Handsome KDI-20 Back In Service

[roto204]

Hrrph

Oh, I see what y'all have been up to.

No, after a weekend of losing first one dishwasher (the Wards) and then the Superba-20, I was damned near ready to go to Sears and get anything that wouldn't break five minutes later. But welcome to the thrill of vintage appliances.

Regarding KA's wash system, this one does fabulously. Its only nemeses so far: Cake batter, and marinara sauce, both of which were sufficient to completely coat and plug the fine filter screen and stop all wash action after several seconds, until I drained the machine, rinsed the goop off the filter, and reset the cycle. A minor detail, to be sure, and one that can be circumvented by a good scraping-off before loading.

 

[roto204]

"Very nice machine - now, how to keep Nate interested in it?"

Paste a "Caloric" badge over the front. ;-)

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Paste a "Caloric" badge over the front. ;-)

Won't that cause a potentially higher chance of breakdown or rust thru? At the very least, it'll run louder...

Ducks and runs!

RCD

 

[combo52]

KA KDSS-20

Nate my KA it will sometimes clog the wash filter in less than a minute when I put the blender container and a few glasses in a load after making Jon C inspired fruit smoothies. When this happens I stop it clean the wash filter and hit cancel-drain and start over. Usually on this DW I do a R&H cycle first with a little detergent to flush away some of the food soil and warm-up the machine and dishes, then start the Heavy Wash cycle this cuts way down on the time necessary for silly per-heating of the first fill in the sump, I don't know who ever though this was a good way to start a DW cycle but it is obvious way no one else did it and why WP abandoned it when they started to redesign KA DWs with the 23 series.

 

[rp2813]

At the very least, it'll run louder...

OMG!  This just occurred to me:

 

If only Harley Davidson made dishwashers.  I think someone would find them irresistible.  Ward's Signatures would be quiet and reliable in comparison. 

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Actually...

They would have the same breakdown rate and sound level. The only advantage the sound level has is saving you the dramatic cost to operate that little neon 'on' light to know its running... LOL!

RCD

 

[revvinkevin]

If Harley Davidson made dishwashers......

 

 

Wow that has got the gears in my mind turning!   

 

"Hmm... I could take that KDS-18 I have, go buy a used Harley engine and............."

 

  

  

  

  

 

[roto204]

H-D Dishwashers

Andy - touche about the rust-through. That's why I like the WCIs with soil "separator" and polypropylene tub! GE called it PermaTuf; I think WCI called it QuasiStrong ;-)

John - I'm glad I'm not the only one! It's quite disconcerting when the wash action just stops but the motor keeps running. Sheesh!

Ralph - Hey, could we design a dishwasher like Eddy's Speed Queen with a padded leather control panel and chrome trim?

 

[rp2813]

Nate --

Sounds like fun!  Get out the drawing board and maybe you can lure me back down there sooner rather than later!

 

[jetcone]

I have to agree with John

I find it frustrating to load my KDP- 20, start it and NOTHING happens for 15 minutes! Never seen a DW do that.
I'll try that pre-rinse to get things going for sure. Mine is almost finished restoring, it seems my pre wash soap dispenser is not working, the bimetal motor is not disengaging so the door never snaps open. Once I get over that hurdle it's into service.

 

[combo52]

KDP-20

Jon it is easy to bypass the silly sump heating if your water temperature in your house is near 140 degrees and you can also add a relay so when the DW is running through the cycle it will always energize both heaters [ giving 1400 watts of boost instead of just 700 watts, makes a huge difference I did this with my KDS-16 in the W Va house ], however to utilize this the DW must be on a separate 12 ga. 20 amp breaker, call for details.