g.e. mobile maid top loader- restoring pics.

[rollermatic]

faucet coupler is in very

good shape, no leaks when i hook it up!

and, more importantly when i got it all back together and hooked it up it did not leak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is the moment of truth for any dishwasher collector! will it leak???

ran it thru several cycles and it performed great, noisy as hell but they all are! those machines were not built for quiet but i like it like that! a big noisy machine that can really throw some water around inside!

so, even tho i didn't get the impeller off i feel this restoration was a success!

i love these old mobile maids, love the verticle pump and motor style much better than the later versions that used the horizontal motor. i will keep buying these whenever i find them!

hope you enjoyed the pics!

 

[rollermatic]

thank you "toploader"

had to take about a year off from working on anything, was completely burned out on appliances. this winter i got back in the swing and have 4 machines in restoration right now. another g.e. mobile maid top loader, a front loader in coppertone i got 2 years ago in columbus, a kelvinator (d&M) front loader, and i just put the finsihing touches on an old g.e. impeller (not a bowtie) top loader i got in cleveland 2 years ago.

next on the list is to put the speed queen solid tub washer back together that i got in indy over a year ago. then tackle another rollermatic washer that has been patiently waiting for me! at least thats my goal for this year!

 

[MaytagA710]

Hey Peter!

Excellent thread!

I really enjoyed watching the whole restoration! Thanks for sharing with us. These are some of my favourite threads to view. I hope it brings you many years of service!

On a side note, interesting cycle title "Daily Loads", a lot different than "Normal Wash" or what not. Neat machine though, especially those huge caverness spray arm jets.

 

[steved]

remove that label

by soaking it with WD-40. It disolves the glue without hurting the paint. If that's too risky for you, use Pam cooking spray or vegetable oil.

 

[dishwasherfan]

Peter,

Thank's for taking the time to restore such a beatiful machine. What year was it made, early 60's?

 

[rollermatic]

thanks

maytag a710, glad you enjoyed it! on my other machine the only difference between daily loads and pots pans is a shorter heated drying cycle. i imagine this one is the same, have not run all cycles yet but will.

steved, thanks for the tip on wd-40. will try it!

dishwasherfan, i would say around 1967 but i am not 100% sure. i know they went to the horizontal pump and motor by the 70's. actually since this one has the white impeller like my first it may be an earlier model, maybe early to mid sixties. my other 2 have the black impellers and the front loader at least is definately from the late sixties to 1970ish.

anyone here know for sure?

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Great Restoration



Nice to see you back in action, Pete! I am with you - the GE Dishwashers are so fun, and fairly easy to work on. And most vintage dishwashers that I have worked on, the tanks have cleaned up very nicely thanks to the excellent porcelain processes. Even the worst of scratches and marks clean up with BarKeepers Friend, or Zud on a scrub pad.

How many whole dishwashers do you have in your collection now?

Mike

 

[rollermatic]

hi mike

hope ur havin a good winter, least it is a very mild one, at least here in ohio.

how many? let's see, i pretty much stopped collecting them except for 2 i bought recently, that mobile maid and a hotpoint portable i got right before christmas.

ge- 3 mobile maid top loaders, a bowtie impeller, a reg impeller machine, a front load mobile maid, a hotpoint portable, a hotpoint built in (both with the big black ufo looking pumps. and my daily machine is a later model ge with plastic tub.

frigidaire- a slant top, a later model front loader with plastic tub (which cleans great!) and an earlier model front loader with the metal tub plastic coated.

sears- the top load roto rack (which i love) and a front load roto rack

d&m - a kelvinator front loader, a modern maid impeller machine.

kitchenaid- kd2p top loader (which i just tried out after almost 2 years of having it). 3 kd-12's, a kd14, 3 kd-15's, 3 kd-16's, a kd-15 top loader (forget the name it is called) kdss 17a stainless tub, 9 or 10 kd-17's lost count, and 3 portable kd-57's, 2 kd-18, 2 kd-19, a kd-21, a kd-23.

i am definately going to start getting rid of some stuff here, the later model kitchanaids 18, 19, 21, 23 need to go. i don't like anything after a 17 series. when the added that upper spray arm they lost me! the 21 and 23 run great, the 2 19's are torn down (will part out) and the one kd-18 is torn down (will part out).
most probably will let one of the 57's go also. i really only need one. and maybe i can be talked into parting with a 17 (maybe). i do love those 17's.

i also have a speed queen wringer that leaks that can go as well. i will be posting all of this later in the spring once i take inventory to see exactly what i have that i want to get rid of. some of the stuff i will gladly give away, some i will only ask what i paid for it (it won't be much).

thanks pete

 

[turquoisedude]

Hey Pete,  great job on the latest Mobile Maid!   I love these machines,  too,  noisy or not...    The racks look in fantastic shape.  I hope you have lots of fun with it!!

 

What year would this one be??   On the cycles,  does the Pots and Pans cycle run longer than the Daily Loads or is it a shorter cycle (no prewash) with an unheated dry cycle?

 

Glad to see this one was saved!!

 

[rollermatic]

hi paul

aren't these machines fun!!! i have been using this one for over a week now on a daily basis just to give it some "running time". no leaks at all from the pump area. i do have a small problem in the fill solonoid, it doesn't complelely shut the water supply off in between fills but that will be easily fixed when i pull the solonoid off and take it apart for a cleaning.

to answer your question on the cycles, both cycles are the same except the drying portion is about half as long. the rest of the drying cycle is just air dry. on this one you turn the timer knob to "on" and you get a

3 min rinse (or wash)
1 min rinse
9 min main wash
1 min rinse
2 min rinse
24 min dry cycle (heated portion varies with cycle).

(fills are about 1 min 15 sec. drains are about 1 min.)

gonna hook up a test light to the calrod unit when i get time and see exactly what the diff between the shorter dry on the pots pans cycle and the full dry of the daily loads cycle is really is. i do know by 16 min. into the drying cycle the calrod is off on the pots pans cycle.

also, going to pick up another machine today, will do a thread on it when i get it home! this one is a little different! have a good day paul!

 

[garyl]

Power Shower

If I remember right, the only ones with Power Shower on them had a spray arm in the lid. This was a more deluxe model. I sold a lot of these. They were popular with people who live in apartments and want to save on space. I liked them. I gave one to my mother. Her kitchen was so small, there wasn't enough room to change your mind about what was for dinner, but the little GE fit. Your's is in great shape for the age. I just moved from Yuma, AZ, and the water is so hard there, that dishwashers get clogged with mineral deposits in just a few years. I have poured 1/2 gallon of muriatic acid in my dishwasher full of water and let it run. It cleaned the minerals out and made the machine usable again. These deposits were so bad that a gallon of vinegar in the machine made no differance. I have found that the Cascade packets made the deposits worse in Yuma. I don't know what experiance other people have with these.

 

[rollermatic]

it has a small spray arm on the

top, pictured below.

i also love these machines, they are my favorite portable top loader dishwashers!

i have managed to collect 3 of these, all with power shower. two in coppertone, one (this one) in white. the first one got a new motor and seal when i got it 3 years ago from michigan. now there are no more seals out there but this one runs fine and the third will too i am sure! seal looks fine on it, i just have to put it all back together. am going to do a thread on it sometime here.

 

[combo52]

GE Mobil Maid DWs

Hi Peter another great restoration.

 

This style pump and motor was used from around 1962-3 through 1966 and maybe a little into 1967, but by 1968 all GE DWs had the horizontal motors and pumps. The earlier pumps like yours had black plastic main impellers and diffuser housings and at some point they changed to the white plastic. You should be able to find a date on the side of the motor, motor start relay, inlet valve and stamped on the timer that will date the machine, and of coerce the serial # will date it also.

 

I to always found the vertical pump machines interesting, but when they changed to the horizontal pumps and redesigned the lower wash arm they cleaned MUCH better, it was probably the biggest improvement GE ever made in the performance of there DWs.

 

The procedure that I use to rebuild water inlet valves on washers and DWs always involves dissembling and replacing the rubber valve diaphragm. I also always clean the inlet screen in place, if you remove it you risk bending it and not getting it seated properly. And if not seated perfectly particles can get past the screen and cause the valve to malfunction. Some dirt on the screen does not affect the valves function at all, but a worn rubber valve diaphragm will not allow the full amount of water to past through and you may get an under fill condition.

 

[rollermatic]

thanks for the info combo 52

and tips on where to find the date.

i would have thought the black would have been the later models and white the earlier but it's just the opposite! i say that because i have 2 models with white impellers, one i could not get the impeller off at all, the 2nd. took a lot of work! the 3rd. toploader and the one frontloader i have use black impellers and they slid off easily! i assumed the black impellers were from later dated machines but when it comes to dishwasher collecting and restoring i am continually surprised!