Kelli, BSH Bosch and Siemens own Gaggenau, Thermador, and Bosch, like Volkswagen owns Porsche, Audi, and VW. Likewise, Gaggenau is to Thermador is to Bosch the way that Porsche is to Audi is to VW. As such, the new Bosch Combi Steam oven is almost identical to the existing Thermador oven, which itself is very similar to the Gaggenau non-plumbed oven, so I wouldn't be worried about reliability. But as they all have the water tank on the right side, they're all very small - 1.4 cu ft, aka you couldn't fit a frozen pizza in them small. The Gaggenau plumbed oven, on the other hand, is a slightly more reasonable size (the US spec sheet says 1.7 cu ft, but I think it's actually 1.5), so it could serve as a 2nd oven, or even a primary oven for small meals. It is still narrower than I'd like. The oven cavity is only 13" wide x 18" deep, and then you lose some space to the rack rails, and the usable space on the tray itself is closer to 11" x 12". While you can technically fit a standard 1/2 sheet pan in (the door will just close with it), squeezing it between the rack rail guides is kinda tough. Miele and Wolf make good sized Combi Steam ovens (1.7 and 1.8 cu ft respectively). The Miele one, for example, is slightly shallower but much wider (I want to say 15.5" wide x 17" deep). Only the Miele and Gaggenau ovens have a broiler and steam condensation recovery, and only the Gaggenau is plumbed and has a side-swing door that opens 180 degrees. The new Bosch side-swing door ovens are, imo, a good idea in theory but questionable in practice. Where the Gaggenau oven door swings out 180 degrees to leave the oven completely unobstructed, the Bosch is designed to sit flush with cabinetry, in which case the door only opens to a 90 degree angle, leaving it right next to your arm. As I tend to carry heavy things with my elbows out, this poses a greater hazard to me than having a door that folds down. It's like the designers thought "flush mount ovens are great, side-swing doors are great, let's just put them together!" and didn't realize that the one greatly interferes with the other. You'd have to check the installation guide to see if maybe you can install it 1" out or so, to give you room to open the door fully. Gaggenau ovens really do seem like the gold standard (though don't get me started on the cheap racks in their regular ovens...), but Gaggenau seems to know this and charge a ridiculous premium as a result. [Edit] Updated above info with some measurements to give you an idea of Steam Oven size. This post was edited by Timobkg on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 10:41

The exterior dimensions do not tell you what the size of the cavity is. I've had 24" non-convection ovens which fit full sized cookie sheets, and seen 27" ovens with convection that didn't--and 27" convection ovens that fit full sized cookie sheets. A lot depends on design, density vs. volume of insulation, space given over to the fan, etc. Same with 30" ovens. Your best way of knowing what will fit is to bring the things you want to fit in it to a showroom (the roaster, not the actual raw turkey, though you could use a throw pillow as a stand-in). The problem with nominal 27" ovens (the dimensions are not always exactly the same as the size is stated) is that they used to be the standard, and no longer are. Some are still made, and valued for being able to go in a spot where an old oven has failed, but there isn't nearly the same selection as for 24" and 30". 30" is the standard American size. 24" is used more in tight, small kitchens in tight small homes, especially small apartments in high density/high price cities.

Where are you getting the 100-450 range? I don't see any temperature range given in the spec sheet. HBL5651UC Spec Sheet. Are you are refering to where Bosch's web site says, "Star-K certified. Temperature range: 100° - 450° F"? Star-K is certifies for Kosher, and that temperatur range is for Sabbath mode. See page 10 of the user manual. I do not know why Sabbath mode was not listed in the table "Temperature Range (F) by Cooking Mode on page 14.

I am generally not a big fan of extended warranties and with the exception of my car I have never really gotten my money's worth from them. But a steam oven is a sufficiently complex appliance, that I decided to go for the extended warranty this one time. Combining heat and really complicated plumbing does have the potentially of much more wear and tear than many more basic household appliances. But hopefully, I won't have to collect on it any time soon. Those rates look about correct for what any technician would charge around here. So, it doesn't look like a mark-up for the brand name. But then, I live in a very high cost-of-living part of the country. Depending on where you live, there might be more sticker shock. As for descaling, my steam oven tells me when it is time to do that. So, I never felt it necessary to descale proactively. I have run a descale cycle several times now, and it's always been uneventful. But of course it's possible I just got lucky. Fault 20 seems to be related to the mechanism that detects whether the tank is fully seated in its compartment. So, I understand why the problem would occur after descaling, and it hopefully is an easy fix. Maybe, the sensor switch is dislocated or the wiring harness has a problem -- or you literally haven't pushed the containers all the way into the unit. I am sure the technician can spot things quickly and repair your unit.