Best Performing Vintage (Pre 2000) Dishwasher Model Ever!

[hobarthero]

Ok friends obviously this is subject to everyone’s opinion but in your opinion what is the best performing vintage dishwasher of all time? What cleans better than any other machine. Please be specific with the exact model you choose (Like KDS-23 for instance) and what stands out about your specific choice. A picture of your favorite machine would also be a great addition! I look forward to your responses .
-Shannon

 

[combo52]

Whirlpool Power-Clean and Kenmore Ultra-Wash

1985-2011 Standard tub DWs.

 

Best overall cleaning and rinsing

 

Most Reliable 

 

Easiest to service and repair

 

And absolutely no stinky filter or food bits left behind.  

 

John L.

 

[hobarthero]

Specific Model?

Is there any specific model amongst the standard tub power clean machines that you would say is better than the others, or are they all equally as good in your opinion John? I noticed the machine you posted has the dispensers on the left hand side of the door which I believe is an older power clean design.
-Shannon

 

[yogitunes]

I have three UltraWash....bought the first one brand new in 1988....and 2 spares if it should ever break....

with the dispenser on the left...porcelain tubs....

with the dispenser on the right...plastic tubs....

John's preference is for the Silverware on the door....I prefer in the rack design myself....

first units had the center tower to supply water to the upper levels....allowing top rack to be adjustable...

later units, UltraWash II and III supplied water through rear ports....

didn't matter what unit, or what year....UltraWash or PowerClean modules are superb for cleaning....its a Hurricane in a Box!

I have baked many chocolate cakes and tossed in there whole....and all traces gone by the end of the cycle....every time!...a Sears claim to fame exclusive...

 

[agiflow]

I had the Whirlpool portable version DP8700XT I bought new in October 1990. Was one of the last with the porcelain tubs. Wish I had kept it when I moved last year. Much better at holding. That dishwasher I rarely used anything other than normal cycle because it cleaned that well. My current plastic Frigidaire doesn't clean nearly as well on certain types of soils even when set to Heavy wash.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Martin, what happened to the chocolate cakes that they had to go into the dishwasher? Were they that severely stuck to the pan?

 

[yogitunes]

Tom

it was a Sears Challenge for their UltraWash machine....and I must have baked at least 9 cakes trying this...

bake and frost a chocolate cake....and toss the whole cake into the dishwasher on the Normal cycle...with a full load of dishes...

if any of that cake remained at the end, the dishwasher was FREE!....

yet, it was completely gone every time!

kind of redundant in a way, who would want a free machine that couldn't clean?....

but I could see many machines clog up or choke on something that massive at one time....

I would like to see some of todays newer low water machines handle this test....in under an hour!

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember the challenge. I just wondered why you wasted 9 cakes. I believe that WP had the test of the Power Clean Module that it would eat a Burger King Whopper placed in the lower rack fully wrapped and it, too, disappeared, but I don't remember if the Pots & Pans cycle had to be used.

 

[lovestowash]

White-Westinghouse, back in the 80's...

had a similar test, placing a poppy seed cake in an empty dishwasher...simultaneously, they would run the front loader with the towel tied up with sand, and prepare steaks on the no-turn speed broil...all made for a fancy sales demo in the office.

 

[arris]

Kenmore Ultrawash

We had a 95 Kenmore Ultra, TOL like the one Martin has pics of, our buttons were black not silver.... it was a great dishwasher, had the plastic tub.... it started leaking and was put by the road, had I been on this site at that point that never would have happened... I sent all the Manuals to a member here... I have a KDI-18 now which I like just as much.... I Bought a Kenmore Ultra-wash 8 years ago thinking it was the same as our 95... it was NOT.... I gave it to a Neighbor, have been using the KDI-18 ever since....

 

[maytaga806]

As mentioned the powerclean and ultrawash. This is personally my own, and the newest and latest powerclean that was manufactured by Whirlpool, they may have sold these portable models up to 2011 possibly. This one being a 2005 model, they still retained the powerclean in their higher end portable models and the Durawash stayed as the base line portable at the time. This machine is so powerful, on both upper and lower racks, and it’s very very quick too. The loads and loads of steam this machine produces is far more intense than any dishwasher I’ve ever had. This also is a very easy machine to work on for general cleaning & maintenance or if anything needed to be done. It’s just a very outstanding design and it’s factual that it was the most powerful dishwasher sold on the US residential market. The sound of this motor is just music to most of our ears.

 

[askolover]

Including the dishwashers I grew up with in my parents' house, I'll say my best performer is my Maytag DWC7602AAB....a portable I bought new in 1997 and converted to a built-in when I bought my house.  It NEVER let me down...even with the tower shower for the top rack.  At the time, CR rated it a best cleaner, which is why I bought it.

 

[best_practices]

My Inglis Niagara Scour Master brought me to this forum and this list. It's from the mid 1980s inherited from the previous tenant who probably bought it new and grew old with it. Until today I would say it's been fantastic dishwasher--if a bit loud. It looks identical to the photos posted by Combo52.

Sadly, today it started leaking from the bottom of the door and I'm not sure what the issue is. Could be the door gaskets need to be replaced, it could be something else.

Would be grateful for any advice/suggestions on how to trouble shoot it. I've sourced a replacement gasket but at $90, I want to make sure that's the issue.

Thanks!

 

[kb0nes]

Hi Carla,

First off welcome to the group! As for your leak I'd pull off the kick plate and lay on the floor with a flashlight during a cycle and see if you can see any leakage points.

A dishwasher tub isn't really sealed up tight so a common leak happens if suds build up in the machine. You generally see some small leakage on the floor at the corners by the door. If you open the door during the wash cycle and see foam in the sump that is a sign too. Some detergents can foam a bit under certain water conditions, especially so if you pre-rinse your dishes too much, the grease and soils help neutralize the detergents. If it is just a minor leak this could be it. Somehow I'd not suspect the door gasket being the problem unless it looks torn.

 

[rpms]

When I worked at Sears I bought the Ultra Wash dishwasher. It lasted 28 years.
I had new white cabinets put in and the dishwasher plastic had turned yellow.
I had a spare so I switched. I shouldn't
The only cycle that worked on the spare was rinse and hold.
Even with that cycle it could still clean a whole load of dishes in 18 minutes.
One rinse,toss in a pod and then another rinse.
I have a Fridgiscare now and hate it.
Should have got the old Kenmores fixed.

 

[agiflow]

I agree. I had a Whirlpool "quiet wash" portable for 30 years 1990-2020. Excellent cleaning machine. Now in my new place I have a Frigidaire. Nowhere in the same league as that old Whirlpool.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Best Pre 2000 DW:

To venture into the commercial realm the Hobart AM-14 (1983-2002). Absolutely a beast of a dish machine. Built like a tank, great performance and easy to fix. Many of these are still in use despite being over 30 years old. I have fixed several of them on the rare occasion they need it and many repairs can be carried out easily with common tools by anyone who is mechanically inclined. However some issues will require the skills of a well trained Hobart tech such as SteveT.
WK78

 

[norgeway]

No comparison

Any Kitchenaid with one wash arm, in other words a 10,12,14,15,16 or 17 , there has never been anything built that will equal one, 50 plus gallons per minute wash circulation forced thru one wash are literally will blast off anything, burned on grease etc does not have a chance, My favorite is a KDS 17, just because of the racking system, these have a Sani cycle that literally boils the water then blasts it on the dishes, and these old kitchen aids have heated forced air drying, the dishes are dry, and so hot they will burn your fingers ,

 

[hobarthero]

One arm wonders

The old KA single arm machines are definitely some of the most powerful machines ever made. I own a stainless KDI17 and have been on the lookout for a KDS17. Eventually one will pop up. But I agree that Power Clean machines are the best just because of washing performance without a need to stack things in special formations or worry about water getting to the top rack.
-Shannon