Dishwasher requirements

catho_monster

I came to the conclusion today that i need a dishwasher to keep my sanity intact.
but i have a small kitchen, and the only way i think i could fit one would be in place of one of the presses at ground level.
is this possible?
will i fit one?
does it matter how far away it is from the sink and water access?
will it cost me a lot to have it fitted or is there anyway i can do it myself?
thanks in advance for any advice

smashey

You should be able to fit it in one of the existing presses, although it may take more than one press depending on the dimensions. Get the measurements of the dishwasher. Also, if you use more than one press, it might mean you have to get a new small door made. This is a potential problem in that getting the exact finish of the existing doors may be awkward. Try to keep it as near to the existing water/drainage as possible so as to minimise the amount of pipework to be run from the existing.

catho_monster

i really only have the option of one press or nothing...
in order in a line i have the fridge, press, oven, drawers, sink, washing machine, wall to outside. i was thinking (hoping) in might put it between the fridge and the oven...

CJhaughey

You can get a smaller model of dishwasher, an 8 place setting that takes up 45cm width.
This is what we opted for as the 12 place setting models were too big for the kitchen and besides you need 2 lots of crockery to keep a big one running efficiently.
Look at most peoples dishwashers they very rarely fill them properly.
Many press units are sitting off the floor with a void behind the kicker, this will allow you to run the water and electric cable, but the waste water may need thinking about.

Corkey123

Most of the "presses" are actually carcase units of a width in multiples of 100mm. If the press you are removing is a 600mm then you should have no great problem getting a dishwasher to fit as they too are in multiple of 100mm.

First find the width of the existng press and then seek a dish washer of the same width.

With regard to fitting some washers take only a cold feel, this can be draw from the nearby sink. Output from the washer is through a pipe that will fit into most kitchen sink wash units. Have a look at the waste unit under you kitchen sink and see if there any such facility. All pippining shout be hidden behind the various unts and appliances

Can you do it yourself, that's up to your knowledge of plumbing, however this is basic stuff I can't see why not

Macy

You can get counter top size dishwashers (4 place settings?) if needs be, but as has been said there are slimline models available.

Main problems with fitting would be the access to the water and outflow - nearer to the water the better. Is the press under the draining board an option?

Actually that last point - don't forget you'll need to plug the machine in, so perhaps under the sink isn't that great an option!

starman100

A slimline version should do the trick alright, you could always remove one of the wide units beneath the worktop and replace it with the d.w. and a narrower unit. You will need to keep it close to the sink for easier plumbing using a T-connection and a below-counter plug socket would be useful (if you have one already).

Saying that, we had been using our large dishwasher daily up until recently but have decided to cut back and use it only once every 2-3 days. No point using it of its not full. With the price of electricity rising rapidly, I reckon we might be saving up to €10 every 2 months by returning to a bit of elbow grease! Our latest bill showed a drop anyhow.

eddiej

Hi guys just wondering why you need a dishwasher. We dont have one, after moving from a house with one, felt it was an expense that could do without. washing dishes dont take too long and find it a time to have a chat after the meal and do some stuff together (a bit sad i know) better than slouchin in front of the box and sayin nothin. I know there are only 2 of us but if you have kids make them help bout time we went back to this and stopped everything so easy when we dont need it 10 stonne person 30 mins washing dishes = 70 calorie

Now could this reply be more obscure for the DIY board

PS. fitting Dishwasher is easy only difficult part is electricity but we had a hole rilled in counter top and just used a socket above the counter and unplugged dishwasher when we wanted to use socket.

eddie

catho_monster

eddiej wrote:

Hi guys just wondering why you need a dishwasher. We dont have one, after moving from a house with one, felt it was an expense that could do without. washing dishes dont take too long and find it a time to have a chat after the meal and do some stuff together (a bit sad i know) better than slouchin in front of the box and sayin nothin. I know there are only 2 of us but if you have kids make them help bout time we went back to this and stopped everything so easy when we dont need it 10 stonne person 30 mins washing dishes = 70 calorie

eddie

i work two jobs, am doing a phd and a masters at the same time and i would like to spend the very small amount of time i have left over with my better half than doing the washing up. and i wholeheartly agree with starman over the electricity, but to have any time to spend with my better half is worth twice the price.

eddiej

Having done the PhD thing myself know how you feel budy, not having a go at you just having a rant

As I said to fit the dishwasher is fairly straight forward to make things easier look for one that only uses a cold feed and also check out under your sink as in my house built in 05 there is a cold feed for a dishwasher already plumbed in with one of those litte valves with the blue tap. You just get an extra spigot on the drain pipe to push on the dishwasher house and maybe an anti siphon valve and voila

GreeBo

starman100 wrote:

Saying that, we had been using our large dishwasher daily up until recently but have decided to cut back and use it only once every 2-3 days. No point using it of its not full. With the price of electricity rising rapidly, I reckon we might be saving up to €10 every 2 months by returning to a bit of elbow grease! Our latest bill showed a drop anyhow.

As long as you keep the door firmly closed the food will not go too hard and should wash off after 2 days
If we have very dirty stuff I just put it on a rinse cycle until its full.

byte

From what I can see, all dishwashers now are cold feed only, as are majority of washing machines nowadays. While slimline dishwashers are indeed handy, they tend to be more expensive than their 60cm 12 place counterparts

GreeBo

anyway, if you are replacing a press it will most likely be a 60x60 press so its all gravy.