Dishwasher or no Dishwasher?

[Arthurc]

Hi,
I have space in the Galley for a 18” dishwasher and was curious if this group had any experience with dishwashers on a boat, past boating experiences were all on boats too small for one. I’m thinking about getting a Miele since we have them at home and love them. My guess is they should save a decent amount of water with only 2.5-3g per load (and me/wife likely to not be the most efficient by hand dishwashers). But not sure if there are other things I should consider.

Thanks
AC

 

[Rossland]

This is in the nice to have category, and will make life in the galley much easier. However, don't count on a dishwasher as a water saving devise. I never measured water flow exactly, but our ten year old GE probably uses at least as much water as hand washing. A new one may use less. An 18 inch dishwasher will hold one to one and a half days dirty dishes.

You should consider if you want the dishwasher to be powered by your inverter. Ours is not, and as a result, we can't wash dishes while we cruise without running the generator. Not important to us, and maybe not important to you. When we anchor out, we wash dishes when we run the generator to charge batteries.

 

[GFC]

For us a dishwasher wouldn't be practical. Most of the time it's just the two of us and we don't dirty a lot of dishes. Hand washing makes sense, probably saves water and doesn't use any electricity for drying.

 

[Arthurc]

For us a dishwasher wouldn't be practical. Most of the time it's just the two of us and we don't dirty a lot of dishes. Hand washing makes sense, probably saves water and doesn't use any electricity for drying.

Yeah, a 3 year old makes life a bit more complicated for me.

 

[rwidman]

A dishwasher might be expected on a Kadey-Krogen 54, but not on smaller boats. If you think you need one, it's your boat and your credit card. I don't have one on my boat and I've never considered having one. A trash compactor might be more useful to reduce the volume of trash being stored or carried to shore.


If saving water is a concern, consider wiping the dishes clean before washing them or even doing what some sailboaters do, wash them in seawater and just do a final rinse in potable water.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. Ar. A 3 year old? Well, well, well....Problem solved!

 

[Lou_tribal]

Mr RTF has always the right and most innovative solution

L.

 

[Arthurc]

Greetings,
Mr. Ar. A 3 year old? Well, well, well....Problem solved!

I actually have one of those too! But unfortunately she is a pickier eater than me...

 

[hmason]

Paper plates.

 

[Bigsfish]

As some one mentioned we don't use a lot of plates and stuff to be washed but we use Joy in a bucket of salt water to wash and then rinse in salt water with a final rinse in fresh water that uses about one gallon of fresh. The only bad thing about this is sometimes the appointed dishwasher drank too much st cocktail hour and tossed the silverware and plates overboard that he had to retrieve in the morning (hung over or not). This system requires no maintenance and uses less water.

 

[rwidman]

Some folks even go so far as to install a raw water faucet at their galley sink just for dishwashing.

 

[dhays]

A dishwasher might be expected on a Kadey-Krogen 54, but not on smaller boats. If you think you need one, it's your boat and your credit card. I don't have one on my boat and I've never considered having one. A trash compactor might be more useful to reduce the volume of trash being stored or carried to shore.


If saving water is a concern, consider wiping the dishes clean before washing them or even doing what some sailboaters do, wash them in seawater and just do a final rinse in potable water.

This is brilliant. Trash, at least in my part of the world, is a huge issue. A trash compacter would be a much better use of that space IMO than a dishwasher.

Washing in salt water and rinsing in fresh works great when water is an issue. However, I would be surprised if you don't have a water maker if you are considering a dishwasher.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: If it's a boat we're going to be cooking and preparing meals on then it must have a dishwasher. I've had dishwashers at home since I was 18 and hubby's never had a home without one. We're not going to be ok for weeks cruising without one.

 

[rwidman]

Wifey B: If it's a boat we're going to be cooking and preparing meals on then it must have a dishwasher. I've had dishwashers at home since I was 18 and hubby's never had a home without one. We're not going to be ok for weeks cruising without one.

And we have one in our home that hasn't been used in twelve years except when my wife uses it to clean and heat jars for canning. That's about twice a year.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Sea Q]

If you plan to run a dishwasher off an inverter make sure its true sign
We burnt out the dishwashers control board 2 times before we realized it.
We consider Trash Comp and dishwasher a must with 4 adults and 1 pre teen for long weekends where everyone is on shore and uses the boat as a hotel
For longer trips if I had to choose I would take the Trash compacter over the dishwasher

 

[Bay Pelican]

With a KK54 there should be enough room for the extra plates that will be needed as the plates from the prior or two prior meals will not have been washed until the dishwasher is run. At home we frequently have more than eight plates in the dishwasher. Bay Pelican has exactly eight dinner plates.

If you have the room and the watermaker it would be a great addition. The specs call for a 15 amp (120v) circuit. Don't know how many watts but this could be a battery drain on the water heating cycle of the dishwasher. Also be careful with the requirements for the motor startup. On a KK54 I assume at least a 3,000 watt inverter so it should work.

 

[BandB]

And we have one in our home that hasn't been used in twelve years except when my wife uses it to clean and heat jars for canning. That's about twice a year.

Different strokes for different folks.

Wifey B: Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At home we normally have 7 people for meals, sometimes 5, 6, or 4. Very seldom, 2. For July 4 though we had 25 people. That's a lot of dishes.

Yes, different strokes. I just can't imagine having a dishwasher and not using it. Even in NC with just the two of us, we always used it. It broke once and had to be replaced. While waiting, we ate out.

 

[Bigsfish]

Wifey B

25 people? Wow you must have one big ass dishwasher.

 

[BerettaRacer]

For me dishwasher on a liveaboard is a must.

 

[McGillicuddy]

When I remodeled the galley, the dishwater was removed to provide more storage space. I kept my trash compactor. Very handy.

I cruise with a crew of 2 or 3 and fed 9 on board for 4th of July. No problem washing dishes by hand, it only takes a few minutes and I have nothing but time on my hands.

 

[twistedtree]

We love the dish washer. In fact it's running now. We originally had a GE but it was very loud and made it impossible to hear the TV in teh Salon next to it. Swapped it for a Bosch which has been excellent.

I haven't measured water consumption, but I have measured power consumption. It uses 770wh of AC to do a full cycle. It runs off the inverter, so figure another 10% if calculating battery draw vs AC.

 

[Lepke]

I live aboard and wouldn't do without one. Mine is house size. It also functions as add'l plate, glass, etc., storage. I consider water a necessary luxury and so have a large watermaker.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B

25 people? Wow you must have one big ass dishwasher.

Wifey B: We have commercial dishwashers at home. We don't have those on the boat.

 

[BruceK]

Wifey B: We have commercial dishwashers at home. We don't have those on the boat.

You mean servants (called"dishpigs" in restaurants) to do the washing up, don`t you?

 

[BandB]

You mean servants (called"dishpigs" in restaurants) to do the washing up, don`t you?

Wifey B: No, I mean high speed rack type dishwashers. Actually compared to many restaurants, ours are small and low speed. The cool ones are the conveyor models. They'd do over 200 racks of dishes in an hour. Ours only does something like 15 or so an hour depending on how you set it. A wash cycle is under five minutes.

We do sometimes have big groups for a meal.

 

[Bay Pelican]

We love the dish washer. In fact it's running now. We originally had a GE but it was very loud and made it impossible to hear the TV in teh Salon next to it. Swapped it for a Bosch which has been excellent.

I haven't measured water consumption, but I have measured power consumption. It uses 770wh of AC to do a full cycle. It runs off the inverter, so figure another 10% if calculating battery draw vs AC.

Not familiar with the term "wh" which I assume means watt hours. Is that the equivalent of 770 watts for one hour?

 

[Lou_tribal]

Some folks even go so far as to install a raw water faucet at their galley sink just for dishwashing.

This is something I am currently looking at. We would like to save as much water as possible and we cruise only in fresh water for now so I am looking at a setup to filter raw water just enough to use it for dishwashing and shower instead of using our fresh water from tanks.

L.

 

[FF]

Before purchase read the time the unit takes to do a complete wash.

Will your noisemaker usually be on for that amount of time?

 

[O C Diver]

I considered getting a dishwasher for my Great Loop trip. Don't think my wife would be ok with me having another woman on board without her though.

Ted

 

[Donna]

Just came off a month long trip and had 7 on board for 4th of July. I have never considered a dishwasher. Honestly don't think I would use it. I don't mind hand washing on board. At home is a different story, can't do without. On my nice to have list, is a combo washer/dryer. I have the room.