Crystal Dry make for difficult repair? Bosch, KA, Maytag

[pinkpower4]

I have purchased a used part to keep my 10 y/o old Frigidaire dishwasher going for a bit longer, but the touch panel is starting to fail. It washes well! I'm not sure if it would be worth it to put a new touch pad in, which is a significant cost. I think I paid around $400 for this. It irritates me that I have to pay more than double now, and I don't think any of these will last ten years.

I am looking at Bosch 800/500, KitchenAid 604, or Maytag MDB8959SKB.

I think I've settled on the Bosch. One thing I like about Bosch is the reliability seems to be the same across all models with features being the biggest difference in price. I'd get the 800/500 (auto open). I can't really find the answer to this question. Does the crystal dry feature make it a lot more difficult for me to repair? I want to be able to replace circulation pumps, drain pumps, etc. if needed. I worry about trying to get parts for it later.

I like the KitchenAid better for the well designed and easy glide racks. Reading various review, boards, etc. seem to suggest the electronics aren't the best and fail within a few years. For this reason, I've almost crossed this one off my list :-(.

There is the Maytag MDB8959SKB (or possibly a 9959). Advantages is this comes in black and can be found in stock. It is the lowest price. I think it may be easier to find parts for later. Maytag doesn't have the reputation it used too, but there seems to be one model that seems to be a little better than the rest. Is this it?.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

[henene4]

The repair isn't really more difficult, just more involved.

The official way - regardless of which Bosch you get - to replace the wash pump is lifting off the entire tub from the machine base.
That is a procedure, but it's not "difficult".
That way you get easy access to any component in the machine base.

However, on machines without CrystalDry, you can get around that.
There is an empty space where the CrystalDry fan, container and air paths are on the right side.
After removing the control board from its place, you can remove the wash pump through that gap.
That is more finicky, but saves quite some time especially if you are a service tech and do that repair several times a day.

What the US got as CrystalDry is actually the Zeolite 3 system - the third iteration.

It is incredibly similar to the first design.
The second design used a different mineral container and heater which tended to be the main failure point.
However, that also was the longest running design.
In general though, the CrystalDry system proved to be very reliable.

The wash pumps should all be interchangeable from the very first EcoSilence wash pump to the most recent ones.
Given a wash/heat pump unit is "only" 100 bucks or so and used in so many machines, getting them shouldn't be an issue.

And having used both automatic door systems and CrystalDry, CrystalDry is just such an amazing thing.

Dry dishes, no steam cloud.

 

[jamiel]

Bosch is no different than any other mfgr...the added features are sometimes software driven, sometimes hardware additions. Some of the drying features Bosch offers are software (hotter rinse, extra helping of rinse agent, longer drying period); the others are more hardward based (unlatching; Zeolite loop).

The Zeolite loop for the drying system probably is relatively stand-alone and wouldn't impact the pumps (recall also that there are two pumps; one for washing and the other for draining). Any condensate from it probably runs into the sump just like the other condensate, and is pumped out in the final 30 secs of the cycle.

 

[DADoES]

 
PinkPower4 is asking whether the Bosch Crystal Dry mechanism presents a significant disassembly and access obstruction regards to future her DIY replacement of the drain pump, recirculation pump, water valve, etc. compared to a Bosch model without Crystal Dry.

 

[gmarquez]

I dont have much faith in any of the whirlpool corporation products anymore. A close friend of mine got a top of the line kitchenaid dishwasher less than a year ago and it’s already had several service calls on it for leaks and control issues. For dishwashers the best bet on the market for reliability would be Bosch or Miele. Seeing as Miele is actually in stock and an overall better dishwasher I’d go for one of them.