Clean Sweep Arms

[jkbff]

Have you guys seen the new .. square wash pattern GE has?? There are a few youtube videos, one is linked on the unlisted product page, so I will post that link and the theory behind the wash arm.

http://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-specs/PDT846SMJES

 

[toploader55]

This is the first Dishwasher in years that has piqued my interest with a new design that looks like it works.

Interesting.

Ah, but will the cycle time be under 6 hours ? : )

 

[jetcone]

Wow

I wanna try

 

[jkbff]

I was just talking about GE's dw's with the rep, he asked why I don't sell many of them, why I always go to the Miele. I told him the middle wash arm doesn't perform as well as the Miele, plus their third basket is better.

We were just talking about corner reach, cycle times etc. Now I stumbled upon this.

I'm going to have to see if I can get one to try out. I think with that reversing lower arm, that square moving middle arm, I think this would be a great unit, if the cycle times are better.

I mean, ideally, I'd love to see a third rack and a third full upper wash arm on this DW, and I think it would be a great contender against the Miele, especially at the price point it is at.

 

[toploader55]

Immer Besser

I have re watched that video of the design and operation of that middle spray arm.

Miele certainly builds a great machine and products. Super quiet, virtually silent except for when the dishwasher drains into a T under the sink. The cleaning performance is stellar. As far as that third rack to place each piece of flatware into it's own space does make sense for cleaning efficiency but I find it borderline "Really ?" Just seems labor intensive for loading a dishwasher in my own opinion.

Owning a 4842 FL washer now for about 5-6 years, it has been dependable after the first unit was replaced but then again, practically silent operation except the drain pump is loud.

That is very well thought out. I do see however they are using the principle (sort of) of the Multi Orbit Spray Arm that was on the 1980s 2800 and other models. I was fascinated how that arm moved close to the corner of the lower rack.

The Triangle arm seems to make more sense too.

Now to get back the redesign of the Top Loader. Maybe this is a step forward ???

 

[johnb300m]

HOLY SCHNIKEES!
I'm floored. That's a pretty awesome design for a middle arm.
The corners on my current GE Profile are constantly a weak spot.
I marginally remedied it by ditching the middle x-arm for the s-shape arm from GE's lower end models, which is a tad longer. And it's helped a bit.

But this cam-run middle arm is genius! Good for them! GE's really been listening to people complain about the upper rack weakness of this platform.
Hope this helps as they claim.

 

[henene4]

I like the flat design of the arm. I first thought how much ut will increase the water usage due to added volume, but that seems just fine... Reminds ne a little of the OrbitClean/ProClean system ELux has...

 

[kb0nes]

Reminds me of the square hole drill bit. Somewhat similar action.



Hopefully the complexity issues don't hurt the dishwasher as much...

 

[logixx]

That looks pretty cool. Reminds me of a Bosch patent for a spray arm that would somehow travel or extend into the corners. Naturally, that worked only on the bottom rack (and looked fairly complicated) so props to GE for finally coming up with something for the top rack.

That being said, I still have to ask: why not just use a spray arm that cleans the corners? I participated in the Peanut Butter Test a few months ago and every glass came out perfectly clean. Same goes for the often crowded cutlery basket: I pack it full of spoons and 79 minutes later they all come out sparkling - without the need for extra shenanigans.

 

[toploader55]

True Alex ... Very True

 

[appnut]

Reminds me of a hula hoop dance in slow mo.

 

[johnb300m]

@logixx

Likely because this current platform does not have the water volume to adequately spray water into tall corner glasses.
I'm living proof.
With just ONE far reaching corner jet, it's not enough water being thrown into corners, let alone tall vessels.
So they're modifying what they have, and it seems this device will remedy the corner issues with a fancy geared middle arm that physically juts into the corners.

 

[panthera]

In the days when

Water volume (and, to some extent pressure) were not limited, one could just barely get by with spray arm patterns. It wasn't quite perfect, but everyone knew better than to put stuff right in the corners.

Then GE came out with the multi-orbital arm. Does exactly and precisely the same thing this does - it rotates the arm closer to the corners on the long legs of the rectangle and back in to just clear the short legs. The final design then added enough variations on this to even catch many improvidently placed glasses, plates and pans. Since the Tower of Power rotated, too (if not as well as the current middle arm), it got everything on both racks perfectly clean. This is the reason we've stuck with the Twenty Eight Hundred series, despite all her many, many quirky little ways.

 

This is the same thing, just in a different package.

 

Funny that it's always been GE to come up with this - wonder if the multi-orbital arm was patented and that's why their the only ones to 'discover' this?

 

What would really benefit from this would be an 18" full depth dishwasher.

 

[johnb300m]

I imagine all their patents from the 2800 days are expired.
The engineer did say something interesting, and fictitious, that GE is the first company to come up with a mechanically gear driven arm with internal gears the user cannot see.
Which is far from the truth. Whirlpool's TotalCoverage arm with the sliding jet valves has a whole gear set that's water driven and internally hidden. And they came out with it a few years ago.

Either way, it's a brilliant design for the pesky upper rack where pressure is always less.

 

[panthera]

I forgot about Whirlpool's arm

I'm not a Whirlpool fan, so I tend to miss some of their ideas.

That's, right, though - and Bauknecht had a whirlygig thing-y like GE used after the multi-orbital for a while, too.

I guess the big difference is that the GE system they're showing us appears to be even more aggressive at hitting all the edges than any of the prior systems, especially the middle arms - only the multi-orbital design made a gesture toward that. This would really do it.

Have to, given the minimal pressure and water they use today.

 

[jkbff]

Doesn't the total coverage arm still have a visible planetary gear? I know the KitchenAid dynamic wash does. LG and Samsung both have visible gears on their new wash systems.

 

[johnb300m]

Whirlpool's wash arms have no visible gears.
On the KA and KM models, that "gear" looking thing you see from outside the machine under the spray arm, is really the fastening nut for the spray arm to the hub.
The gears are internal.

 

[johnb300m]

Kenmore

I stand corrected!
Kenmore's multi-orbit arm does have an exposed gear.
But WP and KA do not.

 

[jkbff]

The kitchenaid one does, its just under the arm. Here is the best pic I can find.

Speaking of this arm, isn't the largest triangular arm the same concept as the GE Clean Sweep arm? If you watch the videos, that largest one's movement is synchronized so it is always in the corners as it passes by.