I needed another dishwasher, right??

[turquoisedude]

Well, needed or not, I felt compelled to save this 1977 (possibly 78) Frigidaire mobile dishwasher.  I have always been fascinated by the 'whirligig' spray arm on the main spray arm (shades of the 'Silver Shower') and since Phil and I were picking up his fabulous Poppy Red (well, maybe Terra Cotta...) range and refrigerator anyway...  

 

One thing that's puzzling me is that I cannot seem to locate a model number tag.  Not on the inside of the tub, not on the back of the cabinet, not on the dishwasher frame under the front access panel.  I'll try popping that panel at some point for a look-see.  

 

The closest I can get to a model ID  is a DWM44M (a 1978 model) that seems to match the control panel; I am stuck on 1977 'cause Phil's range and fridge are 77 models.   

 

But I digress....  Inside the machine is in decent shape - a little loss of rack finish on some dish supports but no 'rack rot'.  The rack design looks as if this machine could hold a heck of a lot of dishes! 

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

And I just had to try powering it up.  I seem to have better luck with dishwashers than with washers...  

 

The Frigidaire started right up, despite having dried up and sat for a few years.  

 

And it's quiet.  Bonus!  

 

 

[appnut]

Paul, I'm glad you saved this.  It needed to be saved.  Tis is probably an Imperial, I doubt Custom Deluxe or Custom Imperial.  I've only seen this model in brochures, never in person. 

 

[appnut]

Yeah, the few I was exposed to were indeed quiet.  Cleaned pretty well too using Pots & Pans triple detergent wash. 

 

[turquoisedude]

Between the pushbutton options and the dial cycle settings, it looks as if this is a pretty flexible dishwasher. 

 

I love the 'triple wash' option with three distinct detergent sections.  I don't think the  72 Viking (Westinghouse) has this option (although I am sure some Westinghouse models did).   I didn't time the first wash if the Pots and Pans option was selected; I'd have to guess it's a good 10 minutes. I believe the heating element in the tub was on, but I had selected that 'Hot Wash' option.   

 

The Normal wash begins with a 5-minute pre-rinse, then a 7-minute wash.  The Quick Wash time threw me a little, though...  I was getting a little worried after 12 minutes, but I realized that may have been due to the Extra Hot Wash option.  I'd have to guess the cycle pauses until the water gets to a certain temperature when the Extra Hot Wash is chosen.  When I selected the OFF button for that option, I heard the timer click again and the wash ran for another 2 minutes.  Rinses were 7 and 5 minutes for the 1st and 2nd rinse respectively and I actually heard the rinse agent solenoid buzz. 

 

Of course I did notice a slight wet spot on the garage floor after the water test... I'll be doing some more testing tomorrow to see where that may be coming from.   

 

[pulltostart]

Upper Rack

Is the rack design a carry over from the earlier years when Frigidaire used the spin tube?

 

Good save, Paul!

 

lawrence

 

[turquoisedude]

And because I always need a challenge,  there should have been a slide indicator with 'Dirty' and 'Clean' sides here on the panel.  I looks like someone tried to get it out to repair or replace it and tore off the panel...  I will be digging to see if I can somehow scare up the original indicator.  Did I mention I need a challenge?  LOL

 

Maybe the bigger challenge will be what to do with this one.  The colour doesn't match either kitchen.  But it's a Frigidaire.... LOL 

 

[appnut]

Lawrence, these super upper racks that were common from the inception of the SuperSurge (wash-arm) design.  Obviously they were patterned and enhanced from the 1960 to the end of the spin tube models.  My choir director had a 1965 or 1967 Custom Deluxe of these.  I loved the top rack.  I could get so much in these. 

 

[appnut]

Paul, a buddy of mine from college--his parents had a lake house outside of Hot Springs, AR and it had the Custom Deluxe model.  That first wash (P&P) was about 15 to 20 minutes long. 

 

I knew of some Westinghouse & White Westinghouse models have a triple detergent wash sequence. 

 

[appnut]

Paul, the "library" has a 1978 dishwasher/compactor/disposer brochure I downloaded 8/17/2012. 

 

[turquoisedude]

Bob,  I have that brochure also.  It's where I got my 'best guess' model number from... LOL 

 

That upper rack is definitely familar from those first Super Surge wash systems.  I am going to have to do some more digging to find a model number.  Dang it that my Frigidaire books are all down in Ogden.... 

 

[peteski50]

Frigidaire DW!

My Aunt had a early 70s DW but the basic model with only regular and short wash! It cleaned dishes decently but was by no means the quality of a power clean clean or compared to other top notch DW's was not the best but was decent at cleaning. But was superior was the capacity! You can get tons of stuff in it. The top rack held wine glasses and cups beautifully! Even though it had a tower in the middle it never seemed to get in the way! It was one of my favorite loading dw's!

 

[philr]

I didn't notice this model had a 150° wash option. I hope you'll be able to locate the missing button.

I am also thrilled with the other 1977 kitchen appliances I got with you that day! I haven't tried the range yet but the fridge works fine and it's in nice shape.

 

[appnut]

Phil & Paul, did all these appliances come from the same house?

 

[ozzie908]

@philr

What a lovely colour that stove is !

The best we had was harvest brown in the 70's no cool colours like you guys find.....

 

[philr]

Bob, the appliances came from the same family (who used to sell Frigidaire appliances) and at some point they had been in the same house but Paul's dishwasher was now in another house.

Poppy was a relatively popular color with many brands here in Canada but Frigidaire appliances from the 1970's are very rare as they weren't widely distributed and just for a few years around 1976-79. I've seen just two post-1970 GM Frigidaire ranges in Canada since I search for and collect appliances and the one I just bought was the first self-cleaning (the other one was a plain white non self-cleaning range). We just had 30" Custom Deluxe ranges with the tall consoles from the mid-late 1970s in various self-cleaning and non-self cleaning versions. This one was the second from top-of-the-line available here which was almost the same but with a ceramatop instead of Radiantubes. And while the ceramatop was a bit more expensive, it lacked the thermostatic burner that this version has. And the early white ceramatops were also a pain to keep clean if you used them!
I got a few more self-cleaning Frigidaire ranges from the early 1970s but I bought those in the USA.

 

[appnut]

Phil, I noted immediately it was a self-cleaner and I was very happy for ya.   

 

[bajaespuma]

Even though you are my arch nemesis

If they ever invent a High Efficiency time machine, I'm coming up to Ogden, kidnapping you and taking you to see the GM building in NYC circa 1971 when some of this fabulous Poppyness was displayed in the grand mezzanine overlooking the Plaza Hotel and Central Park. It was a glorious experience.

 

[steved]

The model # is

DWM-44B. The Tech-Talk for this model was issued in Feb 1978 and I believe these models were the final GM dishwashers produced. Pics courtesy of PhilR - Phil I still have your brochure to return!
Look for the model tag in 2 different places: On the right corner of the rear panel, and behind the lower front panel. As per the Tech-Talk.