I had the Gaggenau combi in my last house. Loved it. Plumbed with a drain. Did not choose it for my new house because of lack of local service.

in my new house I wanted one not plumbed or with the drain. I chose the Wolf because of good local service. but the brand is not my point. My point is that it’s not a big deal to refill the water reservoir and it’s not a big deal to wipe the bottom of the oven with paper towels after use.

just my advice but go with the oven that is not plumbed with the drain. Imo it’s just one less thing to go wrong.

It might depend how much the $1500 is to you and how long you intend to be in your current home. I didn't want to deal with mopping up the water so I elected for the plumbed version. However, if you have your heart set on a combi oven the extra work might not matter to you. I think if you can swing the plumbed version it is easier and you are more likely to use your combi more often.

We have a plumbed model. We love it. We are so much more likely to always use the steam oven, since you don't have to think about dealing with the water containers. It is always ready to be used.

I frequently use our Miele CSO as an easier to use substitute for a sous vide immersion heater. It does a great job, but I'd be worried that a non-plumbed model could unexpected run out of water in the middle of the cooking cycle. And because of the low temperatures, that's potentially a health hazard. It's already annoying that Miele arbitrarily restricts sous-vide cooking times to 10h. So, I need to make sure to reset the timer in the morning after starting it in the evening.

The only thing to remember with the CSO is that every couple of months, it'll prompt you to run a descale cycle. So, make sure you stock up on Miele descale tablets. If you shop around, you can find them heavily discounted if you buy in bulk.

I have a really hard time seeing why it should cost $1500 extra to run the necessary plumbing, if you are building from scratch. Running the extra water supply line should be less than $100. The walls are already open, and all you need is a thin pipe. This is almost the same as running a water pipe for a refrigerator.

The drain pipe is conceivably slightly more complicated. But it really shouldn't add that much more. Probably depends a little on the layout of your kitchen.

In our case, the CSO is draining into a dry standpipe which ultimately drains into a utility sink one floor below. We use the same standpipe for drainpans that we installed under all of out water-carrying appliances (i.e. dishwasher, steam oven, beverage center, ...). So, the cost is somewhat amortized. Installation of those drainpans probably approached the $1500 that you quoted, though. But they provide a lot of peace of mind. So, we would have done that anyway.

I have a non plumbed XL. Plumbed version was not available when we were doing rough plumb in the slab. It would have cost me $1000 to tear up the concrete and run a drain from the oven to the nearest sink drain. I have a prep sink 2 steps away. Filling/Emptying the containers are a no brainer and I have never not used the steam function because I needed to spend 10 seconds to fill the reservoir. As far as having to refill while using the oven - when I do a cheesecake I have had to as they are “baked/steamed” at 212. I have not had to for Sous vide but I have not done sous vide for more than a couple of hours. I am not a huge Sous vide user. I am sure if you are doing a 10h+ you would have to refill and as M mentions if overnight you might have to set an alarm once you can see how long your fill would last. Personally I wouldn’t want to run my oven that long continuously and would purchase a $120 circulator, but that is just me. It’s a great oven - but I have had several service calls in the last 4 years and glad I purchased the 5 year warranty.

Agreed on the extended warranty. I normally don't bother about buying any optional warranty. But this is a very complex piece of machinery. That doesn't mean it is guaranteed to need service. But it is more likely to do so than lots of simpler appliances.

If my stove breaks, I am more likely to buy the spare part online and replace it myself than calling in for service. It's not even about the money, it's just faster and it's so obvious to fix. On the other hand, if my CSO fails, I do need to call an experienced technician. So, yes, I like the peace of mind of having bought the extra warranty for once.

Having said that, I have yet to make use of it. Knock on wood.

I chose the Wolf CSO, one of the reasons being that it is non-plumbed. I didn't want the potential for a leak behind the unit where I couldn't see it. It is honestly no big deal to refill the unit. I do it less than once per week. As one of the other commenters noted, you will use the oven in convection mode a lot and not require water for steam.

We have the Miele CSO unplumbed, now almost 4 years old. Refilling the water bottle is no biggie. Takes a few seconds. Believe me, that’s no reason not to use this awesome appliance. Nor would I spend $1500, just to get plumbing to the oven, when both versions produce the same results.

As for the plumbed version, and fear of water leak...install a water leak alarm. We have them on all our plumbed appliances...fridge, dishwasher, and the plumbing under the 2 sinks. The device will shut off the water, should there be a leak.

We installed drain pans underneath all of our water carrying appliances. It's relatively easy to do during new construction and prevents any possible damage from leaks.

Even the non-plumbed version has the potential of leaking, although of course, the amount of liquid spilled would be limited to the capacity of the canisters.

I have written this comment before... I went to a cooking demo at a local high end appliance store last year. The in-house chef insisted on going with a non-plumbed for less future troubles. She said that something WILL go wrong at some point, and having the non-plumbed is safer (that is what she personally has also). I believe that she makes commission on her recommendations (if they turn into purchases), she would make more on the plumbed ones...

Why would a plumbed version be any more of a problem when it breaks than a non-plumbed? Worst case if you replace a plumbed with a non-plumbed then just cap the supply & drain tubes.

A non-plumbed has a pump to go bad and that is also the part most likely to fail. Plumbed uses house water pressure in place of the pump so is less likely to need repair to begin with.

I can't understand $1500 for the plumbing except huge profit for the plumber & builder. When I added a coffee station in my studio it cost $700 and that was a 60' run for both supply & drain and included plumbing for both a sink and an espresso machine (Breville Touch). Are you sure they didn't say $150?

I'm sure it's too late for the OP but I have had both and the plumbed version is INFINITELY easier!!. It's quite a pain to be constantly prompted to fill and and empty the reservoirs!!

@Mindy Katz...thanks! The decision is already made, but I went with the plumbed version and always happy to take comments verifying the decision :). The oven will be installed later this month and I cannot wait to start using it!!!

Installed a plumbed (water and drain connections) model about 18 months ago and have no regrets. We also plumbed the Miele coffee machine (water connection) and my DH is happy with that. Planning a future build and will do the same plumbed Miele appliances.

@Lynne, how is your plumbed Miele CSO working out for you? Contemplating the same and would appreciate any insight into your experience with it now.