GE Mobile Maid SM501E1

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roto204

roto204

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Tucson, AZ
I was graciously given a heads-up as to this little gem on Craigslist, and I couldn't say no.  Because, you know.  Dishwasher. 

 

However, she did not start out as a gem.  When I loaded her into the car, an absolute cornucopia of terror of cobwebs awaited.  Vacuuming them out was like vacuuming silly string. 

 

Remember that scene in the pit with Indiana Jones and the snakes?  For me, that's spiders.  This thing sat in the back of the car all day at work, and I am convinced something will eat me on the drive to work tomorrow.

 

Because I couldn't stand to not get at and eradicate every...last...one, I took the front panel off.  All I can say is, ew...and high-five to whomever left the Jet Dry in the Rinse Glo dispenser.  It makes spectacular paint stripper.

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Major cleaning

Isn't she pretty?

 

Yes, she has the coveted Silver Shower, guaranteed to make you put back the open-sided silverware basket from another model.  But it's so delicious!

 

Start.  Start, Start.  Start here.  Dishes end up dry here.  You don't need to know the details; it's minimalist design.

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The good news first

Amazingly, she fired right up, with only some piddle from the drain valve (perpetually to be expected; our Westinghouse MW did the same thing).  I'll see what I can do with that.

The real bummer is that, for the first two wash segments, the fill is short, and the motor stops, except to drain.  It soldiers on normally once it hits the first main wash segment.  Sigh.  Timer issues.  I'll have to take it apart and see what's going on with the cams.  I suspect the contacts are okay, since it operates normally except for that part, and the bad behavior is fully reproducible.

 

Anyone got a timer lying around for one of these?  I'd love to purchase it from you.  :-)  If you ask RepairClinic, it says "huh?"

 

Greg--do you have any doctrine that references a part number on the timer?

 

This also has the aerated China/Crystal key, although the tube that runs down to the pump feed is squished flat most of the way, and kinked where it does a U-turn to aerate the water.  (Not that I care much.  China/Crystal is for wimps.  Real dishes like to be smacked around by that wash arm with all the holes on one side.)

 

The performance is spectacular--no yibbles, not even any grit in the cups on the top rack.  But with as much water as this machine uses, it danged sure better be yibble-free!
 
Cord reel

Look at that cord reel!  The D&M has one, but it just balls up the cord on one pulley.  Not GE!  It lays each portion into its own neat track.

 

The story on this was that it came from the estate of a gentleman's father.  The mother hated it, and if this timer mess-up is any indication, I see why.  Her hatred (and/or gentle care) resulted in a spotless, robin's egg-blue Plastisol interior, though--not so much as a nick, bubble, or discoloration--not even in the sump, and these first turbine-pump machines were notorious for dissolving away there.
 
Stuff it like a lunchbox

The Duo-Lift racks are phenomenal--least PITA factor of any top-loader I've had.

 

The key is to remember that tall items are deceptive, and to be cautious when closing the lid, lest you end up vacuuming what's left of your wine goblet stems out of the sump.

 

Put them in the bottom rack?  Are you nuts?

 

The lack of sides in the bottom rack means lots more space and flexibility, and no saucer-hump means acres of open territory.  However, it also means no cushioning for items you wish you could place next to the wall.  Will they thump and clatter?  Hell yes, they will.

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Top rack performance

The little Power Shower is a hoot.  You can hear it swoosh-swooshing as it does its thing.  The scrubbing action in the top racks is phenomenal--even coated spatulas and turners come spectacularly clean, and there's lots of good places to secure plastics.  Everything light and floaty in the top rack emerged spotless, and where it started.

 

The Roto-Rack is about the same capacity-wise in the top (the racks on this really are tiny), but not spinning the dishes at 100 RPM over the spray means more time to bathe those puppies lovingly in copious (COPIOUS) amounts of water.

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Oh Nate.

Thank You for another "Coffee through the nose morning all over my keyboard".

Another fabulous dissertation on the Perils of Dishwashing the "Modern" Way.

That is quite the "DeLuxe" model you're driving there. I have never seen a MM with so many bells and whistles.

You've hit everything on the head with the description of the Upside and the Down side of the "Magic of Mobile Maid Automatic Dishwashing".

Funny how you can wash Reidel Wine Glasses in the Lower Rack of a One Armed Wonder of the same vintage without getting out the Shop Vac, but in a Mobile Maid, you may as well throw them out the window like Lisa Douglas when she cannot get anymore dishes in her machine after she sits on the top to get it closed.

I do prefer the older pump design to the Turbine.

However it is a good thing it has the "On" light to let you know it's running. After all they are boarder line of "Whisper Quiet Operation".
 
After all they are boarder line of "Whisper Quiet Operat

You got that right! LOL

I too was amused by the operating light. Well, you can't have too many gee-gaws and doodads, right?

I'm a little intimidated by reshaping the cams (if that's the deal), but am at least encouraged that the rest of the cycle works properly. That's a good start. Where is that damned 3D fabricating machine when I need it? :-D

I love the Rinse Glo feature. Jet Dry when you need it; none when you don't. Just like nature intended.

You made me spritz coffee too with the comment about the wine glasses. GE was bound and determined to maximize the force out of this arm--the idea to have all the wash action happen on one side was novel, but I think I see why they went to the yawner clown-shoe wash arm later, to spare the dishes. Unfortunately, it spared a lot of the food soil, too...
 
Well, you can't have too many gee-gaws and doodads

 

Boy oh boy Nate, you sure got that right!  

 

As Mobile-Maids go, that is a damn fine example, it's got great style and I love all those buttons!   Very cool, CONGRATS!!!

 

It took me a few minutes to even guess the function, but am I correct in saying the silverware basket has it's own mini spray arm?   I've NEVER seen this before, what a unique feature!   Is this perhaps the reason behind the "Silver Shower" name?

 

Also, I'd venture a guess that the "on" light was put there because many owners (or perhaps the designers?) were playing Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd or The Who so loud they couldn't tell if the dishwasher was operating or not.  LOL

 

Kevin

 

 
 
Thanks, Kevin!!

Thank you so much!

Yes, that little spray arm (a bane to the washability of the earlier axial-pump models, and a gimmick at best) is there to focus on the silverware basket. Big oops on GE's part--the sides of the special Silver Shower basket are solid; it's only meshed at the bottom. The only chance for water to get in there is from the bottom, or downpour from the top. If you use really good detergent, you probably won't notice, but if not, you'll be wiping residue off things forevermore. The only saving grace? The heating element doesn't pass under the basket, so (A) it doesn't disintegrate over heated dries (see: Frigidaire Super Surge dishwasher with BakeMaster element elevated above the wash arm), and (B) stuff missed doesn't get powder-coated back onto the utensils.

If it's bulky and dirty enough, better to file it in the top rack.

The Silver Shower, as John L. pointed out in many a post, was a field-service removable item, since its main purpose in life was to divert water away from other parts of the machine. This one throws so much water that it doesn't hurt much. Some came from the factory disconnected, a fact that should have thrown GE into a misrepresentation lawsuit (possibly if not for the "features subject to change" disclaimer at the end of every brochure).

The solid sides of the basket prevent the tiny wash arm from accomplishing much; it probably hits only a few of the basket slots with its diminutive width. Also, the big arm passing overhead probably blocks it half the time, so basically, it serves to keep the main wash arm sparkling clean underneath.

It's cute as heck, though, and the Silver Shower cutlery basket--its design issues notwithstanding--is one of the nicest to load and unload. It feels great in your hand.

Good thing, because you'll want to load and unload it on the counter--one fork- or knife-strike to the tub, and you can set your calendar for disposal.

I love the point about Pink Floyd, Hendrix, and The Who. I suspect the main target demographic of this machine probably had Lawrence Welk or Johnny Mathis on volume 11 instead while floating around the kitchen, with trembling hands clutching a martini in one, and a dangerously overashed cigarette in the other--just one diet pill away from going over the edge. ;-)
 
timer issue

It's possible the cycle sequence is as designed- we had a similar built in model close to that vintage.
When started, it used only a partial fill and very short rinse & drain; motor paused for a "full" fill, another short (30 second?) rinse & drain. Maybe another pause in there. Then both steps repeated before the main wash, and no further pauses until the dry step. Is this close to what you are finding?
Very odd; the partial- fill rinse seemed to slosh off the lower rack only without reaching the top. But a fast pre rinse sequence with 2 partial and 2 "full" fills did mean it was at maximum temp before washing began.
 
Interesting!

Hi Tom,

Well, that could explain it. Here's what it seems to do:

- Start - motor runs like you'd expect.
- Fill - short increment; not a full charge. Circulates briefly with barely enough to really do anything but cavitate.
- Stops. The sound of crickets chirping fills the air.
- Sits like a brick until the motor comes back to life to drain.
- Motor continues running. Fills; motor stops. Again, comes back to life to drain.
- Fills; more like a full charge. The motor never starts; then, really brief (but meaningful this time) circulation.

- Again, drains.
- The rest of the cycle resumes like you'd expect; the motor then remains on until the dry.

I guess I'm just used to the later turbine-pump machines, which, like a KitchenAid, never stop the motor until the cycle completes.  Never take anything for granted, I suppose!

It seems odd to dedicate so many water changes to line purges and futzing (harkening to mind the fabulous static overflow-rinse on the Kelvinators), but I guess it makes sense if the goal is to warm the tank and the line. It doesn't circulate but those thirty seconds you described with a full fill, which seems just enough to scatter debris, rather than accomplish much in the way of a prewash. The main wash afterward seems to consist of two long periods of circulation, the second triggering the covered detergent cup.

It may indeed be Functioning As Designed<sup>TM</sup>--the schematic sheet is tucked away in the front, so I'll have a look and see if a cycle sequence is outlined there.

 

Thank you again--functional is always good news! 

 

Nate
 
Nate,

I had the MM that Paul has now. Yes, very strange 1/2 fills, slosh, drain pause, does it's nails etc. Then on with the Main Event.

And lets not forget the infamous as you named it "P-7" Dry.

I really think you need to wire in the Cycle Selector you designed for the PotScrubber Series.

I think your New Lisa Douglas Model has almost the same Cycle Sequence.

These Mobile Maids really clean although they can use the town's supply of water for the day.

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TOL Mobile-Maid TL GE DW

Cool Find Nate, we have almost the exact machine about one year newer, I have always been meaning to getting around to playing with it.

 

GE DW Timers on the early models with the shaded pole motors were know for losing more and more of the motor running time often to the point of where the motor would barely run at all. Back in the days when there were a lot of these DWs around we must have changed a few hundred of these timers. I never tried to fix the timer but I think you could probably do so by filing and slightly bending the contacts for the motor operation. While you are correct that the cam is slightly worn or off center I think that the problem can be corrected by adjusting the contact pressure.

 

Yes I love your comments about the WONDERFUL Silver-Shower, this was truly one of the many silly gimmicks to make people think that this DW would outperform other models.

 

I never could figure out why GE put all the holes in one side of the lower wash arm, this was another crazy idea that was tried about once in the history of DW design. As the wash-arm revolved and a wall of water hit stuff it would toss items out of the rack, diffidently no place for wine glasses.

 

We had a family friend that had a basic built-in GE DW with this wash arm and seh said that it would throw silver-ware out of the SS basket.
 
Nice machine - love the green color and the fat-finger buttons.  You are very right about the GE upper racks, they were about the best designed with the KitchenAid running a close second.

 

I stripped one of these last summer, same features but a year or two older, it had the small oval buttons.  I should have replaced the turbine pump with a new style pump/motor to quiet it down a lot but then I'd have still been left with it's other faults.

 

I played with the silver shower sprayer for a while and no matter the water pressure I put to it, couldn't get it to turn on it's own.  I decided this was it's best use:

 

 
So, does the Mini-Wash option just run the Silver Shower?  (ducks and runs....)

 

Seriously Nate, that is one cool Mobile Maid.  Love the 2-speed system; this must have been one of the last to feature the much-loved Silver Shower wash arm.   Great find!!
 
Part # on timer

In the rare event that eBay coughs up a TOL timer hairball, does anyone have the part number on this timer?  I'd love a spare, just in case my dinking-around endeavors result in more pudding than productivity.
 
Thanks, John!!  LOL, yes, this machine is a marvel of misguided engineering, but I can't argue with the results.  Last night included a monstrously dirty load with rice and pasta, and the GE nibbled it into bits and sent it down the drain.  It also sent a piece of very clean pasta up into a coffee mug, and from the results of yet another mug with hot cocoa residue, I can tell that the corners are a tough go for this unit.  No need to do the full peanut-butter monty in tall tumbers on this machine.  ;-)

 

I need to go foraging in the shed to see if I have an open-sided basket--last night's peanut-butter spoon test passed with flying colors, but there was one compartment that seemed a little underloved.

 

I'll take the timer out Sunday and sit down and have a look at it.  That's great to hear that this was a thing with these machines, and I'm also glad to hear that it's more contacts, less cams.  It'll be interesting to explore what's happening.

 

So far, silverware has stayed put (it's pretty heavy-gauge stuff that we have), but you can--as Greg noted once--hear the plates jumping.  I find that if I put fry pans and such in the bottom, they help lean onto and anchor other items that might be skybound.

 

If I can get the timer sorted, I'll get the new pump.  This one is okay, but I can hear the telltale fan clattering that only serves to underscore what's going to happen later.

 

Greg--I love that!  The first fridge with Silver Shower action!  I'm surprised, given the circumstances, that GE didn't offer it as a factory option.  ;-)  The functional equivalent of boobies on a bull.  Why not on a fridge? 

 

Interesting that you mention its inability to turn, since I've been spying on mine, and I don't think it's revolved.  I'll look again when I get home.  I could add an angled jet to assist, but deep down, you have to wonder how much you really care.

 

Paul--LOLOL!  Yes, you just put one item over the silverware basket, and the reduced fill sends a steady stream out of the Power Shower as well to act as a Filter-Flo.
 
Aferim with envy!

Beautiful machine!

 

I've been wanting to find one of these in my never-ending search for top-loading dishwashers. Interesting how the user buttons for these machines have gone from minimalist styles where they were tiny little chrome cats' eyes to these big honking keys (much more ergonomically-correct) and do the same things. The china/crystal cycles on the old Pull-outs used to be achieved by an intentional partial fill which would soften the spray. I think the aeration is a neater solution when it works.

 

I think this model is just one year older than Robert's machine; in 1970 they turned it into a Versatronic and changed the Plastisol colors.

 

Thanks for all the pictures. Could you post a couple of shots of the interior around the dispensers?

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Very nice MM.  1968?  In a pinch a D&M basket will tide you over.  The cutting board top is worth a ransom.   Best of luck!  A
 

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