This is a great thread, and thanks to everyone for the insightful information! I'm wondering if you can give more details on how you clean your Wolf CSO? I watched a video for Thermador's CSO and was a bit alarmed by the evaporator well in the bottom that one has to clean with a provided yellow sponge each night. Do you find that you need to do the same with your Wolf? We had a demo at the SZ showroom and they said a simple wipe down of any moisture inside would do. Also, the chef said that at home she only needed to refill the water when needed, 1-2 times per week (and she has a family of 5). The Thermador video also said that the water should be emptied out each night. What do you do to clean/maintain the water for your Wolf? Thanks for any info you can provide!

We tested both Miele and Wolf. Wolf was way easier to clean as well as set temperature, etc for use. The Miele had a better interface but a couple more steps and much harder to clean (grooves on bottom plus top broiler element). Thermador is way smaller capacity wise and the water tank is inside the oven so you'd need to open the door in case u run out of water (say for a thanksgiving turkey). Ultimately decided on Wolf. We didn't want a plumbed version.

Hi Ken, I just bought The Bertazzoni 30 double convection oven for my new kitchen. It’s wonderful, very high quality and performs beautifully. I also ended up with the Thermador steam oven. I’m still getting used to using it, but it’s really wonderful too. If you’re going to combine all these appliances, consider the Miele because it also has a broiler (although I rarely use the broiler). The Miele is 24” as is the Thermador (and Bosch), so you’d have to buy trim to fit in a 30” opening. The Bertazzoni steam oven is only offered in 30” and the Wolf And Gaggenau offerings are both 24 and 30”. I didn’t care for the Bertazzoni water reservoir, so I suggest you actually go and see them in person and make sure they’re not awkward for you to use. If you don’t need the broiler function, the Thermador is just fine and you can get a 14 lb turkey in it. I didn’t like the Bosch version and normally I’m a huge Bosch fan (800 series dishwasher and compact laundry). I hope this helps you decide.

I also have a Wolf induction cooktop and a wok gas module, which I got because I was afraid of getting all induction and hating it. Turns out, I rarely use the gas anymore. Only for the pots I still have that aren't induction-friendly. It takes a little while to get used to touch controls vs. knobs, but the cooking is fantastic. More responsive than gas, both in getting things up to temperature and then back down. The cooktop gives off no heat so when you have a lot of things on the stove at once, it's not as hot as when you cook on gas (the pots themselves and what's in them give off heat). And clean up is amazing. Mine is 6 years old and still looks brand new when it's clean. The downside is that the touch controls don't work when your fingers are wet, so you have to dry hands before changing temps. And the rings are a little tough to see - they're subtle. But I think the newer Wolf models do a better job of making the rings more visible. At least the 36" does. I'm completely getting rid of gas in the next house.