My bride bought one in 2006. One minor problem in the computer? In 2008. Since then all ok. Does everything it's supposed to and is very quiet.

As to the smell: Bosch has a "Rinse and Hold" cycle. Use it.

We got one about 2 years ago and it has been fine.

The wife thinks the regular wash cycle is too long (over 2 hours), so she uses the express cycle (about 1 hour). The dishes come out just as clean.

It is super quiet. You only know it's running when you see the red "puddle" light on the floor.

quote:

Originally posted by KDR:

2) It loves to tell you when it's done with the most annoying beep that won't shut up until you open the door.

Not ours. The "finished" beep is pretty quiet and only repeats twice.

Got one open box at Best Buy. Retail was $900 I think I paid 450. 500 series. Have been nothing but pleased with it, and would buy another in a heartbeat. Super quiet and nice features, such as the 'third rack' up top for silverware.

Some things I learned: they recommend the Finish soap tablets, and I've been using those all along with no issues. They work very well. However, they actually tend to work better if you leave a little food residue on the stuff so that the enzymes have something to work on. No BS, I read it on a Bosch forum and thought it was insane, but it's actually true.

Additionally, they recommend using Jet Dry rinse aid, DO NOT skip this! It's critical to the quality of the wash.

As mentioned, they all have a screen pre-filter on the base of the tub that then goes down through a secondary filter tube with metal mesh on it. I tend to pull it out and clean it probably once a month, but if it starts to smell a bit I'll pull it sooner. We run that dishwasher probably 4 times a week and it doesn't build up fast.

They take longer to run than the older ones (2.5 hours for the normal wash) but can handle a significant load of dishes and do a great job on it.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:

quote:

Originally posted by KDR:

2) It loves to tell you when it's done with the most annoying beep that won't shut up until you open the door.

Not ours. The "finished" beep is pretty quiet and only repeats twice.

Mine beeps about 10 times in about 30 seconds when it's finished, then 5 times every 5 or 10 min after until you open the door. It does stop eventually, but it takes a long time.

Word to the wise: you must have at least a 24" opening to install a Bosch dishwasher. There is no wiggle room on this. Ask me how I know.

I just had a Kitchenaid Architect installed instead. So far so good. You have to put your ear by it to tell if it's on.

quote:

Originally posted by Milliron:
Word to the wise: you must have at least a 24" opening to install a Bosch dishwasher. There is no wiggle room on this. Ask me how I know.

I just had a Kitchenaid Architect installed instead. So far so good. You have to put your ear by it to tell if it's on.

As I understand, that's the reason Bosch had to put the 'puddle' light on their top control machines. You don't have a display so they had to put the light shining on the ground to let you know it's running.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Several people have mentioned no heat dry. Is this a big deal?

In all the years that I have had dishwashers, probably forty years or more, I have always used the "no heat" dry setting. When the washer cycle is finished I just open the door and let the dishes finish air-drying. Have I been doing it wrong?

Yeah that's exactly how I do it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Several people have mentioned no heat dry. Is this a big deal?

In all the years that I have had dishwashers, probably forty years or more, I have always used the "no heat" dry setting. When the washer cycle is finished I just open the door and let the dishes finish air-drying. Have I been doing it wrong?

The Bosch uses heat, just not an element in the bottom after the wash cycle like a conventional dishwasher. As water is drawn through one of the pumps, it goes through a tube that heats the water to 161 F. So, the glasses, dishes, and pans get pretty hot. After the wash cycle, the moisture on the hot dishes evaporates then condenses on the relatively cooler stainless walls. This process doesn't work very well on any plastic, silicone or rubber items, so they don't dry as well.

As for air drying, so long as the water in your dishwasher gets hot enough while washing, air drying is fine as long as they are, in fact, completely dry when you put them away.

We bought the Bosch 7 years ago when we built this house. Everything said above is true. Its been great for us, and if it died tomorrow, we'd just get another. I was a little concerned with our mix and match selections, but no one vendor seemed to have each appliance that was even good. So we bought what she wanted.

I checked out consumer reports and out of the 11 highest ranking reccomended dishwashers, 9 were Kitchen Aid.

Two Bosch, but were variations of the asme model, the Bosch Ascenta SHX3AR7[5]UC. Score of 81 (max was 85).

Most Bosch score well around 80.

According to the reviews the 300 series are nosiy and some of them dont dry well.

I can send you the buying guide or more info on specific Bosch models from CR if you email me.

JB

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
As to the smell: Bosch has a "Rinse and Hold" cycle. Use it.

They DO stink when you do not use this feature.
Also They are smaller interiors than others so capacity is something to consider.