 Bob dishwasher. It doesn't need plumbing. Just add dishes, water and detergent.){kind=link}
My wife and I have a deal: Whoever does the cooking is spared from the miserable task of doing the dishes. Since I love to cook, I feel that I get the better end of this deal. But she just listens to podcasts while doing the dishes, so who knows. Imagine if we had Bob to do the dishes for us?
Wait … Bob?
Bob is a new, tiny dishwasher designed and built by French company Daan Tech and newly available here in the U.S. The product’s predecessor has already been quite a hit, and why not—it’s almost perfect for RV life. But it’s also well-suited for the tiny home movement that seems so popular.
Bob is a small cube measuring about 20 inches tall, 13 inches wide and 20 inches deep. It pulls about 1,000 watts of power when operating. A cycle takes as little as 20 minutes, although there are longer cycles.
You could, for example, use this with a Jackery or other portable power station and be super off-the-grid geeky.
Further, you don’t have to plumb Bob (hehehe, plumb bob) to have it operate, although there is a hose at the back so the dirty water can go away.
How Bob works
Bob works much like a commercial dishwasher in that there’s a single tray at the bottom with reconfigurable inserts for things like cutlery and such. You simply load up the tray, put a detergent cartridge in the bottom, pour about a gallon of water in the top and push the button. Twenty minutes later, dishes are done.
The biggest question I had was about that detergent cartridge. Do you have to buy pre-filled cartridges form Daan Tech or can you just BYOD? It seems that you have to use cartridges. That means this may be a subscription model. That’s good business for Bob, but I’d rather be able to use my own.
Cool tech geekery
Not only is this thing small, but it’s also connected. Not like in the Mafia, but to the internet.
Yep, another device that’ll get updates. “Please come back later with your nasty, dirty dishes. I’m updating my software.” Goodie.
But there are some things that are really nifty about this. Those include the fact that there’s a touch latch for the front door. So you could come armed with a load of dirty dishes and just use an elbow or something to pop the door open.
There’s also a window. So, if the TV’s out, you can watch your dishes being washed. They even do so in the glow of a blue light.
Bob heats the water and does the whole job, apparently. There are also settings to have a higher performance wash.
Summary
While this isn’t a word you’d normally use for a dishwasher, I will say this thing is super cute, especially considering that you can get it in one of 24 different colors.
I also very much appreciate that the company has chosen to make this device repairable. Anyone who has ever tried to repair a current Apple product will cheer at any business making the decision to actually let the customers fix the stuff they paid their money to own.
Lastly, Daan Tech claims that Bob is made of about 50% recycled plastic.
But, on the downside, it seems that Bob only runs on European 230 volts. That could be a deal breaker for most Americans, and especially RVers. Perhaps the site hasn’t been updated, or Bob hasn’t been updated, or who knows what. But that would make this a no-go for me.
##RVT1045
I live in an RV and went for the Farberware “portable”. It’s still huge- 16″x17″x15″…it sits on my closed up range, I had to remove the range hood for it to fit. (cook with electric hotplate). It has two hoses, you can fill from the tap or top fill with a pitcher. Worst down side is that the shortest full wash cycle takes *two hours*, with several automatic dump and fill cycles. I would’ve loved to get the Tetra, and the Bob looks promising- smaller and short wash cycles.
Since this is wired for EU plugs, I’d suggest the CAPSULE System I saw on IndieGoGo. The manufacturer has a proven track record, it’s wired for NA power systems, and uses off the shelf dishwasher detergent. I had considered this myself, but we usually only go camping for long weekends and the wife didn’t want to have something else on the counter. However, this would fit perfectly in a fifth wheel or larger Class A kitchen (obviously, YMMV).
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/capsule-personal-dishwasher#/
I just checked the website and under “Connections” it states the following: ‘Secure the power cable to Bob’s electricity connection and connect the power cable to a 100-120V 60Hz plug.”
Beware of the trend where the appliance is connected to the internet. Thats a current business model to prevent DIYers from troubleshooting problems, buying their own replacement parts, and fixing it. The Green tractor company is being sued for just that practice. Right to repair is the bedrock of the DIY crowd. Id not buy it for that reason alone.
I’m interested BUT, I’d DEFINITELY WAIT until “Bob” has a ACTUAL PRESENCE in the U.S and has been engineered / re-engineered for 120VAC power. Until then, in North America, this is just an interesting concept that for a variety of reasons is “vaporware”.
I thought maybe they had a dog named Bob.
To be fair, it’s not a review it’s a report, and it is interesting. I’m gonna presume the 230volt – 120volt dilemma is a marketing snafu.
Did I see a price? Anyway here’s the things, I think da wife would veto it over the counter space and we don’t make a lot of dishes…
Paper plates and plastic (gasp) ware….
If it’s connected to the internet, than it’s another company that wants to keep track of you and violate your privacy.
No sense in reviewing something you can’t use!
Actually you could use it and it may be that the company does provide a 110VAC version since they’re appealing to the American market, I just didn’t see it when I looked and hadn’t heard back from the company by press time.
I’ve converted several other 240v devices… it’s usually just moving a tap on the transformer or replacing it for the right ratio. Heaters take longer, but if thermostatic usually work fine. Converting 110>240 is more dicey since downstream components may not be rated.
Obligatory warning: don’t attempt if you don’t understand what you’re doing.
Additional warning.. YOUR WARRANTY IS VOID!
Looks to be like $450 before added modules, pre-order for Sept 2022 and I can only imagine it will be 120V AC for the ones going to be sold in the US from : https://daan.tech/us/product/bob-mini-dishwasher/
That would be my assumption as well but the company didn’t specifically mention a 110VAC version. I know the heating would have to be re-thought (not a big deal) and wouldn’t work as well but I don’t use the heat function on my own dishwasher.