Dishwasher true-cost calculator
Hand washing looks free — until the wage clock starts.
See what washing up really costs you in wages each year, and the machine that ends it — with its weekly finance and payback, from live Craven prices. Grounded in Craven’s own warewashing guides.
1.5 minhand labour per cover (guide figure)
82°Cmachine final-rinse sanitising benchmark
40–60racks/hour for hood / pass-through machines
Your wash-up load
Two numbers drive the cost: how many covers you do and what the person washing up is paid. The rest follows the Craven guide.
120
10600
312
100365
£
Guide worked example uses £12/hr.
Sets the machine class, not the cost. 3–4 is the buying trigger; 40+ needs pass-through.
That works out to roughly
7 racks a day · 180 min at the sink
£
Ex VAT. Selecting a live machine below drops its real price in here.
What hand washing costs you
Machine favoured
£0
—to pay the machine back
Move the sliders to see your result.
Hand wash / rack£0
Machine / rack£0
Saved / year£0
Finding the machine that ends the wage clock…
Machine class
Auto reads your peak racks/hour against the Craven sizing thresholds. Override to price a specific class.
Running cost, hand vs machine, over a year
Hand washMachineSaving
Running cost only — purchase price is handled separately in payback.
Pick your machine — live from our store
live Store API
⌕
What the maths is grounded in
- Hand labour ~1.5 min/cover, machine labour ~0.3 min/cover, at your wage; plus ~£0.06/cover hot water and chemicals for hand washing.
- Machine running cost: ~1 kWh per 3 racks at £0.27/kWh, plus ~£0.12/rack detergent and rinse aid.
- Sizing by racks/hour: undercounter ~2–3 min cycles; hood / pass-through clear 40–60 racks/hour; 82°C final rinse sanitises.
- Hand washing vs machine warewashing · dishwasher sizing guide.
Want it checked against your kitchen?
Send the team your numbers, or call — they’ll spec the right machine and water treatment.
Call 01792 732702
Email these numbers
Estimates use Craven Cooling guide figures and live product prices where selected. Ex VAT. They exclude installation, water softener salt, servicing and finance interest, and local utility variation. Finance shown on machines over £1,000, subject to status.