Life with the GE Profile DW, 2016

[toploader55]

In the second GE video, it shows the Upper rack being lowered to accommodate a Dinner Plate(s).

 

Sort of like the Revival of the Reverse Rack Hmmmm ???

 

Another thing I noticed is the folding down of the tines and the "Cassarole" type dish being completely flat face down.  That takes up a great portion of the rack space. In my "Antique" KDS machines, I can stand it up and angle it about 60 degrees so at least a set of the lower jets can sweep by and scrub the dish by direct contact and they come out spotless.

 

I guess what I have observed lately if I was ever in the market for a Brand New Machine, it would be a choice between Maytag and GE.  If I hit the Powerball, I would buy the Miele TOL.

 

 

 

[johnb300m]

Mark, I have a hunch this GE dishwasher would catch your fancy.
http://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-specs/GDT680SGHWW

It's pretty much the 'same' as the Profile series, with the same bottle jets, cycles, tiered rack (oh no!), hidden fan venting. Yet without the x-arm wash system.
I almost bought this one. But my HomeDepot had the Profiles on deep Thanksgiving sale that put it at almost the same price as these, so I upgraded at the time.

I was also really looking at this Maytag model pretty seriously, but the bottle jets, and long time GE dishwasher loyalty swayed me to the Profile. (Plus, the x-arms looked freakin' cool).
The Maytag had that ever so rare hard food chopper, ran both racks at once....but....upon looking at it, it's upper arm looks super short like the GE's x-arms as well! I bet it would be equally weak in the corners.
What's with all these machines and their stubby upper arms?
Seems like the Whirlpools only have the extra long arms for better corner coverage now.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_595158-46-MDB8969SDE_1z11pl1Z1z140bc__?productId=50210121&pl=1#img

 

[logixx]

Reverse Rack

My favorite dishwasher ever is probably the Bosch/Siemens Top Rack Dishwasher from the mid 90s. Both baskets were designed identically so everything would fit everywhere - despite these machines not having foldable tines at all. My aunt had one of these dishwashers and it held tons of stuff. It got its name from the fact that it had two Start buttons: one to wash both racks and one to wash only the upper one.

 

[henene4]

@logixx

Is there a way to get the model number to get ahold of the manual, please?

 

[appnut]

Well, I finally have to chime in on all this discussion with my recently acquired Kenmore Elite.  It has both top or bottom rack only options.  I've only used each once or twice.  Partly because I was a bit dismayed it still sprayed on the other rack despite single level selected.  As shown with your dishwashers, it's all a function of the diverter valve.  But like Eugene, I put my flatware in the bottom rack and it comes out clean as well as other lightly soiled dishes in the bottom.  So I can do top rack only and still get cleaning below.  The TurboZone Reach jets are their version of bottle wash.  These are activated throughout the cycle thanks to the diverter valve.  but if I select TurboZone, these upper rack jets are activated longer.  But I haven't needed them yet.  I have a very tall, somewhat narrow mug I use for hot chocolate in the winter.  I ended up having to put it in the bottom rack more than not in the old unit for it to get clean.  To my amazement, just putting the mug on the outer row, CLEAN.  Even after sitting for 3 days.  And I can put small plastic stuff on the cup racks with mugs underneath and the TZ Reach still gets it all clean.  I don't know how, but even my old jelly jar glasses glisten some now rather than being dull.  There's a fan that comes on during the dry cycle and stays on for an hour afterwards, but only with heated dry.  It has two heated dry length options and the 2 hour dry gets even the disposable plastics dry.  And it has the self cleaning filter.  The top rack glides on ball bearings.  Sometimes I have to hold the top rack with one hand so it won't go moving.  And it's super quite, but my hearing is so good that I can still figure out what's going on inside--wash ams, TZ Reach jets, ... 

 

[frigilux]

I was hoping to hear more about your new Kenmore, Bob. Thanks for the descriptions.

 

[johnb300m]

Really full load

Hey gang, so not sure if this is Bobload worthy, but it's quite full, and I needed to run a wash.
It's pretty dirty.
Using every option on Heavy cycle.
Steam, sani, bottle wash (adds 15min).
I have crusty bowls and a skillet with some mildly burnt on starch.
We shall see.

 

[frigilux]

Looking forward to your assessment of the results, John.  What's the detergent for this load?

 

[logixx]

The pump

 

[johnb300m]

Morning!
The assessment was.....mostly good.
"Only" 2 rejects."
The skillet was still dirty but better than I expected, and way better than the old Durawash could ever do.
Then there was some noodle still stuck on the pasta spoon.
EVERYTHING else was squeaky clean.
Detergent was still my box of 7th Generation. I know, I know, if it was Quantum or Platinum, it might've been clean. I didn't want to just toss out the box I have. I'll use it up and then get new stuff.
There was also Lemishine in the pre-wash.
I'm also done horsing around and getting a new water softener this afternoon.
That should help immensely.

 

[johnb300m]

Another filthy load + soft water!!!!

Alrighty!
I finally got my water issues resolved at this point. New water softener is doing its magic. I got me some Cascade Platinum pacs.
Over the weekend I accumulated one filthy load, with pans, bowls, utensils etc.
I even threw in the horribly greasy screen from the range hood (I didn't do it!)

So here it is [pics below]: Heavy wash, Steam, Sani Wash. 207 minutes.
Cascade Platinum pac in the cup. Tossed in a heaping helping of my leftover 7th Generation in the pre-wash.
Nothing is burned on in this load, so I'm having good vibes, with the soft water and better soap.

 

[johnb300m]

Good news!

Everything came out clean!
I thInk this puzzle has been cracked.
You wouldn't believe the results from the hood screen! It was 80% clean. I was shocked.
What a huge difference the conditioned water makes.

 

[mark_wpduet]

John!

Awesome! Yes, Ditch the Seventh Gen powder! I tried it once and it was AWFUL.

Andrew, you're right about the Finish Quantum - it makes the dishwasher labor with so many suds - the powerball does not do this.

I think my choices would be either Powerball, Cascade Platinum - or Cascade Fryer Boil out...Formerly Cascasde Institutional.

It would be interesting if you had tried the new soap before you got your hard water situation fixed to see if you still had gotten clean dishes using the new soap. I'm thinking the 7 generation in addition to the super hard water was the problem.

Now, you have to do the peanut butter test AGAIN

 

[johnb300m]

HAHA! Yes, I think you're right Mark. I'll have to try the pb test again.

In actuality, I DID use the two Cascade Platinum freebie pacs that came with the machine....and honestly? They only did marginally better than the 7th Generation powder.
That water before proper treatment was really tough to work with.

 

[frigilux]

Glad to hear soft water made the difference. No doubt about it: Dishwashers love softened water.

 

[washman]

Hi frig.

 

[frigilux]

Hi, Ben!

 

[askolover]

A warning

about those tabs/packs/pods and soft water...they will cause glass to etch much quicker. Even in the KA that uses 1994 standard amounts of water and the Jetclean with 1997 amounts, I had to be careful about etching. Before I met Tony, I used mostly plastic cups for drinks. Then he comes in and puts all my plastic stuff in a box and sticks it in the shed and brings in all this glassware (that I hate). Imagine with a fraction of the water AND being softened...been there, done that, got the etch marks! At least with gel or powder I can adjust the amount. But I'd still take a water softener any day, especially when it comes to my shower!

 

[cuffs054]

Who says old fools can't learn new tricks? The GE video shows the three piece silverware basket seperated and placed in different positions. My Frig DW has the same setup and I never thought to put the sections in different places.

 

[user 3941]

Frigidaire Gallery 2445

Yeah Cuffs I split mine. Keep one of the smaller ends on the top rack for little items. I use a lot of Tupperware and have little dressing cups, silicone vents for bowls, etc so it works out nicely. I usually keep the larger section and other small section together on the side unless i need more room then I'll split the other smaller one and either take it out completely or move it. Nice to have flexibility.

 

[appnut]

I've split my flatware baskets for the last 9 years.  Use the middle section mostly, but use the smaller sections for small amounts of flatware and can put those in the top rack to make space in the bottom for bulky items.  Also with the smaller sections out, have more space for bulky pots & pans in bottom too.  Waste of space if they're all together as far as I'm concerned.

 

[johnb300m]

Baskets and pacs

The split baskets are very handy, for the same reasons stated. I usually leave them together 80% of the time. But with the top or bottom wash zones, they become even more handy!

Thanks for the comment on the soap pacs and soft water. I was wondering the same thing!
It washes fantastically now, but I was wondering if the solution is too caustic now. I have the Cascade Platinum pacs and would hope they'd have anti etch additives. These one dose pacs are supposed to be universal for loads and water conditions.
Which seems dubious to me, but maybe they did it?
So will they etch dishware over time for real?
Would the smaller Finish Poweball tabs be better?

I do like the versatility of powder! But the companies have all but abandoned development on powder detergent. Cascade powder kinda sucks now. But may sits ok with my soft water now.
And Finish seems to have abandoned powder completely....
AND, with more machines doing half loads, the pacs seem real wasteful.

Perhaps I can keep loads full, very dirty, and see how this batch of pacs goes.

 

[appnut]

I like my Cascade Complete powder for daily use--allowing for both prewash & main wash dosages.  With really tough loads requiring the Platinum pacs, then I put a dose of powder in the prewash and the pack in the main wash dispenser. 

 

[murando531]

As long as your dishes are adequately dirty, there should never be a problem. Etching and damage only occurs with VERY hard water, or by using detergent and having no soil for it to "eat".

 

[logixx]

Etching occurs with too soft water.

 

[askolover]

We have a couple of glass cereal bowls that get used frequently and they are beginning to show etching. We've used Finish and Cascade over the years, have settled on Finish now though if using a tab 'cause Cascade foams more. I still keep powder and gel in house and only use half of what's called for. At least the cycle times in the KDI23 are short so there's minimal contact time...and I've yet to have a dirty dish come out of it!

 

[askolover]

soft water detergents

Any of y'all ever heard of or used this? Supposed to be formulated for soft water to reduce etching. I've been wanting to try their products for a while but just haven't done it.

http://www.proproducts.com/ourbrands/LanoSoft/DishProducts.aspx

 

[johnb300m]

soaps/water

Thanks for all the tips.
Yeah I've read more that it's the soft water in combination with too little dish soil that will eventually eat glassware and glazes on dishes.
Those soft water detergents look interesting!
Maybe I'll have to check that out when I run out of the Cascade Platinum.

 

[johnb300m]

Performance in the corners of the PDT720

I've been pretty frustrated with the performance in the corners of the upper rack with the PDT720. It's only got 1 jet to handle those areas, and the lacking power shows load after load. Even in the better, soft water atmosphere.

So my engineering side hijacked the situation and I did something rash
I took out my drill and added a 2nd little hole angled out from the upper wash arm, as well as slightly elongated the jet on the end of the arm.
MUAHAHAHAHA!
I don't hear any detrimental pressure losses in the top rack from the added flow. But I'd hesitate to do any more than that.

To test it out, in conjunction with my wonderful soft water, and the Platinum pacs, I peanut buttered up another glass. I included it in another filthy, Heavy wash, with Temp Boost and Steam prewash.
There's a glass baking pan in there too, with egg bake on it.

Results pending, in 165 minutes!

 

[johnb300m]

Results!

Results are in....and .....things are looking acceptable!
The peanut butter glass is still not nearly clean....BUT, it's better than before!
The water, soap, and I'm thinking the extra water flow up there had a helping impact.
I'm content I think! Not sure how much better it'll get from here.

And that bake pan came pretty damn near clean.
Just a few pieces of egg still stuck on there, that I can at least pick off, rinse and put away

The filter is coated with peanut butter, but not looking too bad either. The suction side is grimey, but what I've been doing every load is turning the filter cylinder 180 degrees. Seems to help.

Andrew's WP filter stays cleaner I think, because PW put a baffle on the intake to not suck debris directly against the screen.
See in the 4th pic.
And it's a good solution.