"Performance may be compromised" simply means that 208v ac 2 phase cannot deliver the maximum power that 240v ac is good for. Millions of ranges work without a problem every day on 208v because who cooks anything at maximum power on a Wolf or anything else using 240v?

Appliances like Miele and others that are similar, are often made with control boards to cope with all voltages found world wide.
Don't accept any "won't work" assertions until you have written proof from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Thanks for the feedback, laat2.

I hope that I can get feedback from actual people that have some personal experience with operating the Wolf combi oven at 208VAC. If someone out there has such experience, please share.

Regarding "won't work," that assertion came from Miele about their combi oven. They told me that their combi oven will "fault" if operated at 208VAC.

Regarding the Wolf combi oven, I have been unsuccessful in getting Wolf to explain what they mean by "compromised performance." They suggested that I install a transformer to boost the voltage to 240VAC. If I were to do that, I would just stay with the Miele product.

I understand your explanation, but before handing over thousands of dollars to Wolf, I would like to hear their explanation and/or get feedback from customers who (I hope) have had good success operating the Wolf oven at 208VAC.

Thanks!

See the link below for the published spec of Miele ovens. I am not sure what the individual you spoke to meant but they appears to be mistaken. I have a Miele speed cook and oven and on both face plates it clearly lists 208.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele speed cook oven spec

I can't help you entirely, but in addition to steam, the combi ovens produce heat by using conventional electric heating elements. Heating elements are rated by watts - more watts means more power. Most heating elements that I have seen have a rating for both 240 and 208. The link is a page for a replacement element. For example, this one is rated 2500 watts when connected to 240 volts, and only 1875 watts when supplied with 208 volts. The oven will still reach operating temperatures, but will probably take longer to do so. Thus any machine that uses conventional heating elements would be right in saying that the performance is less - since you will only have a bake element at 1875 watts instead of 2500 watts - whether you could tell the difference in normal use, I don't know.

Here is a link that might be useful: bake element

Is someone out there successfully using the Wolf combi oven (CSO24) at 208V?

homepro1, thanks. I should have been more explicit regarding the Miele oven in question. It's the DGC4086XL. On page 3/7 of the following link, you will see a designation for 240VAC, not 208VAC. Other Miele appliances will show a dual rating: 240VAC and 208VAC. Check out:

http://www.mieleusa.com/pdf/dg/DGCXL.pdf

Barryv, thanks for the information. When I checked with Miele, they clearly told me that their oven would not function correctly at 208VAC. I could have tolerated a longer preheat time, for example, but Miele said the oven would "fault."

fmdsf, Try to place a call to Wolf and ask for their engineering department and see if you can get someone that knows about the design of the product. My suspicion is that the control board is designed to run on either voltage without a problem ( since it probably is run off a transformer ) but don't know for sure about the fan and steam generator. My suspicion that the disclaimer is only for the electric heating elements is somewhat confirmed since the same disclosure is in the manual for the L series Wall oven - I didn't check every oven, just the first one listed on the web site - check page 7 of the manual.

Here is a link that might be useful: wolf l series installation

Thanks, Barryv. I was finally able to talk with someone at Wolf that confirmed that at 208VAC operation, the combi oven's pre-heat time is longer than at 240VAC operation (why they don't publish such information is a mystery to me). I was told that 11 minutes of pre-heat time may be required versus 8 minutes, but that that applies to the convection aspect of the oven and many recipes may not be impacted.

Thanks again for your helpful suggestions!

Glad to hear you have it sorted out. So it doesn't impact the oven's ability to hit or maintain a temperature, just how long it takes to preheat. Since both are still quicker than a regular wall oven ( and of course, if you got a regular wall oven, at 208, that would be slower than a 240 wall oven ) so that should not be a deal breaker.

My friend has a Viking Combi Oven - I asked her about the VAC and she said that she thinks that theirs will function at 120 or more??

May be worth looking in to is you haven't made a decision yet.

Thanks, flamingfoodie. We have pretty much settled on the Wolf oven, but I just did a quick comparison of Wolf to Viking. The Viking oven, indeed, operates at 120VAC. That's good to know.

The Wolf combi oven (CSO24) has an interior size of 1.8 cubic feet and requires a 20Amp circuit operating at 240VAC or 208VAC.

The Viking combi oven (VCSO210) has an interior size of 1.1 cubic feet and requires a 15Amp circuit operating at 120VAC.

The Viking VCSO210 is not really comparable to the Wolf ( I have the Viking VCSO244 ). The VCSO210adds a microwave function to heat and steam, but it is more comparable to the Sharp combi ovens. At 120 volt it will operate more like a toaster oven than a wall oven. The Wolf will work just like a regular wall oven, plus give you the steam combi option.

My DM was in a condo with 208 - but didn't realize she had 208(common in buildings with elevators) and complained about how long it took to warm up. DD said it was her imagination. Then a friend in another condo told me she would call her DH when she left work to preheat the oven and explained about the 208 and explained about elevator electricity.
I think you are on the right track- just plan ahead as I think the pre heat times may be a bit longer than wolf is saying.
Good luck

Thanks for the additional information, Barryv and a2gemini.

The Miele showroom in NYC says that the company will introduce a 208v combi-steam oven later this year or in early 2017.