GE Monogram Series

[pwrca]

We are looking at purchasing a GE Monogram duel fuel 36" gas range.  I think it will meet our needs and costs a little less than Thermador or Wolf.  Is there anyone familiar with this stove?  We will likely get the matching French door refridgerator with 2 drawer freezer and dishwasher; which concern me less because I had other GE appliances.  The stove on the other hand is a major investment and anyone who could provide some feedback on the stove would be appreciated. 

This is all the beginning of a kitchen reno, I figure its' best to know which appliances Im getting and building the kitchen around the appliances.

 

[ryan.brosseau1]

 The GE monogram Line is not worth the money. If you really want GE appliances your best bet is to buy their slightly lower end profile line and save your money. The mongram stuff is for the most part rebaged profile grade appliances at higher prices. Their stand alone french door fridge is made by LG and can probably be had at a better price under that label. The range you are interested in is made by DCS/Fisher and Paykel and again .. price withstanding you are most likley better to buy that dierectly from DCS. Also keep in mind that you can expect ot recieve better customer support with a product that you buy directly from the manufacturer as opposed to one that is made by one company and sold by another. DCS and LG are pretty good brands from a repair and customer service stand point. Especially since DCS was bought by fisher and paykel, they have improved ten fold. 
Another aside, keep in mind that specifically with sub zero/wolf you get what you pay for. they have long been the industry standard for customer service, quality and product longevity. I know it is a big price difference but you will get your moneys worth. 

Unless owning appliances that are all the same brand is important to you ,and it may be, there is no real benefit from buying all one brand. You should consider the bosch dishwasher (which is the same as a thermador and siemans) as well it is competivly priced compared to the monogram ans is 10 times better of a machine. Just make sure the bosch you look at if you decide to do so is one that has a 100% steel tank and no plastic at the bottom. The plastic tank units are a new value line that was introduced to compete with mid range maytag and whirlpool level products etc. 

Good luck with your purchase

 

[mikelm]

I'll issue my usual warning about the GE Profile glass-top electric cooktop.  It is for **** for cooking, though it looks really cool.  Don't be seduced as we were. (We can't have gas in the kitchen in the condo, anyway, but this thing was a really big - $1000 -  mistake.)

Doesn't sound like you're headed that way anyhow.

We're very pleased with our Bosch dishwasher- can't hear it running and it cleans the hel! out of the dishes. We got the model where we made the front panel to match the rest of the cabinets.

Mike

 

[cindyloyd]

We've had the Monogram 36" ZGU36N6HSS pro-style cooktop since early 2006, and it's wonderful. We're thinking of building a house and moving, and I will almost certainly get this cooktop again, or probably miss it for the rest of my life. I think it's just about perfect.

Pros in no particular order: We've never had a single problem with it. All burners still working perfectly.
Control knobs on the front instead of on top keeps them clean. They never get spatters, and require very little cleaning.
The beefy continuous grates are perfect. Heavy pans can be slid around without lifting and never tip. I would have had to pay a lot more to get grates as well designed, and I still wouldn't like them as much.
Love the reversible grate feature for woks.
The simmer setting is low enough that you can cook even delicate sauces without scorching.
Everything easily comes apart for cleaning.
I'm still in love with the way it looks, and it still looks as gorgeous as the day it was installed.
A Lodge cast iron rectangular griddle/grill fits perfectly over two burners, as if custom- made, and gives me the griddle and grill capability while still having six burner cooktop.

Hope this helps.

 

[chefedb]

Monogram according to Consumers Report was just top rated over Wolf and Viking. This is a pretty good sign.

As far as refrigerators all of my hvac and frider repair guys are saying LG very good. None of my repair guys rec. Thermidore or Wolf.. but then again the retail Wolf and Commercial Wolf are made by 2 different companies. In my house I have lowly Kenmore.and to my dismay not gas. Most of Florida is now electric.

 

[allen]

mike, i'm thinking of buying the 30''. why dont you like them? what do they do that is bad.

allen

 

[mikelm]

Allen-

What has driven us nuts with for eight years with this GE Profile glass-top is the impossibility of setting a temperature that we can measure or trust.  We repeatedly burn things or overboil, and even buying an infra-red thermometer didn't help.  Every burner seems to - not seems, it absolutely - overshoots the temp setting and heats up far beyond what we think we have set.

It has a ton of what my engineer son says is "thermal inertia" which is a a fancy term for being slow to heat up and extremely slow to cool down. In fact, if a recipe calls for reducing the heat during cooking, we are obliged to move the pot to a cold burner and start it up to a (we hope) lower setting.

I can't have gas in my condo; I've shopped induction cooktops, but their dimensions would require replacing not only half my granite countertop but also the custom cabinets below the cooktop. My other son no longer owns the cabinet shop in a neighboring town that we used to make our cabinets (he's back in Texas, and back in the heavy industrial valve bidness.)

So we're stuck with this miserable thing.

Mike

Several years ago we were so desperate we ordered a service call.. The tech came and spent 45 minutes pushing all the controls and measuring all the responses, and finally said "It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do."  He seemed a little embarrased, and only charged us the minimum service-call charge.

 

[kcz]

FWIW, I had a GE Spectra (their upscale line before Profile) ceramic-top electric range, and I had none of the problems Mike has.  The top heated consistently and evenly.  The oven was the best oven I've ever used.  To my regret, I replaced it with an uber-expensive Electrolux induction range during a recent remodel and I've been kicking myself ever since.  While the induction is nice, the oven thermostat doesn't work worth a da** despite two service visits.  I'd give anything if I could put my old GE back in my kitchen, especially with the holiday baking season around the corner.