Bosch vs GE Cafe is a comparison between two similar multi national companies producing very different dishwashers at different prices. We will look at the two styles and directly compare at the end.
Bosch
Bosch is a European designed dishwasher. It uses a condensation drying system that retains heat produced during the wash cycle. When warm, moist air encounters the cooler stainless interior walls, the moisture cools, condenses and runs down into the bottom of the dishwasher. By not using heating elements, Bosch is able to manufacture a more efficient product.
Bosch also uses a filtering system to catch any larger food particles, should you be one of the few people not rinsing the dishes before washing. This reduces the decibel level of the dishwasher to as low as an unbelievably quiet 39 dBA (average dishwasher is 50-55). The racking system has been redesigned to rival the size of its American counterparts. These dishwashers can be installed flush with your cabinets, even with the larger racks. Flush becomes important in paneled installations.
GE Café
GE Café is an American designed dishwasher. It uses a heated calrod element drying system located at the bottom of the dishwasher to aid drying. GE Café also incorporates a hard food disposer at the bottom of the dishwasher to help break down any large food items. It's useful, but the Café becomes noisier. The GE Café series pieces are rated at the higher end of the decibel scale for dishwashers. Anytime the decibel level increases or decreases by 3, the sound level will be 50% louder or 50% quieter. It cannot be flush mounted with your cabinets due to the venting system required to release the steam created by the heated dry cycle.
Both companies are aggressive in packages with other products.
Bosch vs GE Cafe Dishwasher Comparisons
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Bosch SHE53TL5UC
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Bosch SHX68TL5UC
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GE Café CDWT280VSS
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GE Café CDWT980VSS
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*After all instant and/or mail in rebates
Conclusions
To be transparent, we stopped carrying any GE products effective November 2012. I actually liked the GE Café range with the griddle burner. The dishwasher is decent, but expensive. I like the grinder at the bottom, but Frigidaire Gallery, Maytag and Whirlpool offer it for less.
Bosch seems to be the better choice in dishwashers. It is much quieter, less expensive and can be mounted flush for panels whereas GE cannot. I like Café for cooking, but Bosch is a dishwasher company with stainless models starting at $699 compared to $1199 for the more cooking oriented Café.
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Additional Resources
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