I don't own Miele columns but I can tell you this.

They are manufacutered by Bosch in it's own plant in Turkey.

They are sold under the Bosch,Thermador,Gaggenau,and Miele brands.

The Miele has some of their own proprietary electronics which the others do not have. But the cabinets and sealed systems are all the same. Functionally, the biggest difference between Miele columns and its cousins are the Wifi-RemoteVision. It connects your fridge/freezer with Miele HQ through wifi. It reports any problems to Miele and you through email.Possbile fixes or possible appointment times if a tech is needed are also included.

The only problems that were reported more than a few random times were the first generation ice-makers. They have since been re-designed.But the long-term reliablity of the new units is still up in the air.

SZ full-size units are made in Wisconsin while the Miele are made in Turkey. That is all the info some people need.

Thanks. Our salesperson mentioned that they were made in Turkey and that they were basically the same as the Thermador. But, when he opened up the Thermador's doors to show us that they are the same, it was pretty obvious that the Thermador's shelving wasnt nearly as robust as the Miele (we've really been burned by our Samsung...), so we weren't sure who to believe or what to think. Has this Miele brand been available in the US long? (we've heard great things about the German made models, that aren't sold in the US). Is it just basically a Bosch? And if so, where does it fit in the pecking order of Bosch, Thermador, etc? We tried to find this out from our sales person, but he was a high pressure, tell you whatever he thought would convince you to buy-type of guy. Not to get off track, but he frequently both encouraged and discouraged us from buying the same units, when he thought it would result in a quick sale. We just want to buy something that is large, built-in, reliable and that won't buckle under the weight of our food. I know it's unrelated, but we have a Thermador range and it can't simmer without boiling our food right out of the pot. The oven has had lots of issues necessitating repairs and our best friends have had a Thermador range that required 4 service calls in the first 6 months because of bad "circuitry." I know that comparing a fridge to a range is apples to oranges, but it's hard to overlook our limited experiences with Thermador. Are we asking for trouble looking at a ?Bosch or ?Thermador-made Miele?

As for the WiFi connectivity, that sounds really interesting, but does anyone actually use it? My mother has had two Kenmores and a Whirpool and all lasted almost 20 years each. They never broke. They just died from exhaustion :) . I'd like to think that after spending a small fortune on a high end "food preservation unit" that it would last a long time, as well. Is this naive of me?

Miele is an independent company with a long and very reliable record.

They have not made refrigerators in the past. There are no "German made units." All their other stuff,to my knowledge, is made in Germany. The "Independence" refrigeration line is made in Turkey. You may be thinking of Bosch. Alot of their ultra premium made in Germany products are not available here.

Miele makes the best dishwashers and laundry washers.

Among the best ovens and vacuum cleaners.

They had Bosch make these units when Bosch ended up having excess capacity.

In the Bosch empire it is Bosch Thermador then Gaggenau at the top.

Miele is a seperate company.Sorry if I confused you by calling it a "brand".It is debatable if Miele is below,the same,or above Gaggenau. Yes, they have been here a long time with good infrastructure.

Wifi is passive. You don't do anything other than register your email with Miele.

I hear you on Thermador ranges and ovens. I am not a fan.

"They don't make them like they used to" is massive other topic. It has to do with government regulations for efficiency,demands from the American consumer for bigger shinier products with more doodads at ever lower prices, and Chinese pressure that gives consumers what appears to be the appliances they want for half price. This forces Western/Japanese companies to cut cost,price,and inevitably quality.

I don't know what the long term reliablity of these units are going to be. The track record is short. Early reports are relatively good.

BTW These units have nothing to do with the low end Bosch units you see at Lowes,Sears, and Best Buy.

Those are made for Bosch by Daewoo of Mexico in Mexico.

A rather generic Korean design.

I know people who bought these low end Bosch units for their "German Engineering".

Like buying a VW made in Mexico. Not the case. The only thing German about the Bosch Linea is the Bosch name.

I believe loves2cookfor6 has a Miele refrigerator and adores it. Perhaps she will weigh in her or you could contact her (she also posts on kitchens) for a first-person report.

Thank you. Will do.

I have 30" Miele fridge and freezer. I love them! I was going to get SZ but the units available at the time didn't fit well in my kitchen. I also wasn't as pleased with the interior configuration of the new SubZeroes as I had been with the older ones.

There is a huge difference between the Miele and the Thermador, even though the boxes are the same. That bit about the Miele electronics is more than just a fluff aside. Like you, I didn't care at all for the interior of the Thermadors either, though many people are very happy with them.

In terms of performance so far (I've been using them for coming up on a year) I'd say my Miele units are on par with SubZero. I don't have a dual compressor though, which might make a difference for those looking at over/unders.

That's good to know. I didn't realize that they didn't have dual compressors. Not sure if that's really an important feature, though. I've never had a fridge with dual compressors. The shelving and lighting in the Miele was unbelievable! Is your's built in with matching wood paneling or do you have the stainless doors? I ask, because I just want to make sure that the built in version's doors open fully. Our salesperson told us an anecdote about the now defunct built-in Samsung whose doors wouldn't open widely enough to allow removal of the crisper drawers for cleaning...

Nolefan -- Not sure which model you're looking at but, f.ex., I've posted the link below to the K1811vi -- a fully-integrated 30" all-fridge which accepts custom panels. The pdf gives 2 door options.

This fridge also has dual compressors.

Those of us who have been through the appliance wars tend to spend a good deal of time digesting the relevant web pages for appliances before we buy (avoids surprises) and looking super carefully at the "spec" or installation diagrams so we know what's needed. Posters here can answer some surprisingly specialized questions.

This page on the Miele site lists all the fridge & freezer combos and their features. At the very bottom of each page are little tabs that have all the important details.

While I was shopping the last reno I was really surprised at the misinformation in some of the stores. And I learned the hard way to get feedback from owners who've used appliances for a time and perhaps even more important to read the owner's manual before I buy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fridge pdf

Oh, no, the Miele do have dual compressors in the over/unders, one for the fridge section, and one for the freezer, like SubZero and all the top lines. Sorry I wasn't clear. I just meant that since we were talking about the columns, it didn't take that into consideration. Dual compressor units are their own thing. With the all fridge and all freezer, each unit has its own compressor. That's what you were talking about in the first post, right? The columns?

I have panels. Fully integrated, and yes they open fully. That is something about the SubZeros. The non-integrated models with the optional full overlay doors also only open 90 degrees. You have to angle the drawers up to remove them. The hinge on the Miele carries the door out and away. I don't remember the angle, off hand, but while it's not a full 180 degree pivot like the old time SubZeros, it opens plenty well not to feel boxed in, and the drawers open fully. That's one of the things that lured me away from SubZero.

That's extremely helpful information rococogurl and plllog. I don't have the catalogs in front of me or even readily available, but... in the store, they had one Miele floor model. It was a separate ?36 (or ?30) inch fridge with a ?30 in freezer and some sort of "astral strip" between the two that made them appear to be one integrated unit (?merging kit). The salesperson told us that Miele didn't offer a top fridge, bottom freezer drawer option, but we saw one listed in the catalog and on the website when we returned home.

We haven't met with our architect, yet, so we're not sure if this idea would work, or if our budget would allow, but we were considering buying two 36" top fridge bottom freezer drawer units with left and right hinges and placing them adjacent to each with the merging kit (or (A.) one 36" fridge and one 36" fridge and freezer drawer model with the merging kit or (B.) one 36" fridge and a 30" freezer). It's hard imagine what this would look like since they don't have any in the stores in our town...) Too many permutations!

It's good to know that the drawers open fully. These are things that we just assumed would be true, but the more we learn, the more we find out this isn't always the case.

Thanks again for the pointers!

Do you live anywhere near a Miele Gallery? I mean, close enough to take a trip? I've even taught the folks there a couple of things I knew from reading the manuals, but they have a lot of units on the floor and helpful people.

There's a "heat shield" that goes between the columns, with a covering strip.

The common demonstration set up in most stores is the 30" fridge and 18" freezer in a dark brown veneered cabinet that shows off the flush integration. BTW, that's flush to 25" deep, not 24".

The disadvantage to the over/unders is that you have four systems instead of two, and lose a little prime space to the horizontal divider between the freezers and fridges. The advantage, of course, is that you have that much more fresh food space and all the fresh without bending. What you lose, however, is one of my favorite features: The bottom drawers! The drawers go the full depth, so you can put a full sized platter in one, ready to serve, or plates requiring chilling. Also, there are the temperature controls for the drawers. I keep produce in the top one and meats in the bottom one. They hold beautifully. And I can easily change if I'm entertaining. There's also a 36" all freezer if you like.

I don't have a picture of a platter, but here are individual table plates with fish and eggs.

I've seen the 36" model with the top fridge & bottom freezer. Salesman doesn't appear to know the line.

What's on the website is usually current with them.

I have the miele fridg freezer columns and think they are great. I like the configuration that allows a full tray in the fridg, the drawers are roomy and glide easily, and the lighting terrific. The doors open and close easily as well as feel substantial. I've yet to have anything freeze that is placed in the fridge. I have not noticed any cold spots. I find that for the most part they are reasonably quiet.

I'm sitting in a rental house today on vacation with viking appliances - every time I open the viking fridge I am reminded how much I love my miele. As a post note, cooking on gas this week makes me appreciate my induction ever so much more!!, although I must say I'm loving the gas oven.

I have the 36" Miele top fridge (right hinge) and bottom freezer. I chose it over the subzero because of the more normal sized doors racks. We don't do gallons of milk, just 1/2 gal cartons of soy milk, so I wanted that space for condiments and the many sauce bottles I seem to accumulate.

We've had it for 3 months now. The panels are truly integrated and look just like the cabs (frameless) around them with the same 1/16" inch gaps. I like that it has the compressor on the bottom (tall people like this fridge) and nothing is visible from the front. SZ's may have a grill thing on top.

The shelving, particularly in the freezer drawer, seemed better quality to me that SZ. The freezer drawer is metal mostly, less plastic.

Had a subzero in a previous kitchen put in about year 2000. It's compressor went out about 2 months after its 5 year warranty was up- about $300 I think.

(Toe kick not yet installed on this photo)

marcydc,

Don't want to derail the thread but can you email me or post a pic of you pantry open. It looks like you have a pullout(s) pantry.

I too am wavering between the Integrated Subzero 36" Over/Under, the Built-in Sub Zero 36" over/under and the Miele 36" over/under. Its hard when you can't see them all side by side to compare :). I was in NYC at the design building running up and down floors between the Miele and Subzero showrooms a year ago. I have since resurrected this remodel and trying to get the pluses and minuses of what they each offer in terms of capacity (Need more fridge than freezer space), door storage differences, bin differences (produce sizes, etc). Noise level. Plus any other details.

I have a before-fridge pic of the pantry, todds. It's a 16.5" i believe. Pullouts on the bottom and the top has one shelf. I am using the top of that as tray/cookie sheet storage (added dividers) and the bottom 6 or 8 inches or so will be a basket to keep onions, squashes, and potatoes in since I can't figure out where else to keep them :) I just have to find the right basket thing.

I'll take a current picture once I can locate my camera which seem to be still packed in the vacation luggage perhaps.

I can get a lot in here. All the baking supplies and cereals and open stuff so we don't have to walk to the storage shelving about 10 feet away.