2000 KitchenPool KUDM25 dishwasher: Tune-up time?

[dnastrau]

Greetings:

Our 13-year-old KitchenAid (Whirlpool designed) KUDM25 dishwasher has not been cleaning as well as it used to. Is it also leaving food particles on the dishes regardless of what cycle is selected. To date, the only service that I have had to perform was to replace the plastic (nylon?) upper and lower wash arm bearings (2x in 13 yrs.)   This machine is hard on the lower bearings but I also replaced the upper bearing while I was at it.

My thought is that I probably need to pull the pump/disposer assemblies apart and clean out anything that might be hiding in there, replace any visibly worn parts and seals, etc. Has anyone pulled one of these apart before to do an "overhaul?" I really want to keep this machine going as it used to be a great performer. I think it is potentially a better performer (when working properly) than anything made today.  If I am not mistaken, the pump and motor is the same or similar to mid and upper line Kenmore/Whirlpool models.  Thanks for any thoughts and experiences.

 

Andrew S.

 

[washer111]

If its not cleaning as good as before, I would suggest cleaning any filters in the machine, and seeing if that makes a difference. You may wish to add water to machine whilst it is running, and see if there is any difference in its sound, as over time, the water valve will fill with sediment and other crud, preventing a nice FULL fill (this requires a replacement valve). 

 

Otherwise, you will have to disassemble the pump assembly, as the wash impeller could've been chewed up by broken glass or such objects are restricting the flow of water. I'm not sure of how these come apart, but I think checking your instructions should shed light on this. You may wish to attach a photo, so we can suggest which parts to disassemble

 

[dnastrau]

Water level, pump

Good point about the water level - I will check to see how deep the water is after it stops filling.

 

There are no "manual" clean filters on this machine; it has a built-in food disposer.  I think I will have to take the pump apart to see what I can find.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult.  The link below has an exploded view.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-model/Kitchenaid-Parts/Dishwasher-Parts/Model-KUDM25SHWH1/0593/0130000/P9070070/00009?blt=06&prst=&shdMod=

 

[beekeyknee]

We have a 2000-2001-ish Kitchenpool. In the last few years it started making a surging sound during run. Pump was sucking air; not enough water. We'd spray some hot in with the kitchen sink sprayer and the sound would stop.

Water heater had rapidly dissolving anode rod from our softened water. Plugged up Maytag valve too. It was taking twenty min. to fill. Also the braided flex lines used to hook up the water heater and dishwasher were lined with a black rubber. I believe they have since been changed to a more durable substance. They have a translucent whitish appearance now. At least the water heater flexes do. Haven't examined the d/w hose too closely yet, but I think we'll replace it too, as well as the valve. We took the water valve out of the d/w and it had white particles of the anode rod and black particles of the flex connectors in it. Cleaned the screen but it still didn't work very well.

A few year back, a lot of the w/h manufactures started using aluminum anode rods instead of magnesium and this started causing problems in softened water. The aluminum rods are cheaper to make, of course. I was very angry. I spent all last summer working on this stupid problem. And the w/h was only six years old. If you don't have softened water this might not be a problem for you, but you still could have mineral particles and/or flex hose particles if you use flex hoses. Here are the links to last summers ordeal, if you're interested.

Aggravated again

Our water heater is causing problems. It's a six year old n/g Whirlpool brand. I started noticing that my Maytag 806 washer that I restored and installed two years ago was taking longer to fill that it did before. The upstairs KitchenAid d/w from 2001 started not cleaning properly. We were...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[beekeyknee]

#2

"As the Water Heater Burns"

In the prequel to "As the Water Heater Burns", "Aggravated again", I found myself at odds with the w/h installed in the house on Southwood Dr. In the sequel, "As the Water Heater Burns", the story resumes on July 16th and continues to present day. Problem was from a six year old Whirlpool...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[beekeyknee]

An update. The electric anode rod, wire or whatever is working great. No problems at all. We still haven't had a whole house surge protector installed yet and that worries me. Guess I'll have to start putting up a fuss about that. I probably shouldn't worry just about the anode unit, but it was $250.00. There are a lot of other things around the house that could be ruined by a lightning strike too. Everything has delicate electronic circuits these days. The price we pay for mod cons, Ugg.

Rant over.[this post was last edited: 4/26/2013-02:07]

 

[combo52]

Poor performing KD 25 DW

The fill level is your most likely problem, if it seems low remove the inlet valve and replace it with a new one. Do not waste your time trying to clean the old one unless the screen is PACKED with stuff because of plumbing system problems in your home. I would not brother to dissemble the motor and pump assembly to try cleaning, these P&Ms do not tend to accumulate stuff. If the top screen and outside of pump look like they have accumulated some hard water residue you can use one of several methods for cleaning the DW while it is assembled.

 

[dnastrau]

Thanks for all of the replies

Thanks for the replies everyone.  We do have hard water here, so that may be the main culprit.  I'll have to do some investigating this weekend and report back with my findings.

 

[dnastrau]

Normal water level?

Quick report back:

I just opened the machine once it had filled and started running (it happens to be in the rinse cycle at the moment.) I see that the water level is a bit higher than the bottom of the heating element (maybe covering the element about 1/4 of the way. Most of the element is exposed.) Does that sound like the correct water level? Do I need to recheck the level at the beginning of the wash cycle instead?

Thanks,

Andrew S.

 

[beekeyknee]

According to what I have observed, that should be about right. Ours isn't filling to the bottom of the heating element. We add water until it touches the bottom of the element and then the pump holds prime and cleaning improves.

Is it level? Does the motor have a steady, consistent sound or does it surge? If it surges the pump is loosing prime and regaining it as the water fills the cleaning system, empties the sump and then looses the prime until the water falls back down and refills the sump.

If it's not loosing prime, you maybe having other issues; a pump problem, hard water problem along with the no phosphate in detergents anymore problem that started a couple of years ago. Is there a sudsing problem?

Just some ideas going through my mind.

The water should be at the right level to function properly at each fill. [this post was last edited: 4/29/2013-23:31]

 

[dnastrau]

Water level seems OK; float clicks

Well, I checked it when it was doing an initial fill and it filled until the float "clicked" and the water valve closed. Since the water level seems to be OK I think the next step is to clean any minerals off of the pump inlet screen and perhaps take it apart to ensure that nothing is stuck in there.

 

[beekeyknee]

Don't know about your machine, but both of ours and nearly all I've seen shut off before the overfill float clicks. That's usually a safety measure in case the solenoid sticks open. The schematic should tell you.

If you're machine is getting that much water I would guess you've got some other type of problem.

You could test the fill valve solenoid with a multimeter by touching probes to the electrical connections while it's filling to see if voltage disappears after appropriate time. You'll have to refer to the timer increment chart for fill times. If the voltage stops and fill continues, the valve is bad. Vice versa and the timer is bad. Also check for good continuity in the wiring from the valve to the timer. Those wires are bent repeatedly when the door opens and closes. It's not usually the wires but it can happen. You'll most likely be dealing with 110-120 volts.

You never mentioned the sound. Does the machine sound right when it's running? Is the machine clean on the inside after it's finished? Are all the jets on the wash arms open?

That's about all I know to tell you right now.

 

[ultramatic52]

Water valve problems

Hi everyone. Here in Mexico most people have the same problem with their dishwasher because of the water pressure and some others because of the water heater throwing things to the hot pipes and this particles of black rocks and white ones, getting stucked in every filter including showers and faucets.

Here at home the first solution was to change our water heater for an instant heater which reduced our gas consumption a 70%. It doesn´t have a permanent pilot, some models use batteries to start the flame, mine must be plugged to electricity and water temperature is monitored and controlled electronically, so we adjust the temperature to 42ºC and we don´t need to open the cold water anymore since the W/H automatically gives us the right water temperature without needing to combine it with cold water.

Second, because almost every house here depend on gravity for water pressure, (every house have a water tank on the roof and that tank distributes water to all the house), if it doesn´t have the right height, water pressure is below 1 kg/cm2, so dishwashers never reach the adequate level and clothes washer takes for ever to fill. What I´ve been doing to dishwashers, (I´m a white goods repairman) I have been opening
the water valves, take the screen out, clean it and all dishwashers have at the very back end on the inside of the water valve, a water pressure check with a black O ring, so I remove everything, then relocate the water filter and plug the hose and on most cases this has solved the problem making the water flow at a higher rate and filling the DW correctly.

In some cases, when the water tank on the roof has 2 meters height or less, removing this checks will not be enough so I add a water pressure pump onto the water tank exit water line, and by a flow sensor it turns on everytime you open a water faucet or turn on machines that use water, giving water an excellent pressure to solve the rest of the problems.

You could also adapt a Shureflo water pump before your dishwasher´s valve to solve the filling problem, which I don´t recommend since it´s a noisy pump and it just gives pressure to just one appliance and in many cases, people have troubles with the clothes washer filling time, water dispenser and ice maker on their fridges, and the dishwasher filling level and this pump will not solve the rest or the appliances filling problem.

I´ll post some pictures of my water heater and my water water pressure pump so that everyone can understand what I´m trying to explain. I will also take pictures of the water valve pressure checks still on the inside of the valve and how it looks without the checks.

Some clothes washer also have this checks and by removing them you solve the filling time problem. But IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO RELOCATE THIS WATER FILTER OR SCREEN ON THE VALVE, to avoid any troubles of dirt, or rocks or whatever getting stucked on the inside and causing water flow through the valve even when the machines are off.

I hope this information is useful to everyone!!!

 

[dnastrau]

Machine sounds normal

When the machine runs it seems to sound normal, but any decrease in the force of the water coming out of the wash arms may have happened gradually. I keep the holes in the wash arms clean as well; they do occasionally get debris lodged inside.

The machine seems to be filling properly so my thinking at this point is that the pump inlet screens need to be demineralized and/or the pump has an internal blockage. I will pull the pump and motor out to investigate and soak the inlet screen in CLR or vinegar while I am at it. I added a link below to a video that shows how to remove the pump/motor assembly (it looks easy.)