A moment of weakness…

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cam2s

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
315
Location
Nebraska
So I’ve been trying to watch my money and reduce some of my things so I’ve been avoiding the thrift stores and other such places. That being a said a our local Salvation Army opened up a new store almost right across the street from my apartment. I of course had to check it out shortly after it’s opening and in the back they had a gorgeous porcelain tank ultra wash portable. The exterior was a bit rough but the interior and the racks seemed almost mint. They did however have it marked at 75 dollars so I let it sit. I was conflicted though, I kinda wanted someone to buy it, even though I would have that moment of disappoint but then it would be gone. Otherwise if it didn’t sell, they would mark it down until it sold. Well I was in just today and sure enough it was marked down to 20 dollars. I followed me right out the door and across the street and don’t ask me how I got it up 3 flights of stairs by myself but here it is. Haven’t done any testing yet, the cabinet is going to need some work for sure. The racks are very nice and the interior is very nice except for one small chip in the back corner of the tank. Will do some more testing and clean up soon!

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I have this same machine as a built in at another house but the racks are rotted out due to hard water. It’s a 1990 built machine and your new find appears to be the same. I’ve done fairly well with not bringing too many things home lately due to already being over run. Congrats on a great find!
 
My first new dishwasher..

Was this exact model, but a built in unit......it's an awesome performing machine, and if I find one like yours, I'd definitely grab it !!
 
Congratulations, Cameron!

Good find! A beautiful machine. I have always loved the utility shelf on the Kenmore--a good use of wasted space and a great place to put long knives and spatulas, etc., so one doesn't block the upper wash arm by putting them in the silverware basket.

Don't worry about your moment of weakness. That's when we get some of our best machines. I have a garage full of moments of weakness!
 
Ultrawash

Also used this same model fairly extensively years ago. Ive been in the lookout for one of these. Its one of my favorites! Lower rack can easily handle overlapping of items with ease. The adjustable upper rack allowed for variance of larger items to prevent upper wash arm obstacles.

Water miser cycle here was whirlpools normal cycle. Likewise normal here was whirlpools heavy cycle. Water heat option produced best results but was automatic on pots and pans.
 
I had the whirpool version of that portable. The thing could chew up glass (no kidding). Dishes always came out spotless. Mine had the silverware basket in the door (being whirlpool). The buttons and knobs are the same. I think the cycle names may be slightly different. Great machine. Always had a Whirlpool or Kenmore built whirlpool since. Never saw a repairman.
 
WOWZERS...

Very cool find!
And at an amazingly low price, if it is in perfect working condition!

I don't think anyone into dishwashers would be able to not get this dishwasher!
CONGRATULATIONS on a good deal!

But I definitely feel for you...
A 2nd hand store across the street from you?!
That sounds like a cruel joke or conspiracy to me!
Talk about having to resist temptation! I would probably have to move!!
😵😬
 
Thank you for the kind words everyone, I guess it’s only 20 dollars. Did some more cleaning up and water testing, so far no leaks and everything functions as intended. The only set back is going to be getting the correct adapter to go on the kitchen faucet. I had a bunch of Dishes that needed doing but they are going to have to go through the Potscrubber for now. I will have to wait until it’s loaded to make a final judgement, but the ol girl isn’t exactly quiet! More notes and thoughts to come.

Cameron

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Loading/noise

Cameron 20 bucks is an amazing deal! The adapter for faucet (may need an additional adapter as you see in pic) is available at hardware stores.

Yes this dw in the portable version you have is a loud one however fully loaded will quiet it down some. The fill portion on these (motor starts 10 seconds into fill) is comical to me as it sounds as if the dw was snorting as the pump draws air and water while filling but youll sure be able to hear that water be thrown!

Others may disagree but i feel the ultra wash can handle much more soil then a potscrubber but admit my expertise there is with a potscrubber 900 with (no filtering).

Also admitting the potscrubber vs ultrawash, each have their loading quirks. -Ultrawash will have better upper rack coverage but youll also need to mind the upper wash arm not being blocked, which is easy to do on these.

Aaron

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I know everybody here has their favorites but I think it’s fun to explore the differences and find the strengths and weaknesses of each different machine. That being said my Potscrubber is only one step down from the famed 1200 and had all the same features such as the multi orbit system, passive filtration, super racks, power tower, power shower, etc. I’ve had no issues with washability, coverage in the upper rack, or left over yibbles. I’m looking forward to getting to know this Ultra Wash and putting it though it’s paces.

Not a quite a bobload, but the super racks, especially the upper do excel in handling a variety of items. It’s nice to able to put tall things like that tea pitcher in the upper rack. The pans would have fit there too, but they were more soiled so I left them in the bottom.

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@ Askolover yes you do a whiskers and a paw in reply 10 and you can see a set of ears emerging in reply 12. It’s funny that you called them my helpers, those two do everything I do. It makes it kinda hard to work on stuff sometimes, when I took all the trim off the Ultra Wash to clean it I had to put the screws in a bowl and put the bowl up otherwise little paws would be scooting them across the floor.

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Nice

As you might have read, I actually acquired and started using a KUDS25 recently. PowerClean machines are beasts! So, I wouldn't call it a point of weakness, but I am biased. Lol.

A relative of mine just moved into a home that has a very similar DW to OPs. He said that it cleans better than his newer machines, and loves that it "gives the dishes hell" . I had a nice laugh about it, but also found it great they enjoy it considering the lack of capacity, efficiency, and increased noise compared to newer machines. Proof that when a machine performs its intended task correctly AND completely, people tend to ignore shortfalls!
 
I did get the correct faucet adapter, Menards wound up not having what I needed but I was able to get it from Ace. I did not testing and I did notice that it seems to be under filling quite a bit. I removed the restrictor in the faucet adapter, but it's still only getting about 1.75 gallons per fill. I believe these where suppose to be at 2.2 correct? Is it worth trying to clean the valve out or should I just look at replacing it?
 

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