Another KitchenAid Story

[jakins]

Hi All
the KD-20 got here a few weeks ago and has been a lot of fun, and a few grey hairs to play with. First I found that the fan for the drying system dod not work. Not to worry we have a store here in central Florida that recyclec old electracal and electronic parts called Skycraft. they had a fan motor that I used to fix that problem. the main Problem I had was the drain for this dishwasher. I tried two diff. Pumps that have worked for me in the past, No Good the timer did not give them enough time to drain. I was rincing with soapy water. This dishwasher has a gravity drain and is installed in Fl. where we have no cellars, and is on my back porch just below grade. What to Do? I plumbed the gravity drain to the back of the cabinet cut holes so the pipe went under and out of site and hooked into a narrow bucket equiped with a sump pump and float switch. PROBLEM SLOVED. She works fine and the sump has wide enough openings to pump out any food particals that may pass the filter in the machine. The only way that I can use this machine is this way. Now since I can only use this machine as a built in in this house, I have Two side panels and a porcelain top to make a stand alone unit of you kitchenaid. They may work with a kd-11, kd-12,
kd-14 I am not sure about that but may be worth a try. the panels are yours for the asking, You pay the shipping and they are yours.
Thanks
John

 

[jakins]

Before

From Craigs list

 

[jakins]

befor inside

inside

View attachment 6-21-2006-16-03-27--jakins.jpg

 

[jakins]

drain

drain

 

[jakins]

pump

pump

 

[Unimatic1140]

John that is just beautiful and I know what its like to have to try 10,000 things to get a machine to work just right.

When you have a chance I would love to see the dial close up as well as an interior shot of those stainless steel racks!

 

[jakins]

closed

closed

 

[jakins]

open

open

 

[jakins]

Dial and racks

Comming Right Up!!

 

[jakins]

Racks

The racks need a little brucsing yet but look 100% better after a wash with detergent.

 

[jakins]

Dial

Dial 1

 

[jakins]

Dial 2

dial

 

[jakins]

tag

tag

 

[jakins]

Painting the Spray Arm

Have any of you guys had to do this. I was thinking an easy way would be to use swimming pool paint as it is made to stand up to harsh chemicals and water. Any thoughts

John

 

[gregm]

try ..........

John, for what its worth, I wire brushed my spray arm then sanded with coarse and then finer but not very fine sandpaper and brush painted it grey with rustoleum and have used the machine many, many times with no problem whatsoever. Maybe a "marine" paint would work well too or any "epoxy" type paint, I believe the true color of your spray arm should be black and you could use a "spray-epoxy-appliance" paint made by rustoleum and found at home depot. Maybe others might have better suggestions. Your machine is STUNNING, I absolutely LOVE IT !!!!! I wish they had made the metal racks longer, I think they only did that for a small # of years, plus the silver dial and pushbutton vs the later plastic ones, wow, I just love it, good for you

 

[gansky1]

Beautiful dishwasher!!!!!

Great idea for the drain system too, it would be a shame to have to not use the machine for that pesky little reason.

 

[pdub]

John-

That is one beautiful KitchenAid and it looks very good
with your sink and cabinets as a built in. have fun!

Patrick

 

[jamman_98]

Question

Ok I got earlier this month a KD-12 model. Am I going to have the same drain problem when I eventually hook it up? My spray arm has a small amount of rust so I would love to hear what to do about that too. Jakins beautiful machine you got there!

Thanks
Joe
jamman_98

 

[frigilux]

Great looking machine! Goes well with your Westy Laundro, too.

Question: How long is the cycle on this KA?

 

[quiltnbear]

Oh my god I see a Westy

I love your dishwasher too, but that Westy I want one so bad!! Anyway congrats on that great dish machine. Scott in CA

 

[gansky1]

I keep staring at it...

I love the stainless steel racks and that dial looks like it weighs 10 pounds!

 

[mayken4now]

the machine you have is out of this world for cleaning ability. thanks for all the wonderful photos

 

[tlee618]

John what a beautiful machine. I love those racks. Just wonder how long the cycle takes to complete? Beautiful Westinghouse next to it as well!! Do you use it often? Terry

 

[gregm]

cycle time

I think the cycle averages 20-30 min ........... does this have forced air drying or is it "before" that ? I think it has one long 5 or maybe a tad longer minute wash, and two-two minute rinses and a ten or maybe 15 min dry period.

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for the cycle time info, Greg. Half-an-hour. That's amazing. My new Maytag takes nearly two hours in its Normal cycle, even without the water-heat option.

 

[tlee618]

Yes, thanks for the information Greg, I think all dishwashers should have a cycle choice that could be completed in that amount of time. Eugene, 2 hours sure seems like a long time!! Hope you are never in a hurry for those dishes.LOL Terry

 

[tomturbomatic]

Great machine. Congratulations. I don't understand about the drain pump. Did you try washing machine pumps? I imagine that you can still get the pump used in the Kenmore Dual Tumble washer which was the last year of the old Westinghouse design with European modifications by Electrolux. It featured a very powerful pump with a strong motor. It should not be too hard to wire the pump motor in series with the drain valve since you have already tried other pumps.

The two part epoxy paint should prove very durable for the wash arm. Duron makes several colors. I have seen other epoxy paint kits at Home Depot near where they sell sinks because you can use it it to paint tubs, etc.

 

[chachp]

John,

I know someone who had their wash arm redone. I have sent him an email for the information. I didn't want to post his informaion without asking but I remember his looked really nice when it was redone.

 

[frigilux]

Terry-- I have found that using the INSTA WASH cycle (which is only 20 minutes long, with no drying period) cleans many of my loads very well. Obviously I don't wash unscrubbed pots/pans or BobLoads® using that cycle, but it drives me insane to wait 1-1/2 hours (I generally interrupt and cancel the dry portion of the cycle) for loads washed on the NORMAL cycle.

The way I cook, there are generally two loads of pots/pans, etc. during food prep, then a BobLoad® of dinner dishes and a final load of dessert dishes and renegade pots/pans.

My previous DW, a TOL Frigidaire had an EXPRESS cycle, which was 35 minutes (again, subtracting the dry portion) and I used it almost all the time with great results. The Maytag's INSTA WASH is just a little too short to handle the loads the short cycle on my Frigi could handle.

Having said that, the new Maytag cleans pots/pans/casseroles much better than the Frigidaire ever did. Six of one, half a dozen of the other....

 

[tlee618]

Hi Eugene, That makes sense that it would have the Ista Cycle. I can understand your flustration with that long long cycle just for a normal load. Thanks for the information. Terry