New KitchenAid Dishwashers

[zippyjet]

I'm looking to buy a new dishwasher and want to go with Kitchenaid. Checking their website, I noticed their premium models have abandoned the venerable 4 way wash arm
(hydro sweep) and instead are going with the 2 arm S shape found in lower priced models from Whirlpool and Kenmore. Whereas the lower priced Kitchenaid machines continue to use the 4 way Hydro Sweep Wash Arm. Can anyone explain this change? Why buy a Kitchenaid with a Whirlpool wash system. I thought the 4 way Hydro Sweep was the best in the industry.

Simon シ

 

[zippyjet]

Two Way S Wash Arm

I couldn't post two images in my thread so here is a picture of the S Shaped 2 Arm wash system now found on the higher priced Kitchenaid models. I'm still perplexed. シ

 

[appnut]

The 4-way hydrosweep models still have a soft food disposer in them.  The new ultu High Efficiency design doesn't send out enough water volume to support 4 arms.  The new design also has a filter.  KitchenAid is now where near anything like it was.  It's just a brand name with an empty shell that has a wonderful, terrific history of quality from when they were made by Hobart.  I'd go look at Maytags that still have the soft food sisposer and SS interior. 

 

[rockland1]

I have a KitchenAid with the S shaped arm and a filter. Works like a charm....very
quiet too!

 

[logixx]

The HydroSweep set-up uses more water thus can't be HE... Dw.info gives it top scores, though:

http://www.dishwashersinfo.com/content/KitchenAid-KUDS30FXSS-24-in-Built-In-Stainless-Steel-Dishwasher-Review.htm

 

[-]

Definitely go Maytag.

 

[petek]

So far I'm happy with our new KUDE40fxwh.  It's very quiet and it washes well. Only once or twice in 3 or so months have I found a tiny bit of food that required rinsing the filter and I'm not a pre rinser or scraper so where things like corn niblets left on a plate disappear to I don't know but they're gone. 

We use the 1 hour cycle the most (drying option is another 20 minutes) but the dishes dry quickly by popping the door open an inch anyways.  I've used the turbo zone jets on the backwall a few times and they actually do work well . I thought it might be gimmicky. 

 

 

 

[zippyjet]

Thank you for the replies

I was correct, the four way "hydrosweep wash" arm saves the day and cleans like a champ. This is a holdover from the good old days when Kitchenaid was a Hobart brand.
Whirlpool was and hopefully will stay smart and retain this system. OK so it consumes more energy but, the flip side being if you go with an energy saver you take a hit on cleaning performance therefore you'd tend to use a longer cycle which consumes more energy or revert to old bad habits and squander water by hand rinsing the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. I'm all for energy consumption and being kinder to our environment but, not at the cost of the machine's main job; getting the dishes clean without having to pre rinse them. This reminds me of the low flow toilets that use less water. They tend to perform like crap and require multiple flushing to get the stuff down the drain. This consumes more water in the long run.
As usual it's us the average citizen that takes it on the chin in the name of being green. May Kitchenaid keep the 4 way hydrosweep system for the long run.

 

[jetawayjuan]

Kitchenaid

I have model kuds301xss it has a Hard Food Disposer and cleans like a dream!!! I have the model with the four wash arms.

 

[tomturbomatic]

That S-shaped wash arm looks like it's missing jets at t

Yesterday, while killing time at Costco, I picked up a Consumer Reports and saw some ratings tables for appliances. The top rated dishwasher was a Bosch. They mentioned that the most quiet dishwashers have a filter that has to be cleaned manually to eliminate the noise from grinding in machines that disposed of food by themselves. The top rated Bosch was $1200.00 but there was a $700.00 Bosch right under it that did just as well. All seemed to be afflicted with the "weak stream" syndrome so often discussed in ads for aging prostate nostrums with cycles lasting over 2 hours except in a new WP-built machine with the dancing waters of the turbo wash zone at the rear. Selecting the cycle that activated it did not lessen the wash action at the front of the lower rack like CU said it did in previous models but did add 70 minutes to the already 130 minute long cycle. I guess the denial that any sort of mechanical function producing noise is taking place in our kitchens will ultimately lead us back to the placement of the kitchen in a separate structure like in colonial times when it was done because of fear of fire, unless the hyping of silent dishwashers is propaganda to cover up the fact that they now use teeny tiny pumps under shallow sumps so it is almost impossible for them to produce water action forceful enough to actually make noise.

They briefly mentioned a $2200.00 Thermador that placed lower in the table. It has an interior illuminated by blue LEDs.

To give you an idea of the force of the wash action, compare the number and size of the holes in the S-shaped wash arm with the number and size of holes in a classic 4 way Hydrosweep. This new thing looks like a table of pediatric meatal openings. [this post was last edited: 1/3/2013-09:56]

 

[gansky1]

Tom, I was reading that CR "report" on dishwashers just yesterday, the print version. It seems like every other month they are "rating" washers or dishwashers, this month it's both. I found it curious that they only listed 12 models, none under $650. Perhaps this is a one-page update on dishwashers, but there is no clarification. Mentioned several times were models that "didn't make our recommended list" but impossible to compare features, pricing, etc. when the mystery models aren't included.

It's funny there is no column for "Capacity" listed and no mention of this factor is made. Some of the dishwashers are clearly smaller which should affect ratings for energy, water use, etc. when compared with larger machines.

CR is also placing a lot of importance on the quietness of laundry machines now, too. Interesting that their ratings of top-load "conventional" washers weren't even worth putting into a table. Treated more like a used tissue rudely left on the coffee table, they mention the Speed Queen and Whirlpool-made T/L washers almost in passing at the end of the article. Without explaining that most of these models now are hobbled by cooler temps and reduced water levels, none scored above 40 in their tests.

 

[passatdoc]

I have an eleven year-old Bosch that was BOL in the Integra (controls in door edge) line-up: only three cycles, which are PowerScrub Plus, Normal, and Quick (comparable to "Party" cycles---cleans light soil in 30 minutes). It has never had a service call and works as well as it did in 2001. It has two S-shaped wash arms and the filter. No soft food disposer. I scrape but do not rinse. I check the filter once a month and basically nothing accumulates, ever.

At that time, Bosch had two entry-level Integra models: mine, and a similar model with Rinse/Hold instead of Quick cycle. The line had only been released a week before I ordered, and the dealer had no floor models for me to inspect (they had a TOL floor model, which was comparable in terms of exterior and tub, but racks were higher-end, as were controls) closely to compare features. The guide sent to the dealers evidently had the Rinse/Hold model listed but not the model with Quick cycle. I ordered what I thought was the Rinse/Hold model. Having owned a horrid GE Potscrubber, I was used to running Rinse/Hold until tub was full, otherwise the GE could not get dried-on crud acceptably clean. Once I saw how nicely the Bosch cleaned up even week-old dried on food, I was happy that I had Quick Wash. Rinse/Hold is a thing of the past if your main wash cycle is of high quality.

Yes, the Bosch takes two hours to get the job done, but the job is so much better that it's worth the time.

A week later they come to deliver/install and upon inspection

 

[maytagbear]

The most energy in current automatic dishwashing

is the hot water.

The equation for cleaning clothes also applies to dishes:

Chemical action

Physical action

Contact time

Temperature.

Change one of the factors, and all have to be changed.

Electricity for the pump(s) and controls is negligible in cost when using gas heated water.

My 2005 GE Nautilus runs a lot longer than my 1994 Maytag Jetclean did, but as long as my hands aren't in the sink and the dishes come out clean, what's the whoop with time?

Lawrence/Maytaagbear