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Kenmore Pro Appliance Reviews and Buying Guide:Kenmore appliances have been a staple item in Sears stores for years and until recently the Kenmore Elite series was the top level product available. With the release of the Kenmore Pro Series in 2006, Sears is hoping to reach customers who are looking for high-end kitchen appliances that don't want to spend so much. The Kenmore Pro Series starting selling around September of 2006 in Sears stores and so far the results are good. The added boost for the marketing of this new line of products was furthered along when the Top Chef television show used the Kenmore Pro appliances. My wife and I are not big fans of the show, but we had heard about the new line of Kenmore Pro products while researching double ovens online. We decided to look into this new professional looking line of kitchen appliances at our local Sears store. My wife is a very adventurous home chef and wanted to get rid of our single oven and get double ovens and our old dishwasher sounded like it was on its last wash. The early reviews on the Kenmore Pro Series were mixed a bit, but we decided to go with a solid name in the industry and start upgrading our kitchen with modern appliances.
Kenmore Pro Dishwasher:First off, the stainless steel look of the dishwasher makes a big difference in all modern kitchens. The Stainless Steel Kenmore Pro 24 in. Built-In Dishwasher with Ultra Wash System ($1300) is an Energy Star qualified appliance that will not only wash dishes clean but it will also save you money. The yearly cost (estimated) to run this dishwasher is only $21 if you use a natural gas water heater and $27 with an electric water heater. This does not take into account the water you use or dishwashing soap, but modern dishwashers are more efficient by far than models released even 5 years ago. The stainless steel door and interior tub provide a streamlined look and the loading capacity is amazing with lots of different configurations to choose from. You can put pots and pans up to 13 inches tall in the lower rack and 11 inch tall items in the upper rack. Other features include a split-able basket with 2 lids, utility basket, fold down tines, wire cup shelves, and removable rack inserts. The QuietGuard II sound package makes for silent cleaning action and a quiet kitchen when the dishwasher is on. Our old dishwasher made loud noises and you could not watch tv in the same room without having to turn the television set way up (volume). This Kenmore Pro dishwasher is silent and very efficient. The results so far have been nothing short of spectacular. The TurboZone feature will get all cookware completely clean by using rotating spray jets. The price was a bit expensive compared to other dishwasher models, but my wife wanted a towel rack on the front and this was one of the few models that was stainless steel with a towel rack we could find.Kenmore Pro Double Oven:The most critical appliance in any kitchen these days are double ovens. Although many people rarely find the use for 2 ovens at once, the convection oven feature is what makes these such a hot item in kitchens. The Stainless Steel Kenmore Pro 30 in. Electric Double Wall Oven ($2999) is a beautiful piece appliance that surely make your kitchen look great. We had a single oven by Amana that needed replacing with a built-in microwave above the oven. We had to get the microwave removed and some cabinetry redone to fit the new double oven from Kenmore, but after all the work was done it looked great. The convection oven with 2500 watt convection element and variable speed fan allows for fast cooking results. The 4.2 cubic foot capacity is large enough to cook multiple entrees at the same time. Need help cleaning the oven, just turn on the Self-Cleaning system and let it do the work. There are 13 rack positions offered which allows for the avid home chef lots of options. For those bakers in the crowd, users say you can fit multiple sheets of cookies into the oven at once eliminating the need to do multiple batches. My wife likes to cook a lot and she has found the Kenmore Pro double ovens to be a timesaver and the food has turned out fabulous. Now we can entertain at our house and be proud of our ovens. Our ovens were an excellent bargain since we used our Sears card for a 10% discount and then there was a promotion for a 10% rebate from Kenmore on the Pro Series. Look for those types of discounts to save at least 15% or more.Refrigerator:We plan on getting the side by side standard depth Kenmore Pro refrigerator when we redo the cooktop and countertops in our kitchen. The Kenmore Pro refrigerators are offered in counter depth and standard depth styling so all homeowners will be happy. We want the Kenmore Pro fridge so that our kitchen will match, although the ratings for the stainless steel refrigerator are not as high as we would like to see. Some users say the noise level is too high when it is running. Consumer Reports still ranks Kenmore (Sears) very high in terms of durability, reliability, and quality. The refrigerators from Kenmore Pro start at about $2700 and go up depending on the style and trim kits you need to get a seemless look. You can go online to read reviews from Sears customers at Sears.com.
Gas/Electric Cooktops and Ranges:Ideally you can upgrade your entire kitchen appliances at once, but in our case we weren't sure if wanted to mix and match the eventual appliance we would put into the kitchen. So far we have the Kenmore Pro dishwasher and double oven, but we will make our final decision on the gas cooktops when we redo the countertops so that everything fits nicely. Kenmore offers a 36" slide-in cooktop for both gas and electric and a drop-in model as well. The 30" dual fuel range sells for $3700 and is a beautiful piece, but with double ovens we will probably go with the drop-in gas cooktop. One thing that many reviewers mention is that they prefer shopping through a major retailer like Sears so that they get better customer service than with smaller appliance stores. I have to say my experience with Sears with easy and the installation by their contractors went smoothly. We are hoping for the same if we decide to order the cooktop and refrigerator to complete out set of Kenmore Pro appliances.Kenmore Pro Appliance Pricing:Retail prices vary a bit from store to store and rebates are often available, but we have listed the standard prices below.
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