How was Cochrane’s 1886 dishwasher powered for operation?
Answer
A hand-cranked wheel mechanism
The engineering of Cochrane's early dishwasher, which was tailored for large-scale needs, required manual input for operation. The system that pumped the heated, pressurized water through the jets, spraying the dishes from underneath a rotary sprayer, was powered by the operator using a hand-cranked wheel mechanism. This reliance on manual effort for the mechanical functions highlights that the breakthrough was in the water-delivery system and racking configuration, not in developing an autonomous power source, which contrasts sharply with modern appliances.

Related Questions
What specifically motivated Josephine Cochrane to invent the dishwasher?What was the official patent document number for Cochrane's dishwasher?How was Cochrane’s 1886 dishwasher powered for operation?Which sector did Cochrane Manufacturing Company target initially for machine sales?What crucial factor distinguished Cochrane's design from earlier concepts?What industry was Josephine Cochrane's father, John Garis, involved in?What was the engineering breakthrough separating Cochrane's design from predecessors?When did Josephine Cochrane sell her company to the Hobart Manufacturing Company?What event showcased Cochrane's dishwasher to the wider public in 1893?How does Cochrane's motivation differ from a focus purely on labor reduction?