Myself, Alex Chicago and aamassther ALL had your fears. Exact fears. I have had vented for 40+ years, and all my previous Miele dryers were vented.

You will LOVE, LOVE the Miele Little Giant Condenser dryer. Most cycles allow for the Low Temp. option, and the Delicates cycle runs quite cool (it will take a while though....Sheets can take like 90 mins and heavy items longer).

Also, by using the Code 000 ( DO NOT attempt to set up your own code, the machine will LOCK itself)...you can enter Supervisor Level and adjust how much moisture is left during the drying cycle, so you can really tailor this machine to your exact liking!

Also, BUY the Miele extended warranty. It is $250 for 5 years of coverage. ONE single Miele Pro service call will set you back more than that....the ext. warranty is fantastic piece of mind!!!

Also, by keeping the condenser unit clean (easy and takes just mins each couple of months), most of my clothes loads, even large, are done in 60 mins or less AND I have an extended cooling down programmed. Dry times in the Little Giant are MUCH shorter than a std. residential condenser dryer.

Smaller or lighter loads are usually done in 30-40 mins!

ALL of us with the LiGi Condenser dryer have noticed enhanced fabric care and condition. Softer and fluffier towels, smoother clothes and ZERO static!!!!

I have my dryer condense hose attached to the drain hole of the washer drain hose, so I never need to empty a bucket or condense water container!

This is awesome news larsi_gw! I am constrained with the 20 amps here and this is the only Miele dryer that will work with my electrical. I can't even do the LiGi washer because it too requires 30amps, but I am fine with the lower water temps and fewer customizable washer programs of the 3048. So I guess I will end up with a 3048 washer and LiGi Dryer. Thoughts on getting the stands for the machines -- will I still have to bend over, even a little with the stands? If so, I may not have them delivered with the machines given the costs of these machines. Also, I've heard there is a Miele "cheat sheet" available. Any idea where I might find that?

Rococogurl has the sheet. She helped develop it with another. I printed it off and put it into notebook clear sleeves and refer to it all the time.

http://www.atticmag.com/2013/10/miele-fans-washing-machine-cheat-sheet/

Thanks for the helpful info. I am skipping the pedestals for the machines (too expensive, not very high, and I might stack in the future). Electrician is coming tomorrow to install new outlets and breakers, but has already confirmed my set up. Grateful that I can get these two machines! I tried electrolux full size machines for a month and was not sad to say goodbye to them this morning. I think after using a Miele for so long, you can't stray.

I think you'll be very happy with your choices! Please let us know how you like them.

I will, thanks. What a great community this is. Glad to have stumbled upon it.

The Little Giant is deeper than the regular Miele washer. I don't think you'll be able to stack them. If I understand you correctly in the OP said they were getting the regular washer w3048, and a Little Giant dryer.

Enduring, you are right! The Little Giant is deeper than the W3048. Well, I don't need to stack them in my current space and I guess I will have to live with that lack of flexibility for the future. Thank you for pointing it out.

What about getting the dryer that goes with your washer. When I bought my used set last summer, the appliance store offered me a spliter to plug into one outlet in the wall, and both machines were plugged into that. My dryer is a vented electric though. I didn't go for the splitter and had my electrician install 2 outlets with whatever amps that were needed. I like the idea of getting an electrician in to fix your setup, to what you need so that you can get a matched set.

I agree with Enduring. If you can use a Miele Little Giant condensing dryer, why can you not get the matching Miele condensing dryer that is sold alongside the W3038/48 washer?!

Just checked the specs. The matching condenser dryer to the 3048 is 30 amps, which the op can't use.

aamassther -- yes, that's correct. The dryer to the 3048 is 30 amps. Larsi_gw, without tearing up walls and ceilings to get 30 amps to the laundry area, I have to go with the Little Giant. Of course I would like a matching pair for aesthetics, but happy to be able to have two excellent machines. Especially after my Electrolux experience for 30 days. It's made me appreciate just how nice the Miele machine are. I really wanted to wait for the W1, but my clothes are dirty NOW.

As a fellow Miele user I'm curious about which Elux you had and why you didn't like it. Many on here give them high marks. Could you comment?

Yes, please comment on the Electrolux. I believe the Electrolux compact has a condensing dryer only.

I had the Electrolux ELF617, their flagship machine. Aside from one of the water intake valves not working on the washer, I found the operation manual vague; no water temperatures listed for wash programs (other than sanitize), no drain and spin setting (just rinse and spin). It did an okay job at washing but nothing special. The dryer was woefully disappointing. The low heat setting left clothes so damp (on auto sensor, so the machine stops when items are "dry") I wondered if the heating element was working. When I changed the settings, it left some clothes damp and others bone dry (mixed loads). I concluded the heat sensors were not especially good. Every family member who used the dryer found this to be the case. We had to put the clothes on timed dryer at a high dry level and check in to see if they were done so they would not over-bake. After using a Miele for 15+ years, this seemed like too much work. I also think the mixing of the detergent with water before it it released into the load a bit gimmicky. I know they've had wonderful reviews, that's why I bought them. Perhaps I just got lemons.

Not to completely hijack this thread, but I also have the Electrolux EFL617 pair. And here are some of my observations...

1. Drain and Spin is the Rinse and Spin cycle with 2nd rinse disabled.

2. The temperatures are a bit of a mystery to me. The Normal cycle at the normal soil level displays the eco-leaf and the target temperatures are lacking. Bump the soil level to Heavy or Max and the eco-leaf goes out, temperatures are much more what you would expect.

3. The dryer barely gets warm if the eco option is enabled. Clothing still dries at this setting but not if your dryness level is set to normal. Must go one level higher or max to completely dry anything. Further, disabling the eco option results in a regular heated dry.

4. The washer has a pre-wash dispenser compartment, but there is no prewash function on this machine. Not sure why that is...

I haven't had any problems with either machine, but they're not perfect. Would I buy them again? I can't say that I would, but there isn't a perfect pair on the market. Every machine has a drawback and the owner has to adapt habits to make it work for them.

MRB

@mrb6228 -- I like data that is straightforward, so I can make my choices and get on with it. There were just too many mysteries with the Electrolux machines. I didn't want to have to disable options to get heat in the dryer. A friend also has these machines and does laundry for a large family -- she concurred, they are nothing special. I've been doing laundry a certain was for a long time with my trusty miele robots. Perhaps part of the issue was I just didn't want to put in the time to figure out the quirks of the electrolux -- intuitively I just didn't think I was going to get much of a return on that investment of time. So not entirely the fault of the Electrolux but just not the right buyer for that machine.