Favorite dispenser: an illustration essay

[bajaespuma]

After visiting the Beltsville warehouse, I have become even more obsessed with top-loading dishwashers, which are now on the top of my list. Coincidentally, John was saying how he likes to use them to clean parts, which is exactly what I do. Having a top loader in the basement to clean large things like garbage cans, vintage agitators and mini-baskets and tools is a handy thing. Whilst in Beltsville, I got a long-awaited close up look at the magnetic dishwasher detergent dispenser that GE put on their Mobile-Maids and Pull-Outs from 1957 to 1960 (the first Maytag Top Loader had an equally wonderful dual-dispenser that I saw in the warehouse and hope to find some literature on). Maybe John or someone else will tell me why they changed it to their mechanically swiveling version in '61. Amazing Rube Goldberg design:

 

[bajaespuma]

For some reason, reminds me of "Fudgy the Whale":

 

[bajaespuma]

Occurs to me that all of these dispensers would have worked better with liquid DW detergents.

 

[bajaespuma]

Ours was always caking up in the cup enough so that at the end of the cycle, most of the detergent powder remained as a solid lump in the bottom of the cup. This design I think prevented that from happening (in theory, at least; maybe one of you who actually has one of these will tell me how well it worked):

 

[bajaespuma]

The only thing holding up the main wash cup until it is tripped is a pair of magnets that are lined up by opposite poles:

 

[bajaespuma]

What I think is so clever is that when the pinion magnet is retracted, they designed it so that an N pole was lined up with the N pole in the wash cup arm magnet. The retracted magnet actually "pushes" the other magnet away and propels the cup open.

 

[bajaespuma]

I guess the detergent simply falls out of the cup thanks to gravity and the job is done.

 

[bajaespuma]

Marvelous.

 

[bajaespuma]

I think the next design lasted until the end of the Top Loading models in the seventies. It worked; I believe it was connected mechanically to the timer cam. What I can't remember is whether it stayed in the "open" position after the cycle was complete. Ours kept getting wet inside which is what caused the soap to cake up. I think one had to remember to close the lid when loading the machine to prevent that. I do remember that if you wanted a pre-wash dose of detergent, you were instructed by the instruction book to fill the dispenser once and swivel it over manually to dump it into the tub before filling it for the main wash. I, of course, was the only operator in our household who knew how to do this as no one else, of course, gave a crap.

 

[tomturbomatic]

We had Mobile Maids with both. The first was pretty ingenious, but would fail to dispense if the user forgot to cover the dispenser because the cover kept the cup from falling if left in the open position.

The second dispenser would trip whether the user remembered to close the cover or not, adding a measure of protection from human error. I also think it held a bit more detergent, useful in hard water areas.

I remember one morning when mom was compliaining that the baby bottles had not come clean the night before. My father's comment, without looking at anything, was that it was not a bottle washer. He was very familiar with those behemoths in bottling plants. I looked in the dishwasher and saw the pink detergent dispenser sitting open with a pool of water atop the white detergent and the open cover half beside it. I explained what had happened and there was a bit of discussion about how important the detergent was in the cleaning but everything else was clean so mom did not elect to run it again. The top rack even had a little barrier fence in the rack right in front of the dispenser that prevented anything from being placed too close to the cup to prevent it from dispensing.

 

[pdub]

Here you go.....

Instructions from GE.