Choosing the right dishwasher for your restaurant or establishment can seem pretty overwhelming, especially when your current dishwasher just kicked the bucket and your employees are threatening to riot from being forced to manually wash all the dishes in the restaurant. But the more you know about commercial dishwashers the easier it is to decide on the right machine to get your business back on track.
There are several different types of commercial dishwashers and the best way to compare them is to calculate what you plan on washing and how much of it on any given day. Different types of dishwashers are capable of cleaning certain amounts of dishes in a specific amount of time, so you want to correlate your machine’s production with the amount of dishes and flatware your restaurant or business will need.
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Undercounter Dishwashers
Similar to residential models, these units can typically handle up to 35 dishwasher racks per hour. They are convenient for small restaurants with limited space and usually contain a built-in heating element for flash heating dishes to the required 180 degrees F for sanitization. |
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Door Type Dishwashers
These washers are slightly larger than undercounter units and can handle up to 150 dish racks per hour. These models stand upright with a large door that opens for easily inserting and removing the racks. This type of dishwasher is most commonly used in average-sized restaurants and businesses. |
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Conveyor Type Dishwashers
These high volume dishwashers are the kings of warewashing and can process over 400 racks per hour. These units contain a moving conveyor for a constant washing cycle that is best for large applications such as busy restaurants, cafeterias and institutions. |
While these are the basic types of commercial dishwashers available today there are different variations of these styles. For instance, some door type dishwashers may also contain a conveyor for constant warewashing. You can also find rotary rack glass washers that are typically undercounter units and are perfect for bar applications. As their name suggests, these units are meant for glassware only and operate in several different ways such as pass-thru, side-to-side and front-to-side processing.
One thing to consider when buying a commercial dishwasher is whether you will need an electric booster heater. These units operate separately from the dishwasher to pre-heat water to the NSF required 180 degrees F. This ensures that there will be enough hot water available for washing. As mentioned earlier, some models may contain built-in heating elements like the undercounter type dishwashers, but you should always check to see whether you will need a separate booster heater before making a purchase.
Next you need to decide whether you want a high temperature or low temperature dishwasher. A high temp dishwasher uses hot water to clean dishes while a low temp unit soaks dishes in a chemical bath. While this may be a more energy efficient way to clean you want to take into consideration the potential damage to flatware and plastics when using large amounts of sanitation chemicals. Some argue that the cost of chemicals for a low temp model is less than the increased energy savings versus a high temp unit, but whether this is true or not the best way to determine what you needs is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of these two based on the aspects of your restaurant or business.
High Temp Dishwashers:
- Uses heat to sanitize dishes and glassware
- Must achieve 180 degrees F or have a booster heater
- Uses more energy
- Does not require sanitizing chemicals
- Does not damage flatware and plastics
- Most commonly used commercial dishwashers
Low Temp Dishwashers:
- Uses a chemical bath to sanitize dishes
- Not as effective at removing grease and hard stains
- More energy efficient
- Can potentially damage flatware and plastics
- Requires frequent purchases of chemicals
You know what they say, measure twice, cut once. Okay so maybe this isn’t exactly the same thing, but the message is still important. You want to take all of these things into consideration so you get what you want and what you need the first time without having to buy another unit or worse have to constantly make service calls for the lifespan of your appliance and pay for the repairs.
JES Restaurant Equipment offers commercial dishwashers from many major brands including Moyer Diebel, Jet Tech Systems, Meiko and even Hoshizaki. You can also see this information in our Learning Center.
