Loch’s Capsule dishwasher is small, fast and efficient without plumbing

A dishwasher is a luxury item that some people can’t live without. It’s one of the first major kitchen appliances I purchased as soon as I could afford it. Now that the kids are grown, it’s the device I thought I’d miss most in my nomadic pursuits.

Send me her lake $459.99 / €459.99 Countertop Capsule Dishwasher To review in a small house on a remote beach and inside a truck on a two-month road trip. It is an excellent product that quickly washes and dries two places at bacteria-killing temperatures of up to 75°C (167°F) in less than 20 minutes. It will also kill bacteria and neutralize viruses on your devices with a waterless blast of UV-C light. The estate!

What I learned during this review had less to do with the device’s limitations, and more to do with my limitations. It turns out that I’m willing to wash a lot of dishes by hand when faced with a scarcity of resources, whether that’s space, energy, water, time, or money; And I’m unwilling to become a germaphobe despite claims that cell phones are 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat

The Loch Pod looks clean and simple on the kitchen counter, in my opinion. Although the exterior is plastic, the sink is made of stainless steel, unlike most countertop dishwashers. This discriminator improves drying speed, durability and cleanliness, while helping keep odors under control.

The unit is tall and deep enough to accommodate large dinner plates and pans that wouldn’t normally fit in a short, sturdy countertop machine. Its dimensions are 46.5 x 26.2 x 51.5 cm (18.3 x 10.3 x 20.3 inches) giving it a tight footprint and an internal volume of around 30 litres. The built-in handle makes carrying the 12kg (26.4lb) dishwasher relatively easy.

If you’re preparing all your meals at home, you’ll probably need to run it once a day for a family of one, or twice for two people based on my experience. It comes with an external clean water tank so it can be used anywhere where power and H₂O. No plumbing is required, but a connection is available if you get tired of refilling the tank.

Setting it up is very simple. In most scenarios, you’ll plug into the wall for power, plug in and fill the fresh water tank, and run a second hose from the dishwasher to the sink to get rid of the waste water. In my truck, where I had limited space for the pod, I had to install it in my “garage” connected to the optional wastewater tank because the 1.2m/3.94ft hose was too short to reach my sink.

The glowing white screen is covered with capacitive buttons that still respond to touches when my fingers are wet. The look is warm and friendly, but operation is loud, like most countertop dishwashers, which is something you have to consider for an appliance intended for use in small spaces. I measured about 56 dB max from one meter. This is much louder than my built-in dishwasher, which runs at 38 dB. The sound intensity also varies with water vibration and pump vibration. In other words, it won’t act as a white noise machine while you sleep, if that’s what you’re hoping for.

The capsule can also wash utensils and fruits. The basket holds about seven apples, which takes eight minutes to wash, or 12 in total if you add UV cleaning. Waterless UV mode can be used to kill surface bacteria on baby bottles and personal devices such as phones and earphones using medical-grade UV light.

Loading dishes into the pod may seem like you’re playing at an expert level Tetris. The first time I tried, it took about five minutes to load 18 items into this small cavity. Now it takes about a minute or two, while filling and emptying the clean and dirty water containers takes a few more minutes. An optional $19 “dual drawer” rack can be placed at the bottom to make room for a large bowl, or at the top where it can fill any available free space for washing silverware or other small, flat items.

Multiple cleaning modes are available, from 15-minute meal wash to 152-minute intensive clean. I found that the 15-minute mode worked so well that I didn’t need to resort to longer cycles, as long as I didn’t burn anything or wait until the next day to start washing.

To test, I loaded the pod with all the mess two people produce at breakfast and lunch, including two 10.5-inch plates covered in bacon grease, silverware covered in peanut butter, a milk yogurt pot, espresso cups, a juice cup, a chef’s knife, tongs, and a sports bottle. Although the 12-inch diameter pan fits inside the capsule, its handle doesn’t fit Loch’s claim, so I had to hand wash it. (10-inch skillet with 8-inch handle only Decent, but the angle doesn’t leave room for anything else.)

Everything came out clean, hot to the touch, and mostly dry in the 15-minute Meal Wash mode, on par with the larger compact machine. I was touched. The cycle used 2.5 liters (0.66 gallons) of water and consumed between 220 Wh and 300 Wh in my repeated tests, with power use peaking at around 900 Wh. A 15-minute wash cycle actually takes 20 to 25 minutes to complete. The most intense wash mode ran for 2 hours and 28 minutes, and consumed 420 Wh and around 4 liters of water.

By comparison, when applying the hippie-approved Vanlife dishwashing technology to the same dishes with the same mess, I was able to wash and dry everything — including a 12-inch frying pan — in just six minutes using one liter of water and zero energy consumption. This method involves wiping everything down with a used paper towel or discarded food package, filling a bowl with not hot tap water, dipping it in a soapy sponge, and then getting to work. Be careful, van life is less clean than normal life, but we’re not dead yet.

If I installed the Loch Capsule in my truck, I would have to run the 15-minute mode twice a day to clean all the dishes my wife and I typically use. This equates to about 500 watt hours and 5 liters of water per day – a 33.3 percent increase in my average daily energy use and a 100 percent increase in water consumption. I can’t justify it. This dishwasher is for rigs that carry a lot more water and battery power than I do, or anyone who wants to dock frequently at serviced campsites.

Most importantly, vanlifers don’t typically travel with full-sized plates and pans. Therefore, the countertop dishwasher is more compact than companies like Comfy or Farberware Which costs about $300 Or below It may be a better option. Loch sells a Solo Capsule for $399.99 Without UV materials and plumbing connections. It’s the same dishwasher and is currently on sale for $339.99.

Even inside a small house, I have a hard time justifying the pod’s $459.99 price tag, even at the retail price of $390.99, despite the surf shack’s ample supply of hot water and electricity. For one or two people, doing the dishes myself is faster and I don’t lose any precious space above or below the counter. And my freshly washed hands don’t do much good with bacteria-killing UV rays Not a real threat anyway.

To justify purchasing a Loch Capsule dishwasher, you, and at least one other family member, must hate washing dishes, have easy access to water and power, and have almost no space but still use large pans and dishes. That’s a niche, but one that the Loch Capsule dishwasher fills admirably.

The Loch Capsule is an excellent countertop dishwasher with a few minor drawbacks – it’s not for me.

Photography by Thomas Ricker/The Verge