1950s GE Mobile Maid

[Kelpy]

Hello,
I just received a (late?) 1950's mobile maid, the one with the pink interior and the dial on the front to set the wash cycle. I would really like to use this dishwasher but I'm having 2 big problems that I'm hoping someone could help with.
The first is that I put about 5 cups of water into the machine overnight to see if it had any leaking issues before I tried to to anything else, and wouldn't you know it, by the time i got up in the morning about half of it had leaked out.
The second problem I'm having is that I can plug the machine into the outlet and set the cycle and it doesnt seem to want to do anything, no noises, the dial doesnt move, just kind of sits there.
I'm more of a motorcycle/older car shade tree mechanic so any ideas of what I can do at all to make her start up and work would be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[tomturbomatic]

I guess you are going to have to turn her over and see where the water is coming from. If you are really lucky, it will be from the drain hose. Otherwise it could be the pump like if it was left to freeze once or maybe the seal. Best of luck.

 

[dishwashercrazy]

I have a 1958 MobileMaid dishwasher like yours, plus an earlier GE portable dishwasher (pictured).

Assuming that the drain sump is in tact (kind of a large black rubber boot attached to the bottom of the tank and to the water pump - DO NOT OVERLY SQUEEZE THIS), the next area of concern is the water pump itself.

Larry at Modern Parts House in Parma, Ohio (Ph: 216-661-6966) may have the internal seal and new pump impeller for the pump.

My quick disconnect supply hose burst on me when I started testing my machine, so you should be cautious when applying full house water pressure.

If you wish, you can communicate directly with me. Click on my "dishwashercrazy" link to my profile to find my email address.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[turquoisedude]

The lack of any sounds, hums or other noises when the machine is plugged in could be due to a bad connection somewhere or a bad power cord.

You should take off the front panel and check the connections to the timer, relay, motor, etc.

Ironically when a machine does nothing at all, it usually turns out to be a minor problem!

 

[Kelpy]

Thank you all for your ideas
Here are some photos of what I've got so far. First of all I took all of the racks out and looked around the bottom and it looks like the water is staying in cup (for lack of a better word) in the bottom but anything over that drained out. When I tipped the washer over on its side the water dripped out from what looks like the motor/pump on the bottom but the large hose going to that area seems to be intact and fine.
To get the front panel off what would I need to do, is it just the two phillips heads inside the washer or are there more screws to hunt down?
Thank you again

 

[Kelpy]

Motor/pump.
Can i throw some POR15 or something on the rust?

 

[toploader55]

Oh My...

The Coveted BowTie !!!

 

May we have some pics of the front of the machine please ???  Thank You.

 

[turquoisedude]

Front panel screws

There are just the two phillips screws to hold the front panel but be careful - you don't want to break the timer dial (often called a 'half-moon' because of the way it peeks out of the cover!).

I've worked on a machine like this - it had a power problem that turned out to be a bad plug!

I also had leakage issues and I was able to resolve them by removing the pump and applying some silicone sealant around the pump opening. Mike (dishwashercrazy) will back me up on this - you want to do this while the machine is upside down!!

 

[rollermatic]

i did check with larry

at modern parts two years ago when i got my bowtie machine to see if any pump seals or complete motor/pump assemblies were out there just in case i would need one. unfortunately he told me there were none anywhere that he knew of.

like said above let's hope it's leaking from the drain hose or maybe the main pump coupling and not the motor seal. i also see from the repair manual i have that those bowtie machines had a "pressed on" impeller, not one you could easily service. on mine since it didn't leak i didn't even try to take any of it apart. i did use some wd-40 on mine about a month ago before firing it up after a year and a half of no use.

good luck with it and maybe someone else here knows of some more part stores out there besides larry at modern parts who may have a seal for g.e. bowtie machines, should you need one.

 

[Kelpy]

I'll take a crack at opening the front of it tomorrow or thursday, time permitting. Is there any way to tell if the half moon dial is busted or is it just a process of elimination? Or is it easily breakable when removing the cover?
Sorry about all the questions.
Heres a photo of the front, I love the early portable dishwasher that you posted Mike.

 

[pdub]

Removing front panel

The 2 screws you want to remove are on the outside at the bottom of the white panel. After you remove them the panel kind of drops down if I remember correctly. Do it slowly and carefully while keeping an eye on the plastic dial and you should be fine.

I have this same dishwasher and luckily have never had a leak through the bottom but I did have to replace the washer at the hose end where it connects to the water inlet valve which is behind the cover.

Keep us posted and maybe send some pictures once the cover is off. You might just have a loose wire somewhere. Also if the lid isn't firmly closed which pushes down on the safety switch, the machine will not run.

Good Luck -Patrick

 

[mikepaquette]

My Dream dishwasher

Best of luck and please keep us posted.. Mike

 

[Kelpy]

So the problem was the safety catch all along, fiddled with it and it finally agreed to latch, plugged it in and good to go Is the sink adapter just a standard GE one or is there something specific I should look for? I was going to do one run with dishes and see what the leakage level is and then try and go from there.
Thank for all the help again

 

[Kelpy]

Also the wiring diagram on the inside just in case anyone was interested.

 

[rollermatic]

that machine looks almost exactly

like mine! that sink adapter is the standard small diam. size available at home depot or lowes.

i would just put a wee bit of water in it by hand first and turn it on and try to see where it is leaking rather than let it fill on it's own. one thing a lot of us here do is to pour a cup or so of very hot water in it and let it stand for 20 min or so before turning it on for the first time. this helps soften up the seal if it hasn't been used for awhile. i also like spraying wd-40 into the pump area to lubricate the rubber in the seal. i sometimes even spray a good dose in a little water and let it soak for awhile. if it is leaking you don't want to flood the motor with water!

you may luck out and find that it's not leaking around that seal after all! i had one 2 weeks ago that i posted here in a thread and it leaked terribly the first time i tried it. after lubricating the seal with wd-40 and hot water it now runs without one drop of a leak!

good luck and lots of pics please! love pics!

 

[mixfinder]

Adaptor

Go to Wood's Harware on Pearl. They'll not only have it but can help you trouble shoot just about everything. Bob Woods or his son Ryan are the best.
Kelly

 

[pdub]

Your machine looks in fantastic shape for its age. So glad you found the problem and it was something simple. Yes, the faucet adapter is the small standard GE type. Hopefully the leak is just from sitting and once the seals soften up with hot water it will go away. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Kelpy]

I've poured some hot water in there and tried to lubricate the bottom with some WD-40 and let it sit for a while and its leaking from what looks like around the seal at the bottom, water is dripping off of the metal bracket fairly steadily. Any ideas? I want to finally be able to get my dishwashing on should i put more hot water in and let it sit for a while longer?
Thanks

 

[whirlcool]

Couldn't you make a new seal with maybe some Permatex gasket sealer?

You really want to make sure no water gets in the motor while the unit is running. That has happened to us twice over the years and when it happens you'll get a fireworks show you won't soon forget!