As with any kitchen equipment, buying a dishmachine is more than a solitary choice- it actually involves several decisions.  Each of those decisions can either facilitate or encumber your business.

For example, a new restaurant with a bar finds on opening night that their dishmachine (which can only do 45 racks/hour) can’t keep up with the demand. That’s a BAD way to be- probably should’ve done their homework first.

To keep something like that from happening to your business, how would you know which dishmachine is right for your restaurant?

First, find out how much customer traffic you can expect. You can research public records, evaluating demographic business data- altogether a pretty good idea… but be sure to also physically go “next door” and talk to other restaurant owners in the area. Yeah, you read that right… just ask- it really is that simple.

Ridiculous?  Not really. Something you need to keep in mind is that not ALL restaurants are necessarily in competition with each other, as each business has something unique to offer.

BK vs. McD’s- we could totally understand… not much difference between their menus (besides the “tasty fries”).  However, notice that both are usually on the same city block- in any given city- and neither of them are suffering a loss. Coincidence?  Not likely. They both did their research and found that area to be ideal for their business- just some food for thought.

Being familiar with your rate of business, you need to choose kitchen equipment (in this case, your dishmachine) that can handle your customer demand. For that, we should get ourselves knowledgeable of some characteristics and types of dishmachines. One common mistake restaurant owners also make is that they try to fit their “dish pit” into an entirely too small of a space. Make sure to have enough room for your soiled dishtable, as well as your clean dishtable, while leaving space for your employees to work.

The first thing to consider is the dishmachine’s load time and/or the rate at which it can clean dishes. Load time is simply how long it takes to clean and sanitize through one full cycle of one load, or rack of dishes- particularly with door-type and undercounter dishmachines.

Bear in mind that one cycle, in some larger models, may consist of the rack actually passing through a series of chambers of the machine specialized for each stage of the cycle. In this case, each load does not have to wait a full cycle before beginning the cleaning process of the next- hence, the rate in terms of racks/hour.

In peg-type or flight-type dishmachines, dishes are loaded onto a belt that runs through the entire machine. These machines are designed for extremely high volume, and have a capacity to cycle well over eighteen thousand (18,000) dishes per hour. These machines usually need a person on each end in order to operate it.

Flight-type dishmachines can be customized, in that sections can be added, but it is recommended to work with a sales representative to help with sizing and configuration. Flight-type dishmachines also come with several safety features, to include a “kill switch” that stops the entire machine if dishes are not removed from the clean end- so they’re not falling onto the floor and breaking.

The most versatile dishmachines (and some of the hardest working) are the conveyor dishmachines, and they move dish racks from left to right, or right to left (left feed or right feed, respectively) through three to four chambers. Conveyor dishmachines, too, can be customized to your restaurant’s needs by adding sections.

Because of their massive productivity, they may not be the best choice for small restaurants, but in large commercial kitchens and cafeterias, they are revered as God-sent.

Door-type dishmachines are simpler, smaller, and moreover manually operated. Typically, they are single-load and pass-through, but there are corner types available as well. Door-type dishmachines typically use higher volumes of water over the ware, and cycle times are shorter (about 1 minute), but also usually do only one rack at a time.

Undercounter dishmachines can be free-standing or built into a counter, and are best used for smaller businesses- like a corner diner that seats fifty or less. The cycle time for undercounter dishmachines is around two to three minutes, or about twenty to thirty racks/hour.

Undercounter dishmachines and door-type dishmachines are both loaded and unloaded manually, so when figuring your washing capacity for that machine, be sure add that in as well.

Now that we’re more aware of what types of dishmachines are available to you, and what each can handle, you can better match your business needs to the appropriate machine. Be sure to look into optional features for your dishmachine that may allow a smaller or less expensive model to accommodate your needs just as well as a larger one.

You might not want to go overboard with your choice of dishmachine, but you want to be sure it can handle your business volume.

Have you been scouring the earth, trying to track down commercial kitchen equipment that won’t reduce your bank account to pennies? Scanning all of the classifieds, hounding suppliers, visiting all local stores and warehouses… and now you’re beginning to search the world wide web?

If you feel that you’ve just run out of options and looking to the internet is an act of desperation- think again! That should have been the first place to look if you’re in search of affordable kitchen equipment. Though the internet is commonly perceived as a “virtual world,” real hard commodities are ordered & purchased all the time through an internet connection- and often at a much lower price.

Several people have reservations about buying something they’ve never seen or put their hands on. Here’s some food for thought: When you go to the store to buy- say- a dishmachine… You look at the machine on display, you poke and prod, try this and that, ask a few questions… if you like what you see you decide to buy.

How often, do you think, does that very machine you looked at in the store actually show up on your doorstep? Unless you bought that very display model- NEVER! You end up with another machine (hopefully the same kind) that’s been sitting at a warehouse somewhere.

Why in the world would anybody feel better about that than doing and getting the exact same thing online- for less?

When it applies to kitchen equipment that is capable of producing more, faster, and easier, the terms “commercial kitchen equipment” and “industrial kitchen equipment” come to mind. These models are typically larger, more durable, and rugged, as they are intended to handle a degree of abuse over the several years of their productive lives. Less care is put into their cosmetic appearance as their domestic counterparts- the focus is more on sturdiness, functionality, and efficacy.

Commercial kitchen equipment is available in several shapes, forms, and sizes that are dictated by their function. Several restaurants have their inventory of kitchen equipment tailored to accommodate the increased demand of grilled food by purchasing huge commercial charbroilers and commercial outdoor grills. Other buffet-style restaurants expanded their inventory of warming & holding equipment to provide a more consistent supply of food items.

Commercial kitchen equipment also comes in the form of deep fryers, great big griddles, commercial toasters with conveyors, massive microwave ovens, refrigerators big enough to walk into, freezers you can fit under a counter, steam tables… the list goes on, and all of these are readily available for purchase over the internet- usually costing less than your local restaurant supply outlet. What’s better is that your larger items may even ship for free- right to where you need them!

The next time your kitchen needs an upgrade, or you just want to see what’s available, whenever you’re looking for kitchen equipment- look online first, and then compare.