LG dishwasher update LDF5545ST

[nmassman44]

Just thought I would update on the LG dishwasher I bought back in November 2017.
So far the dishwasher has performed well. I use the Turbo Cycle the majority of the time since it washes and dries a load in about an hour. The dishwasher is no slouch when it comes to washing and it outperforms the previous Miele with drying especially with plastics. I am liking the fact that I no longer have to buy dishwasher salt for a water softener like I had in Miele.
Capacity is outstanding. I can put much more in this dishwasher than the Miele could ever hold. I do like the spacing if the tines on the racks and it allows for chunky plates to be held upright. And there is plenty of room for pots and pans in both racks.
For pots and pans I do use the Heavy cycle since it’s the most intensive and it does run for about 3 hours, some times less than that. I have been using the Costco Kirkland Premium dishwasher pacs in the dishwasher since it doesn’t foam up like Cascade Platinum pacs do.
The dishwasher is not as quiet as the Miele was, it’s not annoying by any means, it sounds to me like a Maytag JetClean reverse rack dishwasher , with the direct drive pump. It’s more noticeable when the Quad Wash arms are in motion. I am tempted to get one of those GoPro cams and film the wash action. It’s not anemic by any means like what was posted by Reviewed in previous models.
I am happy with this dishwasher so far.

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for the 6-month update! Glad to hear you're happy with it. A 2008 TOL LG remains my favorite dishwasher for many of the same reasons you mention: Cavernous capacity, flexibility, cleaning power.

 

[lorainfurniture]

I must be the odd one out.

I bought a lg with the 3 racks, etc. in black stainless. I don’t remember the model exactly, but I remember it was a “700” series, top control something that retailed for $900+.

I hated it and ripped it out ASAP and stuck a 20 year old kitchen aid that actually worked.

 

[stchuck]

I find the different experiences very interesting

They may not have been the same model but its sure interesting how every brand seems to put out winners and losers. You would think manufacturers would always strive to make things better with every new model but its not always the case. I know there are very stringent water restrictions and energy restraints that must be awful to try to comply with. In general if I step back for a minute the new dishwashers seem to do a pretty decent job overall with cleaning even though they only use three drops of water and a pump suitable for a fish tank .

 

[stchuck]

I will admit

The new LG looks very enticing....

 

[nmassman44]

This model is completely different in design to previous LG dishwashers. This one has a manual filter system plus the QuadWash lower arm, it uses an impeller for the top water source that surprisingly is quite effective. This model does not have the third rack since I thought that since there was arm on top it would be a challenge to wash whatever was in the rack. Plus, I didn’t need it, nor wanted it. The next model up had the hidden controls and was Alexa enabled. My other half got all moist when he heard that Alexa could talk to it. Bad enough we have switches and a thermostat to turn things on and off from the couch, the last thing I needed was a dishwasher to be intergrated into Alexa. The other thing was price, it was $250 more than this model I got, I am buying, so I get what I want, and besides, I am the one that does the dishes so that was that...lol...
But I do agree that within a brand there can be a few duds model and design wise. This model does quite well and the price point that I paid was good at $499 on sale to boot. My days of spending $2k on a dishwasher are over.

 

[nmassman44]

Oh and before I forget, the cycle that uses a good amount of water is Turbo at a whopping 7.3 gallons. Normal uses about 6 ish and Heavy uses about the same. One thing I do notice is that on Turbo the wash system does not cavitate the pump as much as the Normal and Heavy. The worst offending cycle is Auto. I don’t know if it’s the soil sensing but I rarely use it. Plus with Turbo it doesn’t take long to get great results and it washes at Max wash power. The only thing is that ExtraDry has to be used to get a Dry cycle attached to the cycle. I also use High Temp for the wash period.

 

[frigilux]

Eugene (lorainfurniture): I so liked my 2008 LG that when it began to develop problems five years later (after near-commercial use) I planned to replace it with another LG. Unfortunately, the company changed the wash system in the interim and washing ability (according to CR) was substantially diminished. A sane person would simply have repaired the LG, but I loved trading out dishwashers every few years just for the fun of getting a new appliance, so it was replaced with a 2013 TOL GE (model 750 or 760, maybe?). While it was wonderfully quiet and cleaned well, racking and capacity were both frustrating compared to the LG.

Now I have a very bottom-of-the-line Whirlpool portable (having moved to an apartment in July '17). It's as noisy as a bowling alley, but the 1-hr cycle cleans well. Eddie (ea56) has the same model in the undercounted version. Unfortunately, it developed problems after only 10 months and he's decided to "go manual" with dishwashing. Mine is 9 months old; I'm hoping it proves itself more reliable than Eddie's!

 

[rolls_rapide]

"on Turbo... doesn't cavitate..."

I wonder if that's possibly because it uses more water and energy when the 'turbo' option is engaged.

In other words, filling to a higher water level in a quicker fashion, and possibly keeping both spray arms going at the same time? Maybe also have the variable speed motor going at a faster lick? This might lead to less chance of airlocks building up.

Some of Bosch's older fluid path designs for 'pump-to-heater-to-spray-arms' were not entirely suitable, especially when foam was present. They were too 'horizontal', allowing airlocks to develop. I personally think this aspect was compounded by the machine slowing down the wash pump to a virtual standstill, then switching the diverter valve and speeding the pump back up to speed again, thus allowing suds to gather and create a sizeable air bubble in the system.

On the other hand, the combined pump-heater assembly in more modern Bosch machines with redesigned fluid path seems to cope very well - even with diverter valves.

 

[nmassman44]

This dishwasher uses one arm at a time. The cavitation happens in the first prerinse since it wetting the load. It doesn't do it when the bottom arm is on, but it will do it when the middle arm is going. The dishwasher will sense the pump is cavitating and stop, then drain. When the dishwasher fills, the pump will come on low speed to fill the wash system with water, the water fill stops then the dishwasher pump kicks in on medium speed then shifts into high speed. The motor is an Inverter direct drive and is pretty powerful and gets the job done. The heating element is in the wash water distribution area under the dishwasher. I would say its like a box with the heater and has the "shifter motor" that sends the water to the lower arm, then the QuadWash arms on the lower arm, then the motor stops and the shifter opens the middle arm tube, motor starts and middle arm is going, at full power as like the lower arm. The top impeller runs every so often and at the end of the cycle part the dishwasher was in. It starts off low then goes to middle speed and then high to clear off any yibbles that might have made its way to the top of the load.
I do clean the filter about every 3 weeks or so to keep it clean, and I dont rinse, just scrape. There is a jet on the bottom arm that flushes the filter top and sends the stuff into the ultra fine filter core. what ever can't pass thru the drain gets caught in the top area. I rarely have anything in that area and the filter itself just needs a cleaning at the very base of it where the water intake is for the wash pump.
This dishwasher is very Bosch -like I would say performance wise. The racks are very sturdy and loading is a breeze I find. If one has chunky edged plates will find that this dishwasher will accommodate them well.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

normal cycle and dry cycle

How powerful is the normal cycle water pressure? Also, does the dry cyce raise the temp and extend the time? How does it work?