If you can get any combi oven for $1,500, I would take it and make the rest of the kitchen fit to it. That goes double for Gagg. BTW, make sure it comes with all the accessory pans, if it doesn't , try to buy them from a restaurant supply house ( search for hotel pans ) because most manufacturers charge an arm and a leg for their pans.
PS, IIRC, Gagg does not recommend putting their ovens in an island, but you might want to check on that. I think the concern is the steam venting when you open the oven

Thanks for the tips about the accessories -- I did not ask about that.
I should add that I have a prep sink (so I have a water line) and a cooktop (so I have venting) in the island (it's a Big island).

I have run in to few people who actually utilize two oven + another combi oven ! Pretty much none.

It'd be easier to design with a single wall oven, the steam oven , and a microwave.

That steam oven is really a non starter in an island because the control panel is on the bottom of the oven. Low placement will make it difficult to read and to access the knobs and buttons.

I love my gaggenau combi steam and use it every day. I would be cautious of putting it low down because of the steam. When you open the door a lot of steam can come out and if you are standing too near, you might burn yourself. That is an awesome price, find another place on a wall and go for it. Great oven!

Count me as someone who has a combi-steam + double (electric) wall ovens, and am glad I do. Full disclosure: We also have a gas oven in our range and an Advantium, which I won't argue isn't excessive.

Yes, there are times, when I'm cooking for a crowd, that I've utilized all five at once but, more usually, I'm able to pick and chose which oven performs best for a particular function. Doing that, the reality is that the double ovens are used most often for "regular" sort of oven stuff (most traditional baking, roasting, etc.), while the steam oven is used for anything steam-related (obviously), plus bread baking and things I've found benefit from some level moisture. Roasted veggies, for example, I do on 30% steam in the combi, and find they come out so much better (moist, but still caramelized) than via traditional oven. I've also found that things like custard desserts and cheesecakes benefit from some moisture and cooking them in the combi ensure great texture. Not to mention that the hotel pan inserts make the still-needed water baths super easy. I also use the combi almost daily to quickly defrost meats without any negative side effects (unlike the microwave) and for reheating meats, pasta or casserole when we do leftovers for dinner, using the refresh cycle. (Tastes almost as good as day one.) There's also a steamed hamburger/cheeseburger recipe I've found that's so juicy and wonderful it almost makes the combi worthwhile for it alone. (Trust me: sounds weird, tastes wonderful.)

There are also things that I've learned, at least for me, the combi isn't so great at ... Tried lots of roasted chicken recipes and, while the results were alright, the regular oven is way better (crisper skin, etc.) and soooo much less messy. In general, with the exceptions of fish and the hamburger recipe mentioned above, I've found that, for the most part, meats are better left to non-steam methods. And, yes, the combi can do a 0% steam function, but I admit, with all the other options, we rarely use it; other than bread baking with steam injection.

Honestly, the somewhat awkward combi interior (long and narrow, plus the proprietary racking), and lack of self clean (generalization: everything done with some steam makes little mess, everything with no steam, cooked uncovered, makes a big one), means we almost never use it as "just another oven," though of course I know my situation of having so many other options isn't typical, so other's mileage there will definitely vary. Still, even best case, you're gonna have to be very savvy about planning what can fit, and what can't.

Anyway, the double ovens + the combi make up my "most used" ovens, and I'd hate to be without any of them. While, conversely, the Advantium is used mostly as a microwave (never use the speed oven features), and not even very often at that, and the range oven only when I need to do something very large (e.g. two turkeys side by side), or when I really need to have three standard ovens at once. So, mostly holidays or other times I'm tasked with making dinner for 30. While it's great to have for those rare occasions I need it, if I had to give it up, I'd manage just fine.

I also don't use the Advantium to any, ahem, advantage, and if/when I need to replace, will likely do so with a standard sensor microwave and not miss anything. Other than melting chocolate and softening butter, I rarely use a microwave myself, but my other family members use it often enough for quick reheats.

So, I wouldn't argue that I'm not that an outlier, but it's also not a "nobody" scenario. If you've got the room and you want, and can afford, double ovens + combi, I can attest that it's a pretty awesome set-up.

For instance, yesterday I made carnitas for a backyard BBQ with friends. I had a large pork shoulder in one oven on low while using the other to bake a pie, and the combi-steam both to steam-roast peppers and onions and steam the tortillas. That's not an atypical scenario, at least in my house, where all three were in use at the same time.

As for island placement, my understanding is that Gaggenau Combi Steam ovens can NOT be installed below counter level, due to drain and other requirements, so that's not really an option.

Personally, we've got a double oven stack and then, next to that, a second stack of steam oven over Advantium over warming drawer. I like the stacks fine, but if we had to do it again, and had a place to do it in (we didn't), I would have separated the stacks and had the double ovens on one end of the kitchen wall and the other stack on the opposite side to balance, but that's more an aesthetic than a functional concern, as what we have works perfectly well. Maybe even better in that I can see all of my ovens at a glance, or check on cooking items all at once, without having to walk from one of the kitchen to the other to do so.

Oh and, PS, Gaggenau, at least in my experience, has extremely great customer service. We bought a "special price" unit from a local dealer who had been stuck with it after another buyer backed out. Long story short: Walking by a display, I said it was on my wish list but too $$$ and the dealer was like, 'I think we've had one of those sitting in the warehouse a LOOONG time, let me see what I can do.' They came back with, 'Since it's a past model and we can't do anything else with it, we'll let you have it for less than we paid for it.'

Anyway, mine was new, never sold, from an authorized dealer, but a dated model by the time we got it installed. Not only did Gaggenau honor the full warranty (and to do so, I had to send them a receipt so they knew I'd paid way, WAAY less than retail), but they even ended up replacing it with the the then current model at no charge when the original unit suffered the same drain pump failure two times in year one. So, just make sure you're getting a unit with full warranty, and you should be good with Gaggenau.

I agree about the potential dangers of putting it in an island. Bending down and opening the door with your face near, the way people do with an undercounter oven, could get you scalded.

More than that, if this is a plumbed, rather than tank, model unless you have a basement underneath where you can sink the plumbing, you won't be able to make it work.

That said, I wouldn't be without mine.

If you stack the Gagg combi-steam with a Jenn-Air single oven you might need to make some accommodations for the plumbing. It can be worked around, but the Gaggenau single oven is designed to work with plumbing for the combi- coming up behind it in the cupboard. If that won't work with the Jenn-Air, you might have to send it through the wall or something.

If this is a fully plumbed model, it's basically a sink. It needs a cold water line and valve, and a drain with a trap. Those are usually located in an adjacent cupboard.

I don't think there's an aesthetic problem with putting two dissimilar ovens together. For the combi- you'll need a spacer between it and the regular oven anyway, and that should give you enough separation to say these are two different things. Unless.... do make sure that this isn't one of the aluminum ones. Those are quite blue. I liked the look, but got stainless because even though there's hardly any stainless in my kitchen, there was enough to make the blue aluminum look bad.

Maybe it would be better to pair the combi- and the microwave (and you could get any microwave), and keep the Jenn-Air double ovens. :)

Make sure you check out all the details about the installation with your plumber and/or GC before you leap.

I emailed a gardenwebber about this once. He may or may not see this thread so I will post his answer here.

"We have a standard counter height of about 36.5" floor to countertop. The Gaggenau steam oven is installed directly under the counter about 5' linear distance from sink. The plumber did not complain about any installation issues- I believe we had just the clearance we needed in height for the oven drain, which was run five feet from the oven, slanting horizontally down until it reached the drain under the sink where it was attached. Granted, it would have been easier to see into raised ovens while baking, but I love the uncluttered look from the living room with the ovens hidden away below the counter. Always a battle between form/function..."

I wish I could post a video of the steam that comes out of this oven when the door is opened by someone who fails to use the condense function first. My dh will not use it without a reminder.

I would not want to be the person (or a child in the family) flooded in the face with that steam. If the oven is set high it is not an issue.

This post was edited by red_lover on Mon, Jun 16, 14 at 0:08

I can't thank you all enough for the extremely helpful information. I will talk to our appliance guy this morning, reserve the Gagg & then figure out where best to put it. Given all the comments, I will find a way to put it on the wall - probably the JennAir double and then the Gagg steam & micro in a separate stack (in a 30-in cab just in case) next to the doubles (there's really no other place for it). I've given up so much in this kitchen for a sleek design, but I'm not willing to give up the steam oven (I had given it up because of expense, but now, it's MINE!). And since I've never liked low ovens, together with the steam-in-the-face issue (I would remember to be careful, but my husband definitely wouldn't), the wall is probably the best place. Thank you!!

Hi,
Another vote for double ovens plus the combi steam oven. I have used all 3 at once on many occasions. I have the Wolf combi steam installed in the island. I just stand to the side when opening the oven, no problem. Great price on the Gagg, enjoy it!
MJ

After deciding on the gaggenau ovens, convection and combi steam, I struggled with where to put the microwave and wondered about mw drawers. I was told by someone from the appliance shop that I would not need it once I had the combi steam oven. I did not believe this, after all, how would I melt butter, heat a cup of milk, warm my tea? So I bought the smallest mw I could find and put it on a shelf with cookbooks and vases. I maybe used it once a week. Butter melted so fast on a small pan on my induction cooktop, ditto for milk, tea, well I made a fresh cup since water also boils very quickly. Defrosting and reheating, while a little slower, are done with so much better quality with the gagg oven. I gave my mw to my mother and seldom miss it.

Unfortunately my kids still eat carp like Spaghettios way more than they should. I still use my MW. But I certainly don't need an expensive one like I have now. I may put a cheapie in the pantry in the new house.

alermar: that is a steal of a deal on the gagg. I just got a similar model and paid a lot more (but no where near retail - it's nib with full warranty). If you can make it work, I'd definitely do it.

Thanks -- I was concerned about getting a model that's several years old, but it has a full warranty and we have the applicance salesman down to $1,200 -- too good to pass up!