Doofus _ I'd be a bit leary of your sales weasel. Miele's DW's are some of the best in the business, they may not fit your habits, or budget but they are really good machines. A compentent cousultant will point out the plusses and minuses and let you come to you own conclusion. Their coffee systems are also top notch, but are not produced in house like the DW's. The only problem's I know with them were in the 1st generation with the steam generators. There was a hose connection system that wasn't as robust as necessary and there were some failures on units that saw heavy use. Miele still comps the parts in most cases even today. The connectors were quickly redesigned and problem solved. I wouldn't worry about the space down the road if that's your only reservation. It's a fairly standard size and will fit a steam oven, microwave and you could even just get a lift up door in stainless or to match your cabinetry if you get tired of it or didn't want to replace with a new one. There are several threads on the merits (or lack of) of these units on here. These units are expensive and must be built in. The general divide comes down to how much you value the "wow" factor of the built in look. Counter standing "automats" are a lot cheaper and pretty much have the same internals. Many of the built in allow you to hook them up to plumbing so you don't have to fill up a water jug.

@virginiavictorian Not to be using this forum to make sale, but I am a Brew Express dealer and I can sell you one if you like. We've used a BE-110 for the past 5 years almost every day with zero issues. They are great units. The BE-110 is $399 and the BE-104 is around $330 depending upon the finish. If you would like to order one shoot me an email: anthony [at] appliancebuyersguide [dot] com Anthony Rocco Appliance Buyer's Guide

I met with the Kinetico rep this evening who also performed some tests on our tap water. He found the pH to be 5.8, the hardness to be 31 grains and checked the iron which I forgot to write down, but it wasn't as bad as before. He told me the possible reason the iron wasn't as bad is because, for the first test the water hadn't been used past the pressure tank (the source) so the acidic water had been sitting in the well accumulating iron from the pipe. He recommended the first & most important thing is to install a neutralizing filter which he recommends we rent for the two years until we switch to city water. Unfortunately that filter will actually add hardness so he wants to use the 2100s softener. Finally, I want to add the K5 drinking water RO filter which will attach to the refrigerator ice maker and have a spigot at the sink. Should we go ahead with this? Any comments will be appreciated.

I too had a older Brew Express, but I recently changed to a newer 10 cup. I spoke with them and understood when I bought my original unit it was a new model to the market when it first came out, but it went through improvements over time. They told me it was designed and tested to the coffee industry standards. I was suprised to find coffee is best brewed at around 195-200f at the spray-head, and no heater plate was actually better. When I complained to Brew Express people they understood, but I didn't understand that the temperature drops quite a bit going into a stainless carafe. I also found that they did improve the older model quite a bit since the time I had bought it, but then they found it was necessary to create a better looking brewer, and one that could be more reliable. I also heard they changed to a 10 cup so it will hold better heat. I decided to change to a 10 cup because I couldn't resist the price as an existing customer and that it fit into the same installation box. I was skeptical at first, but they truly improved it. Did you know the new unit can brew 1 cup not just for coffee? It can also adjust the amount for a larger cup. My wife loves it for making tea and coco. I am glad Brew Express improved their product. Yes, it cost me twice, but it is still worth saving counter space and never adding water. That is my two cents. Fred