Taking a chance and resurrecting this VERY old thread to ask a question about SpeedQueen - Don't want to risk being slammed for not choosing Miele. We are Miele fans - have half of all kitchen appliances from Miele - and were definitely considering a Miele laundry pair all along until I read this thread - I'm mostly concerned with the amount of time it takes for a Miele cycle, and since we have hired help doing most of the laundry, i'm worried that the helpers / maids will mess up with the complicated set of setting options on the Miele (and end up using the wrong temperatures etc!). We can't get residential models of Speed Queen where we are - but the local Commercial Speed Queen dealer (actually, Huebsch since we're in Canada) offered a commercial TL model that seems to have enough cycle settings to suit our needs. My question is, is anyone here familiar with the model ******YWN311 of Huebsch*******? The spec sheet says washtub volume is 3.3 cu ft - how does that compare to the "per kg" measurement that's used by, say, Miele? Any comments on whether these Speed Queen / Huebsch commercial machines would get "too rough" on fabrics? We're generally just washing sweatshirts, T shirts, school uniforms, beddings, towels etc. I'm not the type to put any delicates or sweaters into laundry machines. We haven't totally given up on Miele yet ... well-meant, constructive suggestions (on how to fool proof our machines to not be misused by hired helpers) are welcome. You'd be wasting your breath if you tell me to "go do my own laundry on the Miele" LOL. On the other hand, I'd like to quote a very smart friend of mine from when we attended together a Miele demo session), "if i'm THAT worried about a piece of garment, I'd just either hand-wash it or take it to dry cleaning".

tube televisions. Who even has these anymore? pianos. I can see people not buying new ones as they are big space hogs. Not so many people play them these days, or have their children learn to play them. I still want one tho-someday! fax machines-these can be lumped in with many modern electronic office things. I was just thinking this the other day at work that I never send faxes any more-it's all done via pdf. Even received faxes show up in my in box electronically. And with electronic signatures and color scanning-it's far superior to go digital. phone books and address books-I like to have these as I really hate the on-line search engines-too many ads and pop ups. It's faster to just go to the phone book actually! printed maps-OH MY GOSH!! This one gets to me. I work with maps all day long-we're in GIS Heaven at work, but I still go back and refer to my old USGS Topo maps almost every day. Much easier on the old eyes. Plus, as I recently learned in a disaster training course, if there is no power, or cell towers are out, Google Maps sn't going to help you find your way to safety! Always keep a paper map in your vehicle-and learn to read it! alarm clocks-never gonna give mine up. I also would like to obtain a wind up one, just in case. desktop computers-I prefer mine over the laptop/tablet. but know it's a soon to be dinosaur (so are lap tops for that matter!) incandescent light bulbs, cable bpxes, photo albums, cd's, stereos (except car) and checkbooks-I see those as being extinct in just a couple years for sure. Printers will always be needed-we'll never go completely paperless. Same with stamps & memo pads. Sewing machines will also stick around, but as a craft oriented thing rather than a staple. I've had mine forever and decided the other day I wanted to sew some summer dresses-but after I went to buy a pattern and fabric, it was less expensive to go to Macy's and buy some! bar soap, corkscrews, mailboxes. cash + coins; piggy banks, dining room tables, wall calendars and books-I don't see those going away any time soon. We're still going to have to have those things until the entire globe is paperless. As to the defying the odds items-I think you can virtually put anything on there. As new generations and rural dwellers without access to urban infrastructure can attest, those things are going to stick around. Eventually vinyl is going to fade out of popularity again, I predict, sooner than later. This thread reminds me of a sign I saw in an antiques mall the other day-"Grandma had it. Mom threw it out. I bought one just like it."

kekramer, I definitely use my CSO more than the M series. While I love the M series convection, the CSO heats up faster and is waaaayyyy more versatile. I am also a bread baker and this oven is a game changer for me (I have broken oven glass in prior ovens by spilling water on the glass trying to introduce steam lol). You can get EXCELLENT results with bread in this oven. There have been multiple threads on Houzz about how to get the best bread baking results with a CSO, and here is my method. I run the steam first for about 10 minutes, making sure that the oven cavity is good and steamy with plenty of condensation on the bottom of the oven. Then I load the bread loaf (or loaves), put it on auto steam bake, and find that the excess water in the oven provides even more spring to the loaf after the beginning steam phase is over and has cut over to higher baking temps. The Wolf CSO has another mode called "Convection Humid" which is great for quick breads. It seals the cavity during Convection so that steam cannot escape, thus making the bread more moist. Muffins and quick breads really shine in this mode. Side note, I use my M series to proof bread. The proof function works really well. If you make jams and jellies, the steam oven can also be used to do the canning step in replacement for a boiling water bath (BWB). The jars can be steamed to sanitize before filling, and then steamed at 210 degrees for 30 minutes. It works great, and best of all, no tip overs and sealing failures.

I apologize if this is in the wrong thread as this may be my first houzz thread post. Mostly a silent observer but I'm in need of some advice. We're starting a kitchen remodel in July and I've been agonizing over the stove/fridge. First things first, I'm not dead set on matching all of the appliances. I'm a firm believe in best of breed and as some others have posted above means buying different things from different companies. Here's what were planning on installing in the new kitchen: 48 inch stove with dual ovens, we're not splitting the ovens and range top. A 36 inch fridge, was thinking built in but if there are other options to consider I'm game. A dishwasher and perhaps a drawer microwave. I've been waning a Blue Star stove for the longest time but I've now read enough threads here to make me question that. Are they truly that problematic? Between tales of the convection fan turning off when the gas is going in the oven to the horrible customer service, is that really the experience people have had? They look beautiful. I'm more of a no-frills kind of guy and believe that simpler is better and lasts longer. I have a friend with a 20 year old blue start hat has had exactly two things break on it in 20 years: an igniter and a rack clip. That's it. Has the company gone down hill? What attracted me to the blue star was the insane BTU and configuration of using a griddle/grill on any of the burners. The circular grates for a wok are also attractive in my head and purely functional. However the reviews and one appliance store salesman have made me question wether this is a good investment. Originally we had been planning on a built in fridge from BS and the Platinum 48" Stove. So now that I've been reading a bunch more I'm wondering if perhaps I shouldn't consider WOLF or Miele. Between the two which would you choose? Thermador is a contender but Miele seems to have some nice features. As I said I prefer no frills, but it seems that outside of the BlueStar most of the other brands incorporate a bunch of new features and technologies. Before you ask, we do all kinds of cooking. My wife bakes and I do everything sous vide cooking in a circulator bath to low and slow braising, high heat searing of animal proteins, pretty much everything. I always figured that at this level and this price point most of these unites would be fairly bullet proof and last for a good long time. I hadn't really thought about the customer service aspect of purchasing something so pricey but it occurs to me now that perhaps I should. Are there any brands besides Thermador, Miele, Wolf and Blue Star to consider that deliver similar performance or are in that same class? Someone suggested Heston but I wasn't thrilled with what i saw or read about them. Thank you in advance for your thoughts. Cheers.