Miele G2150 Diamante Dishwasher

[rp2813]

Water Protection Device

David, do you mean that big blocky thing? 

 

When you say vertical, would that be positioned so the thin edge is on the floor as opposed to the larger flatter side?

 

I've also been advised that there's no need for an air gap on the drain hose.

 

[zipdang]

Yes, the blocky device. It shouldn't lay flat at all. Its long axis should be vertical with one hose connection on the top and the other on the bottom. Mine was originally installed with the water protection device on the floor and it conked out after 2 years. The valves inside fault out, and while the hose can replaced without the need for a service tech it's still a $200+ part.

Think of it this way: the protection device should be oriented like a book standing upright on a bookshelf versus laying flat on a table. I wish I had a photo of mine. I'll see if I can find one to help clarify.

 

[zipdang]

This is what my friend Patrick (Pdub) found when we were trying to diagnose the problem when my machine's device stopped working. Hope it helps.

View attachment zipdang++8-16-2013-14-28-42.jpg

 

[zipdang]

Let's try that again....

 

[rp2813]

OK Got It

I'm pretty sure mine is just on the floor.  So should the dishwasher end of the hose be on top and the inlet end on the bottom?

 

[zipdang]

I'm pretty certain mine is oriented with the water supply end on the top and the hose to the dishwasher connected to the bottom. We hung a small hook in the cabinet to hang it from which seems to be working quite well.

 

[rp2813]

I took a look and my hose presents a problem.  The protection assembly is right at the end of the hose by the connector for the supply.  I'll have to install an elbow to position it vertically.  As it sits now, there's a double violation.  It's horizontal and the larger flat side is in the same plane as the floor.

 

This isn't a huge deal to correct.  One of the fittings I had to use in order to adapt to the garden hose connector type appears to have a defect that no amount of teflon tape will fix, creating a very slow drip.  I was planning to tend to that issue anyway.

 

I guess now it's just verifying whether it matters which direction to aim the elbow.

 

[rp2813]

It Has Been Reconfigured

I took a look in the owner's manual and in the back there's a warning about cutting the inlet line since it has electrical components running through it.  The drawing showed the box assembly with the connector at the top, so that's how I worked it. 

 

As you can see, adapters were necessary for the initial connection because the original supply line from some 40 years ago used a flare fitting.  It seemed prudent not to mess with the elbow coming out of the supply valve.  The leak was happening between the two brass fittings that are now separated by the galvanized street elbow.  I used galvanized because I had a couple of non-Chinese ones around and decided to save myself a trip to Orchard Supply.

 

In the picture below, you can see that there's still a small leak where the male end of the street ell is fitted into the brass flare- to-MIP adapter, but it's barely a drop every 30 minutes compared to at least a couple of drops per minute before.  Using the galvanized fitting helped quite a bit.  That brass adapter is clearly suspect, but I think the leak is so slow that it will "take up" fairly quickly.  I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[logixx]

Been looking at some installation instructions and it doesn't state anything as to how the WPS housing is to be installed. Just warns against cutting into the hose (as it contains electrical components) or crushing the hoses when pushing the unit into place.

As far as Mike's comment on water pressure goes: am not sure but at least in Germany, only the top four out of 15 models have variable spray pressure. Interestingly though, every model has the sensor wash, which only comes on the LaPerla in the US. Wonder why that is?

Do a Google search on "Miele dishwasher BobLoad" to get some ideas - most pictures are from here, actually!

Alex

 

[zipdang]

Ralph the way you have your water protection device installed looks correct. Nice job. Patrick figured out why the valves might fail if they were laid down horizontal but I can't remember what the logic was.

Do you know your local water hardness? The salt indicator might come on if it detects the hardness is at or above 4ppm...I think. Our hardness here is only 0.5-1.0ppm so the built-in water softener doesn't require salt. If you do have soft water watch the dosing on rinse aid. I've noticed anything over a setting of 2 will give a frothy final rinse. Right now it's set at 1 and things seem to be okay using Finish Jet Dry. Have also had the best luck using Ecover tablets. Maybe it's because they're formulated in Europe for European machines, I dunno, but they work fantastic in my Miele. Stainless steel pots and pans come out shinier than anything else can get them, no glass etching, plastics aren't chalky.

My machine has the information display including the timer, so if you are curious as to how long any of the cycles *should* take let me know and I can check them.

 

[frigilux]

A beautiful Miele, inside and out! I've grown to love the flatware/utensil upper rack on my LG. And super-quiet dishwashers so nice, especially given the longer cycle times. Congratulations!

 

[rp2813]

David, thanks for the tips.  My machine doesn't have water softening capability but so far it hasn't proved to be an issue.  I know the water here is fairly hard, but the Miele seems to take it in stride.

 

I'm currently using my stock of phosphated Cascade along with clear Cascade rinse agent.  I bumped the dosage down to 2ml because I was catching a whiff of rinse aid after running a cycle.  Glassware is still sparkling, so I might give 1ml a shot and see how it does.  The true test will come after I run out of phosphated detergent.

 

Meanwhile, the Diamante continues to impress.  It even made knives that had been used for peanut butter sparkle.  That has never happened before with any dishwasher I've owned.

 

We were puzzled by the "Rinse" light (not the rinse aid refill light) when the machine first ran and thought something could be wrong.  Since the washer completed its cycles and all dispensers were activated as per usual, I assumed this indicator light was normal during the wash phase and your photo seems to confirm it, but there is nothing specific about it in the owner's guide.

 

[zipdang]

The "Rinse" light is a bit of a misnomer. It means rinse in the sense of a shower, as in when the machine is circulating sprays of water versus ceasing action for a drying phase.

Glad to hear all is well and that you're enjoying the machine. The Pots and Pans program has yet to disappoint me on anything I've thrown at it. The top/3rd tier tray becomes so essential that you wonder what you did without it. In one of the photos above of the lower rack it appears some of the tines are bent and out of alignment. When aligned don't be surprised by how closely the plate racks are spaced. Packs 'em in and still does a marvelous job.

European machines have an impressive capacity once you figure out their nuances. My mom had a Swedish Asko for years and could cram more into that thing than she can in her current modern (3 years old?) KitchenAid Superba.

 

[rp2813]

The Tines

Thanks for clearing things up about the rinse light.  I had a feeling it meant exactly what you said it does.  I'm still getting used to the tines and what to load where, but I did straighten out most of them since taking the picture above.  They can use a little more tweaking but I need to spend more time with the owner's manual to learn a little more about loading strategies. 

 

I'm getting used to the third rack for utensils.  It's a better system than just fitting large ones like tongs and spatulas into the upper rack as is the case with most dishwashers.  Some are too tall to place in the traditional utensil basket and will end up blocking the upper rack from being pulled outward.  Miele solved that problem with the third tier.  I also like unloading the top tier.  With either system, you're spending extra time on the front or back end.  With a basket, you can drop things pretty much anywhere, but sorting through it when putting things away takes time.  With the third rack, "nesting" when loading is the rule rather than the exception, but it makes putting away clean items a snap.

 

The upper (middle) rack seems like a free-for-all.  So far I haven't been able to load it as tightly as on the ISE.

 

When I checked the guide, it appeared the pots & pans cycle omitted a portion of the wash cycle, which seemed odd.  I'll review that again as well.  So far I haven't had the need to use that cycle, but it's only a matter of tine. 

 

 

[nmassman44]

With mine the Pots and Pans cycle and the Heavy/Intensive cycles take a rinse away after the first Prewash. Thats because it adds more water to the other portions of the cycle to maintain the water pressure boost. It will still use 6 gallons regardless and everything comes out clean. Now the other thing is that I know with mine that every cycle will vary in time. A normal cycle will take about 2 hrs and 10 mins on average. I have seen times where it has been under 2 hours, but with mine it takes into account at how hot the water is coming into the dishwasher. One thing is thatif your water is already piping hot your cycle times will reduce.
The top rack you will find that it does hold alot of silverware and utensils but be aware of that top arm...it doesnt take much to stop it. What I do with spatulas and big long handled items is that they go into the middle rack and they wash beautifully. If I wash an all pots and pans load I will remove the top tray inserts and drop the upper rack to its lowest point then I can do lids in the upper rack along withe bowls and whatnot and that top arm scours like crazy.
In time you will figure out your racking and where to put items...it does take time and I know with mine its amazing how much it can hold.

 

[rp2813]

Detergent Dosage

Right now, in addition to loading strategies my learning curve has come to include detergent dosage. 

 

Last night I chose the Pots & Pans cycle for the first time.  It worked beautifully on the target items and seemed to get the job done in less than 2.5 hours, but I noticed a definite clouding effect on glassware.  This isn't fancy stuff, just heavy everyday tumbler type glasses and the coffee carafe.  I've become so used to filling both cups on the ISE that I think maybe I'm using too much by doing the same thing with the Miele considering how much less water it uses per fill.  It's evident that the cups are proportionally smaller, so I presumed a full main wash cup wouldn't be an overdose.

 

I know the basic rule of thumb is to use less detergent if there's less soiling, but I'm wondering where to draw the line and if there's ever much need to fill both of the Miele's cups to capacity.  Any advice on how much to use would be appreciated.  I'm happy to conserve my remaining supply of phosphated Cascade by using less if I can get away with it.

 

This may be a trial & error process since the water supply is fairly hard, but I'm going to start using less with the next load, and may not bother with any detergent for the pre-wash.

 

[brisnat81]

Hi Ralph,

It could also be the temperature. On the Aussie ones the Pots and pans cycle gets up between 160degF and 170degF

If I put any glassware in with the pots and pans cycle, its only heavy glass tumblers or the such.

Anything thin walled seems to go permanently cloudy at those temps.

We have soft water however so I don't have experience with water hardness issues.

Cheers

Nathan

 

[aamassther]

I've found detergent needs to be dosed quite carefully in my La Perla II. I keep it to 20cc for a normal load and 30 cc for a pots and pans load, plus about 5cc in the prewash cup. Fill the cup is way too much soap. They use enough less water that less is better.
That's a great machine, btw. The silver tray is my favourite feature. So easy to put things away from.
HTH, Todd

 

[zipdang]

Detergent dosage

With our very soft municipal water it only takes about 1 TBSP (or 20 mL at most) to clean a full load on the Normal program, or one detergent tablet. The only time I use detergent for the prewash is on the Pots & Pans program, and even then it only takes about 1/2-1 tsp to do the job.

The detergent dispenser cup should have little markings in it to indicate how full it is. Try starting with the lowest amount and increase from there until you have results that work for you. You should be able to get perfectly clean dishes without cloudy glassware.

 

[nmassman44]

Well for starters never load glassware into a load that you intend to use the Pots and Pans cycle...in a word the high temp and detergent will = etching and very bad etching at that. Thats the cloudiness you are seeing in your glassware. Remember this machine is a different animal and has no problem reaching target temps. It will heat water rather fast since it has the water heater inside the wash pump.
When I use the Pots and Pans cycle I use it just for that..pots and pans. If you have glassware involved then I would use the Normal cycle in your case. For mine I use the Heavy/Intensive cycle and add a Soak option to it.You could try the Sani Cycle and see how that does. I will have to look at the manual to see the max temps. Also the tech from Miele told me that the All in One pacs from Finish like the PowerBalls and Cascade Platinum are too much detergent for the machine. I have been using powder Somat and the new Proxi tabs with great results.