Thanks guys!
Let's see, I'm going to try to respond to everyone's questions and such....
@vacerator - It's actually no longer a Point Voyager, though WP designed machines still use basically the same tub and rack designs. As far as I know, they are naming this design the "Tahoe" from what I've found in diagnostics literature, and upon viewing parts for the machine. Most people call it the Resource Saver or "manual filter" design, though in my experience so far, there hasn't been a thing to clean out of that filter. Also, the blue bars at the back (to the right in the first part of the video) are the PowerScour/TargetClean jets. Whirlpool has never implemented a spinning disc version for the WP and KitchenAid machines, because it's a feature Sears-Kenmore trademarked for their rebadged machines.
@johnb300m - Thanks! I have an LED light bar and a small LED flash light that I sealed in FoodSaver bags. Placing them is a bit tricky, because while you'd think a stainless interior would reflect the light everywhere, this stainless has a bit of a dark tint to it, so I had to make sure to point them in such a way that it would light where the camera was pointing without glaring into it. I used iMovie to thread them together, and exported them in 1080p high quality. Using the "ProRes" setting compressed it too much and made it grainy.
@a440 - Thank you! I'll try to grab some pics or find the ones I may have taken already, but the lower arm has a gear system inside that moves a valve bar slowly back and forth. The hub port that the arm locks to has a stationary pinion gear that causes the gears in the arm to rotate as the arm itself rotates from water pressure. As far as I can tell, the only jets that never closed are the two propulsion jets at each end, and the two on the underside that spray along the heating element, and another that points towards the middle to sweep water into the filter cup.
@appnut - Actually, the stopping and starting only seems to occur during the first couple or prewashes, or when 1-Hour Wash is chosen. I used a combo of Normal and 1Hr. Wash to catch the footage. When no soil is sensed, it seems to only do one prewash and then pops the detergent cup open and the heater kicks on, so I had to be strategic to make sure the water wouldn't get too warm for the camera. The machine also doesn't seem to like being interrupted, so when trying to change camera positions, it would seem to induce a pulsing behavior that I'm assuming is its way of sensing any extra soil from an added dish or something. It was easier just to cancel the cycle and start it over each time. Typically in my experience so far with using only Normal or Sensor cycle, it only pauses on and off during the first 10 minutes or so, and not very often, and then seems to never turn off the rest of the cycle besides drains and fills. It's honestly so darn quiet that it's really hard to tell what's happening in the first place. I am surprised that it runs so constantly though, because the motor has that X minutes on/X minutes off rating on it, and yet it never stops, so I'm guessing they have some way of keeping it cooled or perhaps it's actually running at a lower rate to be able to handle such long trips. If that's the case, I'd love to see how much power it would have running at full blast with a tub full of water.
Also, my grandparents have a Kenmore Elite Voyager that sounds like what you describe as your old one. Stainless steel, premium adjustable racks, red TurboZone spray discs and rinse aid cap, etc. When I had to disassemble it to clean gunk and debris from the grinder chamber, I discovered there are steel balls in the bend of the TurboZone supply tube, and underneath at the back there seems to be a solenoid system, so apparently it just magnetically kicks those balls to block water to the upper arm and diverts it to the TurboZone, which means the lower arm would still be running. I'm going to try catching inside footage of their machine next!
@logixx - That would be quite cool. The European version of Whirlpool's dishwashers seem to have a pretty serious PowerScour spray system, and also a pretty serious pump motor! I also find it interesting that they still call them PowerClean models, though they also make sure to add the 6th Sense nomenclature. Also, I did order a tripod for the little camera, so that will mean I can finally get better videos of the Bravos XL.
I'll have to save up some good piles of laundry haha.
@gelaundry4ever - That's a good question. I would assume the lower arm is more powerful because 100% of the water pressure is going to it when active; the upper arm also has the upper spinner so water is being distributed a little more. I do think the upper arm seems to have the look of being more aggressive because it has great wash action and volume, but I'm thinking because the holes on the lower arm are smaller and also being alternated, more pressure is coming from each hole. If you notice when the lower arm is running, the water is hitting the camera pretty aggressively even in the top rack. I do notice when listening to the machine from the outside, the lower arm is what can be heard more clearly. My vote would be that the lower arm is more powerful, but the upper arm gets the award for being the most entertaining.
I may try to catch footage of a dirty load, but just the prewashes of course. The waterproof case on this camera seems very rugged, so I'll just have to make sure to rinse it off really well when pulling it out of the machine. Maybe RainX treating the lens will keep any food oils from clouding the view.
I wish the jets on the back were angled up to wash tall items like Whirlpool suggest here. Love the idea of the WiFi camera.
