KDI-56 and KDS-18

[blevengood]

Hello! I am new to the forum and currently am building my first house after always living in rented apartments. I am excited to fill it with some vintage appliances!

I recently tracked down a KDI-56 that has been apparently converted from a portable to a built-in. The seller purchased a house with it installed but is renovating their kitchen. It looks rough on the outside - the previous owner made some serious modifications to the outside to match their cabinets - however, I was told that it runs and cleans well. I plan to restore the exterior panels the best I can, and have begun to tear it down. Overall, the inside looks very good, although there is some rust staining around the base inside. Is it a good idea to simply clean up that rust with steel wool? The enamel doesn't appear to be chipped anywhere, so I am unsure where it is coming from.

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A day after purchasing the KDI-56, I came across a KDS-18 posted for free on Facebook marketplace. I plan to also build a bar area into a rec room in the new house, so I talked myself into needing this additional dishwasher. The exterior of this dishwasher looks amazingly clean. However, this unit has even more rust staining around the base inside, and the heat coil even appears to be rusted. There are also some very minor enamel chips in a few places in the tub that have begun to rust - I plan to dremel those clean and use a porcelain touch up.

When I picked up this dishwasher, I was told it worked but was not cleaning well. When I got it home, I noticed the detergent cup was closed - I opened it up and it was full of detergent. I am thinking it may be stuck. Does anyone have advice on things to check? When I took off the filter screen, I also found pieces of broken glass and melted plastic stuck in the intake area.

If anyone has any general advice for maintenance that should be done on either of these units before installation, I would appreciate it! I will add photos of both units to this thread.

 

[blevengood]

KDI-56

 

[blevengood]

KDS-18

 

[combo52]

These are both good dishwashers.

But if I were you I would try to find some much better condition ones, while they can technically be restored the better part of their life is gone.

I’m sure with building a new house you have other things to do.

I have a key K DI 17 for example that’s brand new never used that I’ll sell you for $250 if you want to drive to Beltsville to pick it up.

John

 

[blevengood]

Hi John,

I appreciate the offer, but I actually picked these up hoping for a bit of a challenge - restorations of all kinds are my hobby. I have no interest in buying a brand new/never used appliance at this time - for me, doing the work to restore something is the fun part. The house won't be done until mid-winter, so I have some time for projects in the meantime.

I will admit I have no prior experience working on dishwashers specifically, however, it appears to me that both of these are serviceable. Since the 56 already cleans well, I assume most of its issues are cosmetic. It appears that panels are not easy to come by, so I plan to remove and treat the existing ones like a car - sand off rust, fill screw holes the previous owner inflicted upon it with body filler, prep, and paint.

I would appreciate any advice you or others may have about what may have caused the rust staining at the bases around the sump and if it is something I should be worried about (specifically the large amount on the 18, but also to some extent the 56). My assumption is that it may be from previous standing water if there was ever a drainage issue. I am wondering if I should disassemble everything down there in order to treat any rust that may be hiding, or leave it alone if there are currently no leaks and they are draining normally? I wouldn't want to damage any seals that are otherwise fine.

I am not looking to make them perfect, but I do plan to put in the best effort I can to get one or both of these into usable shape and keep them out of the landfill.