Tough question :-) as I have mined plumbed and installed at counter depth with bottom at 36" and top at 54". Control at 36" is not too bad I think, but I would miss all the convenience easy access at waist height. Cleaning at waist height is quite convenience as well.

Despite saying that, I am all for plumbed option because I do use steaming option a lot, be it full steam cooking, or combi cooking.

If there is no splattering in the cook, bending down to give it a quick mop and run drying program afterwards would still be fairly convenience. Telescopic runner: HFC 71 would save the day for pulling food out from the oven at below counter top installation. I have two sets in mine.

I didn't know that you can get telescopic runners for the combi. That would certainly make it easier to use under-counter.

The US manual does not show those as an accessory, but the UK one does. Chanop, are you in the US? Can I just tell my dealer: "hey, order me a couple of HFC 71s" and I'll be in business?

I am in Australia, Barbja. Haha, I think I know why after looking at Miele US online shop. HFC 71 is only compatible with H6x6x 24" oven series, and it seems not to be available in the US. 24" series probably have much smaller sale volume compared with traditional 30" series. Importing one from Europe should be easy enough, I think.

I believe your information is a bit wrongly interpreted, NFT. Miele has two reservoirs for non-plumbed model: fresh water and waste water. If I am not mistaken, combi steam oven from other makers do not even have waste reservoir. Miele has a drain outlet at the bottom of the oven connected to a pump. For non-plumbed model, waste water drawn through the outlet is pumped to the waste reservoir; for plumbed model, waste goes out the drain line.

There will always be just a little bit of water left in the fresh water reservoir. There is no harm in leaving some amount there, IMO. I, however, do empty the fresh water reservoir every few days and wipe it dry.

Here are some photos of my plumbed combi. The space for waste reservoir is blocked out on the left hand side with a plastic fascia. The water level is at after a rinse program, just tiny bit left. A pump would suck out as much as possible water from the reservoir during rinsing. For this simple design, the tube has about 1mm opening, and a pump cannot suck out water below that level.

So, you don't have to worry about waste water and smell if you go for plumbed model, NFT.

Got it, thanks for the pictures. I was only going on what the Miele staffer told me. She seemed pretty convinced that the water in the fresh water reservoir could get grimy and did need to get cleaned out, thereby negating the advantage to just having fill and drain manually.

No worries, NFT.

It is possible, yes, for the reservoir to get grimy. But I doubt that within normal timeframe usage for regular used oven, daily up to many times a day in my case, there will be any cleanliness issue. Rinsing the tray and wiping it dry, as well as within the fascia area every few days or weekly, before any long journey should keep the reservoir clean enough.

@barbja99, not sure how you are going with Miele combi. Recently I just saw a good news that Miele USA is now offering telescopic runner HFC71 that fits DGC6000 series. See this page for more info.