Wow! Thanks for this. My Optima is in and I'll get to start using it in a few weeks when our remodel is done.

I would definitely opt to have it under the sink. It is no easy task to pull these things out just to unplug them. It is a sign of good installation in my opinion when shut off (for water or power) is very easy to get to.

I have old Rorstrand porcelain with gold rim, some dating back to 1890; also Riedel glassware and Depression Glass. No problem. I put the Vietri and Chinese export in but wouldn't put Quimper in f.ex. or things that are older than 1920s (unless porcelain), low fire clay, or too worn. With cold water hook up and 115 degree wash and no heated drying I've had no problem. The clinker is the detergent. Can tell you from experience that with the wrong detergent, or with too much detergent I could see gold rims start to disappear. With 1/4 Miele brand DW tab it's fine. No problems. But I did have a problem with the others (one load) -- the more powerful the detergent the worse it is for old dishes. The other thing I don't do is mix old/delicate dishes or the Riedel with pots and pans or put them through a normal cycle because I don't want etching issues with the final hot rinse (we have a whole house water softener which makes that worse). Stick with china and crystal cycle and as little detergent as possible (I mean almost none) and it's fine. I would treat good silver (particularly plated which can be stripped by Cascade) the same way. I buy the Miele tabs from ABT in Chicago. They are crazy expensive but I use no more than half a tab -- that handles even the dirtiest pots -- so that puts them more or less near the price of the powerballs except you pay all at once for a big box.

Last night I did the Pots/Pans program with all those settings activated in the service menu. I noticed that during the pre-wash there was more water (middle of filter handle), but in the main wash and rinses the water amount was normal (below handle). Here are the times: pre-wash 10 minutes, main wash 70 minutes (water temp said 157 F on my baking thermometer near the end of the cycle), first 5 minute interim rinse, second 5 minute interim rinse, 35 minute final rinse (thermometer read 142 F), and then 45 minute dry with the lower fan on. Without those settings activated in the service menu, the Pots/Pans would normally do a pre-wash 10 minutes, main wash 60 minutes (temps read 147 F), one 5 minute interim rinse, 25-30 minute final rinse (haven't measured the temp), and then a 20 minute dry with the lower fan on. Keep in mind the few times I've done a temp measurement, I was using a cooking thermometer that I'd have to place in the water for a minute to get a reading. So using the Pots/Pans program it does appear that the #23 for extra water only happens in the pre-wash (not main wash, interim rinse, or final rinse), the #20 for increase temp did raise the main wash water an extra 10F and washed for 10 minutes longer, the #26 does do a 2nd interim rinse, and the #27 for improved drying did increase the final rinse cycle time by about 10 minutes and then the drying mode increased 20 minutes with the fan on. I'll have to check the Normal program to see if any of those settings will effect it, but I already know that the #26 does not add any interim rinse to the Normal mode, since I tried that one on Monday.