Circa October 2000 - GE Nautilus Dishwasher review

[pezzy669]

So I just want to start by saying I am almost certain the dishwasher I am writing about could make it long enough to post in the Imperial forum in ~2 years, unfortunately it will probably be removed in the next 3-4 months due to a kitchen gut and remodel as the entire kitchen is from 2000 and every fixture, cabinet and appliance has reached the end of its useful economic life. The entirety of the 18 year old appliance package is going to be donated to a very frugal family friend that has a broken 40+ year old dishwasher and 38 year old fridge that is about to kick the bucket so they are not going to the junkyard.

This is not my first Nautilus of this design (simple twist timer and rocker switch for heat dry) as these were about as common as a Toyota Camry in apartments and condos built in the early-mid 2000's. As a matter of fact it is my 4th go around with this machine, it was like coming home to an old friend when I bought my condo ~10 months ago and found the same exact Nautilus I had first run into back in 2004. I already knew Hot Start was the best way to make sure you could just scrape your plate and load it on in and have it come out sparkling.

No it is not a quiet machine, no it does not have soil sensors or filters, no it does not have fancy user interfaces or 10+ wash options/cycles/delay start/sanitize/etc. But I have never had issues with its cleaning performance nor any reliability issues to note.

The reason the machine is going to leave despite still working just dandy is because it is located in an open floor plan where the kitchen is right next to the living area and there is not a spot of carpet to absorb the absolutely absurd noises the Nautilus makes (and probably made when new). The drain valve click/bang wakes my 14 year old dog who is very hard of hearing if that tells you a little bit about the noise.

It makes me feel good that GE still has pretty much the same exact machine still being sold today just with a refreshed face (I am sure some internals have been reworked) unfortunately it does not appear they have attenuated the noise nor does it come in stainless steel so it is a non-contender in my kitchen remodel. I am also impressed on the reliability of the 2000 era GE machines - the fact these 18 year old machines are still functioning is just beyond belief.

Anyways here is to an early goodbye to my many years with the GE Nautilus, my various Nautilus dishwashers have successfully cleaned even some of my most nasty cooking messes without any kind of protest....well except the noise they make while running. I am sure the Nautilus I am getting rid of will probably still be running when my new touch pad, soil sensor, super silent (insert brand here) kicks the bucket in 4-5 years.

Thanks for reading!

 

[dustin92]

If you're planning on replacing it and want a quiet, efficient machine, a Bosch Ascenta series can be had for $499 and should fit the bill. I bought one for my parents about a year ago and it's working great- can't hear it outside the kitchen and it's very quiet in the kitchen, sounds like a gentle trickle of water. Cleans great, takes roughly 2.5 hours on most cycles. I'm currently using a slightly older version of your GE, portable though. I can understand why you want a quieter machine, luckily ours isn't close to the living room so noise isn't a big issue.

 

[henene4]

Don't these have like literally 0 insulation?
Adding some wouldn't be hard, there are basicly no components in these machines.

But anyway, when recomending Bosch or Miele to US folks I always tell them to take a few dishes to the store with them even though that sounds super weired.
Have heared several times that some US dishes just don't fit the EU focused racks.

Can't say how many of those folk were either to set in stone to adapt their loading habits, how many just were plain stupid about loading, how many just thought dishes were sitting to close so they left tines free and how many actually had to thick plates.

Be carefull about 3rd racks. They can be a blessing, but if your glasses and mugs are to tall, they have 0 advantage.

TBH if I ever were to buy a new kitchen I'd buy completly new dishes, cuttlery and utensils as well.
All the same so you can load even more even easier without having to worry about dishes touching and not getting clean.
Back home we have verry simple white verry flat dinnerware and cups, all bought years ago at a 2nd choice sale offer in a local furniture store.

Best way ever to get lots of dishes in a load without even having to think about how to load.
One corner is flat plates, opposed to that small plates, deep soup plates are loaded from the front of tine row in the middle of the dishwasher in which the flat plates reside filling the row up from the other side.
Left back cuttlery basket. Back row for pots and big serving bowls. Sometimes the furthest front deep soup plate is moved to the back of that lineup so another big serving bowl can loaded in that verry front tine to hang over the small plates.
Top rack right most outer side is glasses, cups in front of that, musli bowls in the small tines in the back left front to back, front left small corner misc small items or cup overflow area, small knife rack above that for serving utensils and other small bits.

That way we were a family of 4 yet ran our DW not more than 4 times a week at most.

And that is a slimline 18" machine!

 

[vacerator]

The GE Nautilus

was fairly simple indeed. They weren't that noisy either, and did a good job.
For the price point of under $300 in those days, it was a good value for the average kitchen, or rental property. It even had several cycles where as most low end machines back then had only a few.