Home Improvement Product Reviews

Bought Unseen – Got the Simple Quality Product I Desired, June 19, 2011

Firstly, let me say that I bought this as a special order item from the blue box store. My order was something of a gamble due to the relative shortage of online reviews, so I hope that I can be of help to others interested in this product who may be shying away from the same gamble.

Despite the “sight unseen” special order concerns above, my wife and I we were drawn to this model for a couple reasons (in approximately this order):

(1) None of the “in stock” models (at several local retailers) and within our reasonably flexible mid range budget jumped out at us.

(2) The simple & clean look of this appliance was appealing, as was the 5th burner.

(3) After seeing (and barely hearing) my aunt and uncle’s Bosch dishwasher, we definitely wanted one. At the time of our purchase (an entire house worth of appliances), a factory sponsored Bosch promo gave a 10% instant rebate on the purchase of 3+ Bosch appliances. Being fairly resolute on the dishwasher and using the range + matching microwave to round out the package made this price competitive with other generally less expensive brands (the 10% Bosch rebate was a national factory sponsored promotion in addition to the individual retailer’s selling terms).

(4) The Bosch brand isn’t as high end (or as highly priced) as Viking/etc, but does have a solid reputation. However, with fewer and few companies actually making appliances, I didn’t assign much weight to this factor. More on this below.

General Likes:

(1) Works great. It’s simple in design and execution, and lends itself to being used as a tool without annoying distractions. In this day of refrigerators with tablet PCs built into the door, I’m not sure I can offer more significant praise (though this is perhaps more a matter of my simple taste).

(2) The clean, masculine look works well in our simple kitchen. The level and robust cooking grates allow sliding of cookware and have a type of “restaurant” look (if that matters to you).

(3) 5 burners, including an oblong central burner. Due to space/crowding of cookware, I’m not sure how useful this burner is when it comes to heating 5 items at once. However, it does give the ability to use a skillet or long roasting pan under even heat. In fairness, this is more a function of a 30″ range limitation than anything to do with this specific product.

(4) This has to be the quietest convection fan I’ve seen in an oven.

(5) Apart from the 5th burner and convection option, minimal other “features”. I noted this as a “like” simply because this is a nice, but not absurdly expensive, range. I’d rather my money at this price point go toward making a simpler and well performing product.

Negatives:

(1) I’m 95% certain that the Frigidaire Frigidaire Gallery : FGGF3054KF 30 Freestanding Gas Range with 5 Sealed Burners – Stainless Steel is the same chassis with little or no performance improvements. The control panel buttons, size/shape, burner layout, over door vent holes, knob layout, and metal “pan” that houses the burners and cooking grates appear to be the same. Like the Toyota Camry/ES350 scenario, this doesn’t really bother me. In fairness, I actually didn’t notice this (the seemingly identical Frigidaire) until after we bought the Bosch, but I’m not sure it would have affected our buying decision. We like the look of the Bosch better and the overall package deal noted above resulted in us paying barely more than the Frigidaire for this range. I haven’t taken a really close look at the Frigidaire yet, but I’ll update my review if I get a chance to point out any differences. So far it just looks like a styling distinction.

(2) The red display doesn’t look bad, but does look a bit dated. I find it surprising that the cheaper Frigidaire (LGGF3043KF, which I speculate with 95%+ certainty to be the same chassis) has a sleeker looking green display. This red display does match my other Bosch appliances (such as my over the range microwave and dishwasher – though the dishwasher has a display panel that isn’t visible when closed), However, I doubt that it’s likely to match any other modern appliance (i.e. my Samsung fridge that sits a couple feet away has a display that’s a modern blue).

(3) The build quality seems at least as good as anything else I saw at the price point. However, after installing the range (basically sliding it into place and connecting a gas line), I found a stainless screw rolling around in the bottom drawer. I took a cursory look but didn’t see anywhere obvious to reinstall it. For now I left it in the drawer and will get to replacing it later.

At the end of the day, I gave this product 5 stars largely because of how it performs while fulfilling its intended design function. The loose screw…

Read more

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment (1)

BOSCH #HGS5053, November 12, 2010

When we started looking for a replacement for our old gas range, I put in a few hours of research on the Internet and came up with BOSCH. They have a strong reputation for well-built, reliable appliances (and tools), and the customer reviews are for the most part more favorable than for all other brands. There were a few customers who had minor complaints (such as, “the display panel is too sensitive and therefore hard to clean without resetting clock, turning on oven or timer, etc.”) but we have not found any of them to apply to our subsequent experience with our new Bosch range.

We were considering a dual-fuel range with gas cooktop and electric convection oven but chose to go with all gas, with a gas convection oven. We LOVE it! At first we thought that the convection fan didn’t work, but a quick online check with a helpful Sears technician revealed what the manual failed to point out: for this particular model (BOSCH #HGS5053) wait 6 minutes for the fan to start up when preheating in Convection mode.

The range is extremely well made and it looks great, too! The controls are easy to use, and the convection fan is so quiet you won’t know it’s running unless you turn on the oven light and look in through the large glass door panel. Baking is even with no “hot spots” in either Bake or Convection mode. The 5-burner cooktop is nicely designed and easy to keep clean. The oven racks are not as heavy-duty as those on my previous gas range, an ancient Frigidaire, but they’re adequate for the job, and there are more oven rack positions available in these Bosch ranges. It preheats to the set temperature much more quickly than the old Frigidaire did, and maintains it with fewer and shorter burn cycles. We expect to save money on the gas bill with this range.

I would strongly recommend the Bosch HGS5053 if you’re looking to replace your old energy-IN-efficient dinosaur of a gas range!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment (1)

Design Flaw, January 25, 2012

Ranges with the oven vents at the top of the door are a major issue. Any spills from the burners go right between the glass in the door. Impossible to clean without taking the door apart. Bosch and other manufacturers need to redesign this soon.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment