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roto204

roto204

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I'm glad that this pic was posted--I HAVE that dishwasher (albeit in the General Electric flavor) in my apartment. (With matching electric stove, in stunning Harvest Gold tones...)

I'd like to note that the "pulverize and flush down the drain" theory plays out more like "grind it up into fine particles that are redistributed evenly on the dishes."

I ended up designing and installing a filter apparatus to fix this problem (and to be a snot, took a Sharpie marker and scrawled "Filter Flo" across it :-P). Otherwise, it is a good machine, and holds a ton of dishes...

(Now give me back my Triton XL tall-tub!) :-)

One question, though, for you venerable appliance aficionados (and maybe I didn't see it in the literature)--what YEAR is it?
 
Sure thing! (Text first, picture later.) :-)

It'd be my pleasure. You can build one for $20 by nabbing materials at Lowe's.

You need:
- A GE/Hotpoint dishwasher with offset sump pump intake (sorry, you'd have to adapt this approach for a machine where the intake is directly under the bottom wash arm)
- 1 9" circular air-conditioning register
- 1 roll aluminum window-screening (the finer the better)
- 1 roll rebar tie-wire (just a small amount)
- 1 Sharpie marker
- pliers
- wirecutters

Set the A/C register over the circular drain sump in the dishwasher. Mark the edges where the contour of the tub and wash-arm mount curve up.

Take pliers and bend the edges of the register so that it can fit snugly against the drain sump and cover it as completely as possible.

Cut a diameter of screen about 1.5" larger than the diameter of the A/C register, and use the tie-wire in loop-twist form to secure the screen to the underside of the register itself. Use several loop-twists--you don't want the screen to easily separate from the register.

Set the register back in the dishwasher, directly over the sump. Check the fit and make sure there are no big spaces where water could sneak past the filter. Small spaces don't matter; the pump's suction will keep the filter anchored, and the majority of the water will be forced to go through the filter's larger surface area.

(Remember, you're reducing food re-deposits, not changing the world. You'll still get a few particles on top of your coffee mugs, but at least the "coating" effect will go away.)

Also make sure there are no trailing wire or screen bits dangling below the apparatus to enter the pump.

I've tested this thoroughly, both through the dry cycle and with air dry, tethered to the heating element clips and not. It works really well, and is unaffected by the almost-nuclear heating element. The suction from the pump alone seems to hold the module nicely in place, but any machines where drifting is a problem (i.e., you find the filter has wandered off) can be adjusted by using tie-wire to make lines that anchor the filter to the heating-element clips.

Note, though, that if you're lazy and don't clean the filter after each use, or if you wash a mega-grungy load (or pull the Cascade Complete move and dump the whole birthday cake in there), you'll start to impede the water flow, and the machine will make noises of grouchiness.

Also, a little smoke after the end of the cycle is normal; whatever residual heat there is from the element can cause food stuck in the filter to burn if it gets close enough.

To clean the "filter," though, you just take it out, rinse it under the tap, and pop it back in... :-P

I'll post a pic tonight.
 
home-made filter

Something is not right if you are getting food particles re-deposited on dishes. The "food disposer" mechanism is used by other brands and I haven't really heard any problems in that regard. D & M uses a similar system, and I only had a problem if there was rice in the load. The secret is adjusting the cycle to what is being washed. Loads with a lot of "debris" like oatmeal, spinach, and rice should be washed with a cycle that has more water changes. And to Cascade's credit, their "Complete" formula does seem to "dissolve" food particles better than the other brands. And the water should be HOT. Has anybody else had this problem with GE or other brands that use the "food disposer" technology?
 
Pics and such

Here's a link to the pics. Please excuse the lousy cell-phone-camera technology...

In answer to your post, Jaune, this dishwasher is BOL and very simple--your two choices are wash or short wash, and with the relative simplicity of the machine and the biiiig holes on the spray arm, debris is always a problem.

It's very probable that, being so old and used/abused in an apartment for the last thirty-something years, the disposer unit has kicked the bucket. It's not my machine to repair, unfortunately, and this interim solution has prevented my partner from "taking an ice pick to it [referencing the rust spots in the sump] so we can get rid of the blasted thing."

But I have to say that this filter provides a very workable solution :-)

 
Nate, I had the exact dishwasher (including harvest gold) in a brand new apartment in fall, 1975, when in college. Actually, those biig holes in the wash arm (and the big arms themselves) were ctually a pretty good dishwasher. I had problems with debris being redeposited if I loaded too full as well as if there aws rice in the load. This machihne has 7 water exchanges on full cycle. I will tell you this is the base machine that was used for the new Potscrubber that was introduced in 1974/75. What doesn't help is this model doesn't have the little spray arm on the top showering down on the top rack. It actually makes a difference. Also, the Potscrubber main wash cycle was about 40-45 minutes long. Of note, since this is a 30 y/o machine, the heating coil runs full time during the water phase. So it manages to heat the water in the main wash cycle (which if I remember is between 15-20 minutes long). And, BOL GE dishwashers had te timer on the door since the advent of GE's first front loading spray arm dishwasher in 1962 or 1963. Bob
 
Right on--thanks, Bob!

Yes, the cleaning is actually great on the machine, it's just getting long in the tooth. And yes, I can set my watch by the 45-minutes-exactly cycle time :-)

Thanks again!
 
disposer mechanism

The "disposer" on these machines consisted of a little triangular "tang" on the end of the pump shaft that spun around right in front of a strainer that looks like the disc in the end of a meat grinder.

Yep, the inability to get more water changes is the main problem in this case, rather than the washing ability.
 
I have a client who has a Hotpoint d/w of similar design, ran it yesterday while I was there and aside from the noise, it seemed to do a good job getting the food removed from the dishes within the first washing sequences -- and then evenly distributed in small bits over the enitre load by the end of the rinsing cycles. Just to make sure no food is wasted, the heating element baked it on during the dry/dehydrate cycle. Although it's a pitiful "dishwasher" it was fun to hear it running, I love the water, pump and solenoid noises.

The filter module you made on your d/w is quite creative - I'll bet it works well.
 
Thanks, Gansky :-)

Yes, this machine is amusing A) because it can seriously drown out conversation, B) the motor never stops from the instant you latch the door to the moment the dry begins, and C) the solenoids that handle all the magic in between can be heard rooms away. ("Chunk! Gurgle...")

It's fun :-)
 
Water changes

Those are quite a few water changes, strange that it doesn't get rid of all the food particles
 
food particles

This is a case where Cascade Complete could be tested to see if their claim of "dissolving" food particles is a crock of s**t or not. If it doesn't, you can "complain" and get coupons for free stuff :-)
 
Cascade Complete and coupons

Tee-hee-hee :-) Indeed. Win-win either way!

I wonder if Cascade Complete is like the blood of the aliens in the movie "Alien"--if you spilled a puddle, would it dissolve down through your kitchen floor and leave you peering down at your neighbor below? :-P LOL

I think it's more a case of a spray-tower design where the periphery of the top rack can collect niblets of stuff if you're not careful (and without the little spinner spray arm at the top, it's easy to get grit in faraway places).

I chant the mantra "tall glasses go in the middle or in the bottom rack," but do you think anyone listens? I find a tall glass off in the corner, and then I hear complaints of food yuk all over the inside, and I am not amused... :-)

I think the basic design is sound and probably works just fine. It's just that this is the basic, basic design :-P
 

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