Frigidaire Custom Imperial
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philr
Well-known member
It depends of what kind of assist you're talking about! There's a fine screen filter that does assist the spray tube in not getting large food particles during the washes and rinses... But not the kind of assist that could spray water on anything!
What an amazing find. I wonder why that technology doesn't come back. It seems like it is a good idea for modern low water use dishwashers. Less moving parts and perhaps less energy too. In any event, seeing that Custom Imperial makes me want to be on the prowl for a spintube dishwasher.
Aferim! (and, of course, now I want one)
The thing that always gets me with vintage machines like this one is the high VALUE of the product.
This machine, which I assume was made sometime around 1960, has what appears to be a simple dial control yet it seems to hold a huge load of dishes, has most of the important bells and whistles (the dispensers), and the quality of the graphics on the door alone says that somebody who put this machine together and brought it to market gave a sh*t as to how well it would work for the customer and how it would reflect, after the sale, on the Frigidaire brand. I'm looking forward to your evaluation of its performance but IIRC, the spin-tube Frigidaires did a good job if they were loaded properly.
Could we get a couple of detailed pictures of the control dial? Also, where in tarnation did you find a unicoupler with hoses so freakishly long? Or is it a do-it-yourselfer? Which shouldn't surprise me since you're able to put windows in appliance doors.
The thing that always gets me with vintage machines like this one is the high VALUE of the product.
This machine, which I assume was made sometime around 1960, has what appears to be a simple dial control yet it seems to hold a huge load of dishes, has most of the important bells and whistles (the dispensers), and the quality of the graphics on the door alone says that somebody who put this machine together and brought it to market gave a sh*t as to how well it would work for the customer and how it would reflect, after the sale, on the Frigidaire brand. I'm looking forward to your evaluation of its performance but IIRC, the spin-tube Frigidaires did a good job if they were loaded properly.
Could we get a couple of detailed pictures of the control dial? Also, where in tarnation did you find a unicoupler with hoses so freakishly long? Or is it a do-it-yourselfer? Which shouldn't surprise me since you're able to put windows in appliance doors.
Also, where in tarnation did you find a unicoupler with hoses so freakishly long? Or is it a do-it-yourselfer?
Hi Ken, no this is the unicoupler assembly that came in that 1976 Kenmore D&M dishwasher we had for a while. It really is that long! I'll work on full Dish-Minder Dial pictures tomorrow.
Hi Ken, no this is the unicoupler assembly that came in that 1976 Kenmore D&M dishwasher we had for a while. It really is that long! I'll work on full Dish-Minder Dial pictures tomorrow.
This was made later than 60, only a year or two before they redesigned the whole builtin DW line. This is a great machine for cleaning plates after a buffet. It will hold about two dozen dinner plates. For this design, Frigidaire also changed the small circular heating element to the more stretched out, semi-perimeter shape that was less likely to burn Melamine plates.
firedome
Well-known member
We had one
as our first dishwasher, in yellow, around 1971, replaced in '74 by a new KDC-17, wish now that we'd saved it.
as our first dishwasher, in yellow, around 1971, replaced in '74 by a new KDC-17, wish now that we'd saved it.
philr
Well-known member
The heating element was changed before the top rinse was added. My Canadian 1962 Deluxe already has the large heating element. The top rinse was added in 1963 for all models. Another change of the 1963 models is the design of the upper rack (which had a few revisions over the whole production period) and the Bakelite tracks were replaced by stainless steel tracks with rollers. The Custom Imperial also had a new drain valve for 1963-64 but the DeLuxe models kept using the older style solenoid-actuated drain valve.
Note the bars running front to back at two positions in the outer sides of the lower rack to hold platters, broiler pans and skillets in the best washing position. Then note the stepped outer side of the two rows of outer pins. These held bowls and saucepans at the proper angle for washing.
In spite of the filter in the bottom, food particles would get blown around inside. When the old style solenoid opened the drain, the filter would bob up a bit to let solid stuff go down the drain, but it did not deal with a lot of solids well, sorta like a baby. I would get clean dishes out of a 1960 Deluxe model without pre-rinsing, but I would add detergent in the first of the 4 rinses to give two washes. And you talk about hot, that machine got so hot, even before drying that it's a wonder those vinyl racks did not fry in the drying heat. You could not handle anything for a long time after the cycle ended. The family that had it used to wash all of the dishes in a sink full of sudsy water before they stacked the dishwasher. I showed them that it was not necessary. If you pay attention to the water pattern, it is possible to get a lot in these with their restrictive loading patterns, but it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It was another example of male-oriented GM engineering.
In spite of the filter in the bottom, food particles would get blown around inside. When the old style solenoid opened the drain, the filter would bob up a bit to let solid stuff go down the drain, but it did not deal with a lot of solids well, sorta like a baby. I would get clean dishes out of a 1960 Deluxe model without pre-rinsing, but I would add detergent in the first of the 4 rinses to give two washes. And you talk about hot, that machine got so hot, even before drying that it's a wonder those vinyl racks did not fry in the drying heat. You could not handle anything for a long time after the cycle ended. The family that had it used to wash all of the dishes in a sink full of sudsy water before they stacked the dishwasher. I showed them that it was not necessary. If you pay attention to the water pattern, it is possible to get a lot in these with their restrictive loading patterns, but it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It was another example of male-oriented GM engineering.
