Clean dishes at last!!!! and all done in under an hour!!!

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tlee618

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Sep 5, 2004
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As many of you know when I moved down to Florida almost three years ago I had a house built I had to have a GE dishwasher as that was the only brand the builder used. I selected a very upgraded model at a big additonal charge. I really wanted a good dishwasher so I was willing to pay for it. I picked the GE Profile model PDW 8280 which I was told was the second from the top of the line. From the very beginning it never did a very good job of washing dishes. I had GE service out here twice and was told all was OK. I know many of you have GE dishwashers that you love and think are great but believe me this wasn't one of them. Some of you from AW have been here in person and seen first hand what I am talking about. Besides the cleaning issues the fact that it took almost two hours on the normal setting with added heat and about three if I used the cook-ware cycle, which improved results very little. For some reason this bothered me especially when I had company with more than one load to do. Here is a picture of the machine.

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the story continues!

In March of last year Greg found a KDS 18 dishwasher that was in good condition and bought it for me. I happened to be visiting there later in the month and we started checking it out. There were a few issues and since I wanted this to be my full-time dishwasher Greg was willing to do some work on it for me. I bought some new parts but some weren't available. Thanks to Greg's generosity and his stash of parts we were able to bring it back to like new condition. After I left he was checking it out somemore and decided that it we could find a new motor for it, it might be a good idea to replace that as well. Lucky here for me again a good friend in Tucson Roger LeQuea had one and and was so kind to give it to me along with a new upper rack from a KDS19 which has the better top washarm so at this point the machine was in tip-top shape!! When I was at Greg's for New Years I arranged to have it shipped to Florida. I used U-Crate and they provided fantastic service for me. Greg and Roger were both planning on coming down here this past weekend for a small gathering I was having and were going to put it in for me. Neither of them were able to come so I thought that I would have to just wait a while longer to finally have my "dream machine" installed. My story continues! Lucky for me again two friends that did get down offered to install it for me. Rick Winkler (crevicetool) from vacuumland and Pat Froze started in on this project this past Sunday morning. Here are two pictures of them working on the project.

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I've always depended upon the kindness of strangers.

oh Terry, I'm thrilled for you!

YAY to good friends.
 
clean dishes

Here is a shot of the machine in its glory! I think it looks so much nicer in the kitchen than the GE ever did.
How can one person be so lucky!! Well only through great friends that is for sure. I want to extend a very special thank you to Greg for finding me my dream machine and for all of his hard work in making it perfect, to Roger for his kindness for a new motor and upper rack, and last but certainly no least to Rick and Pat for installing it for me. I am truly a blessed person!!!

Terry

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Terry thats wonderful!
Greg and I were just discussing DW's and IMO there is NOTHING quite like a (Hobart) KAid. and the one you have will wash circles around ANYTHING on today's new market.

It was so nice of your friends to do that! I just LOVE that "handle" "Crevicetool"!
 
CONGRATS Terry!

I feel your pain regarding the pos GE.

I have a 2003 PDW7800, which was supposedly top of the line that year. It looks just like yours. I am not sure which of us likes our machine less!!! Mine flooded the hardwood floor upon first use because a hose was not securely attached to the pump. Since then, I have had occasional cases of disgust with loads that were simply not clean, mostly because I don't run it daily and stuff dries on. The machine doesn't have the power to get it off.

I never had that problem in 10 years with my Potscrubber 1200 that I am sorely sorry for leaving in my last house. I had a few heated "discussions" with our GE district manager over this machine and why I should change my use habits....he suggested that I "thoroughly" rinse my dishes first before loading OR run it on rinse-hold daily. I suggested that they analyze the true water usage between the pre-rinsing or rinse-hold cycles he was advocating and the water use of my original GSD1200, which was supposedly less efficient.

I don't like the flimsy build quality of my dishwasher either, so when or if I replace it in this house (I have a problem because I need something in Bisque) I am very likely to ship the GE to the district office here in Charlotte to his attention with a sledge hammer in the door.

By the way - I've decided that the PDW model designation stands for 'Pretty Darn Worthless'.

My mother's favorite dishwasher of all time was a KDS-17 or 17A, so if yours is as nice, CONGRATS for sure!

Gordon
 
The wood grain on the dishwasher matches great with your counter top and cabinets.
 
Thank you everyone for all of your good wishes!!
Gordon, I am still laughing PDR pretty darn worthless pretty well sums it up!! Also remember this one. "Friends don't let friends by GE"!! Gordon, we have much in common, I too had the GE potscrubber 1200 in my last place for 20 years and never had a problem getting dishes clean.
Robert, you are so right, it is wonderful to hear the beautiful sound this dishwasher makes!!! It is so good to have a real dishwasher once again.
Pete, it does look great with the cabinets. We used the sound blocking blanket from the GE for it. It fit like it was made for the machine.YAY
 
Terry... when I came to your house for the get together last year, I remembered how quiet your GE was... I was very impressed with that. Now I know why it was so quiet... it forgot to do any work!

The "new" machine looks great! Is it loud or no?

You going to sell the GE on Craig's List?
 
That's a great dishwasher you have. I hope to have a Kitchenaid portable someday to replace my Whirlpool with. I hope it gives you many years of clean dishes.
 
YAY Terry! Your Superba is just beautiful! Nice to see that you had some help too!

There is *nothing* better than the sound the Hydrosweep makes when it starts the first few revolutions. As Greg said - you can now enjoy clean dishes for years!

Ben
 
Bobby I have to agree with you the GE was quiet, not as quiet as a Bosch but close. No, I don't think I will be selling the machine at least not right away. You know GE, I am betting that very soon there will be some kind of a recall and I will wait and see what happens.LOL
Ben you are so right, there is nothing like that sound. Really I have always liked the sound of a dishwasher doing what it is suppose to do.
 
beautiful kitchenaid

what a beauty! if you ever need any more parts i may be able to help you out, i have 2 19's and one 18 i am not using. i am more fond of the 15-17 models but hey, i never turn down a kitchenaid if the price is right!
 
Congrats Terry!!! You're so lucky to have such a wonderful dishwasher hydro sweeping away! Once I get a place of my own, there will definitely be a Hobart KitchenAid installed!!! The ONLY modern dishwasher that I would EVER possibly trust is a Miele! Our Bosch is horrible! We must pre-WASH the dishes!
 
I wonder why the high end GE models don't wash well... is it because they try to conserve water? I have a cheap GE Nautalis portable, and it will wash the dickens out of dishes. Only if therei s something really burned on or maybe some pasta on a wooden spoon, do I need to hand wash or put it through another cycle, but I don't pre-wash anything.

Terry, what kind of detergent are you going to use in your new kitchen helper? Is it too old to have a rinse aid dispenser?
 
It was great fun being able to help out "the sweetest man in the world."
Terry, your hospitality and generosity are over the top.
You are the most gracious host ... I felt honored to be able to help make you a happier man and now with some of the cleanest dishes in all of Florida.
Also, it was great working with Rick, a real "doer" who knows how to work through issues and get things done.
And, I'm a sucker for the wonderful sound of a Hobart dishwasher, the real McCoy.
More Great Fun!!
Pat
 
Vacuumfreeeke, there isn't a consistent problem with the GEs. I have a model lower (just not stainless) that the one Terry hated and I love it. You'd have to pry it out of my hands to get me to use something else short of some of the new TOL machines. 0 and I mean 0 issues with it cleaning, quickly.

Terry, funny thing is the KA is the same model we had when I was growing up. I remember it being a good machine, glad you finally got what you were after. Enjoy!
 
Matt, I am so glad that you are happy with your GE, I know that there are several on here who are. I do think sometimes "lemons" get through and this machine I have must have been one of them.
 
Hi Terry

Thats a great looking Kitchen Aid! I am sure you are going to have tons of fun using it!

Enjoy,

Shane
 
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