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I never knew KA was sold in Europe even back then. I'm guessing that they were probably very expensive, considering that KA itself over here was a premium brand, add to that the modifications, shipping, import duties and selling to a niche market where the saturation level of dw ownership was probably lower than in the US and Canada for that time period.
 
It figures those bastards would sell the stainless steel models over there while "Tri-Dura" coating (although, I must admit, it WAS sooo pretty--I'll never forget the day our first KitchenAid KCS-17A was delivered and I opened it and saw that beautiful speckled blue and white porcelain tank proudly badged with the US Steel emblem of quality--ahhhh!) was good enough for US.

A couple of notes:
1. The gaudy design on the front panel was just a weird French ad gimmick.
2. With Miele's and Siemens and Boschs and Phillips available with stainless steel tanks and all the rest why would any moneyed European want to spend a premium on an American dishwasher???

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Stainless interiors

Superbas were allegedly available in the US with stainless interiors for a number of years. I'm not sure what series that started with, but the 18-series manual was the last to mention the care of the stainless interior. I'm guessing that the price premium was more than anyone wanted to spend, because I've never seen one in person--only the picture of the one John L. has in his warehouse. I've never even seen a listing for a stainless tank or inner door in parts catalogs. The tanks and doors were identical to the ones Hobart made for their commercial undercounter machines. The commercial inner door even had stampings for the home-version detergent and rinse aid dispensers.

And as far as the gaudy panel, I meant the "Buick Estate Wagon" woodgrain-and-chrome of the control panel. Definitely the polar opposite of the Bauhaus-austere controls of a European machine.

T.
 
Buick Estate Wagon - hee hee!

KA Superbas were available in the US with a stainless steel interior, by special order. I believe the guys in Maryland have one in their collection but I'm not sure what series it is.

Back to the pretty woodgrain panel, a collector in Cleveland has a KDS-16 in his kitchen that he removed the woodgrain plastic from, cleaned and polished the metal underneath and it looks hot! It makes the machine look better than the new models today. He also twisted each one of the arms of the Hydro-Sweep just a hair to the left making it spin much faster - it changed the water sounds almost completely. I was a bit skeptical about how it would change the angle of water reaching the top rack but he said it cleans as well or better than before.

I've read in Appliance Magazine that U.S. made refrigerators - especially the monster side-by-sides are very popular in the Euro market. Perhaps it was the same for a few of our other appliances as well. Louis, do you have any idea what the water consumption would have been for the Miele of that era?
 
A lot!!

My brochures don't go further back than the early eighties, but that are the pretty much the same machines. A Miele dishwasher from 1981 would use 51 litres or 13.5 gallons for a normal cycle. I think a normal cycle had a prerinse, wash, rinse and last rinse. Temperature of the main wash and of the last rinse 65*C or 150*F
 
The 15, 16, and early 17 series machines had pins out to the outboard edge of the rack. Somewhere in the 17 series they eliminated the outermost pins to make room for wider things like baking pans. The rack pictured is from before they did that.

The brochure seems to be dated 9/71, which would about coincide with the intoduction of the 17 series.

T.
 
You folks don't miss a trick.

I have a complete Miele catalogue from the same trip, same year. It is 36 pages so it will take me some time to scan. It is amazing, though how contemporary their stuff from 1977 looks. Like Mercedes Benz, they haven't changed their basic design precepts for what looks like decades. What does that say about US?
 
Oh, and as far as that

If you read the features for the French Superba, I believe that what would have been the "rinsed only" light for the American models has become an alert light for when the user has neglected to recharge the internal water softener with new salt:

"Voyant de regeneration. S'allume afin que vous n'omettiez pas de mettre du sel dans le bac de l'adoucisseur".

...well, there it is, plain as day. Merde.
 
Voyant de regeneration. S'allume afin que vous n'omettiez pas de mettre du sel dans le bac de l'adoucisseur

Regenerating signal. Lights when you omit to put salt in the softener bin.
 

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