Bosch vs Vtg KitchenAid Dishwasher

[sarahperdue]

Which one should I choose for my vintage kitchen in the country house? 

 

I love the look of the KA and hear they are great, but I have a high end Bosch and love the performance. DH loves the quiet of the Bosch.

 

I'm starting to worry about my vintage appliances, particularly finding someone to work on them when the time comes.

 

I love you, John, but there are many miles between us. I'm not sure I want to become an expert in repairing all vintage appliances...

 

Sarah 

 

[rp2813]

Sarah, I bailed on vintage dishwashers after a Miele came into my possession, and I have never looked back.  When I saw another, newer, higher end model at the ReStore, I grabbed it for the house we were moving into about five years ago.  I took the other Miele to the new house and it's stored away for parts.  Due to the ridiculously wasteful trophy home syndrome here in Silicon Valley, perfectly good, nearly new appliances are given the boot on a regular basis.

 

At our previous home, we were working with an original ho-hum 1927 kitchen that had received a few minor updates over the years, but our aim was to make it appear more with-it and viable with all new stainless steel appliances.  Our current home had its 1922 kitchen tastefully modernized ~1990 or so.  The Miele fits right in.

 

You have a decision to make with regard to aesthetics as well as comfort.  In our case, superior performance and quiet operation are what we wanted.  A vintage KA dishwasher will be quick, but it won't be at all quiet.   In our small home, noise levels matter.  Maybe there's a way to match your Bosch to the cabinetry.  I think that would be a good compromise if it's still possible.

 

[sudsmaster]

I've had a Bosch dishwasher for over 15 years and aside from having to replace the pump, it's been great. Clean dishes are a must; if a vintage unit doesn't do the job properly, then I would recommend a Bosch.

 

[petek]

Because our kitchen/dining/living room are semi open plan the noise of a vintage dishwasher would be too disturbing. If you can close off your kitchen with doors to the livingroom not so much a problem.

 

[mattl]

If you are still doing the white steel cabinets, a Bosch with top controls in white should blend in quite well. You might even be able to find a somewhat matching handle to go with the rest of the pulls in the kitchen and swap it out for the stock handle.

 

[sudsmaster]

The kitchen in my house of the past 25+ years is also open to both the living room and the dining room, as well as to the family room, which I have set up as my home office.

 

It wasn't built that way in 1941; originally the family room was a bedroom, and all four rooms were closed off by doors.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi Sarah.  What model of vintage KA do you have in mind?  In the US, I have a KDS-18 and a GE 2800 in my kitchen.  In Ireland, I have a modern Miele.  It really depends on what's important to you.  I could write a lot about these machines!  

 

Mark

 

[sarahperdue]

KitchenAid

I haven't thought about which model KA. I think I'm leaning towards modern. DH would prefer modern, and it's his house too.

 

That said, what would you suggest I look for in a vintage KA? 

 

Sarah

 

[Marky_Mark]

If you were to go with a vintage KA, then I'd suggest the KDS-18 from the late 1970s.  I really like mine.  It's a great dishwasher to use in terms of convenience, racking and performance.  

 

But the KA is definitely thirstier and noisier than a modern Miele/Bosch, even though I've added sound insulation.  Your husband (and perhaps you) may not like having to put up with the noise.  The only reason to go with a vintage machine is for the love of vintage and a desire to have a vintage machine.  Otherwise, it would be far simpler to just order a new Bosch/Miele rather than trying to find a vintage KA.  

 

Regarding performance, if we compare the heaviest cycles of these machines, I have found that my KDS-18 cleans as well or better than any Bosch/Miele I've used.  But the KA normal cycle won't shift difficult food as well as a Miele/Bosch on their much longer normal/auto cycles.

 

Looking forward to seeing the photos of the finished house, whichever dishwasher you choose in the end!

Mark

 

[qsd-dan]

That said, what would you suggest I look for in a vintage KA? 

 

KDS-18 if you don't mind having your water heater set to 160F. KDS-19 or KDS-20 if you want lower temps at the water heater (these machines pre heat the wash and rinse cycles to 150F). KDS-19 is air dry only, no heating element activated. That option was brought back again in the 20 but I never use it in any of my machines. You can go with a newer designed 21 and up series with a reversing motor but they only have one final rinse which really isn't adequate enough. These all have 1/2 horsepower motors (highest HP rating in a residential dishwasher) so they're anything but quiet. I love the sound of them though.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Water temp

Yes the KDS-18 does need hot water, even though it does do some water heating on normal and quite a lot of water heating on Soak’N Scrub. My hot water is 55-60 °C / 130-140 °F. And I do have a hot water circulation pump, so every time the dishwasher fills, the incoming water is always immediately hot. Modern detergents seem to work well at lower temps. I also have a whole-house water softener.

Miele and Bosch dishwashers work with incoming water of any temp, including cold. And if you get one with its own built-in water softener, that will make a big difference if your water is hard and you don’t have a whole-house softener. Whereas the KA performance would be terrible if you fed it with cold, hard water.

 

[chachp]

Turquoise BOSCH??

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sarah, the suggestion for the white paneled Bosch is a good one but depending on the color of your cabinets it's possible the whites won't match.  How about the Bosch with the white panel front painted to match one of the other appliances in the kitchen like the turquoise and the white handle that comes with the machine or a handle of some kind that more closer matches the look of your kitchen?</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">If I was alone I would go with the vintage KA because I like the sounds, the loading challenges in the one arm wonder machines and the look.  But I am not alone and sometimes I need to compromise.  My husband loves to cook and clean up but he is not a putzer (is that how you spell that?).  He just wants to throw stuff in and move on.  Since we had vintage in the old house he asked for modern in this house.  My compromise was the BOSCH as our main dishwasher and a KDS-17 as a back up in the utility room and it works for us.</span>

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, although my Bosch dishwasher has an internal heater, after trying some runs without running the hot water first, I've gone back to running the hot water in the nearby sink first to minimize the use of electricity. Cause the hot water heater is gas and generally speaking gas is cheaper to use to heat water than electricity, even in Californistan.

 

Also I'm noticing the runs take less time if the hot water is already on tap.

 

 

[combo52]

Modern vs vintage dishwasher.Modern versus vintage dishw

The best period for dishwashers in the United States was the 80s and 90s so you can get a dishwasher that really cleans it is not that Noisi and is still quite reliable.

That said Sarah I would not blame you for wanting a new dishwasher if so, I would definitely get a whirlpool Maytag or KitchenAid depending on what features do you like and your budget

If you were considering a Bosch or MieleI would definitely find out if there’s somebody local that wants to work on the thing we turn down somewhere between 10 and 30 calls a week on Bosch dishwashers if you can’t even get them fixed here in Washington DC easily let alone in Alabama probably it might not be the best choice if you’re looking for no problems. .

John.

 

[mattl]

Regarding the white Bosch not matching the cabinet color, ideally I'd remove the front panel and have it done at the same time the cabinets were being done for an exact match.

 

[sarahperdue]

Repairability

Argh. When my decision was almost made.

 

Sarah

 

[sudsmaster]

I found my Bosch dishwasher to be very easy to work on. And I had no problem finding a replacement part (pump).

 

 

 

 

[mattl]

Well got to think it's easier to get a Bosch repaired then a vintage KA. Really think the bosch is pretty dependable.

 

[tennblondie78]

We have a top control Bosch and it is wonderful. It's so quiet that I have to put my hand on it sometimes to make sure it's running. Never any issues with everything getting sparkling clean, even when BobLoaded. I can wholly recommend Bosch dishwashers.