Countertop Dishwashers With a Water Tank (No Hookup): A Renter's Research Guide (2026)

By Sorted Home Guide editors · Research current as of October 7, 2026

Published October 12, 2026 · Last updated October 12, 2026

We haven’t tested these dishwashers ourselves. Our picks are based on manufacturer specs and manuals, published test results from America’s Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, LeafScore, Inverse, The Verge and Top Ten Reviews (credited wherever we use them), and U.S. government recall and incident databases. See How we researched this.

Yes, a dishwasher with no plumbing hookup really exists. Several countertop models have a water tank you fill with a pitcher, so nothing connects to your faucet. You still need somewhere for the dirty water to go: the sink, a bucket or a second tank. Most guides mix these tank models in with faucet-hookup models. This one sticks to machines that can run from a tank. It also covers what renters actually ask about: faucets that won’t take an adapter, drain setup, whether your plates will fit, noise figures that don’t agree, electricity per cycle, brands that may share the same machine, and what happens if it leaks or you need to return it.

Quick picks by buyer type

We ordered these picks by how well each one fits the buyer’s problem, based on published test results and specs. No brand pays for placement, and we don’t earn from these links.

The picks in detail

HAVA R01: our research pick for most no-hookup renters with small, matching dishware

HAVA R01 Compact Countertop Dishwasher

What it is: a compact countertop dishwasher with a 5 L built-in tank. You fill it with the included pitcher or from a faucet. The inlet is a 3/4” garden-hose thread. It drains to the sink or a bucket, and HAVA says the drain height should be under 24” (HAVA).

Key facts:

• Size: 16.9 × 16.9 × 18.1 in, 28.7 lb, 950 W (HAVA).
• Plate size: up to 10.2” upright, or 10.6” angled (HAVA).
• Programs: 5 programs: Normal (69 min), Speed (29 min), Soft (59 min), Baby Care/Heavy (89 min) and Fruit (19 min). A 60-minute heated drying phase runs after each wash (except the Fruit program), followed by 72 hours of ventilation (HAVA).
• Rinse aid and limescale: it has no rinse-aid dispenser and no salt compartment. HAVA recommends citric acid for limescale (HAVA).
• Noise: HAVA states 60 dB (HAVA).
• Warranty: 12 months against manufacturing defects, plus “lifetime technical support” (HAVA). LeafScore reports a 30-day return window for unused products (LeafScore).
• Expert reviews:
  • LeafScore (updated Mar 17, 2024) reported spotless loads, including tea stains. It measured about 54.5 dB on average beside the unit, with a peak just over 70 dB. It found that four full-size place settings won’t fit and that the machine works best with small, matching dishware. LeafScore’s extendable spray faucet wouldn’t take the inlet hose, so it used the tank. LeafScore also noted the R01 isn’t ENERGY STAR certified, and that a pending EnergyGuide label supplied by the company showed 150 kWh per year (LeafScore).
  • Inverse (Aug 24, 2022) reported clean dishes every time and very quiet operation. It estimated realistic capacity at about 1.5 meals for two people, found little use for the fold-down top rack, and said the machine took up about half of a small New York City counter (Inverse).

Who it’s for:

• One or two people with small, matching dishes who want a tank model in a lower cost tier.
• Renters whose faucet won’t take an adapter. It runs from the tank.

Who it’s not for:

• Anyone who expects HAVA’s capacity claim (4 bowls, 4 cups, 8 plates and 7 sets of flatware) to hold up. Both independent reviewers found real capacity much lower.
• Households with 10” or larger dinner plates. Owner reviews on HAVA’s site say plates that size block the top spray arm.
• Hard-water areas where you’d want rinse aid.

Honest downsides:

• Real capacity is well below the marketing claim, according to both reviewers.
• It has no rinse-aid dispenser.
• It takes a lot of counter space for what it holds.
• It isn’t ENERGY STAR certified.
• Reviews on HAVA’s own site, which HAVA moderates, mention damp plastics, soap residue or water spots, a drain-hose suction cup that doesn’t hold well, and an inlet hose that didn’t fit some faucets (HAVA).

Loch Capsule: our research pick for narrow counters and quick cycles

Loch Capsule Countertop Dishwasher

What it is: a countertop dishwasher that draws water from a separate clean-water tank. Loch says you can also connect it to the plumbing for water supply and waste (Loch FAQ). Without plumbing, waste water goes to the sink or to an optional second tank (The Verge). Loch’s optional plumbing hose, sold separately, uses a G3/4 connector and is 5 ft long (Loch).

Key facts:

• Size: 10.3” wide × 18.3” high × 20.3” deep, 26 lb (Loch). Loch’s FAQ lists a stainless-steel interior (FAQ). Loch says the US version runs on 100–120 V (Loch technical specifications; FAQ).
• Capacity: Loch says it holds 25 items, or 35 with the optional Dual Tray (Loch). Loch also claims it fits a 12” frying pan, but the pan’s handle didn’t fit in The Verge’s review (The Verge).
• Programs: Loch’s FAQ lists a 15-minute Quick program at 70°C that uses 2.69 L and 0.17 kWh, plus a 152-minute Intensive and a 166-minute Eco program. It has a built-in rinse-aid dispenser (FAQ). Loch lists 10 programs in total and says drying is fan-assisted (Loch).
• Hoses: inlet 2.62 ft, outlet 3.9 ft (Loch).
• Noise: Loch states 60 dB (Loch). That’s the maker’s figure, not an independent measurement.
• ENERGY STAR: Loch says both the Capsule and the Capsule Solo are ENERGY STAR certified (Loch Capsule Solo page; Loch Capsule page). ENERGY STAR’s database lists one Loch model without naming which product it is, and that record’s drying and tub details don’t match Loch’s description of the Capsule (ENERGY STAR).
• Capsule Solo: a cheaper version without UV or rinse aid. It can’t be plumbed in, so it’s tank-only (FAQ).
• Warranty and returns: Loch’s own blog states a 1-year warranty (Loch blog, Apr 28, 2023). We didn’t find a formal warranty document. Returns are accepted for unused items only: within 14 days for full-price items and 7 days for sale items (FAQ).
• Expert reviews:
  • The Verge (Jan 24, 2026) reviewed a unit supplied by Loch. The reviewer reported clean, mostly dry dishes on the 15-minute mode. That cycle actually ran 20–25 minutes and used about 2.5 L and 220–300 Wh. The Verge measured about 56 dB maximum at 1 meter, listed “loud,” “expensive” and “niche” as cons, and found that a 12” pan’s handle didn’t fit (The Verge).
  • Top Ten Reviews (Mar 29, 2024; one-week test) listed the high price and a drain hose that comes loose easily as cons, and reported that dishes stayed wet on short cycles (Top Ten Reviews).

Who it’s for:

• Small kitchens, RVs or tiny homes where counter width matters more than depth.
• People who want short cycles and a rinse-aid dispenser.
• People who want a fully closed setup with a clean tank and a waste tank, or the option to plumb in later. For the closed setup, the second tank is optional.

Who it’s not for:

• Budget shoppers. It’s in the highest cost tier of our picks.
• Counters that can’t fit the separate water tank as well as the machine.
• Anyone who wants a long warranty, or a return window longer than 14 days.

Honest downsides:

• It’s in the highest cost tier here.
• The Verge measured it as loud.
• The external tank takes extra counter space.
• The capacity is small, and a 12” pan’s handle didn’t fit in The Verge’s review.
• The warranty is only 1 year, and it’s stated in a blog post, not a formal warranty document.
• Loch’s FAQ says an E4 error may be caused by leaking or spilled water getting into the machine (FAQ). Reviews on Loch’s own product page, which Loch moderates, mention touch-panel or power-button glitches, E4 errors after water got into the base, leaks from tight hose threads or gasket seating, and smaller-than-expected capacity (Loch).

Comparison table

Sources: see each pick above. Measured noise figures come from different publications using different methods, so they aren’t directly comparable. *Cost tiers compare the makers’ own prices on Oct 7, 2026. They aren’t Amazon prices and can change.

Buying advice: what other guides skip

Is there really a dishwasher with no hookup? How does it drain?

Yes. Every pick on this page can run from a tank you fill by hand, with nothing connected to your faucet. They still need a drain path:

• HAVA drains to the sink or a bucket, and the drain height should stay under 24” (HAVA).
• Comfee 6L (also considered below) drains through a rear hose to a sink or bucket, with the hose end no higher than 39 1/4 in above the counter (manual).
• Loch sends waste to the sink or to an optional second tank, so you can set it up without the sink entirely (The Verge; Loch FAQ).

If you want a model that can’t be connected to a faucet at all, Loch’s Capsule Solo is tank-only (Loch FAQ).

Tank or faucet? Start with your faucet

• Serious Eats reported that its pull-down faucet had no threads. The faucet hookup took several hardware-store trips and still leaked, and a faucet hookup ties up the sink while it runs (Serious Eats).
• LeafScore’s extendable spray faucet wouldn’t take the HAVA’s inlet hose (LeafScore).

If you have a pull-down or pull-out sprayer, plan on using the tank. If you rent, check your lease before you connect anything to the building’s plumbing. A tank-fed model avoids that question.

Will my plates fit?

Measure your largest dinner plate before you buy:

• HAVA lists a maximum of 10.2” upright, or 10.6” angled. Owner reviews on HAVA’s site say 10” plates block the top spray arm (HAVA).
• Loch claims the Capsule fits a 12” frying pan, but the pan’s handle didn’t fit in The Verge’s review (The Verge).
• Comfee doesn’t publish a maximum plate size. Its manual’s loading diagram shows 10” dinner plates as an example, not a stated maximum (manual).

How loud is it? The numbers don’t line up

• Maker claims: HAVA states 60 dB. Loch states 60 dB.
• Publication measurements:
  • Serious Eats measured 67 dB for the Comfee, which it called quiet.
  • LeafScore measured about 54.5 dB on average, with a peak just over 70 dB, for the HAVA.
  • The Verge measured about 56 dB maximum at 1 meter for the Loch.

Each outlet measured differently, so these figures can’t be ranked against one another. None of the reviews we read measured all three machines the same way.

What does a cycle cost to run?

Few makers publish energy use per cycle.

• Loch: its FAQ lists 0.17 kWh and 2.69 L for the 15-minute Quick program (FAQ). The Verge measured 220–300 Wh and about 2.5 L on that mode. At the U.S. average residential electricity rate of 18.31¢/kWh (July 2026, EIA), that works out to about 3¢ (Loch’s figure) to 5.5¢ (The Verge’s highest reading) of electricity per Quick cycle (kWh × rate).
• HAVA: LeafScore reports a pending EnergyGuide label, supplied by the company, showing 150 kWh per year.
• Comfee: Comfee lists 6 L of water per cycle but no energy figure.

We didn’t find published data on how much longer a cycle takes when you fill the tank with cold water.

Same machine, different brand?

Serious Eats warns that several of the countertop dishwashers it tested were the same machine sold under different brands at different prices, but it doesn’t say which ones (Serious Eats). Here’s what published documents show:

• COMFEE’ 5L (CDC17P0ABB) and Midea MDC17P0ABB: Comfee is a Midea brand. The two models share the “17P0ABB” model stem and list the same 5 L tank and 36.6 lb weight. Their published dimensions match only to within rounding: 17.13 × 16.53 × 17.24 in vs. 17.1 × 16.5 × 17.2 in (Comfee; Midea).
• Farberware FDW05ASBWHA and the COMFEE’ 5L: their manuals list the same wash programs with the same temperatures and times, but not the same energy use: the Rapid cycle is listed at 0.27 kWh in the Farberware manual and 0.11 kWh in the Comfee manual (Farberware manual; Comfee 5L manual).
• Hermitlux HMX-DW03 and EUHOMY DW002: they list identical dimensions to the hundredth of an inch, plus the same wattage, tank size and place settings, but different weights: 26.5 lb for the Hermitlux and 29.76 lb for the EUHOMY (Hermitlux; EUHOMY manual).

None of these brands has confirmed sharing a machine, so we treat them as separate products. Matching specs suggest a shared design. They don’t prove it. Even if two machines are the same, the warranty and support can differ by brand, so compare those too.

Warranty, returns and leaks

• Warranty length varies. COMFEE’ offers 1 year (365 days; you pay postage for service), Loch 1 year (from its blog), HAVA 12 months, Farberware a 1-year limited warranty that requires a receipt, and EUHOMY 1 year for purchases from its official channels only. Hermitlux doesn’t publish a warranty length on its US site, though it sells an out-of-warranty repair service (Farberware manual; EUHOMY; Hermitlux).
• Returns are short or strict. Loch takes returns of unused items within 14 days, or 7 days for sale items. Keep the box: these machines weigh roughly 26–41 lb.
• Leaks: Comfee lists overflow-switch leak protection. Loch’s FAQ says its E4 error may be caused by leaking or spilled water getting into the machine (FAQ). Check hose connections on the first few runs.

“UV sanitizing” and “baby care” claims

ATK isn’t confident the Comfee’s UV light reaches shaded items, and noted that the Farberware’s “baby care” cycle doesn’t promise sterilization (ATK). We don’t make sanitizing or health claims for any of these machines.

Hard water

HAVA has no water-softener (salt) compartment and no rinse-aid dispenser, and it recommends citric acid for limescale. Loch has a rinse-aid dispenser. We didn’t find softener or rinse-aid details for the Comfee in our sources (HAVA; Loch FAQ).

Dorms, RVs and boats

Comfee lists 120 V. Loch says its US version runs on 100–120 V (FAQ). Dorms often restrict appliances, so check your housing rules first. For an RV or a boat, the Loch’s narrow width and closed tank-to-tank option are the most relevant specs here.

Recalls and incident reports

On Oct 7, 2026, we searched CPSC’s recall database for every brand on this page, and it showed no dishwasher recalls (CPSC). Midea, Comfee’s parent company, has recalls for other product types, but none for dishwashers. We also searched SaferProducts.gov incident reports for each model and brand and saw no reports for any dishwasher on this page. Consumers submit SaferProducts.gov reports, and the reports aren’t verified.

Also considered (and why they’re not picks)

• COMFEE’ 6L Countertop Dishwasher (CDC17P2AWW). It was the top pick of both America’s Test Kitchen (Best Overall/Best Small Model, Apr 16, 2025) and Serious Eats (best countertop dishwasher, updated Jan 29, 2026). Both reported clean dishes and credited its auto-opening door for drying; it holds about 2 place settings, weighs 41.3 lb, and Serious Eats measured a 130-minute cycle and 67 dB (ATK; Serious Eats; Comfee). It’s not a pick because, when we checked on Oct 8, 2026, no retailer other than Amazon that we checked (Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s, Best Buy and Target) sold it, and Comfee’s own buy link goes to Amazon.
• Farberware Professional 5L (FDW05ASBWHA). America’s Test Kitchen rated it “Highly Recommended.” ATK reported easy setup, about 2 place settings, good cleaning and a 159.4°F maximum on the normal cycle, but found the “air refresh” drying weak (ATK). Serious Eats didn’t recommend a Farberware countertop model (it doesn’t give the model number) after its silverware rack warped on a high-temperature setting (Serious Eats). We didn’t find a standalone manufacturer product page, and variant codes differ across retailers.
• COMFEE’ 5L (CDC17P0ABB / CDC17P0AWW). It’s a smaller-tank Comfee, and we didn’t find an independent test of this exact model. Comfee’s US and Canadian pages list different weights (36.6 lb vs. 30.8 lb) (US; Canada).
• Midea MDC17P0ABB. Its published specs match the COMFEE’ 5L (see above), and we didn’t find an independent test.
• Hermitlux HMX-DW03. Serious Eats named a Hermitlux countertop dishwasher its alternative pick. It reported good cleaning without pre-rinsing, but dishes came out wet (Serious Eats). However, we couldn’t confirm which US model Serious Eats tested, and Hermitlux doesn’t publish its warranty length.
• EUHOMY (DW001-5 / DW002-5WH). We didn’t find a maker product page or an independent test. Retail listings claim 40 dB, far below every measured figure on this page, and we didn’t find independent confirmation of it.
• Faucet-hookup-only compacts (for example Danby DDW631SDB, BLACK+DECKER BCD6W, SPT SD-2225DW). These need a threaded faucet connection and have no tank, so they’re outside this guide.

How we researched this

We did not test these products. Our research team compiled published information on Oct 7, 2026:

• Specs, manuals, warranty and return terms from each maker’s own website, or from the manual where no product page exists.
• Test results from America’s Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, LeafScore, Inverse, The Verge and Top Ten Reviews, each credited where used. We note where a reviewer’s unit was supplied by the company.
• Safety records from CPSC recall data and SaferProducts.gov incident reports.
• Electricity rate from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

To make our list, a dishwasher had to run from a tank with no faucet hookup, have independent published test results, have published warranty terms, and be sold by its maker or a retailer other than Amazon when we checked. We then matched each pick to the buyer it fits best. We didn’t use Amazon customer ratings or reviews. No brand paid for placement, and we don’t earn from the links in this guide. Where sources disagreed, such as a maker’s capacity claim versus testers’ findings, we’ve said so on the page.

Questions or corrections? contact us

Sources (accessed Oct 7, 2026)

• COMFEE’ 6L CDC17P2AWW: product page · warranty · maker-hosted manual (PDF) · manual (PDF) · Midea brand page
• Loch Capsule: product page (US storefront) · technical specifications · ENERGY STAR record · FAQ · warranty blog post · The Verge · Top Ten Reviews · Capsule Solo page (US)
• HAVA R01: product page · LeafScore · Inverse
• Test roundups: America’s Test Kitchen · Serious Eats
• Also considered: Farberware manual (PDF) · COMFEE’ 5L (US) · COMFEE’ 5L (Canada) · COMFEE’ 5L manual (PDF) · Midea MDC17P0ABB · Hermitlux HMX-DW03 · Hermitlux repair service · EUHOMY DW002 manual · EUHOMY warranty
• General: CPSC recalls · SaferProducts.gov · EIA electricity prices, Table 5.6.A