Most of your questions are answered in the owner's manual.

To run off a cold water supply, you'll need a Y adapter, like this one, with standard (preferably braided burst-resistant) washing machine hoses attached from the Y adapter to the two inlets on the washer. Alternatively, you can get a Y adapter with short hoses already attached, though I'd like it better if they included burst-resistant hoses. There may be some that do, I haven't checked.

Cold water prevents some types of stains from "setting" that may become permanent if immediately doused with hot water. But cold water doesn't clean very well, and some other types of stains will only come loose in warm or hot water, including stubborn shirt-collar discoloring. So the best way to make sure anything gets as clean and stain-free as possible is to fill the washer with cold water and detergent, and heat up the water as it washes to a relatively high temperature. 240v front-load washers are uniquely well suited for this, as they use only a small amount of water at a time, and have 2500-watt internal heaters that quickly bring cold water to high temperatures. And Miele made it very easy to know what temperature that is - no vague "warm" or "hot" labelling, much less "work clothes" or "bedding and blankets" or other descriptions that don't leave a clue as to what the machine will do with your clothes. On your Meile, set the dial to "120F" and your clothes will be washed at said temperature. Want something else? The dial adjusts from 85F to an on-the-verge-of-boiling 205F. And thanks to that 240v internal heater, it will reach your selected temperature quickly. Starting with cold water rather than mixed hot/cold will slow things down only slightly, maybe a few minutes. On 120v/15a washers with internal heaters, heating water is *slow* since there's only about 1000 watts allocated to the water heater. But with 240v/15a power, about 2500 watts are available for heating, which means it warms up fast and doesn't add much time if the water starts cold instead of lukewarm, as it would with a 120v washer.

Your electrician is confused because the big NEMA 14-30P plugs and matching 14-30R recepticles are normally used with 208 or 240V/30 amp equipment, but the Miele washer and dryer, though equipped with "30 amp" plugs, each only draw less than 15 amps and are designed to be protected by a 240v/15a circuit breaker, not 240/30a. Show your electriction p.37 in the manual for a more detailed explanation. Note also the electrical requirements shown on placard on the machine itself, either the inner door frame or back panel near where the water and electrical connections are made. So yes, despite the 30A plug, both Miele machines are 240 volt/15 amp devices and each machine should be connected to a 240 volt/15 amp circuit with a 15 amp circuit breaker protecting it. There's no need for the Miele adapter box if you have room for two double-pole 15A breakers (the kind that take up two adjacent slots) in your electrical panel.

I have a Miele W1926 which is a larger version of the 1918 (about 4" deeper inside and out) with the same requirements. It's a great machine. I can't help much with the dryer issues as I've never had a Miele dryer.

Thanks lee. I printed the page and my electrician is going to put in the circuit breaker in the sub panel. I am going to take the details to my local specialty plumbing store so that I can have the supplies ready.

Lalitha

is there an adapter for the miele washing machine so I can plug into a 3500 watt transformer and use 110v?