Kelvinator Dishwashers

[hobarthero]

I have 5 of these machines in an apartment complex I run. I was wondering if anyone had information about them. They are in good shape but I don’t think they have run in quite some time so I’m sure they’d need some work. Are they worth keeping around or should I not bother. I assume these are built better than most anything made these days. I appreciate any help you can provide.
-Shannon

 

[vacerator]

It's

an old Westinghouse design from the 70's or 80's. If they don't run, I woudn't bother. Replace with low end GE, or Whirlpool.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Don't be sure that they would need some work if you do not know their history. They might have been saved for a reason other than a scrap metal drive.

 

[hobarthero]

Apartment life

I have worked in this property for 10 years and as far as I know they have not been used in that time. I don’t want to try running them without making sure things are freed up and working properly. Do these wash well? I know very little about this brand. All the original appliances in this property were Kelvinator.

 

[pulltostart]

Maybe John needs at least one for the museum???

 

lawrence

 

[rp2813]

There has to be an expert or few here who can identify this machine based on the interior shot (I think that center spray tower will be a dead give-away) and advise on whether it's a true Kelvinator product or a rebadge of some other make.  It doesn't look like a D&M machine inside, but it could be an earlier model than the D&Ms I'm familiar with.  The locking latch definitely looks like those found on D&M machines.

 

Just out of curiosity, do you know why these machines went unused for so long?  As long as the seals are still good and the inlet/outlet valves still work, they may very well be in usable condition as they are.

 

[hobarthero]

Previous Owner Didn’t Want To Use Them

The previous owner was worried that they might leak or something so he shut off the water and told Tenants they were not in working order.

 

[cam2s]

What are you going to use them for? If it’s for the tenants you’d probably be better to replace them. If you want to use them for yourself as a collector then they might be worth hanging onto. I do believe they are of Westinghouse design. Linked is a thread about a Montgomery Wards branded Westinghouse dishwasher, you can interpret it how you will.

Machines of Ill Repute, Volume II - The Westinghouse Wards

If you ever followed General Electric and Westinghouse's designs, it seemed that--most especially in the later years of laundry and dishwashing design--they obsessed over ways to knock off each other's engineering. Or, probably more aptly, Westinghouse knocked off GE. If the ramped-agitator...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[hobarthero]

Yes For Tenants

I figure if they are working properly there’s no reason to replace them. From the thread you linked it sounds like these were very above average with how they cleaned so tenants would be happier if they have machines that work well and much faster than modern machines. Is there anything that should be cleaned up etc before attempting to run them?

 

[hobarthero]

Definitely Westinghouse

I agree 100% that this is the same Westinghouse design you posted!

 

[rp2813]

As long as you screen your tenants for their inherent level of responsibility, you won't be issuing these machines a swift and sure death sentence.  There will be few options for repairs down the road when you consider the age of these machines and their relative obscurity.

 

I understand how you would like to keep costs down, but mistreatment by careless tenants will have you buying replacement machines sooner rather than later, so it would be just a matter of time as far as when -- not if -- you'll be buying them.

 

If they were relatively indestructible KitchenAids, I might feel differently.

 

[hobarthero]

Is anyone interested in one of these machines?

I will just as happily remove these machines for those who are interested in them. But if not I’ll just let them run until they wear out if I don’t see much interest generated by them. I do generally keep responsible tenants in my property though which is why these are still in decent (seemingly) shape after almost 50 years.

 

[electronicontrl]

Not worth keeping

This is indeed a rebadged Westinghouse. When I was a college student living in an apartment in Columbus OH in the early 1980's, the kitchen was furnished with Westinghouse appliances all in harvest gold. These were early 1970's models. The dishwasher was the worst I've used. Having a dishwasher was great, since I was an appliance nut. But to get satisfactory results with this unit, the dishes would have to be clean going in. Everything needs to be thoroughly rinsed. Don't spend any time on these. Scrap them, But save one for the museum.

 

[combo52]

WCI Built Kelvinator DWs

These DWs were built after 1975 after WCI bought Westinghouse major appliances Div Of Westinghouse Electric.

 

WCI revamped the horrible 1971-1974 WH DW design into this not much better DW, But this DW has a completely different pump and motor and an actual detergent dispenser and lots of other changes [ almost no parts are interchangeable with the original WH design ]

 

That said these are still not great DWs, anything you buy today would be better, but it does seem like your tenants don't use DWs so leave them there and replace as you like or certainly as they fail. 

 

Basic WP or their Amana brand DWs would be your best bet for replacements today, they will cut you electrical and water usage in less than 1/2 of what these old DWs use.

 

John L.

 

[stevet]

Certainly not anything worth keeping.

My mother had a Frigidaire badged machine like these but with more cycle selections in their home built in 1997. When I visited in the early 2000's, I noted how slimy all their dishes looked and felt. She said the dishes never come out clean and she often would rewash them. She usually used the "normal" cycle and heated dry.

I told her to use the heavy duty or pots and pans cycle and high heat mode from then on and the difference was like night and day. I appeared that the normal cycle did not add much heat to the main wash and since the water heater was probably 30-40 feet away, she was washing with cold to lukewarm water.
The added heat did the trick.

Shortly thereafter, the wash pump failed and it was NLA, so their home warranty company replaced it with a mid level Whirlpool Point Voyager machine and she never had to worry about anything coming out less than spotless.

So many times, people will blame their machines for poor results and some designs just cannot do a good job. But we are so poisoned about not saving energy and looking for the most "efficient" cycle, that we forget the basics of food ware washing: Proper design, proper loading, proper detergent and proper temperatures. I have told so many people to give the heavy duty cycle a try or add the extra heat option and they are then amazed at the results from a simple change in routine.

 

[cfz2882]

coolness matters too

I would far sooner have one of the subject Kelvinators under my counter than any LG,samsung,import GE,etc. The"energy saving"label is a cute little bit of '70s throwback