1976 D&M Kenmore Dishwasher

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BTW:

This unit is very high-quality by today's standards, but at the time, the cost-containment in evidence on the '75s was a shocker.

The biggest, most noticeable difference was the hose console, now molded plastic. Previously, it had been extruded aluminum with die-cast chromed end caps.

It really wasn't all that huge or damaging a change, but it sure set tongues a-wag down at Sears on Ponce de Leon.

And there was much worse to come.
 
Inside, except for the deluxe cutlery baskets, it looks just like the one a friend had in a house bought in 1970 except it was a Norge--you see that Hans? The whole kitchen was Norge, Hans, and avocado green.

The worst thing about these machines was that the timer triggered the detergent dispenser to fly out of its little house at the start of the wash fill and it threw the granules all over the lower rack so not only did anything aluminum get discolored as it does in a dishwasher, but it got little white dots on it where the detergent landed and sat for the whole fill time before the wash action started.

Robert, Where did you find the hot only faucet?
 
The worst thing about these machines was that the timer triggered the detergent dispenser to fly out of its little house at the start of the wash fill

Well that's odd Tom, because my '65 LK opens the dispenser as soon as wash begins with a full take of water, and this '76 machine opens the dispenser about 20 seconds after the wash beings. I wonder if it was the non Kenmore branded D&M's that did that?

As for the faucet we got it here, but you have to order the faucet and handle separately... http://www.faucetdepot.com/prod/Delta-2302-LHP-Classic-Single-Handle-Basin-Faucet-Chrome-14633.asp

You can adjust the rate of handle travel of this faucet to bring the faucet up to full pressure for operating a dishwasher and it looks nice as well.
 
BTW, Robert:

I like your Frigidaire dealer giveaway trivets - I have them too.

(For the uninitiated - they are the things that have roosters on them, behind the faucet - they're shaped like tiles. They're heatproof, stain-resistant Frigidaire porcelain, which was the point of the giveaway. Frigidaire called them "Pot Roosters").
 
i love those old d&m machines!

i remember gazing at them in the appliance section of dept. stores and plumbing supply houses when i was a teen! who knew then!

your's looks perfect! love the controls!

as far as spray arms go i have one lady kenmore top loader roto rack with the older spray arm with the big holes and several front load models with the newer small hole arms. i much prefer the older spray arm and i will say that my top loader always does a great job of cleaning everything when i use it.

have fun with it but shudder to think that this beautiful machine could be stripped down for parts! hopefully that day will never come!
 
Could you please take a close-up of the instructions printed on the top of the door? The graphics on mine are worn away. I love these dishwashers.
 
What a fun find!
It looks showroom new!
These were very powerful dishwashers. I remember many
apartment buildings that had them. They were quite old
when I would run into one and were still washing.
Not as nice as yours of course.
Brent
 
We had a late '73 or early '74 Lady Kenmore, so it must have been one of the last with a Roto-Rack. As with many of these machines, it was rust that took her. That pristine tub is awesome---hardly used, obviously. Great find, and congratulations!
 
@ Robert, You hit the jack pot once again! Im not a big D&M fan of appliances (more of a kitchen-aid one) but I wouldnt mind having that one just for a test drive. The water heating is one I always look for, especially if its the stop timer until hot kind.

Two questions though, Does the pump module have any food particle filtration like on whirlpool or maytag machines and would you happen to have a pick of the underside/motor as well?

Again great find!!! Im jealous lol!
 
D&M DWs, Did They Have A Filter?

D&M like many DW designs of this time period did not have any type of food filter, they did have one of the most effective food choppers up till the time WP Power Clean DWs came out in 1984. Many other DWs had no filters of any kind, GE for example did not have their first filtering system till the early 1980s and GM Frigidaire DWs dropped their filter system in 1965 and never introduced another.

 

DWs without filters relied on many water changes to get rid of food particles, but they never could do as good a job as DWs with a filter system. NO modern DW made today does not have a filter. Interestingly every Kitchenaid DW ever built had a filter and every Whirlpool DW ever built that used a wash-arm instead of an impeller has some sort of filter or filtering system.

 

 

 

 
 
DW filter

That probably is the reason why I never liked these machines as much. Every single dishwasher that Ive ever washed dishes in without a filter has always left behind small particles behind on cups and saucers in the top rack. Having the grinder in there in my opinion makes things worse in that large pieces of food end up being redistributed around the machine as small particles.

The worst offenders in my kitchen were GEs, the half gallon that was left behind in the sump and pump pretty much rendered the 7 water change outs useless. The In-sink erator was in my experience not that bad, but nothing can compare the Maytag Jetcleans or Whirlpool's Power clean system.
 
Filters

If you get a machine without filters (Roto-Racks/DM machines, GE Potscrubbers etc), make sure it is one with a rinse-aid dispenser, that is adjustable, or dispenses plenty of agent to ensure the stuff it slipped away. I found that worked great when I needed the replacement filter on our machine, although coffee grinds are a little stubborn still ;-)

 

In regards to GE machines, member "bwoods" seems to have fixed that issue on his GE-2800, where he installed a dual pump setup to completely drain the water out of the sump, eliminating that .5 gallon carry-over between fills. 

 

In the archives, another member posted the results of baked on food stuffs in these supposedly "hopeless" DM machines - the results were great, even if I do say so myself, as were results from the "Machines of Ill Repute" series - where the Wards machine left most dishes quite clean (IIRC). 
 
Kenmores:

For many years, my mom had a '73 Lady Kenmore (with Roto-Rack) convertible/portable that I bought for her. Absolute TOL machine, all the bells and whistles.

I'm here to tell you - that thing was a performer. Everything came out of it spotlessly clean, and that was in spite of - not because of - my mom. Mom could be counted on to take the turkey carcass off the Thanksgiving platter before putting it in the dishwasher, but that about all the pre-treating of dishes she ever did.

She used the machine for everything - pots, pans, casserole dishes, absolutely everything. It also took good care of her good dishes, on those exceedingly rare occasions they were ever used.

It should be remembered that this Lady K was being used with '70s dishwasher detergents that probably could have doubled as paint stripper, but still, there were no cleaning issues with it. And it lasted 20 years, until Sears finally declined to renew the maintenance protection plan on it.
 

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