Finally found a dishwasher! Kenmore rotorack!

[snail]

I picked this baby up in missoula MT on a road trip heading west back to Seattle. I actually spotted it a month ago and the seller agreed to hold it for me until my trip! It appears to be in fantastic condition and missing no parts. I think it will work very nicely in my mid-century kitchen. I'm guessing early to mid 60's on this model? I've yet to try it out. I plan on popping the back cover off and giving it a once over first. Maybe take the timer apart and relubricate it. I have not seen another one exactly like this. Is there anything specifically I should watch out for on one of these?

 

[turquoisedude]

It's more like a mid to late 60s model, which is good because you have a lower wash arm instead of an impeller!  

If you could post a clear picture of the model tag, it should have a date code in the model or serial number to pin down the exact year.  

I've got an older Kenmore 600 portable Roto-Rack - before using, I'd suggest checking the hoses and you may want to replace the hose washer where the fill hose connects to the water solenoid valve.  Before trying to start it up, pour a couple of buckets of very hot tap water into the tub and let it soak for about an hour.  This will help swell gaskets that have likely dried up in storage. 

I think part of the short upper spray arm, meant to direct water onto the upper rotating rack as it turns, has fallen off.  Hopefully it's not broken and you can just slip it back on.  

The detergent dispensers on these can be a bit wonky.... mine's in deep storage at the moment but I had a lot of trouble getting them to trip at the right point of the wash cycle. 

Definitely a great save!!

 

 

[snail]

Aww thanks for the information! I will post a photo of the data plate next time I am up at my new place and inspect the hoses/ washer and put some hot water in it. I do have the upper rack sprayer. I had removed it when I took all the racks and wash arm out during transport.

 

[jamiel]

This is probably '66-67...mid-level model (lower wash arm; old-style detergent dispenser, no rinse injector).

 

[snail]

I finally remembered to take a photo of the dataplate while I was up at my place. Still haven't tried doing anything with it since my main goal right now is to finish construction on my kitchen.

 

[christfr]

that is awesome. very cool find

 

[bradfordwhite]

1963

Not an exact match but close.

It doesn't appear that it's 1965

 

[bradfordwhite]

1964

Here it is.

They changed models yearly back then.

 

[bradfordwhite]

They got cheaper by 1970

though that was probably the last year of the top loaders.

 

[bradfordwhite]

1971

Only two models and the end of the line for top load Kenmore dishwashers.

 

[snail]

I'm finalizing the plumbing at my new place (I'm putting in a whole kitchen).

Can I connect this dishwasher to a permanent water source or would it require a shutoff valve?

 

[wayupnorth]

To be on the safe side, I always make sure it has a shut off valve when permanently connected .

 

[snail]

How did you mount the valve so it is both convenient and not unsightly?

 

[tomturbomatic]

I don't know if you have used a roto rack before, but on the off chance that you have not, I will give you a hint from when I had one and accumulated a full load over a couple of days. Only load one side of the top rack until you do the final loading of the bottom rack because you have to flop one half of the top rack over onto the other half of the top rack to access the lower rack. You can distribute the top rack load after that and it needs to be balanced to spin properly.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have my shutoff valve in the basement.

 

[rinso]

IIRC, these have no food particle filter AKA soil separator. I've found just as with many D&M manufactured dishwashers I've owned, that it may be necessary to be very thorough removing the particles before loading. Glasses do come out of very clean out of roto-rack models.

 

[combo52]

Connecting a portable dishwasher to water permanently

This can certainly be done and makes the machine a lot more convenient to use.

You could install a wall box like you use for a washing machine with a hot water tap and a drain to put the drain hose in you always have to have a shut off valve where the hose connects to the house is plumbing, you can use a washing machine inlet hose that was screws directly on the inlet valve of the dishwasher.

And of course, the other good thing of hooking it up with hoses as you can unhook it to make repairs easier and you may also find this machine is not likely to last very many years so you can just change it out for another portable dishwasher that you might find that you like.

John

 

[chachp]

Wall box...

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have a portable dishwasher hooked up into a wall box as John has suggested and it works really well.  In my case it shares the box with a washing machine.  I put a Y valve on the hot water tap which allows me to easily control when the water is on..  Because I don't use it daily I turn the water on when I am going to run it or if I will be using is a few days in a row I may just leave the water on.  </span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's about 40 years old so I figure no need to leave the water turned on to it if I am not running it on a regular basis.  In your case you can just leave it on all the time but if you need to shut off the water, it's pretty easy to do.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's installed on the wall just below the top of the dishwasher so you dont see it.  It's an easy change to switch dishwashers if you want.</span>

 

[snail]

Wall box

Yes. I thought about the wall box possibility. I considered making it out of tiles with a built in drain and a spigot so I could connect it with it's coupler. Then I can still wheel it to the sink for easier loading. It would just be so much simpler to connect it the same way a typical dishwasher is hooked up. The utility sink will be on the opposite side of the wall so I thought I could tie into the sink drain there. I considered using an electronic solenoid valve in the wall to shut the water off after every use if required. Idk. I will have to make some kind of decision this weekend..