Fisher & Paykel Izona RX216DT7X2 21.6 cu. ft. Side by Side Refrigerator

• 21.6 cu. ft. storage capacity
• Humidity crisper bin
• Beverage chiller
• Vegetable & meat drawers

We purchased this refrigerator from a Menard's 70 miles north of our hometown. At the time we weren't really looking for a refrigerator, but the one we had was very small and not that functional.

We saw this refrigerator on a "special buy" and bought it on the spot! We purchased it for $899!!!

This is a sleek beautiful machine. There is a compartment on the door with its own sliding doors for milk, juice, etc, that has direct airflow from the freezer! It makes those drinks so cold and yummy! There are adjustable glass shelves that make it very easy to keep clean, one small drawer, one large drawer, and one drawer with an angled bottom that sits over the compressor.

On the freezer side, there are several wire shelves but, there are also deep pull out baskets! The baskets are so much easier to use than stacking items up in a freezer full ofshelves and having to unpack an entire shelf to get to the back item!

I also want to point out that there are two lights on the fridge side and a the freezer side it lit as well. I have never had a fridge, either top feezer, or side by side that has a lit freezer!!!

There are digital controls, a filter order and filter replace indicator and a door open alarm.

I love this fridge, it's huge, but it looks so nice in our small kitchen!

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Fisher and Paykel Active Smart E522BRXFD2

• ActiveSmart(TM) system
• Humidity Control System
• Adjustable Glass shelves
• Full Extension Runners
• Flat door design

This refrigerator is really slick looking, and that's just the beginning. It's roomy for a relatively small fridge, with an excellent layout. Love the freezer on the bottom with three pullouts, and the counter depth, which ensures things don't get lost in the back. It was not more expensive than the average fridge these days, but the look is so different. Instead of those overblown, puffy, textured plastic semi-cheesy common fridges, this has clean lines, brushed stainless, energy efficiency, and a utilitarian understated elegance. We've had it for about a month and so far, no complaints. I'm so glad we opted for this one. Far and away a superior appliance.

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Simple and elegant design makes this a perfect choice for someone looking for a fridge that fits in a small space. The freezer has more functional space than many larger units. All the glass shelves come out easily for cleaning/positioning. The controls are a no brainer to use. This unit is pricey compared to some, but you do get what you pay for---obvious quality.

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Whirlpool 8212638RP 6-Foot Industrial Braided Fill Hose with 90 Degree Elbow, 2-Pack

• Braided nylon-shielded hose performs better than stainless steel
• 90 degree elbow saves space and helps prevent kinking
• Dependable crimp is industry's most reliable against leakage
• Built-in washer and hose made of long-lasting EPDM rubber
• Fusion-resistant coupler and non-conductive surface

The hoses that came with my washer were marked "replace every 5 years". While few probably pay attention to such things, I know *far* to many who have had hoses leak, or worse, burst when they're not home and cause huge problems. Washing machines used to almost always be in basements, garages, etc. where a water leak might be onto concrete. That can still cause lots of damage to whatever is sitting on the concrete but the house itself is less likely to suffer serious damage.

But the trend in new homes is to put the laundry room near the bedrooms so it's often on the main floor or even upstairs. How much damage do you think might be caused if a hose bursts? It can easily exceed $100,000 in some houses. And the "pan" they sometimes sit under the washer on an upper floor won't catch more than a slow drip in just the right spot. When hoses fail they typically spray water several feet or more in random directions.

Long story short, it's cheap insurance to replace the hoses. And these braided hoses with right angle fittings are a significant upgrade over the plain ones that come with most washers. The right angle helps keep the hose from being kinked (which can make it fail) and reduces the stress on the hose if it's up against a wall (as most are) as the washer vibrates during the spin cycle.

The stainless hoses look nice but are kind of a gimmick in my opinion. The metal braid is just a sleeve over a plain rubber hose and water runs right through it. While it might help keep the hose from bulging and bursting under high pressure, that's not how hoses usually fail. Typically the rubber gets *harder* as it gets older and eventually starts to fatigue or even crack. They don't get softer and bulge out. So a stainless steel hose will probably leak just as easily as a cheap one.

These hoses, however, are different. The braided material is actually PART OF THE HOSE not just a sleeve slipped over the outside. So they're probably quite a bit stronger and less prone to failure than plain hoses. It's like the difference between a $5 garden hose and a $30 garden hose. The more expensive hose has a braided layer bonded into it that greatly prolongs its life.

The bottom line: These hoses are cheap insurance. They also come in a straight (vs 90 degree right angle) version.

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I have been a fan of the stainless external braid hoses for various plumbing hookups, but the price/length value that this set represented was compelling.

There's a lot of FUD about the stainless external braid being "just a simple hose inside a braided shell", but the fact is that the braid provides both abrasion protection and mechanical support for the internal tubing, and I have sections of it that have been in service under pressure for over 20 years without a failure -and on hot water. I have never had any stainless-braided hose fail in service. I can't say the same for rigid PVC or CPVC plumbing, or even copper pipe.

I have no reason to expect this set to be superior to the braided stainless variety, and it certainly doesn't look as good.

But this set is definitely less expensive than a comparable length stainless-braided set, and I like the right-angle connectors on one end. The build quality appears excellent, and both ends were drip-free with moderate hand-tightening, indicating good mechanical tolerances and quality washers.

The one missing feature is a marker to distinguish the hot and cold lines. I marked the metal portions of one hose with red paint to indicate the hot circuit, but there really should have been a colored plastic sleeve or clip or tag or _something_.The lack of this feature (which is present in other washer hookup sets on Amazon) cost this set a star.

Read Best Reviews of Whirlpool 8212638RP 6-Foot Industrial Braided Fill Hose with 90 Degree Elbow, 2-Pack Here

These hoses are very light, yet they appear to be very sturdy. The 90 degree elbow gives me another two inches of clearance which I needed after replacing my old washing machine.

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I got these after I noticed a leak in the ones I had. They were really easy to install and have no leaks now!

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I bought this because it has larger internal diameter than usual hose (for faster filling) and for the whirlpool name.I always look for metal outside for the abrasion protection, but the description sounded like the outside wrap was something like kevlar.It is not.The nylon jacket looks rather cheap.I've seen high grade nylon wraps and they look shiny and tight.The wrap on this is dull and loose. I suspect the item description is exaggerated. I am going back to metal.

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VinoView Silent 35 Bottle Wine Display Refrigerator

• Concave Door for Upright Storage
• Silent Cooling Technology
• Temperature range: 54-66F
• Digital Controls w/temperature display
• 35 Bottle Capacity

I purchased this over two weeks ago and the set up was very easy. It doesn't make much noise at all since it is thermo electric. It also doesn't produce that much heat, although I have kept it in my living room which has a very high ceiling and it takes a lot to heat up that room.

I installed it and powered it on and immediately turned off the lights. They look like a airport runway indeed!

It took less than two hours for the temperature to reach 58 degrees after loading the bottles for the first time. The ambient temperature these days is about 72 or so.

I have to yet experiment with the temperature control etc. but it seems to keep the wines at the perfect temperature and drinking wine is fun again.

The only problem I have with this cooler is the racks and how tough it is to squeeze in bottles. Also the fan at the back makes some bottles on the top three racks to stick out a little bit so that the horizontal space for three bottles (you see in the picture here) is almost unusable. So I am not able to put 35 bottles in there, but that is okay. Also being able to keep opened bottles vertically is a big plus.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with this purchase.

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I bought this wine cooler a couple of years ago, mainly because of its ability to store an opened bottle upright.This feature is about the only positive quality of this refrigerator.It's very noisy and seems to be running most of the time.Also, the temperature has never gotten below the low 60s.The display reads that the temperature is 56 degrees, but other thermometers do not agree with that.Don't waste your money.We have two wine coolers right next to this one that are quiet, maintain 55 degrees, cost less than this one, and hold more bottles.

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Buy this with the understanding that it's disposable, because when it goes, which mine did after four years, Wine Enthusiast told me that the parts are no longer manufcatured.They told me to call an on-line parts "remanufacturer", dismantle my refrigerator, send them my existing parts, wait several months, pay > $80 plus shipping, and reassemble my wine refrigerator, and I'd have a one year warranty on the replacement part. Or they'd be happy to sell you a new one.

My GE wine refrigerator is still plugging along after six years.You get what you pay for.

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Updated review after 18 months ownership and still very satisfied upgraded to 5 stars.

It is quiet, but not completely silent as suggested by the name of the product.I have it in my living room and the slight hum is not bothersome at all and definitely much quieter than a regular refrigerator.Upon first use, it cooled very quickly, probably too quickly for the good of my wine and so I'd recommend to others to set the target temp high at first and then gradually lower it until you get to the desired temperature.

So far as storage capacity goes it is quite remarkable.Fitting 35 bottles in such a smaller cooler is amazing.However, getting all 35 in does take a bit of experimenting.While at first glance it may appear that most wine bottles are the same shape you quickly learn with this cooler that they are not.It is designed for standard Bordeaux size bottles but you may find that you have a couple that are not that standard shape.If so, it takes a bit of experimenting to get the best layout to maximize storage.The doors and the horizontal hangers are the best place for non standard.If you put the non standard bottles on the racks it is very difficult to remove them without scraping some of the label off unless remove the shelf above it first.I decided to leave the racks in to maximize storage.While I did not experience the issue of the fan getting in the way as reported by another reviewer, I can definitely see how it would happen depending upon the shape of your bottles.However, for standard Bordeaux size bottles there is no problem at all.Also, if you have wine shipped to you or subscribe to a wine club you are in luck as they have the same challenge shipping non standard size bottles so they will almost certainly only ship Bordeaux.

I have owned it for some time now and have learned how to fill it without a problem.I can noweasily get full storage and no scraped labels.

I upgraded my review to 5 stars from my prior 4 stars as I'm now used to fitting bottles in it and now never have a problem filling it.I also learned to really like the fact that you can store open bottles vertically in the door. Open bottles once vacuum pumped last well overnight or a bit longer depending upon how long you left the bottle open before pumping it.

So far as temperature goes, it keeps a steady temp.I picked up a cheap thermometer and put it in the refrigerator just to double check the temperature.It does a good job.

Overall, this is a very good wine cooler, with excellent storage for the size, it quiet, good price and would recommend to others.The one concern I had about non standard bottles goes away once you have packed it a few times and get used to how to do it and the vast majority of wine bottles are Bordeaux size anyway and so there no problem with those.

I purchased a VinoView 35* Bottle Wine Display Refrigerator from Wine Enthusiast almost 5 years ago.

The VinoView unit cannot be placed in an enclosure, because it vents in the back, so it is free standing in my family room. It is quiet, although not silent, but certainly much quieter than my conventional compressor equipped under-counter wine refrigerator of approximately the same size. It also uses less energy than the conventional wine refrigerator, although it doesn't have quite as much cooling capacity. However, it has been able to maintain an interior temperature of about 58 60°F most of the time.

The claimed capacity is 35 bottles, that is rather optimistic. The rack space is tight, and slightly oversize or heavier bottles do not fit well. Having the ability to store opened bottles upright in the door is convenient.

The interior lighting was an interesting novelty at first: it has lights around the door, and lights inside the cabinet. After a while, I turned them off.

Unfortunately, the unit died recently. I disconnected it to clean it and when I reconnected it, it didn't work. So far, I haven't been able to find anyone to repair it. So I have spent $400 on an appliance that lasted not quite 5 years.

***update***

The wine refrigerator had stopped working last month after I unplugged it and moved it around in order to clean around and behind it -clearly, it was my wife's fault for making me clean my family room the day before our SuperBowl party :-). When I plugged it back in, a fuse on the controller board blew. I tried replacing the fuse, but the replacement blew as well, so I figured that there was a short somewhere that was triggered by moving the unit around.

A few days later, I contacted Wine Enthusiast customer service. After a lengthy conversion, during which he informed me that the expected lifetime of these types of thermoelectric refrigerators is only about 3-5 years, I decided to throw good money after bad, so I elected to purchase a replacement logic board for $50 (the customer service agent comped the shipping charge). Installing the new board was fairly simple (the old board had two soldered connections and several plug in connectors; the new board replaced the soldered connection with a quick disconnect that I crimped on after desoldering the wires from the old board). Now my VinoView wine refrigerator is working again.

I knew that I was taking a gamble in sinking another $50 into this unit to try to get it working; while it seems to have paid off, at least for now,there's no telling how long it will continue to run. If it works for another year, it will have been worth the repair cost, but either way I'm not going to invest any more time or money into it.

I am rather disappointed that the customer service agent at Wine Enthusiast (who was very polite and helpful) informed me about the limited expected operational lifetime of this unit only after I had contacted them with a problem. When I originally bought it, some 5 years ago, there was no mention of this limitation, either in the catalog or on their website. I'm quite sure that if I had been told of this prior to my purchase, I would not have bought it.expect that most other people would do the same.

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Selected Superc 2.5cf Fridge Black OB By Avanti

• Avanti SHP2501B Freestanding Refrigerator.
• Total Capacity:2.50 ft³. Cooling Type:Auto-defrost.
• Number of Doors/Drawers:1.
• Door Type:Reversible. Sliding Door:No.
• Design:Freestanding. Input Voltage:110 V AC.

We moved in August and needed a new frige.I decided to buy this model so that I had something immediately on-hand. The idea was to upgrade to my dream frige once we were settled in.This Avanti has been working so well, I'm now holding off until it breaks.Yeah, I have to grocery shop more than once a week now but this baby holds all of our basics and is actually saving us grocery money.

The door alone holds 2 half gallon cartons of milk on the bottom rack and yogurt on the top rack.That leaves a lot of room for cheese, margarine, eggs, meat and leftovers.

The downside:

1) When I first plugged it in, it took at least 24 hours before the temperature was cool enough to stop me from wondering if it was broken.

2)There is no freezer so I have to buy frozen items the day I need them and ice cream and pop sicles are no longer items in our household.

3)I don't know if it's from my kids not shutting the door all the way or an internal malfunction but there is sometimes a small pool of liquid on the bottom shelf.There is a crease/indentation there so the fluid is contained. I can't tell if it's defrosting becuase of my kids or if this is done in self maintenance. It really sets off my OCD though.

The upside:

1) I spent $79 (locally) for this instead of over $1200 for the really fancy appliance that I really wanted.

2)We don't waste as much food.

3)I realized that I bought way too many condiments in the past that just never get used.Why did I buy them?

4)I used to buy quite a bit of frozen veggies. I've switched to 100% fresh, local varieties from the farmer's market.We're healthier as a result.

5)It's quieter than my former frige.

6)It still works so I feel like I've gotten my money's worth.

Bottom line: This is a good investment at the right price!!

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Retro Series Microwave Oven

I bought this with only one review, so I was hesitant to purchase it. There description was is not informative, but I liked the look of the microwave and no other microwave has real great reviews, so I gave it a try.

I like it. It has a great user interface no huge keypad but very well thought out knob and a couple of buttons. Turn the knob left and one can choose the set functions; popcorn, plate, spud, etc. Turn the knob right and choose length of time. Tap the knob and voila, the microwave runs. The buttons on the bottom are for stop/cancel, setting 30 second intervals, power level (1-10) and setting the clock. It has a turntable (which I worried about). All in all I really like this microwave. It looks great on my counter top and works well. What more could one ask for?

I'll write more if it doesn't work for long, but based on the sturdiness of the door and quality of design, I expect it to last.

We loved the look of this microwave and the size is perfect for our needs. However, it didn't work.It would run for a second or two and then shut off.

Neither the manual, nor the website, have troubleshooting information.We tried numerous times to contact the manufacturer's customer service line and could never get anyone to answer the phone.Emails went unanswered.We finally gave up and returned the product for a refund.Such a shame.

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Horrible product. I orginially bought it because I thought it would be super cute in my kitchen and thought, "It's just a microwave of course it's going to work". No. Day one we heated a plate of leftovers and the top of the microwave got so hot you couldn't even touch it. After two minutes it automatically shut down completely. We unplugged it, waited a few minutes and plugged it back in...nothing. Day two, we used it to warm my tea up (2 minutes) and it shut down after a minute into it. Then it never worked again. It's being returned back as we speak.

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I very much wanted to enjoy this microwave due to its appearance. Looked darling in my kitchen! Alas, it does not function past three minutes. That's right. Try to cook a microwave meal in it for more than three minutes and poof it mysteriously shuts itself off and will not start again for several minutes. Trying to fool it by cooking for 2 minutes, followed by another 2 minutes does not work, either.

Perhaps I just got a lemon (it is red, though) and it shuts itself off because it was poorly made. Not going to take a chance with another one, though. I returned it just in the nick of time and will look for a better brand now.

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Love the look of this micro, it looks as cool in person as it does online.It's sturdy, the door closes soundly, and I really liked the ease of the dials.It proves that simple can still be functional.

I did send this microwave back for a refund, though, the day after it arrived.The microwave is EXTREMELY loud, my kid came from the next room to see what the commotion was.It also shook/vibrated so hard that it shook the entire counter, we watched as it shook a small bottle across and off the edge of the counter.

It reminded me of the microwave we had in my parent's house when I was a teen, in the 1980's, with the noise level and the shaking/vibrating.Huge Bummer!

ETA 1/26/2012Unless you've designed this machine, or own stock in the company, I sincerely hope you'll do your best to not take my review personally.Odds are I got a defective machine, but either way, there's no need to take my impersonal review of an inanimate object and start to call names, I'm reviewing the micro, not you, kind and gentle readers.

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SquareTrade 3-Year Appliance Protection Plan ($150-175)

Square Trade replies speedily to any communication and gives me the peace of mind about buying expensive things over the Internet. Worth it Really.

We have had several Square Trade Warranty's and have been happy with each of them. I recommend them to anyone base on our experiences.A.R.

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I have not had to cash in on a warranty yet...but what I can say

for now is they are very professional and helpful when I called

their office.I will certainly be using them again.

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I purchased the extended warranty for a product I was not 1005 sold on, mainly for peace of mind.Square Trade set an email to me to set up the warranty before the product arrived.Once I received the product I followed the very simple instructions, emailed my receipt and that was it.I hope to never have to use the warranty, but nice to know it's there.

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Purchased the warranty to protect a new single cup coffee maker. My Keurig died after 18 months :(. I dont want to pay another 175.00 to replace it. So knowing the coffee maker may not last I purchased the warranty. the process of getting my item covered was easy amd fast. Even emailed my reciept to them and they keep track of it!

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4396547-WSW-1 Refrigerator Replacement Filter by Water Sentinel

• Includes 1 Water Filter
• Replace every 6 months for best performance

Its a factory water filter.It was shipped on time and fit just fine, There is not much else that I can say.

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It was an exact fit, no problems at all. I will definatly buy this product again. It has exceeded my expextations.

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Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Stainless/Black

I bought this coffeemaker after returning my Krups KM7000.Overall, I have been pleased with this model, save for a few quirks.The bottom line is that it makes OUTSTANDING, HOT coffee with great convenience in a design that appears very durable.I have NOT had any problems with getting the pieces together and I do not find it complicated on a day-to-day basis whatsoever.

PROS:

-Coffee is full-bodied and flavorful.I use the 4-cup setting with about 3 cups of water and the strength set to strong.This uses the aroma feature, and the coffee is perfect.

-Temperature is perfect, the hottest I've tasted from a model like this.The base WARMS THE THERMAL CARAFE when the machine goes on, then goes off when the brew is complete.This may theoretically be eliminating the effect of the cooling of hot coffee by a stone-cold carafe.On the other hand, the carafe is highly insulated and it may be doing nothing.The bottom line is that the temperature is perfect, the coffee is still hot even after adding cold milk.The coffee remains hot for quite a while in the thermal carafe.

-Design is quite niceit is self contained as opposed to other mill & brew models that have parts that swing around.The design feels very robust, there are no wimpy plastic bits.There is a piece that fits over the grind basket that has a gear which appears to rotate, likely to keep steam out of the grinder.

-It could not be easier to use on a daily basis all I do is put in THE RIGHT amount of water, put the cover on top of the brew basket, and press program (I have it programmed for the same time every day).After it brews and I pour the coffee, I swing out the basket, pour out the grinds & rinse the basket, rinse the carafe, and I'm ready to go.

-cleaning is simple; I notice others complain but I haven't had any problems.See above for my daily routine; I've been using the brush weekly on the grind spout, it takes two minutes and is not messy.

-The brushed chrome looks great on the counter.

-3 year warranty is reassuring

CONS:

-The grind appears to be too coarse.Other models have a grind control to change the coarseness of the coffee, this one does not.This has improved a little after a few weeks of use, but not completely.Also, I've noticed that (through laws of physics) the coarsest part of the grind stays on top, then the finer grounds work their way to the bottom.This is probably wasting a bit of coffee, but once I worked out how much water to use it doesn't affect the strength.Overall I have not noticed that I am going through coffee faster than before, so I think some of the "coffee wasting" reviews may be somewhat overstated.On first glance it does appear to use a lot of coffee when you are pouring out the grounds, but looking at how many bags I'm going through it doesn't appear much different.

-The mechanism to pour coffee from the carafe is not perfect; it works ok when pouring out from a mostly full carafe, but to get the last cup or two from the bottom I have to take the top off.If I don't it drips all over the counter.Taking the top off I can pour it without any mess.

-The water indicator level is on the right side near the back.If you are putting it against a wall on the left it will be fine, but on my counter it needs to be against a wall on the right, so if I need to look at the water level I need to pull the coffeemaker away from the wall.To get around this I have figured exactly how much water to put in from a measuring cup.

THE BOTTOM LINE (again):

The coffee is excellent, and HOT.The design is marvelous.On a day-to-day basis it is extremely easy to use and convenient.The grind is a bit too coarse, but I don't seem to be going through coffee much faster than before, so this may be a little bit of an illusion.YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ADJUST THE STRENGTH OF YOUR COFFEE USING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER.I can strongly recommend this coffeemaker if you want hot, convenient, fresh-ground coffee every day.Enjoy!

I chose this grind and brew after reading all of the reviews for this and similar machines. Frankly, I am surprised by the negative comments. This is an easy to use machine once it is set up properly (the bean hopper takes a little of effort to snap in). The coffee tastes great and the parts are very easy to clean quickly. While the instruction book is not clear, Cuisinart was very helpful on the phone. The machine does not know how much water you put in, so if you set it to grind coffee for 6 cups and you have 8 cups of water in it, it will process all 8 cups of water. Other than this small quirk, the machine is a small wonder and I do not feel compelled to go out for coffee in the morning. The thermos carafe will keep the coffee quite warm for a few hours, even when the carafe is not warmed up with hot water. Wondering why it took me so long to go ahead and buy this machine. This is the best model; my neighbor has the first generation/second generation machine which is hard to clean and has a large footprint. Save your money and buy this model!

Now that I have had the machine for a month and a half: It requires some cleaning to get the fine grounds that compress and stop the grinder and ground coffee to get into the filter for brewing. I use a bamboo chopstick and a skewer to break up the compressed fine grounds that impede the machine from working properly. (Unplug the machine and put it over the sink area). I also use compressed air to blow out the fine ground particles. Still, this is a small maintenance to allow for great coffee in the AM.

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This unit wastes beans.

According to the user manual, if you fill the coffee bean hopper with1/2 lb of coffee, you can expect "at least" two 12 cup brews.I thought this was a bit conservative but it was confirmed when I made the first pot of coffee.I set the machine for 12 cups and watched as almost half of the beans disappeared on the first pot.

I figure it uses almost 1/4 lb of beans to brew a full pot (12 cups of 5 oz coffee).This is about double what would be used if you followed the directions when using a manual grinder (one scoop of beans per cup using the scoop that comes with this coffee maker).

I think Cusinart kept the grind at very coarse level to ensure proper grind flow in the machine.To compensate, they increased the amount of coffee ground.Thus it uses about 4 oz of beans versus 2.5 oz of beans per 10-12 cup pot.It doesn't sound like much but works out to 60% extra per pot.

I've owned the Cuisinart DGB-600BC Grind and Brew Coffeemaker and Melitta Mill & Brew Coffee Maker so this is my third unit brew and grind unit.The two previous units has manual bean fill and comparatively good control on the grind.This unit always grinds very very coarse.

Pro: Large Bean Hopper

Easy to clean

Fill level on side (DGB-600BC did not)

Gold filter basket included

3 Year Warranty

Simple operation (for a grind & brew machine)

Seems well constructed

Cons:Grind is always very course

Uses twice as much beans

Carafe pours slow and tends to drip

The coffee tastes OK its not as good as what you can get with a manual grind/brew but consistent with the other Mill & Brew machines I've had.It is well built and I think the 3 year warranty is key because our other Cuisinart grinder motor lasted about 18 months, but its going back because I make about 2 pots/day and this translates into a couple hundred dollars year.Going to try the Capresso 455 or 454.

Update

I've got the Capresso 454 and love it.It can grind from super fine up to coarse and makes a great cup of coffee.

Read Best Reviews of Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Stainless/Black Here

This is a GREAT coffee maker.The primary objections in other reviews I saw were 1) Weak coffee I do not understand this as you can adjust both the strength of the brew as well as the quantity of beans ground (e.g. grind enough beans for 10 cups but only put in 8 cups of water).We have actually had to reduce the strength settings as the strong setting was too rich for my wife ; 2) hard to pour this is somewhat true as the opening on the carafe is very small (to preserve heat), but twisting the top open just slightly solves that problem; 3) coffee not hot enough it is not as hot as what you would get at a specialty coffee shop but it is still hot enough to make very good coffee.We always rinse the carafe and our cups with hot water before we start and that seems to help a lot;We do find that we need to microwave the coffee in the cup if it has been in the carafe for about an hour or more 4) difficult to program or set up it does require being put together properly and it is somewhat more complex than the traditional drip coffee maker, but the setup requires about 20 seconds to master.We leave the settings alone and just pour in water and add beans daily so once it is set up, it is a "no brainer".We have never had problems with grinds being spilled and I suspect that whoever did either had a defective unit, or did not put the basket into the unit properly.My wife forgot to put the filter basket into the unit one time -and it would not grind the beans until she did -great feature.

The combination of a burr grinder, 12-cup capacity, insulated pot (no hot plate to burn the coffee), adjustable coffee strength, and large bean reservoir with ability to specify the number of cups being brewed (no need to measure beans every time you brew) make this a really great coffeemaker.

If your expectations are for a super-hot cup of coffee then you will be disappointed.If you just want an easy-to-use coffee maker that allows you to adjust the coffee strength to your preference (including very strong), then this is a great unit.

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We are very happy with this coffee maker.The things that are not good are that the thermal carafe pours out a very weird thin stream of coffee which takes to long to fill a cup and it is awkward to comepletly emtpy it. It does leave some grindings on the lid but that is not a total problem.The coffee is not as hot because it goes into the cool carafe and that cools it down.

So the point of a thermal carafe is now a drawback.I like my coffee hot so its a draw back for me.Other than that it all works well, stays clean, you do not have to clean the grinder compartment eveyr time you use it.The compartment does not get any steam it in it like the previous one did.We bought ours from Williams Sononma and are trying it out.I think we will keep it but we are still not 100% sure.It makes a good cup of coffee and the grinder works great and the extra beans it holds is a big plus.

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Vinotemp VT-50SBW 50-Bottle Wine Cooler with Digital Display

• Wine cooler stores up to 50 standard-size bottles of wine
• Dual-paned glass door; slide-out metal-and-wood shelves
• Digital display with adjustable temperature settings; interior light
• Front-venting exhaust; built-in or freestanding option
• Measures 23 by 24 by 34-1/2 inches

Was pleased to find this product at Costco for just over $500; seemed a good value. Has been much noisier than expected. And now after having it for only 15 months, without moving it, it has simply stopped cooling though the compressor runs non-stop. The only Vinotemp authorized technician in the entire Houston area basically said it would cost $200-300 to repair, with no guarantee that something else would not go wrong.He stated that all of these coolers require some maintenance or repair every 2-3 years.

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I had shopped around for a decent wine cooler.Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sam's, online, you name it.I did not want to spend $1000.00 on a 50 bottle cooler, but all of the products at the aforementioned places were cheaply made.Not all had wire racks and the ones that did slid out like an oven shelf.All of the wood grain trim items had plastic shelves.This item has wire racks that slide out on fully extendable ball-bearing glides with real wood facing.I think it will hold a full 50 bottles too.It is slightly noisy especially compared to my GE Profile kitchen appliances.Probably as loud as a bathroom vent.Also, keep in mind it is single zone.I think it is overpriced at $1000.00 because I was able to find this product at my Costco Warehouse for less than $500.00.$500.00 it is a steal, $700.00 good buy, $1000.00 plus shipping I would keep looking.

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I have a VT-60 which I spent almost $700 for and which died within 2 years.There were no authorized repair places within 120 miles for years 3 and 4.Finally, one showed up within 70 miles.I took my wine cooler there and they didn't even know what a Vinotemp wine refrigerator was.Anyway, they told me I had to order a relay switch in order for them to determine what was wrong with the refrigerator.I have been waiting about 3 months for the relay switch and Vinotemp moved the estimated ship date of the part another 2 weeks again.The customer service representative that I spoke to about this new delay was marginally rude.I purchased a small "normal" refrigerator for my game room for less than $200 and it has run well for almost 4 years.There is something incredibly wrong with the Vinotemp business model which apparently does not include a quality system nor inventory control.

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I too bought this model at Costco for 500. Not only was it really loud (I'm glad it was not located in my kitchen) but the compressor DIED after less than 3 years. The technician that came said labor by itself would be $300 and the cost of the compressor would make it more expensive than buy a new one!!! I am very dissatisfied with Vinotemp and other reviews show I am not the only one. I DO NOT recommend to buy any model from them, unless you want to buy a new wine cellar every 3 years...

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I have this same model and have never had a problem with it.I was shocked to hear all the horror stories about the other units. I do agree that as a company VinoTemp should do something about the problem.These are expensive units and no one has money to waste!Mine has been running going on 4 years, so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

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