Up until the 16 series, the KA timers were down there. The St. Charles kitchens almost always featured a KA dishwasher in their ads. The KDS 14P in the picture has a rapid advance timer so that if you selected Rinse & Hold, it went through the pre rinse of the cycle and then the motor shut off. The timer stopped moving briefly, then the rapid advance timer motor came on with its little chain drive and turned the timer dial to within an increment or two of the normal stop position and then the timer motor advanced at normal speed. When you unlocked the door, a mechanical linkage cocked the timer so that it would be in the proper start position for the next cycle. When you selected Utility & Utensil, the cycle went through the pre-wash, wash and three rinses and only five minutes of dry then shut off. After a minute the rapid advance motor was activated and the dial went from the beginning of dry to the end. It's so neat to watch it turning.
When I got mine, it had the trim kit with front panels that matched the cabinets in the kitchen where it had lived for years. There was a cabinet & counter top place run by some great people John knew so I had the front panels done in white matte finish Formica along with a matching top with backsplash. She looks like the million dollar baby that she is. I remember wanting her sooooo badly for so long. This was KitchenAid's first machine with a detergent dispenser and it was not a raving success. During the pre-wash, the spray from the ends of the wash arm would force water under the stainless steel flap that held the detergent for the main wash, causing it to dissolve. I tried all kinds of modifications because, truth be told, it needs every bit of detergent in the main wash with a two and one third gallon fill and no element in the sump to boost the water temperature. I finally settled on two things: the "liquid" detergents and a short (2 inch)length of small diameter hose that I slit down one side and placed over the little baffle that holds the pre-wash detergent. Now, even powder detergent can be used successfully because the hose makes a great baffle that prevents the water from reaching the flap that holds back the main wash detergent.
Hobart used to say that these dishwashers had "Guided Action" with 6 moving walls of water and you can really hear the end jets sweep past the door as the wash arm turns at about 45 rpm. What is really neat is in the last rinse where it is circulating the water so powerfully and the rinse agent dispenser snaps as it shoots a couple of drops of Jet Dry into the tank. The water is instantly almost silenced to just a whisper by the foam and it's like a soft good-bye because in a minute or so the water is draining away and the 6 powerful moving walls of water won't be heard again until the next load.
