Habitat ReStore Find 12/21/10 -- What do you all think?

[countryguy]

Thanks for the info guys.

Gary

 

[neptunebob]

Which model number was the last Hobart machine? I always thought it was just before when they switched to a stainless steel tube and plastic control console around 1999. Roseanne had a KA like that when she won the lottery. Would it be a KA 23?

 

[appnut]

The last Hobart series was the 20 I do believe. Hobart's sale of the domestic KitchenAid brand happened during the 20 series I do believe--someone correct me if I"m wrong. The one on the Roseanne set was either a 24 or 25 series.

 

[rp2813]

Bob, I think you're right. The legal document that Steve linked to in another thread made mention of Emerson/ISE having no limitations on what they chose to do with the 20 series, and that restrictions Whirlpool wanted applied to Emerson/ISE-badged machines began with the 21 series.

 

[tomturbomatic]

This machine has its features and you are a kind brother to want to replace your sister's Kenmore, but if that is a WP-made Kenmore Ultra Wash, it is a more powerful cleaner than a KitchenAid. It might not hold as much, but it will get cruddy, crusty things cleaner than the KA. For average soil, you probably would not be able to tell the difference IF the KA gave two after rinses like the Kenmore, but did you notice all of that white stuff clogging the strainer and coating everything around the sump? That is left behind detergent. That is what you get with a purge and one after rinse. It means film on glasses and dishes and was probably one of the things that contributed to the failure of the vinyl on the upper rack rails. I had two KAs with that partial rinse syndrome and the only way to avoid that film was to be there with three quarts of hot water when it stopped filling for the after wash purge. I would quickly dump it in and restart it. The initial surge from the pump threw the water high enough to give things a brief rinse before the drain, but that is not automatic dishwashing, as beautiful as those electronic Superbas were.

 

[rp2813]

Operating Instructions

Brian, here is a link to a PDF file with the KDI-23 Operating Instructions

http://shared.whirlpoolcorp.com/assets/pdfs/literature/Use and Care Guide - 9742002.pdf

 

[magic clean]

Seem to

recall that the KD21 machines had been around several years before any Whirlpool involvement in 1986.

 

[combo52]

KD -21 DISHWASHERS

Yes that is correct the 21s were completely a Hobart design they were out before WP had anything to due with the design of them. One must keep in mind that KA was having lots of problems in the early 1980s with excessive warranty claims and damage claims alone on chipped inner doors and tanks were killing them. We used to get so many new racks and pump and motor assemblies from all the brand new machines that were constantly being scrapped due to shipping damage. KA was in a weakened position and ripe to being sold off. IF anything WP improved the product in many ways with the improvements of the 22s & 23s and then made the leap to SS tanks, as a result KA is still one of the most respected dishwasher brands today. Much the same can be said of the demise of dependable care Maytag washers WP had little to due with killing these great machines off. Maytags bad management did all this for them by wasting all kinds of money selling Amanatags and Norgetags instead improving and updating a much better machine. Welcome to corporate America.

 

[tomturbomatic]

And was not that shipping damage a result or partial result of their abandoning a full steel frame for their machines? Penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[beekeyknee]

Thanks Guys

Your information has be invaluable to me, here(away from home). I'm placing a little flash drive with all kinds of pictures of the machine on it an putting it in an envelope with my sisters and b/in laws there names on it. There's no hint as to what's on the drive. They'll just have to look at it to find out. Stupid me. I took all kinds of pictures of the machine except the ones we need to identify it conclusively.
Oh well. It'll all work out in the wash. lol.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Brian

 

[beekeyknee]

Model Number

I got the model number. It's KUDJ230YWHOF. Will that PDF Manual download still apply?

 

[rp2813]

I think that PDF is still good. Those more familiar with KA model numbers and series can say for sure. From what I've seen, with the 23 series the model numbers got a little crazy and less straight-forward than previous ones.

 

[beekeyknee]

Centering Tool

I notice in a KUD23 pump rebuild kit that uses the WP Power-clean pump that there is a centering tool included to install something, like a seal or maybe an impeller. Does a person have to have this tool to do one of these rebuilds. Didn't want to tear into one of these things w/o the right tools.

I've seen where centering tools were called for before on other models and they really weren't necessary.