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bajaespuma

bajaespuma

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Mar 16, 2006
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Mon dieu! Well, I went to Paris in 1978 to study French and that I did. Met a woman who introduced me to the wonders of Miele (she pronounced it "Mee-yell", like French Honey). Anyway, turns out Paris had (and has) some humdingers of appliance stores (boutiques d'Electromenagers). One of them sold a familiar American brand. This is one of the coolest brochures in my collection. The "door" of this machine actually folds down:

6-5-2006-11-14-46--bajaespuma.jpg
 
Did you notice that the European model sports its own built-in water softener? My sister says that when she lived there, every wash load and every dishwasher load required at least one scoop of their version of Calgon (more to protect the machines, apparently).

6-5-2006-11-21-7--bajaespuma.jpg
 
Celle là c'est ma deuxieme langue!

ou troixieme?
Bien dit monsieur! Une merveilleuse machine lave-vaisselle!
Tres amusent...

A bien tot!
Diomede
 
It's odd that the cycles aren't grouped with "Daily Use" and "Party" titles since the rest of the control panel's plastic insert is identical to US models.

The filter almost looks like its from a Hobart commercial undercounter machine. I wonder if the heating element in the sump gets hotter than at North American voltage and so the plastic coarse strainer needed to be up out of the sump. And of course that's a DC motor.

I'm pretty sure though, that all US 15-17A series (and possibly earlier) used a pressure switch to guard against overflow (this changed to a float starting on the 18).

How cool, thanks for scanning!

T.
 
Deeptub, I think you hit the nail on the head. I used to use a Hobart undercounter machine of the same generation and although it didn't heat its water, the filter looked like that--no plastic.

And why DC, I don't know but French current is at 50 hertz.
 
I'll bet you're right about the heating and the coarse strainer being up out of the sump - you might have been able to use a cold water only line to the machine?

I've had my head under the KDS-18 for so long, I forgot about the pressure switch! I'd better rush out and get an older KA now...
 
Some of my MepalWare utensils are in the silver basket. I won't use metal utensils in any of my pans. I don't like scratches. Interesting that in 1978 they were showing the 17 series when we already had the 18 series here.

Thanks for sharing. I understand French appliance terms better than German, but I have forgotten the pronunciation. One snippet I remember and understand: Miele...immer besser.
 
I'll tell you why it's a DC motor--because apparently I can't type a physics test passage about DC current and look at discussomat at the same time.

Of course it's not a DC motor. It's a 220V motor. It looks about half the height of the US motor. And according to the brochure it's 1/3 (probably metric) hp (1 US hp=0.986 metric hp) and 2840 rpm vs. 3450 rpm of the US motor.

I wonder if there was any difference in the pump design to compensate for the slower motor?

Also according to the brochure, the water heater seems to be 3000W. US heating element was 1400W, so that probably does explain the filter's design. Greg-you must be right, this machine must use a cold water inlet. (And wouldn't that have to be so, if KA expected to be taken seriously in Europe?) I note that at 1100W, the drying element is the same as US.

That control panel must have seemed gaudy as hell in Europe.

T.
 
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???

6-6-2006-11-08-7--bajaespuma.jpg.gif
 
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.
 
The French ones aren't stainless steel interiors either. from the ads above it says they're tri-dura as well, triple coated on steel. Stainless steel would be acier-inoxyable <sp>
 
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?
 

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