Dishwashers and Warewashers

Components of these units include removable upper and lower rinse arms, pump drains, detergent pumps, built-in temperature boosters for high-temp warewashers and sanitizing pumps on low-temp machines. Insulated doors, low-chemical alerts and delime alarms typically come standard. Some warewashers have digital controls on top that display water temperature and cycle information, while others can automatically extend the rinse cycle to ensure water reaches 180 degrees F.

Flight-type, also called rackless, warewashers have a setup akin to a car wash. These units are best-suited for large, high-volume operations, such as cafeterias, banquet and catering halls, or prisons. Due to the big footprint, these systems require a great deal of space.

Rack warewashers, commonly referred to as rack conveyors, are often used in full-service restaurants and higher-volume applications, such as universities and healthcare foodservice. This is because the average production rate for these continuous-motion machines is between 100 and 300 racks an hour. While undercounter and door-type machines also use racks, this reference typically is limited to the conveyor-type units.

Despite the number of options available for reducing water costs associated with dishwashing, the drawback remains that there has been little research in terms of total life-cycle costs. “Usage can very day by day,” says Chris Moyer, manager of Conserve.restaurant.org, the National Restaurant Association’s sustainable information resource.