what would be your choice of vintage dishwasher to install in a modern kitchen if you do not went something modern or with manual filter to clean

if in 2025 2026 you renovated your home kitchen and wanted to put in a vintage dishwasher all brands are good in my case it would be this kenmore dishwasher with a havest gold panel or white panel my godmother when i was a kid had this model (my mom sister) i also love how simple it is chose cycle push button normal or sani wash if you went dishes sanitize hot or cool dry (true drying ) press start of course i would went it portable with adapter since the wood surface could be use as a mobile island to put dish out of the oven or prepare food

Porcelain tub Whirlpool power clean dishwasher.Had a portable DP8700XT for 30 years . I've only had two other dishwashers since.That Whirlpool dishwasher was the best one I owned.

Late 90s early 2000s Whirlpool Power Clean Filter Module or Kenmore Ultra Wash. Peak dishwasher, peak cleaning, peak energy savings.

Reverse rack Maytag

like this model @rinso

I’d install my 1985 KitchenAid KDS-21. It has a self cleaning filter, complete with a chopper, very similar to a Whirlpool Power Clean pump. However, the filter in it has much smaller holes, so it won’t let as many large bits through as a power clean pump would. But, as long as you scrape large chunks off before washing, it isn’t a problem.
Thatwasherguy.

I really did liked the Frigidaire my grandfather had at his cabin until the place flooded but it had already broke anyways. If it were me, I would've had it fixed than using the new LG.

I also did liked the Maytag Jetclean I used to have but with that company now out of business, parts would be really hard to track down which is one of the reasons why I'd rather not stick to vintage.

So if I could own any vintage dishwasher, it'd be a stainless steel Kenmore Ultra Wash which is basically a Whirlpool Power Clean. It appears those are arguably the greatest dishwashers ever made.

The Lady Kenmore with the sliding door over the buttons or a late 80s Whirlpool with the flip out controls.

Define vintage. 2005 is considered vintage to some.

KitchenAid KD21 and 22 dishwasher pumps vs whirlpool, power, clean pump assemblies.

There’s not much similarity between the KitchenAid pump design and the whirlpool power, clean pumps, on the power clean pumps. All water is forced through the grinder as it’s recirculated, and all the water goes through the separation chamber, where particles are centricallyseparated out.

On the KitchenAid system, you still have a filter and a small trap to keep food chunks out of the whole system that has to be cleaned manually.

The KitchenAid system did have a fine mesh filter, which the second generation of power clean pumps also had, this was added to the second generation power clean pumps so they could reduce the number of water changes.

The KD 21 and 22 dishwashers did not clean nearly as well as the whirlpool power clean machines once whirlpool bought KitchenAid. We were actually pulling brand new KitchenAid dishwashers out of peoples homes and replacing them with whirlpool power clean machines because they were so disappointed with the cleaning performance of the KitchenAids. The KitchenAid design was just too stingy with water and one final rinse just doesn’t cut it in a dishwasher even today that doesn’t work, KitchenAid also did not give positive water heating where the entire load of dishes would reach 140° or more while washing and then wild Doing the final rinse so drying performance was worse on the KitchenAids.

The KitchenAid’s were very well built dishwashers and could have a long lifespan. They just never have the great performance of other dishwashers of the time.

GE’s top-of-the-line machines and Maytag reverse rack, dishwashers whirlpool and Kenmore power, clean machine machines and a few of the foreign machines like ask go all left KitchenAid in the dust for performance.

rinso said:

Reverse rack Maytag

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I have a 1980's Maytag dishwasher now. I got it on Craigslist a few years ago, when I moved into a brand new apartment without a dishwasher! Once in a blue moon, something will need to be rewashed, and it does it all in less than an hour. Now if I could only buy real ElectraSol. It still "out cleans them all". Three hours for a load of wet dishes...

qsd-dan said:

Define vintage. 2005 is considered vintage to some.

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I was thinking the same question.

For me, dishwashers have a massive step change around 1990. Uptil that point, they were functionally no different from their early 1950s ancestors - water in, big pump, spray, & drain -repeat. Once dishwashers move to temp exchangers & choreographing water systems their underlying creation philosophy flips. More importantly, pre that step-change machines didn't have low-flow places for sludge to hide...so they clean almost the same 40year later as they did on day one.

Didn't the mid to late 90s Whirlpool Gold, Quiet partners and K/A still have big pumps? GE Nautilus and Profile too? Maytag?

Whirlpool and Maytag did, 1/3 HP. It was when the tall tubs came out that motor started to decrease.

I doubt that anyone could fault my KDC-19's results, as long as they're not too lazy to scrape off some chunks into the kitchen sink prior to loading them.
Those chunks are quick to deal with once fed to the sink's disposal.
And doing that, running the sink water prime's the DW hot water supply to hasten the pre-wash's heating element.

I just did a load of dishes, bowls, pots, pans, lids, glasses, etc..... all spotless.

Sears Lady Kenmore roto-rack or a "gonna corner the market" Kitchen Aid Superba, making Hobart build just one more for me, that I know will clean more superior & last longer and much better then any other sort of appliance in the house, and any other competitor's dishwasher...

Seemed growing up if our houses didn't have one or the other a neighbor did. I saw fewer Whirlpool, Maytag and Frigidaire GM dishwashers than Hobart and Kenmore. I would say that GE placed third. Many builders in the 60s were using Tappan too. A few used that weird Preway gas heated thing.

I grew up with Kitchen Aid. My mother would not have any other dishwasher. Any Superba model from late 70's to mid 80's would be my personal preference.

WU1000 if you can put up with the noise.

cassel said:

WU1000 if you can put up with the noise.

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That isn't noise, it just has a loud singing voice.

qsd-dan said:

That isn't noise, it just has a loud singing voice.

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My Kitchenaid doesn't annoy me with its operating sounds.
Yes, I can hear it, slightly, in other parts of the house, but as most people do, they ignore background sounds and focus on what they're doing, or watching a movie on TV.
Just like a ticking clock in the background, you learn to not hear it after a while.

mat_l said:

I was thinking the same question.

For me, dishwashers have a massive step change around 1990. Uptil that point, they were functionally no different from their early 1950s ancestors - water in, big pump, spray, & drain -repeat. Once dishwashers move to temp exchangers & choreographing water systems their underlying creation philosophy flips. More importantly, pre that step-change machines didn't have low-flow places for sludge to hide...so they clean almost the same 40year later as they did on day one.

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You may not seen dishwashers manufactured before they had the spray arms we are familiar with today. They had a paddle at the bottom that sat in a pool of water and turned really fast which literally sprayed the water up, around and on the dishes and glasses. The first time I saw one was at a friend's house. The whole thing pulled out from the cabinet like a drawer and it loaded from the top. I had never seen anything like it before. I never understood whether they truly got dishes clean as it seemed they were already pretty much clean when they put them in the dishwasher.

laundryguysf said:

You may not seen dishwashers manufactured before they had the spray arms we are familiar with today. They had a paddle at the bottom that sat in a pool of water and turned really fast which literally sprayed the water up, around and on the dishes and glasses. The first time I saw one was at a friend's house. The whole thing pulled out from the cabinet like a drawer and it loaded from the top. I had never seen anything like it before. I never understood whether they truly got dishes clean as it seemed they were already pretty much clean when they put them in the dishwasher.

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We had a GE built-in that was like that. It was my mom's Christmas present for 1957.

I had installed a 1980 GE GSD1200 in mint condition. I got it a couple years ago. Bought the newer style motor and pump expecting the original shaded pole failed but it is still going strong

The shaded pole pump assembly with the orange motor leads between 1983 and 1987 was probably the longest lasting dishwasher pump ever made.

Reply number 24, if you have the new PSC style motor for that dishwasher, you probably should install it when you get a chance.

It’s a much more soothing sound than listening to that shaded pole motor struggle to maintain speed and all the noise and heat and electricity. It uses just because GE tried to make the cheapest possible thing, while it’s true the shaded pole motor itself we’re fairly durable, but in the 80s they had a lot of trouble with the fans coming loose on the motor shaft and they made a hell of a racket. The fan would eventually cut through the windings and short and fail, the only great thing about that shaded pole Motors was it had such a strong fan and put off so much heat that it evaporated most of the water that leaked out of the trip shaft and main seal so you weren’t aware of how much the machine was leaking until the leaks got really bad and your floor was ruined.

John L

combo52 said:

Reply number 24, if you have the new PSC style motor for that dishwasher, you probably should install it when you get a chance.

It’s a much more soothing sound than listening to that shaded pole motor struggle to maintain speed and all the noise and heat and electricity. It uses just because GE tried to make the cheapest possible thing, while it’s true the shaded pole motor itself we’re fairly durable, but in the 80s they had a lot of trouble with the fans coming loose on the motor shaft and they made a hell of a racket. The fan would eventually cut through the windings and short and fail, the only great thing about that shaded pole Motors was it had such a strong fan and put off so much heat that it evaporated most of the water that leaked out of the trip shaft and main seal so you weren’t aware of how much the machine was leaking until the leaks got really bad and your floor was ruined.

John L

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Hi John! How are you? Hope you're doing well!

Well, I was really thinking about that. I've been about to replace the motor a couple of times when I've had some free time, but other things always come up and the motor is still there. Regarding the sound of the SPM, I do enjoy it. Lol. I can even imitate and predict every sound of the cycle. My favorite part is right when it finishes draining the water. On the other hand, I'm not in too much of a hurry to replace it because the original works like new. Thank goodness it doesn't leak from either the main seal or the drain valve. John, I'd like to take this opportunity to contact you to see if you can advise me on my P7 oven. I'll be waiting to hear how I can ask you a question about it. Thanks! Best regards!

Reply number 27 hi Jesus, I would be happy to talk to you. About your GEP7 oven If you send a personal message I can give you my cell phone number.

If you don’t or can’t use the personal message system here you can send me an email at work, with any contact information you want me to [email protected]

John L

Chetlaham said:

The shaded pole pump assembly with the orange motor leads between 1983 and 1987 was probably the longest lasting dishwasher pump ever made.

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But it ROARED Like A Power Mower! I wonder if that is one reason why Sears went with D&M instead of GE for their dishwashers because even D&M was less loud, at least when they were new (got noisier later on)

neptunebob said:

But it ROARED Like A Power Mower! I wonder if that is one reason why Sears went with D&M instead of GE for their dishwashers because even D&M was less loud, at least when they were new (got noisier later on)

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I too am really curious about why Sears choose D&M over GE. It might have been GE reputation prior to the Perma tuffs. If I had to pick between a plastisol and a D&M I'd go for the D&M even though both are relatively poor dishwashers in both longevity and performance. Plastisol (no matter how gently it was used) rusting out in a few years was a given. D&M would then come following from behind.