Machines of Ill Repute, Volume II - The Westinghouse Wards

[roto204]

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 top loader didn't have you convinced, the dishwasher had to. Unlike the earlier iteration in the sixties with the micro-screen filter, V-profiled wash arm, and butt-kicking performance, the cheaper, later model--with its horizontal-mount pump, offset-sump, snapping drain solenoid, and all--well, if you closed your eyes, you'd swear it was a GE.

Ever since Greg regaled me of his Radiant Rinse machine, I wanted to play with one of these. Yes, it may have been a WCI product by this point, but the genesis of the design was purely from desperate, depleted early-seventies Westinghouse.

For starters, I have to say that I liked the aesthetics of this machine. It was handsome, and even though it had a Contact-paper top, it was one of the nicest-looking I'd seen in a while. The flush kick panel gave it a smooth, continuous look, and unlike some portables I've used, the hose and cord pullout actually worked smoothly.[this post was last edited: 12/10/2011-00:25]

 

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Cycles

The cycles on this machine were mostly sensible and based on the GE logic of "heavier soil needs more washes and more water changes, with some Calrod heating thrown in for good measure." In its own environment, that's a sound strategy. What filters lack, serial dilution can make up for, when you're not concerned with energy conservation or resource efficiency.

The most unusual feature was the Econo Wash, which--according to the Wards documentation--allowed for a very long main wash, with no water changes in between, but two separate dispensings of detergent. This idea seemed odd to me, and possibly detrimental to the dishes if used over the long-term--but also harkened to the days of suds-saving: When the detergent gets exhausted over time, just refresh it with more.

As you'd expect, the difference in Normal and Short was how far you moved the timer dial. Aside from Econo Wash and its bizarre behaviors, Pots and Pans served to provide a heating delay, long wash, and--yes--a chance for a control panel light to illuminate, so that you and your friends would know that your dishwasher was seriously at work.

 

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News you can use

Unlike D&M/WCI over in my Deluxe thread, this machine sported no "On" light; Westinghouse correctly assumed you'd know when this machine was operating, when the cat ran and hid under the sofa from the racket.

Instead, they chose curious conditions for illuminated display--activation of the Pots and Pans cycle, and selection of the heated dry. The latter's kind of nice, in case you washed all your plastics and forgot to switch it off.[this post was last edited: 12/10/2011-00:28]

 

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Cycle selections

This part's pretty standard-issue. But don't you love a good push-to-start machine?

 

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Dispensing with it

File this photo away in your mental Rolodex for my next installment, and see if you don't experience a very curious sense of deja vu. But more on that later.

The cups were very Westinghousian/WCI; two retractable cups swung out on an arm, with a static third cup for the Pots and Pans cycle. The rinse dispenser was jiggered off a huge, rotary cam, which we'll talk about more in my next Machine of Ill Repute installment. Clearly, the designer of Whirlpool's cam bars defected to Westinghouse to come up with this little gem, all fired off one set of bimetallic strips. Oddly or happily, the dispensers did work reliably.

Despite the glossy exterior of this machine, the potato-chip-thin porcelain left much to be desired (note the distinct lack of gloss, and spot of rust in the picture). Build quality made D&M look like a Mercedes, and the multi-segmented control panel (look back at the first full-panel shot) was a nightmare to work on; the top, bottom, left, right, and inset segments all came apart separately, and like car trim, were rather hard to get back together seamlessly.

The fill flume on this unit was fine, but the sump had a ring of rust, which you'll see more of in a moment; the machine, on acquisition, leaked from the drain valve actuating arm seal, which later fixed itself, as well as from one of the legs of the heating element, which was easy to fix but ended initial testing abruptly when the machine shorted out on its maiden wash.

 

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How to kick butt, Westinghouse-style

Where GE ate it--in my book--was the wash arm with the gigantic holes. Big, open holes generate volume, but not pressure, which generally accounted for most of my disappointments with turbine-pump GE dishwashers.

Westinghouse tracked a different course, opting instead to use the goats-eye holes very similar to those you'd find on a Filter-Stream or PowerClean Whirlpool dishwasher. The bowed-out, oblong orifice made for better wash action all around.

Also, instead of ceding rack space to a saucer shelf, the wash arm on the Westinghouse was mounted on a stem that could telescope slightly under pressure. When it did so, it would jump up and mate with the rotating wash turret, which as impressively jetted in its own right.

Two apparent items in this picture: The rust ring from the deteriorating porcelain around the pump intake in the rear, and the wear on the tank ledges from the ever-chintzy rack glides. That's right--glides, not wheels. Surprisingly, the rack was as smooth as anything else I've used, but the idea of foregoing little plastic wheels (fewer moving parts, I guess?) just made my toes curl.[this post was last edited: 12/10/2011-00:30]

 

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Dodging olive pits

Here's the pump intake. And actually, there was an olive pit laying on it. It was pretty good at stopping the large, scary objects. And, the smaller sump--and smaller cavity below--prevented this machine from doing the GE trick of retaining up to a quart of water, and occasionally all the particulates it might contain.

 

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Jet-O-Mat

The wash turret in this machine was nothing short of sensational. With the exception of the GE Twenty Eight Hundred--a true class-act in its own right, and a design apart from its kin--no other wash-tower machine has scoured the top rack so well, or reached the corners so thoroughly. No tall glasses in the corners ever emerged dirty, or filled with trash.

The only problem was the slit in the middle, which tended to act as an inadvertent filter from time to time. A quick rap on the turret with the handle of a bread-knife usually sent whatever-it-was back onto the door liner for easy removal.

Note that the turret rests in a sleeve, so you can (gently) rest items on it, and still not interrupt the rotation of the turret itself.

The vinyl coating on the racks was ahead of its time--much more closely mirroring today's atom-thin coatings of nylon. (And the rust spots show it.)

 

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It's all about the basket

The silverware basket in this machine was an oddity, until you learned why it was so great.

Not quite to the side, not stuck in the middle, you could move it around, or remove it, or leave it where it was, and there was still ample room for casseroles and cookie sheets behind it. Or, there were two more rows of tines for dinner plates and such, if that's what you had to work with. At first, I was puzzled, but over time, I really began to enjoy this configuration.

Combined with the high top rack and lack of a top wash arm, you could do other cool things with this machine, like load cookie sheets and casseroles around the sides AND BACK of the rack. (I suppose you could have done it on the front, but you'd end up with a glob of detergent, more than likely.)

The top rack looked sensible, but failed in one crucial point--the ribs that ran from side-to-side were spaced too widely from front-to-back. You only realized this when you loaded the sides with drinking glasses and tumblers. When the cycle finished, and you pulled-out the top rack, they all fell over on each other--there just wasn't enough wire beneath them spaced closely enough to give them a solid footing.

 

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Satisfaction rating: An overall favorite

Overall, this machine was great. It was like owning a GE portable, only one that washed dishes. Performance-wise, this machine never let us down, and we never had a single reject. If you fired-up the Pots and Pans cycle, your Corelle would emerge minus the pattern. Plus, the styling matched your Wards washer perfectly (yeah, we found the matching washer in Phoenix...).

The low points were the janky top rack, and the lousy (LOUSY) build quality. If you ever wondered why Wards ate it while Sears soldiered on, you have to step back and compare Kenmore versus Wards Signature sourcing and build quality. Sometimes, it just felt like Sears was the Filet Mignon, and Wards was the cube steak. Interestingly, though, this machine featured wide, cylindrical casters, one of the very few types that both roll smoothly, and distribute the weight such that they do not mar your linoleum or sheet-vinyl floors while the machine sits.

This machine was mercifully free from the ill-conceived and raucous "let's air-dry the dishes by running the turbine pump throughout the dry cycle" design that some of these machines featured, so it was really no more annoying to use than the average GE...and after a while, your brain learned to increment the cycle from across the house by the number of times you heard the drain solenoid snap.

Ultimately, this machine was phased out in favor of the Filter-Stream Whirlpool, and eventually met its fate as the rust that had already taken root ran its course.

 

[MaytagA710]

Excellent thread! I enjoyed reading it. I always wondered about Westinghouse machines, there was one for sale on Kijiji, albeit a Viking (Eatons Dept. store brand, it was a Westinghouse design) but the seller was asking $75 for it, and would not budge. Either way, its neat to see a detailed report. I heard Westinghouse machines kept the drain solenoid energized during the wash cycle and de-energized it to drain, unlike GE who kept the drain solenoid de-energized during the wash cycle and a pulse-energized during the drain?

Could you get a quick YouTube video of the machine?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you

For the fascinating, fun to read, well illustrated & analytical report. Would that Consumer Reports so thoroughly detailed their findings; of course, maybe they don't find all of the things that you did.

What would happen if you pushed the button for Normal wash and started the dial at Pots & Pans? Would it just not start of would it wash without the thermal hold?

All in all, a much better and less expensive DW than the Thermador/WK

 

[turquoisedude]

Oh wow - PhilR and I rescused the Viking-branded version of this machine on an appliance hunt back in October! It's in 'deep storage' for the winter, but this thread has inspired me to make a point of spiffing it up this spring!!

 

[roto204]

Thank you!!

Kevin and Tom, thank you so much!!  I really enjoyed putting this together--and I miss the old Consumer Reports that actually contained detailed testing information, pictures, and the infamous "advantages" (A, C, D, L, N) and "disadvantages" (e, g, j) notation.  So detailed!  Now it's like the article gets maybe two pages, contains two tiny pics, and just has a list of Best Buys, with no real reasoning behind it.

 

I love reading AW members' posts when they wax literary and detailed, it makes things so fun and captivating to read about.

 

Paul, I *remember* that machine!  That definitely needs to come back out!  :-D  My dream someday is to find the infamous spring-loaded timeline-control units--or even better still, one of the old filtered models that gave KAs a run for their money.

 

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YouTube video

Alas, this machine ended up being returned to That Wards in the Sky.  All that remains is one of those oblong casters...

 

[tomturbomatic]

Come East, young man. John and I found one back in the 80s, It's avocado and has the linear timer.

 

[rp2813]

Re: Reply #4 And Associated Photo . . .

If you're headed where I think you are, and considering this thread's title, I can't wait for the detailed analysis!

 

[mickeyd]

Well Nate,

I looked and looked for Volume I, hoping it would be about a washer--the Imperial Searchalator yielded nothing--till a clue in your text led me to the Super Forum.

 

These are Masterpieces of Dishwasher Doctrine, all three released in one fell swoop. Nate, I think you may be a certifiable genius.

 

Awestruck,

 

Mike

 

PS: Yes, got to love a dishwasher that pushes to start just like a washer. Didn't know they came that way--how cool! And thanks for the magnificent readings in truly canonical threads.

 

 

 

[retropia]

Thanks, Nate, for the thorough reviews on your three dishwashers. At least now, if someone else wants to try one of these, he will know what to expect.