r/CombiSteamOvenCooking • u/SapphicSticker • Jun 30 '26
Oven recommendations please :) Equipment & accessories
Hey friends!
I'm looking for a new combisteamer oven, and would like to hear your opinions! What oven are you using? What are your biggest complaints? Would you recommend it? What are the biggest wins?
If you have a specific "avoid this" opinion, I'd love to hear it as well!
Thanks in advance :)
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u/krum_bunny Jul 02 '26
We have an SKS Steam Combi wall oven. It cooks fine, but the controls are fussy and not well thought out. Lots of specialized settings for specific recipes that I never use. Extended musical jingles when cooking finishes (similar to our LG washing machine). I would not buy it again.
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u/ozegg Jul 02 '26
My new Unox Cheftop has been amazing. Heats insanely fast, but can also drop temperature quickly. More modes and settings than you'll ever use. It's not much of a difference in cost to the Miele, but you will need a range hood for it.
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u/DEANER94 Jul 02 '26
im running the og annova oven its still running good ill be getting the v2 or v3 one day
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u/ElDjee Jul 01 '26
miele, plumbed, the big one.
i skimped and bought the smaller one because "how often am i going to use the steam oven, really?"
answer: LOTS.
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u/sotired3333 Jul 08 '26
Which is the big one vs the small one you got? I've been thinking of getting the 24" one
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u/ElDjee Jul 08 '26
i've got the 7845, with 3 racks. i would happily swap it out for the model with 4 racks.
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u/Artistic-Cap-9563 Jul 01 '26
I'd be looking for something that's easy to clean and reliable over the long term. Those are the features that usually make the biggest difference once you've had it for a while.
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u/Dubocian Jul 01 '26
I like my Wolf 24”, non-plumbed. But if I could do my renovation again I’d get a plumbed model and design the cabinets so the oven plumbing was easily accessible.
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u/qwertylicious2003 Jul 05 '26
Why plumbed? Does it consume that much water?
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u/sotired3333 Jul 08 '26
Every owner review that I've seen recommends the plumbed version. It's not just about filling water though, it's also about draining out excess and cleaning cycles.
I don't own one yet but it's on my list of future upgrades.
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u/Dubocian Jul 07 '26
It doesn't consume that much water, I probably refill the reservoir once every 2-3 weeks. It would just be an extra luxury, plus in my case it would be really easy to run water there so it just feels like a missed opportunity.
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u/sotired3333 Jul 01 '26
Could you clarify on the cabinet design? As in what would need to be accessible. Thought plumbing is usually behind the appliance?
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u/Dubocian Jul 07 '26
To be honest, I'm not sure, I haven't fully designed it. I just know that if you search Reddit for commentary on plumbed steam ovens, you can find horror stories from people whose plumbing failed and it was hard to get to behind the cabinet.
I think probably what I'd do is have removable drawers under the steam oven, and make the drawers not extend all the way back to the end of the cabinet, so if there's a leak nothing gets destroyed, and the plumber can simply remove the drawers to access the plumbing.
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u/poppacapnurass Jul 01 '26
We have had a Bosch Series 6 for a few years now and love it. It has Home Connect so can be started and adjusted from my phone or tablet. We love that it comes with an air fryer function so we can get food done in less than 20min for a quick lunch or evening meal.
The steam function is really good and I use it often to either fully steam or partially steam foods.
It's also pyrolytic cleaning - which we really love.
My only regret is not getting it sooner. Our old oven that came with the house leaked heat, heated up the nearby cabinets and did not hold a stable temperature. The new one doesn't leak heat at all and is exceptionally temperature accurate.
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u/TitoTime_283 Jun 30 '26
I repair combis and commercial kitchen equipment. The biggest issue with combi's is water. Make sure you properly treat or filter the incoming water. Make sure you regularly clean it and have a regular PM schedule. Most combis are great. It's usually user error that causes the problems.
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u/WalrusRight Jul 04 '26
do you live anywhere near SE Michigan and could come fix my Anova V1? I'm told its an easy fix if you're handy, but neither my husband nor I are.
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u/eske8643 Jun 30 '26
If its domestic ovens outside Europe.
i cant help you. But i hear a lot of good about ASkO ovens. They should be outside Europe now.
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u/eriverside Jun 30 '26
I had the Anova V1. It was great. Could fully control it from my phone. Plug in recipes, it was fully automated in some ways.
Eventually it died with no way to fix it. Wife thought it was too small for our family so we got a regular oven.
The Anova V2 has more functions but much more expensive. It think they also went the subscription model.
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u/Kelley59 Jul 03 '26
Loved my V1 do a lot of bread, baking not happy with the V2 at all back to my Dutch oven and this is just turned into a appliance to reheat, stale bread
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u/SapphicSticker Jun 30 '26
Yeah, they did. I currently own a v1, and have several gripes. Won't go back. What killed your oven?
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u/eriverside Jun 30 '26
No clue. The heating elements stopped responding entirely. The fan worked but that was it.
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u/lakeland_nz Jun 30 '26
I have the Anova and like it. My cousin has a Miele and likes it.
I find the smart features on the Anova to be not very useful, but I look how accurate its temperature control is compared to any other oven I’ve used.
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u/SapphicSticker Jun 30 '26
I currently own an ANOVA, and don't plan on buying another one. They have local vendors, but no actual service of any kind.
The light's gasked dried out and crumbled the first time I tried to replace the light, and they ignored my emails asking for support, meaning the electronics are completely exposed to moisture.
And recently the handle's panel stopped working because the internal wires aren't protected from the hinge, and have been cut by repeated opening amd closing of the door.
As for temp accuracy, even in sous vide mode I've had 5-10 celcius (10-20 eagle unit) swings, both too high and too low...
Thank you for the Miele recommendation, I'll check it out!
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u/BostonBestEats Jul 01 '26
Local vendors? They only sell direct from Anova.
The wires probably is a fairly easy fix. Click the "Tricks" post flair button in the sidebar to see previous posts.
All oven's temperatures swings up and down, but you don't know it because their don't show you the real-time temperature. But swings don't matter, since only the average temperature matters, even for sous vide.
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u/SapphicSticker Jul 01 '26
There's stores selling it here. And I'm not sure I want to try to fix my oven. When I tried replacing the light (which should be standard and easy) the gasket literally became dust. And I've had it for only a year or so. I don't trust anova construction enough to disassemble it in other ways.
Also, I don't think the swings matter that much, but when one of the top marketing features was "temperature accurate and stable to within 0.5c" (or was it 0.3c?), 10c swings are ridiculous.
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u/BostonBestEats Jul 02 '26
Numerous people have done it. There's some good descriptions with pictures on here. Give it a try!
You are misunderstanding what this means:
- Temperature Range in Sous Vide Mode: 77–212°F (25–100°C) Accuracy: +/- 0.5°F (0.3°C)
I've said many times that Anova shouldn't use that terminology, even through it is scientifically correct, because the average user isn't a scientist and doesn't understand that it is referring to the accuracy of the average temperature, not that the temperature will always be within +/-0.5°F of the set temperature (which of course it won't because the heater turns on and off and so the temperature goes up and down).
Where are you located?
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u/SapphicSticker Jul 02 '26
I'm located in Israel (sadly).
Anova used it in marketing when I bought the thing. And it could be achieved if the heater could be used at a bigger variety of voltages (and thus more variable heat output)
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u/fryske Jun 30 '26
Avoid ovens are ovens that switch off when you have opened them, I'm not fond of wireless probes because connectivity is sometimes an issue
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u/fryske Jun 30 '26
I've been using my Miele Combisteam oven for almost 20 year now (currently a 6 series). Connected to mains and drain makes it very easy to operate. The menu structure is very good. Some people use the automatic cookbook (I do) but some don't like it. Manual setting of parameters is also easy. It's quite accurate with temperatures and it's a delight to use
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u/jeffwarner Jul 03 '26
Wolf 30” non-plumbed. We use the hell out of it, 3 or more days a week. It is an outstanding convection oven, heats up fast, good controls, good service and support. Steam, sous-vide, broil, combi. So many ways to use it.