Description
The Farberware FCD06SDWHT is a countertop dishwasher that behaves more like a small built-in than a novelty appliance. Farberware lists six place settings, seven wash programs, folding down rack shelves, a cutlery basket, an extra drying function and a quick connect assembly for attaching to a sink faucet. The cabinet measures 19.7 inches wide, 21.7 inches deep and 17.2 inches high, weighing 52.9 pounds.
Six place settings is the number that matters. Most countertop dishwashers hold four, which covers a couple but strains at a family meal. Six is enough for a household of three or four to run one load a day rather than two, and it is the main reason to choose this over a smaller tank based unit such as the Farberware portable model with a built-in water tank.
The Seven Programs and the Drying Function
The cycle list is Heavy, Normal, Eco, Baby Care, Glass, Speed and Rinse, which is a fuller set than most machines in this class offer. Heavy is for baked on bakeware, Eco trades time for lower water and energy use, Speed is the short cycle, Glass is the gentle cycle for stemware and Rinse is a hold cycle for dishes waiting for a full load. Baby Care is the high temperature cycle, and Farberware also lists it as suitable for delicate china.
The extra drying function adds heat to the final rinse to improve drying, and Farberware states plainly which cycles it works on: Heavy, Normal, Eco, Baby Care and Glass. It is not available on Speed or Rinse. That kind of specificity is unusual and welcome, because drying is where small dishwashers most often disappoint. Without a heated final rinse, a compact machine leaves plastics and cup bases wet.
Capacity, Dish Size and Loading
Farberware states the machine takes dishes up to 10 inches in diameter, and Farberware’s own recommended use list covers everyday dishware and glassware, cutlery, pots and pans up to that 10 inch limit, delicate china on the Baby Care cycle and heavily soiled bakeware on the Heavy cycle.
The 10 inch limit is worth pausing on. Standard American dinner plates run 10.5 to 11.5 inches, so a full sized dinner plate may not fit. The tank based Farberware FDW05WHA claims 12 inches, and the HAVA machines claim 11 inches loaded at an angle. Anyone with large plates should measure them before buying, because the place setting count says nothing about plate diameter.
The folding down rack shelves are what make six place settings practical. Folding them flat opens the tub for pots and bowls that would not fit around a fixed rack, which is the same flexibility a full size dishwasher offers.
Installation, Water and Power
This machine connects to a sink faucet rather than carrying a water tank. Farberware includes a quick connect assembly with accessories and adapters. That is simpler than plumbing but it does mean the sink is occupied while a cycle runs, and it means the faucet has to accept the adapter. Faucets with pull out sprayers or unusual thread patterns are the common problem. The drain hose has to reach the sink as well.
The electrical specification in this listing is not usable. The “Voltage” field reads 680 volts, which is not a domestic supply anywhere, and the “Annual Energy Consumption” field reads 680 watts, which is a power figure rather than an annual consumption. Both are corrupt. A countertop dishwasher sold in North America would ordinarily run on a standard 120 volt outlet, but this listing does not state that and it would be wrong to assert it here as fact. The voltage and current requirement must come from the rating plate on the machine or from Farberware’s manual before it is plugged into anything. The “Capacity” field, reading “10 Cubic Inches”, is similarly meaningless.
Highlights
- Six place setting capacity, at the larger end for a countertop dishwasher.
- Seven wash programs: Heavy, Normal, Eco, Baby Care, Glass, Speed and Rinse.
- Extra drying function on the Heavy, Normal, Eco, Baby Care and Glass cycles.
- Folding down rack shelves and a cutlery basket.
- Quick connect assembly with adapters for a sink faucet, included.
- Fits dishes up to 10 inches in diameter.
- LED display with touch controls, stainless steel interior.
- 19.7 by 21.7 by 17.2 inches, 52.9 pounds.
Things To Consider
The electrical fields in the listing are corrupt, as described above. That is the most important caveat here and it is a documentation failure rather than a fault in the appliance, but it means the supply requirement has to be confirmed independently.
At 21.7 inches deep and 52.9 pounds this is a substantial appliance for a countertop. The depth in particular is more than a standard 24 inch counter leaves comfortable once clearance behind the machine is allowed, and at 17.2 inches high it will not fit under a wall cabinet with the usual 18 inch gap once the lid and door clearance are accounted for.
No noise level is published, which matters on a machine that sits in the room rather than behind a cabinet door.
The 10 inch dish diameter limit is smaller than a standard American dinner plate. And because the machine connects to the faucet, the sink is out of use during a cycle, which in a small kitchen is a real inconvenience.
Households with the space and the plumbing would get more capacity, better drying and far lower noise from a full size unit in the built-in dishwasher range.
Who It Suits and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This suits an apartment, a dorm, a camper or a small kitchen with a usable faucet and no room for a built-in, in a household of up to about four people. The six place setting capacity, the seven cycle list and the documented extra drying function make it the most capable faucet connected countertop machine in this catalog, and the folding racks give it real flexibility for awkward items.
It is the wrong choice where no faucet connection is possible, in which case a tank based machine such as the HAVA TDQR07 is the only workable format. It is also the wrong choice for anyone with large dinner plates or anyone who needs a quiet machine. The full set of options sits in the countertop dishwasher category.
