Is the "18" R-E-A-L-L-Y all that?

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When I bought my KA Superba 22 in January 1992, I distinctly recall seeing a Patrician at one of the dealers I investigated. Have no way to know what was the series of it ... current series at the time or an old-stock previous model.

I just tried a wildcard model search at SearsParts. KUDP22 and KUDP23 both get results. KUPD24 does not.
 
kitchenaid not for me

I will take a whirlpool powerclean or maytag jetclean manufactured til about 2000. The kitchenaids had too many quirks for me. Rusty racks, seal leaks, and inconvenient upper rack loading put it near the bottom of the list for me. I know this is just my opinion and most on here will not agree.
 
kitchenaid not for me

I will take a whirlpool powerclean or maytag jetclean manufactured til about 2000. The kitchenaids had too many quirks for me. Rusty racks, seal leaks, and inconvenient upper rack loading put it near the bottom of the list for me. I know this is just my opinion and most on here will not agree.
 
Im weird ...BUT!

I like the older single arm machines, that water comes out with such terrific force, it will blast off even burned on stuff, to my way of thinking, having 2 wash arms just lowers the force of the water, ive never had a problem with stuff on the top rack getting clean.
 
Didja every put large pans and bowls in the lower rack? CU never tested dishwashers with anything but plates in the lower rack, a very unreal loading situation.

The difference between soak and wash and soak and scrub is that the S&S portion of the cycle heated water in between periods of recirculating it. The Soak cycle, which did not do the periodic recirculation of water, was introduced in the heyday of enzymes and there were plans for enzyme dishwasher presoak products, but enzymes got a bad rep due, in part, to the high amount of phosphates in the products so they never came to anything and KA was left with soak cycles just using regular detergents. Sad because the lower water temperature of the first fill was perfect for enzyme action. Without enzymes, the S&S cycle provided heat to keep ingredients in regular dishwasher detergents active, but it was not the relentless scrubbing of a WP potsmasher cycle with the thermal delay that added about 45 minutes of washing and heating.
 
I have..

Never used a older Whirlpool Dish washer, but the one in this house is very un impressive, I have a KDS 15 im going to install, this WP takes over an hour and you can forget it cleaning a greasy pan. I scrub all my cookware before loading, because if I dont, it comes out dirty, a large load of silverware tends not to get clean either, I like the rack in the door, but it does not clean as well.
 
Hans, I ventur3e to say it sounds like your dishwasher isn't getting enough water. Is it a tall tub or not? If it isn't, it should clean the chrome off a trailer hitch. the pots & Pans cycle is a miracle worker, albeit it takes 2+ hours with 3 different water heat period.
 
Whirlpool Dishwasher!

I am sorry I gave up my power clean 10 years ago when I did a kitchen make over!
It was portable and nothing washed like it.
I had the 8700 model!

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One thing I did not care for about the 18 was the silverware basket with all of those little dividers. For a long time I ran the Westinghouse silverware baskets with the big bins in my 18s and later switched to the silver baskets from the 22 or 23 series KA machines after cutting off the tall side handles which blocked capacity at the front of the lower rack. I don't need to lift the baskets out to unload silverware and cutlery. I still like KA's design with the long slot at the front of the silverware basket for long-handled cooking utensils.

Hans, while it does take up room in the lower rack, you can take the silverware basket out of the door mounts and stand it at the side of the lower rack and you wil get better cleaning of the silverware and less food deposited in the basket.
 
Whirlpool Powerclean!

The silverware cleaned really well for me when I loaded plates in the front. If I put bowls and pots in the front the silverware didnt get that clean.
 
Call me shallow, but...

Whirlpool machines, although great performers, lacked "pizazz" since the early Seventies.

 

When you think of a KitchenAid dishwasher, you immediately think of a prominent and distinct chrome-plated handle in the middle of the control panel, the KitchenAid brand lettered in its unique font, and a clear strong layout of knob, buttons and escutcheon. Jet Clean dishwashers featured a humble but solid embossed aluminum escutcheon with strong clear white buttons and a knob that was exquisitely simple and placed, either in the center, like the washers, or on the bottom right. Maytags proudly acknowledged their washer ancestry and all their appliances were a sculptural rendering of the Midwestern United States. Waste Kings, Frigidaire s all had distinctive styles that were consistent with and proudly promoted the brand. Now everything looks like it came out of the same factory (LOL, they did).

 

If I've learned anything from these experiences its that even the lowliest household appliance needs to have some style. The problem with almost all contemporary smalls and majors is that they lack aesthetic details that attract buyers and add something to our homes. They conform to a diminished identity of a commodity. They are dull.

 

 
 
I'll take cleaning performance over lack of pizzaz any day.

Hans, I would venture to say there is something definitely not working right with your WP dishwasher. It may not be getting enough water for each of the fill periods due to calcium buildup in the water valve.

If that's not the case, if you tell me you are using Normal Wash cycle without high-temp option, then that's the reason why you're getting such piss poor results. That's just a main wash, a purge, and a rinse. That's a wash fill going into a cold machine with cold load contents. it doesn't have a chance. Even if ya purgeed the water line before you start the machine. My minimum suggestion is use Heavy Wash and high-temp wash. Pots & Pans will clean the chrome off a trailer hitch with its 2.5 to 3 hour cycle.

Lemme tell ya a story. Golittlesport moved into a new hours around the time of the 1st or 2nd washin. He was complaining his powerClean wasn't getting peanutbutter off his knkives. He had water heater set fairly high. He was not selecting the high-temp wash option for the Normal Cycle. Once he did what I suggested, they were very happy with their dishwasher.
 
"They conform to the diminished identity of a commodity" Well, that's because dishwashers ARE commodities... and while it's crazy people like us that elevate them to some Icon-like status, the real diffentiation between then, when there actually were well made dishwashers, and now can be defined by a missing but real inherent quality which once was considered mandatory in a high end ie: "aspirational" product, before the bean-counters took total control, and is now lacking in ANY new machine, having been replaced with marketing hype and image and the illusion that technology can replace true inherent worth in quality desgn and construction... the Mad Men have triuphed!!!
 
WP Problem..

I have always used the longest cycle " Pots and pans" which automatically turns on the hi temp wash, it never has been worth much, and I have had it since new ..4 years, it fills just fine , its 4 years old and the racks are already rusting, I have a 65 model kds 15 that the racks still are great on, im going to install it as soon as I get a chance, its noisy...but it will wash a load in about 45 minutes, and they will be clean and dry.
 
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