $50 gift card I won from a drawing I didn't even know I had been automatically entered into.  I had about $350 total available to spend.  Feeling sort of guilt-ridden by my wife's assertion that she actually liked to wash dishes I thought that a new dishwasher would be just the thing to see if she really meant it. 

WHAT I LOOKED FOR IN A DISHWASHER

I wanted to get a basic dishwasher that not only washed the dishes well but was within my budget.  I didn't want to get a lot of fancy options that we wouldn't use.

Things I considered:
Price
Tub material:  plastic vs. metal
Racks:  convenience/style (fold-downs); nylon vs. vinyl; tip coverings on tines, & capacity
Flatware basket (removable, preferably in sections)
Construction
STAR Energy Rating

Models I initially considered:

I did an on-line search of GE models GSD4060NSS ($375-400), GDD4450NCS ($390), GHDA485NCS ($399), Amana ADB1500 ($357), Frigidaire FDB1050RE ($220), Whirlpool DU1055XT ($357-700).  I also considered a Maytag MDB4651A Tall Tub, but I was not impressed by the poor rating in a review.  There was such a bewildering assortment to consider that eventually I trekked down to my local Sears store to see them firsthand. 

Initial Tradeoffs

From a durability viewpoint a stainless steel tub is better than a plastic one, but it generally pushed the cost above my budget. 

A nylon rack is preferable to a vinyl coating as the vinyl tends to rub off over time, exposing the underlying metal which causes rust marks on the dishes(and the marks don't come off) if you don't catch it in time.  (This can be overcome by covering the tines with plastic tips that can be bought separately.)

Fold-down racks are more convenient in configuring the racks to the dishes you own and not what the manufacturer designed to.

Construction/Cost Tradeoffs of Machines I Didn't Buy

Besides looking at most of the models I mentioned above I examined many models (1524, 1624, 1359, 1510, 1610, 1355, 1356, 1358) of Kenmore (Sear's store brand) with prices ranging from $272-390.  Essentially, as the price of the model increases either the quality or feature set increases.  With other brands it wasn't as easy to compare them.  I liked the construction quality of other Kenmore models, but they were in the $500++ range.  The 1524/1624 models had mechanical dial controls (potentially problem prone from my engineering perspective) and the lower rack was not removeable.  Model 1358 included a food disposal which, for us, was overkill as we old-fashionedly rinse or wipe each plate/utensil free of food or grease before putting them into the dishwasher.  The other models were acceptable, but all the Kenmore models above had plastic tubs, vinyl racks, and non-adjustable upper racks.  The Kenmore models were acceptable, but I wasn't really too keen about them so I went back and looked at some other dishwasher models.

WHY I BOUGHT A BOSCH

The Kenmore 1358 had a STAR Energy Rating of 0.68 (the best of the above Kenmore models) while the Bosch's rating was 0.71 (higher is better).  The 1358's noise rating was 60 dB while the Bosch's was 53 dB (lower is better, and a difference of 7 is much better).

The Bosch has a plastic tub bottom, but it has stainless steel sides (including the interior of the door).  The reason for the stainless steel is that the Bosch does not have a heated drying element, hence the better energy efficiency rating.  By making the rinse water temperature high the water evaporates from the dishes and condenses down the cooler metal sides.  If you've ever lived in a humid climate you're probably acquainted with this phenomenon.

The Bosch has no food disposal.  Instead it has both a Large Object Trap cylinder assembly and a Fine Particle Filter.  These are designed to be rinsed clean as needed upon inspection.  A simple twist to remove or insert.  Since we pre-rinse the dishes by hand this was just fine with me.

The upper rack has 2 positions.  The construction and engineering design used to achieve this appears sturdy and durable.  It's less likely to break compared to kludgy methods used on other brands.  The upper rack has just one fold-down tine row while the bottom rack's tines all have fixed positions.  Both racks are removeable and they're nylon coated. 

The door was sturdy and had covered electronic touch controls and simple indicator lights including one that indicates when rinse agent is low, one that the machine is active, and one that the load is clean.  Other indicators include:  half-load selected, child lock active, sanitize option selected, 3-, 6-, or 9-hour delay selected, and one of 4 wash cycles selected:  Power Scrub Plus, Auto Wash, Regular Wash, or Quick Wash.

In general I was impressed by the simplicity of the design and the quality of manufacture:  fewer things that could breakdown, at least for the visible part of the machine.

After I wrote my first draft of this review I reviewed the Bosch features.  One that I'd missed is that this model includes an Anti-Flooding device.  Gee, German engineering is pretty good.

OUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR

I bought the machine in mid-December 2008.  Installation was straightforward.  Other reviews had implied that the condensation drying method would be less than satisfactory, so I turned the Extra Dry Heat option on. 

This was simply(?) achieved by closing the door, turning the unit on by pressing the ON/OFF button, pressing and holding down the > button while pressing and releasing the START RESET button and then releasing the > button.  The Clean indicator light and at least one other additional indicator light will be flashing to show you that you are in the Options Setup Mode.  Press the > button to select amongst the additional indicator lights.  When the Clean and Sanitized indicator lights are flashing press the < button to change the Extra Dry Heat setting.  If none of the Wash Cycle indicator lights are illuminated this option is off, but if one of the Wash Cycle indicator lights is illuminated the Extra Dry Heat option is turned on.  Then press START to save your option settings.

Selecting options looks complicated, but just follow the instructions in the manual.  Its simple enough and once you select your options you'll most likely leave them that way.

About 3 of 4 times we wash using the Quick Wash cycle; for the 4th time we use Regular Wash.  The Power Scrub Plus and Auto Wash cycles feature a sanitization feature that meets NSF/ANSI 184 standards. We've only tried the Auto Wash cycle once.  The Quick Wash uses the least water (3.0 gallons) and takes 30 minutes while the Auto Wash cycle uses between 3.6 and 6.5 gallons and takes between 105 and 125 minutes.  For most of our needs we've found that the Quick Wash cycle is entirely satisfactory.

The only thing that might be considered bad is the design of the racks.  An engineer designed them to comfortably fit a set of dishes in them.  The only trouble is that we don't own that same set of dishes.  Its taken some time to figure out how we should arrange our things to fit.

Important Considerations

Make sure that you run the hot water tap where your dishwasher is connected a little before washing to make sure that the water is hot (to the touch).  This will save having the machine heating the initial cold water when it really isn't necessary.

Also be sure to push the top rack all the way to the back by using your hand.  Do NOT rely upon the door to push this rack back.  Doing it yourself will ensure that the water connection for the top rack is secure.

Don't forget to check with your local electric utility.  A rebate may be available.  $50 in my case.

A Plumber's Tip:  When installing the drain hose, insert a "unidirectional flow valve" in the hose where it connects to your drain.  In case of a sewage backup your dishwasher (and you) will be spared.

Shhhh!

When we are watching TV and the dishwasher is running my wife would occassionally say, "What's that?"  "Its just the dishwasher," I'd reply.  Its so quiet you forget its running!!  Just a soft gurgle as the water flows.  No kidding.

Are the Dishes Dry?

Condensation drying takes a little getting use to.  When the indicator light says that the dishes are clean and the cyle is finished, if you open the door right then you will have some pretty wet dishes.  BUT if you let them sit for an hour or two they'll be quite dry, thank you.  The dishwasher sides may still be damp (even wet), but the dishes will be dry.  If the bottom of a cup or bowl isn't at a slight angle when put in the rack a little water may still remain there, but I've had that experience with our old heated drying dishwasher as well.

Are the Dishes Clean?

Yes.  Are they sanitized?  No, because we just haven't selected those cycles.  I suppose I should now and then.

Are We Happy?

Yes, I'm happy that my wife doesn't have to wash the dishes by hand.  And she is happy that she still gets to wash them by hand.  Huh?!  Well, ordinary dishes for the dishwasher are OK she says; but my wife insists on doing the fine china and the pots and pans by hand.  Go figure.  I guess she actually does like to wash dishes.

Update

October 2009:  My wife noticed an odor coming from the diswasher the other day.  Inspection revealed that the trap and filter were clean.  Since we had been just using Quick Wash I instead selected Auto Wash which activates the sanitize option.  After washing with this cycle the odor was no longer present.  The sanitize option seems to have done its job.  No other problems.

November 2009:  About 11 months after installation the soap dispenser ceased dispensing.  Since it was still under warranty I looked in the instruction booklet to find a toll free phone number for the Bosch warranty service.  They gave me two (2) names and phone numbers of authorized repair services in my area.  Upon contacting one of them I made an appointment for them to come and see the dishwasher. 

On the day of the appointment the service person called to say that he was on his way and to verify that it was the soap dispenser that had failed.  He then said that all he would be able to do that day would be to get the model number and serial number and order a part which would take about 5 to 7 days to arrive.  To save him the trip I just gave him the numbers over the phone.  Too bad the people at his company that make the appointments aren't empowered to accept additional information so that the dispenser could have been ordered immediately.

About two weeks later (5 to 7 days indeed!) the repair service called for me to make an appointment to fix the machine.  When the service person finally arrived I watched him replace the dispenser so that I would be able to do it myself if/when it needed replacing again.  It sure looked simple.  I don't know what the cost of the part might be but I suspect it wouldn't be real cheap since it had a tiny circuit board embedded in the plastic assembly.

During the repair the service person remarked that he had never before seen a Bosch with a plastic tub bottom, so I said it was the low end model.  His comment:  around $800?  My reply:  no, about $460.  As the repair commenced I heard him mumble "Oh yeah, I see."  I guess Bosch did cut a few corners here and there but other than some strain relief for a few wires I couldn't imagine what.

The repair went smoothly, but even my wife (who loves to wash dishes) was glad when the dishwasher was back in service.