Measure the inside of your sink bowl before you order: a 19.5 x 19.5 inch pre-rinse basket is made for bowls of about 20 x 20 inches, and a 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 inch basket is the larger size for bigger bowls. If your bowls are 18 x 18 inches or smaller, neither basket is listed for that size, so measure the rail span and check with us before ordering.
Our 3 compartment sink pre-rinse basket is 19.5 x 19.5 x 3.5 inches, made of 18 gauge 304 stainless steel, and comes with two stainless sliding rails. Its product page says it fits bowls of about 20 x 20 inches. A second version on our site comes in two sizes, 19 3/8 x 19 3/8 x 3.5 inches and 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 4 inches, also with rails included.
What a pre-rinse basket does
The basket rides on rails across one sink compartment. Staff use it to rinse plates and pans, drain pasta or rinse produce, and the perforated base catches food scraps so they stay out of the drain.
It does not replace scraping. The FDA Food Code says food debris on equipment and utensils has to be scraped over a waste disposal unit or a garbage receptacle, or removed in a dish machine that has a prewash cycle. Items can then be preflushed, presoaked or scrubbed when that is needed to get them clean. Scrape into the trash first, then rinse in the basket.
Bowl sizes and which basket to look at
These are the bowl sizes in our compartment sinks and dish tables, taken from the product pages, and how they line up with the two basket sizes.
- 20 x 20 inch bowls: the 80 inch two compartment sink S2C-202014-RL-NF has two 20 x 20 x 14 inch bowls, and the Prepline PSDT-48R soiled dish table has a 20 x 20 x 5 inch pre-rinse bowl with a 3.5 inch drain basket. This is the bowl size the 19.5 inch basket is made for.
- 24 x 24 inch bowls: the 78 x 30 inch S3C-242414-NF and the 120 inch S3C-242414-RL-NF three compartment sinks have three 24 x 24 x 14 inch bowls. The 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 inch basket is the closer size. Measure the bowl and the rail span before you order.
- 18 x 18 inch bowls: the 59 inch and 90 inch three compartment sinks and most of our two compartment prep sinks. Neither basket page lists this bowl size. Measure from rim to rim where the rails will rest and send us the numbers before ordering.
- 14 x 16 and 10 x 14 inch bowls: the compact three compartment sinks, the drop-in sinks and the underbar sinks. These bowls are smaller than either basket, so plan to scrape into a bin and rely on the drain baskets instead.
Ordering by the sink’s overall width is the most common way to get this wrong. A 59 inch and a 90 inch three compartment sink both have 18 x 18 inch bowls. The extra length on the 90 inch model is two drainboards, not bigger bowls. If you are still choosing a sink for a dish area, a soiled dish table with a built-in pre-rinse bowl gives the basket a dedicated spot next to the dish machine.
How to measure
- Measure the inside of the bowl at the top, wall to wall, side to side and front to back.
- Measure where the rails will sit. Both basket pages say to check that the rails span the edges of the bowl.
- Note anything in the way: the faucet spout, the backsplash, a drainboard edge or a lever drain handle.
- Check the depth you need. The baskets are 3.5 and 4 inches deep, so the rest of the bowl stays open below them.
Which compartment it goes on
On a soiled dish table the basket sits over the pre-rinse bowl. On a compartment sink it rides over one bowl, and that bowl is taken up while the basket is in use, so plan it around your wash, rinse and sanitize order.
Be careful with produce and pasta in a warewashing sink. Under the Food Code, a sink used for warewashing may be used to wash produce or thaw food only if it is cleaned and sanitized before and after that use, and it may never be used for handwashing. Your local health department has the final say on how your sinks may be used.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a basket by the sink’s width instead of the bowl size.
- Buying a basket larger than the bowl and hoping the rails will hold it.
- Rinsing heavy scraps into the basket instead of scraping them into the trash first.
- Leaving the basket full at close. Empty it into the trash and wash it with your other smallwares.
What to buy
- The 19.5 inch basket above for 20 x 20 inch bowls. The two-size version with the 23 1/2 inch option is listed with our three compartment sinks.
- A sink with 20 x 20 inch bowls from our two compartment sinks, or 24 x 24 inch bowls from the three compartment range.
- A soiled dish table with a pre-rinse bowl, if you run a dish machine.
- A faucet from commercial sink faucets to go with it.
Freight to the 48 contiguous states is included in the price, and the baskets and sinks are non-powered items with a 14 day return window.