I bought a Maytag dishwasher yesterday... and shot a video today.

[revvinkevin]

 
 
Inspired by Pete (Rollermatic's) recent 1972 Maytag portable dishwasher find, this prompted me to search Craigs List for Maytag dishwashers... and for some silly reason, go BUY one!   OY!!
 
So here it is folks, a pretty basic Maytag portable reverse rack dishwasher, 19 years newer then Pete's. Model LWC 204, built March 1991.
 
As you will see in the video, some of the little water jet nozzles are clogged, which effects the spray arm rotation. Oh, did I mention I ran it with the door open?
 
Enjoy!
Kevin
 
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[washer111]

Very interesting. I must say that the spray on that thing goes sprays a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way! No wonder older dishwashers sound like the 1am freight train rolling past your bedroom window...

Have you tried running it with some dishwasher cleaner (like the Finish type) with the door closed to see if that free's up the lint, or are you going to use the old Skewer in the holes trick, like I did with a friend's Dishlex machine, which doesn't wash, I attempted to fix and they still don't bother with it... Might take some cleaner, detergent and rinse aid to theirs next time I go, just to see if that persuades the silly thing to use the dishwasher!

 

[dishwashercrazy]

What a great video, Kevin! Those Maytag spray arms do certainly deliver alot of wash action. Thanks for giving us a wonderful demonstration of that power.

Mike

 

[nmassman44]

Methinks that you could take the wash arms and tower out and take a handy dandy toothpick and unclog the jets. Also the tower unscrews from the power module and unscrew the screws holding down the module cover and pull out the filter and see fits clogged too...very easy to do! I am not surprised all the water is coming out of the tower like that.

 

[yogitunes]

Nice video Kevin......Dual Purpose.....never thought of a dishwasher as a lawn ornament, AND a lawn sprinkler....most people have underground pop-up sprinklers.....lol

ducks and runs

 

[peteski50]

Maytag!

nice video Kevin - those maytags were power houses!

 

[gansky1]

Fun experiment - always wanted to do this. 

 

[dishwasherfan]

Play time..

kevin,

Fun video, I've always wanted to see an old maytag run with the door open.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Last time I saw a dishwasher shoot out water like that, it was a KitchenAid with the door <span style="text-decoration: underline;">closed</span>...

 

Ducks and runs...

 

RCD

 

[frigilux]

Kevin, that's hands-down the coolest lawn sprinkler I've ever seen!

 

[rollermatic]

loved the video

that was too funny to watch! i have thought of that (simply opening the door and turning it on) but never done it!

that maytag can move some water. now i'm even more anxious to get mine running and water tested.

glad i inspired you!

pete

 

[applianceguy47]

Aw, Kevin, how many times have I told you NOT to run the dishwasher with the door OPEN? 

 

It's like that time you ran the microwave with the door open and made grannys tweety bird-- ES-PLODE--, mid flight.

 

The DWs need to be sitting reasonably level for several reasons. 

The washer arm is less likely to rotate at maximum speed if not setting square on the hub.

Yes, the arm with numerous spray holes clogged will affect it.

The water level needs to be right, not too full or too low.  Too full and the bottom of the arm will drag on the surface and slow down the arm.

 

This could also be a worn impellar problem where the pump (or motor) aren't creating enough pressure to power the arm.

 

I would remove the arm and clean the nozzles.  You might also find something else in the pump (like a straw or glass, teeth, a dead tweety bird, or...) that is impeding flow.

 

Next time a level surface, like your kitchen or bedroom, would be a fair theatre for this "open door" experiment and,

I could be wrong, but,

I'm guessing its sure to get many MORE views on You-tube.

 

(no one here will tell your home owners insurance company)  Put on your Nike's and just DO IT !

 

 

[combo52]

MT DW Open Door Test

WOW Kevin this is always fun, I have done this with old WP and KA top loading portables and the water goes 15-20 feet in the air. The blocked holes in the wash-arms are the likely reason the wash arm didn't rotate more predictably, although MT DW RR dishwashers are not one of the most fun machines to see operating with the door open as they use such a fine spray. The pump is working fine as shown by how far the water fly's, if you keep the garden hose running into the bottom of the machine you would actually be able to water the lawn. LOL, You can also attach the hose to the drain line because the pump reverses and will actually suck the water into the DW as it is running. We used to get Service Calls for MT RR DWs that were flooding kitchens because they were connected to the disposer and the user had forgotten to clear the disposer before starting the DW. After the DW drained and if the water backed up in the sink the drain pump would quickly suck the dirty water back into the DW and it would flood out under the door. MT was to cheap to install a drain check valve, this little flooding trick was something that GEs, WPs and of coerce KAs would never do as they were better designed.