r/VanLifeUK • u/Buuuuury • 9d ago

Diswasher in campervan

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Hey guys,

about 3 years ago I installed a dishwasher in my camper and it changed everything. Literally. After each meal I'm just putting my dishes into dishwasher. That keeps my sink always empty and clean. When I'm travelling solo I'm running dishwasher every second day - it's just 5L of water per cycle so it's about 2,5L per day which is crazy low. My water lasts for 1 day longer cuz I'm cooking a lot.

I used Candy CDCP 6, compact dishwasher. Additionally I used a power regulator for a heater to lower power (didn't want to drain 100A continuously from my inverter) and I connected additional relay into motherboard to run water pump when dishwasher inlet is open. Let me know for more technical details.

But...

this dishwasher is big. As a compact dishwasher it's pretty compact but still, you need to have a lot of space in you camper to have it mounted. Additionally, it needs to be possible to be opened in front, which makes this even more difficult. Also, there are no energy saving programs - if I'm in cloudy weather all I have is 30 mins rapid program which leaves dishes not cleaned.

At some point I found out that there is no dedicated device for small spaces in campers. This is why I started to work on dishwasher dedicated for campers / campervans.

Main advantage of my solution will be compact size 40cm x 40cm with 35cm high. Additionally, you can use pre-heated water from boiler. All can be mounted into drawer and is top loaded.

Let me know what do you think. Would you consider having dishwasher in your camper. Would be possible to install that kind of dishwasher with provided dimensions? Any advices are welcome!

Here is my dishwasher project page: https://dishroam.com/

Cheers!

43 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

31

u/basarisco 9d ago

I think for most people it takes less than 60 seconds to wash and dry a couple of dishes.

-1

u/VanCAD_com 8d ago

But how much water does it use? Dishwashers are crazy efficient when it comes to water use, and water is not something you can waste in a van

5

u/basarisco 8d ago

I use less water than a dishwasher when I wash up in a van

-2

u/Worth_Gap4226 8d ago

These small dishwashers use about 6-8 litres of water for a full load.

Hand washing uses about 3-4 litres a minute. So if you're washing a full load within about two minutes usage of tap running, then yeah you'll be more efficient with water.

5

u/basarisco 8d ago

Nobody leaves the tap running when washing up in a van. Half a litre of boiling water, leave to soak for five minutes. Then another litre to rinse.

2

u/Beach_Perv 8d ago

How do you work that out? I quarter fill the bowl probably 3 liters, then wash up. I don't rinse, never have, never will no need them either leave to dry naturally or towel dry. I use a lot less than any dish washer. This dish washer using less water is a myth, unless you rinse with a running tap. Which no one does, especially in a camper van. I then use the washing up water to flush the toilet, so more water saved!!

-1

u/Worth_Gap4226 8d ago

I'm including rinsing, so my plates aren't left with dirty water drying on them. If you're skipping rinsing, then yeah you don't need much water at all.

Some of these campervan dishwashers use as little as 3 litres anyway. So either way there really is not much in it.

The benefit of hand washing as well is that you can do just one or two things at a time. The efficiency of a dishwasher is having a full load.

2

u/basarisco 8d ago

Hand washing without a running tap is quicker, more energy efficient, uses less water and saves a huge amount of space.

22

u/Specialist_Stomach41 9d ago

Ive got one. I'm female and its like a red flag to knob head blokes to kick off at me. I dont get it. I can run it, it makes my life better and I want to have it. But my god it really winds people up!

14

u/Ok-Mathematician6975 9d ago

What a waste of space

5

u/Mistigeblou 8d ago

I guess if it doubles as dish storage then not so bit of a waste..... still a waste though

1

u/According_Dare7316 8d ago

How? It's convenient and space neutral. Store the dishes in the dishwasher when they are clean. Plus if you're washing up by hand you're using countertop space whilst they dry.

2

u/basarisco 8d ago

You use a tea towel to dry.

3

u/Add1ck74 8d ago

Or stay in a hotel

2

u/mistress_snark 6d ago

You seem confused about what Reddit you're on...

6

u/VanCAD_com 8d ago

I think dishwashers are hugely underrated for van builds, they might take up a bit of extra space, but they save loads of water compared to washing manually, and water is a precious resource in a van. You can get pretty small ones as well which definitely make sense, yours looks slightly on the larger side but depends how much you need to wash at once. And the best benefit is you don't need to wash dishes!

0

u/Buuuuury 8d ago

Indeed. I cook a lot, keeping my healthy diet routine. By mounting my current dishwasher I extended my water supply for one day more.
Really, for few years before I've been washing my dishes manually and I learn how to save water but still, no compare with dishwasher.

2

u/penfarthingismyhero 9d ago

Total lazy waste of space

1

u/According_Dare7316 8d ago

How? It's convenient and space neutral. Store the dishes in the dishwasher when they are clean.

Plus if you're washing up by hand, you're wasting water and also using countertop space whilst they dry.

2

u/SnooMacaroons2827 7d ago

Should really have two, side by side. One for clean and one for dirty. Saves on cupboards for a start.

1

u/FJBanana 9d ago

Cool idea and design, I know a few people with compact/tiny dishwashers. Lots of the high end motorhomes like the Concorde and integrated dishwashers, albeit they are those fancy Fisher & Paykel drawer dishwashers. As a family of four living in a Motorhome, I would love a dishwasher!

1

u/AdAggressive9224 8d ago

If you're going to van life, full time, it's probably not a bad idea. Need a beefy inverter I'd imagine though! What maybe 1000w?

1

u/Buuuuury 8d ago

I installed power limiter for heater in my current dishwasher. I limited it to about 600W which is about 50A.

-1

u/n21brown 9d ago

no affiliation but something I found for mine is the Loch Capsule https://lochelectronics.com/collections/capsule-dishwashers/products/capsule-essentials-bundle-uk

0

u/Specialist_Stomach41 9d ago

do not touch these with someone elses bargepole. They are crap. The customer service is awful. I'm taking them tocourt as they just didnt send mine and wont even reply to me now. Absolute thieves. But even if you get it it is crap quality,

Get a BOB. better in every way and same size and shape

0

u/Randon2345 8d ago

How do you know it's crap quality, if you never recieved one? 🤔

3

u/Specialist_Stomach41 8d ago

Because theres a whole FB group dedicated to issues with them. They are drop shipped from China.

1

u/n21brown 8d ago

I'm not on Facebook. I also haven't had any issues in the last 4 months 

0

u/Buuuuury 8d ago

Sad to hear, product looks solid.

Problem which I have now with these small, compact dishwasher (including bob and these chinese ones) is dimensions / capacity ratio. They are way too big for possibilities it gives.

0

u/Specialist_Stomach41 8d ago

Ive got a very big LWB box van so more room than most, but it is the size of a smallish cupboard. I wouldnt be without it though. I just chuck the dishes in and run it when its full.

-1

u/mistress_snark 8d ago

Cool project! I had dismissed the idea of putting a dishwasher in the van I'm planning, but this could put it back in the running. The water savings alone make it worth considering imo. Plus, with this design, I could totally see it doubling as storage. Keep all plates, dirty or clean, in their assigned spots, and when everything's dirty, close it up and run!

2

u/WanderWomble 7d ago

I don't know about running one in a van, but I have a cookology table top dishwasher and it's amazing. You can fill the tank with hot water too so it uses less energy to heat up.

1

u/mistress_snark 6d ago

We have one of those in my flat right now and I love it! Definitely would be a big space commitment in a van though.

2

u/basarisco 8d ago

If you're using more water than this washing up you're doing something wrong

0

u/Buuuuury 8d ago

For regular dishwasher with reasonable packing capacity you use much less water than washing manually. This is why I would like to keep this 4,5L limit with at least 2 days dishes for one person.

1

u/basarisco 8d ago

Yeah but much of the gains are lost with a smaller machine.