As of this writing, you haven't seen or heard much about this dishwasher, or indeed the company who makes it, but that's not because there's no quality involved. Minea is a 20 year old, French manufacturer of appliances, just starting to make inroads in the US marketplace. [...]
Their Premia Countertop Dishwasher is their flagship appliance and in the few months I've had it so far, an excellent one. Here's my experience:
A number of months ago, my first countertop dishwasher, the noble Haier HDT18PA Space Saver Compact Countertop Dishwasher model, died on me, after five years of regular, and recently intensive, use. That's a lot for a relatively inexpensive and "economically" made machine, so I considered it an investment well spent, and would even now recommend it -- but what stopped me from simply buying another was that it's more expensive now than when I first bought it (by about $100!) and one of its specs had changed: whereas the first iteration had two spray arms (one atop, one below), the newer versions have only one. The two-arm feature had distinguished the Haier from other brands, and I figured that if I was to spend more dough and settle for the one-arm compromise, I'd see what else had been created or introduced in the countertop dishwasher field before signing on with Haier again.
It's a limited field too. There aren't many models out there, NONE of them are perfect, and it seems only the Danby scores as well as the Haier with customer reviews. (And the EdgeStar seems to do poorly.)
I don't remember how I stumbled upon the Premia model on the web, but when I did, I was intrigued that it held six place settings rather than four (place settings translates into more room for more stuff, and some bigger stuff too). I was intrigued too that I'd never heard of the brand before, and wondered if the Premia was a better known model, re-branded in an exclusive higher-capacity design for certain distributors. So when I read the specs, I copied the names of the dishwashwer's operational settings -- there are six -- and Googled the string. Sure enough, the smaller Danby model showed up. I wrote a note to Minea via their website, to ask if the Premia was indeed just the Danby, bigger and renamed.
As it turns out, the answer is both no and yes. One of the company's honchos (and I believe one of the unit's designers) answered me, in subtly French accented prose too!, to explain that Minea and Danby share the same parts manufacturer. But Minea decided to improve on the design. The controls were changed from knobs to watertight electronic buttons, to remove the possibility of wear or control pieces falling off. Next, the controls were moved from the bottom of the unit to the door, to maximize the loading space inside. It would seem also that Minea adopted the hose design from the EdgeStar units: unlike the Haier, which has an intake hose that attaches to your faucet, and a separate drainage hose, the Premia hoses are connected in a compact, single-piece design. What easily fits onto the faucet (each time you use the dishwasher) is a two-chamber affair: the top chamber feeds the intake hose; the bottom chamber releases the outgo. Thus the drainage follows the same trajectory as normal faucet flow, which eliminates the danger of a drainage hose popping out of your sink due to water pressure.
Another nice feature: Where the Haier has a simple screen to trap oversize particles, that needs to be wiped and then rinsed off after every use (not a huge inconvenience, by the way, but absolutely an extra maintenance step), the Premia features a kind of disposal drainage system. There's a short, cylindrical screw-in/screw-out piece, maybe two inches in diameter, located on the bottom of the loading chamber. Its outside is a fine wire mesh, and its circular center is a hard plastic cage, also surrounded by mesh. Water pressure from the spray arm literally pulverizes soft food remains so that they strain through the mesh and go harmlessly down the drain. The rare piece that's too big or too solid to pulverize gets trapped in the cage and can easily be dumped in the garbage.
Because there's only one spray arm, the odd item blocked from direct water path may not clean as thoroughly as those directly hit by the force of the stream. But usually, the heat from the cycle has so "cooked" any detritus that it flakes off with a simple paper towel wipe, and a quick rinse thereafter usually finishes the job. (As I said above, no countertop dishwasher is perfect, and you'll always make allowances somewhere. And this seems to me a compromise you'd have to make with any one-arm unit.) I'm not crazy about the flip-down, springy-plastic cup shelf design -- not for cups I'm not, anyway -- but as that implies, I've found my own uses for it; and the added loading space is so significant that it poses no meaningful inconvenience.
There's no drying cycle, but since those tend to be pretty useless in countertop models (mostly they blow hot, vented air and it doesn't do much), there's no loss. The Haier has a drying cycle and I disabled it all the time.
In general I'd say the build is more sturdy than that of the Haier too, stainless steel predominating over plastic. However deceptively, the Haier seemed a little flimsy; but the Premia feels pretty solid everywhere.
All in all, I'd say Minea's Premia countertop dishwasher is worth the extra money (especially if it lasts as long, or longer, than my Haier did), but browse a little before paying over $300. The most common base price seems to be $295; and I got mine from a "best offer" eBay vendor for $30 less than that, after negotiation, which absorbed the cost of delivery.
Feature Product
Description
This sleek Premia 6 Place Setting Countertop Compact Dishwasher can hold up to 6 standard place settings and can sit conveniently on your kitchen countertop. This unit is Energy Star Rated for the environmentally conscious. Easily controlled with mechanical settings, this dishwasher offers 5 different wash cycles to choose from, to guarantee a satisfactory clean. The 5 wash cycles include pre-wash, economy, rapid, normal, intensive. The intensive feature raises the water temperature up to 156.2°F (69°C), allowing for the sterilization of all your dishes. Other features offered by the Premia 6 Place Setting Countertop Compact Dishwasher dishwasher include an automatic rinse agent dispenser, a durable stainless steel spray arm and interior, low water consumption, and quiet operation. This practical countertop dishwasher can easily quick-connect to any kitchen tap for immediate use. Features: Can wash up to 6 standard place settings Energy star rated Quick connect to any kitchen tap 5 wash cycles: pre-wash, economy, rapid, normal, intensive Intensive wash cycle increases water temperature to 156.2°F (69°C) Durable stainless steel spray arm and interior Convenient automatic detergent and rinse agent dispenser Low water consumption Quiet operation Dimensions: 17.25?H x 21.65?W x 19.7?D Weight : 49.6 lbs
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