mobile maid help

[yanie]

Hi!
my name is Yanie and I am a proud owner of a 1956 GE Mobile Maid Automatic Dishwasher that was given to me by my grand-mother (it's a family jewel!)

it has been working great for 50+ years!
(I did change the hoses a couple of years ago and I admit a paint job
is needed) but its been leaking for a couple of weeks...
a repair man came to my house and his diagnosis was
that the rim holding the motor in place is rusted and needs to be changed
I actually opened up my dishwasher myself (as I am a curious girl )
and "operated" on it to finally discover that the rim was a little rusted but still fine
and that the real problem is rust in the tub...
there are little rust holes at the bottom of the tub close to the propeller (the size of peas) that actually has water leaking outside the motor and on the floor

know anyone who can help me out?
is there anything I could do? would a fiberglass repair stand hot water?
it's a precious and emotional item!
my grandma is still living and she is so happy to see it still running
in my appartment
(and I don't want to deceive her!)

I'm in Montreal, Canada
enclosed is a picture!

thanks a million,

Yanie

PS: if it is really an impossible mission; I might consider buying
another one, but still an antique MobileMaid! know anyone who is selling one?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Yanie, welcome to AW.org. Beautiful dishwasher you have there and because it was your grandmothers I can certainly understand why you would want to save it.

I had a similar problem with an 1949 Apex dishwasher. To seal the holes I used two part plumbers expoxy that is available at any hardware store. It's a simply repair but be sure to sand any loose rust away and clean the area before you knead and apply the putty.

Please see the photos of my Apex dishwasher restoration (showing the hole repair) at the link below.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/00ShowCollectionGETD.cgi?dir=/COLLECTIONS/_Apex_DishAMatic/

 

[yanie]

great job!

hi
thanks for your reply and for the tips!
you did a great job on your dishwasher, it's actually better than a TV now!
I will try to find the epoxy you are talking about
would you have the name of the brand by any chance?
let's just say i'm not very familiar with plumming products,
and most of the stores here carry american and canadian products
but usually use the french names or terms for it
so the more info I can get, best luck for me to find it

thank you again and "Bravo" for your work!

Yanie

PS: here is another picture, of the inside that needs restoration!

 

[Unimatic1140]

This is what I use

 

[goatfarmer]

Hi Yanie! A product called POR 15(paint over rust) would probably work too.

kennyGF

POR-15® High-Performance Vehicle Restoration Products

Explore POR-15's extensive range of restoration products, perfect for bringing new life to any vehicle with superior performance and quality. Order online now!

www.por15.com

 

[mikepaquette]

Fantastic dishwasher

I also grew up with one of these. Fantastic dishwasher. I have been looking for one of these for some time now or the built in version. Try what these guys suggest, they know what will work. Best of luck & please keep us posted. Mike

 

[pdub]

I have the same dishwasher

It's identical to yours except for the exterior color. Thank's goes to Dan Langdon for giving it to me!

 

[pdub]

Here is a picture of the interior. These are definitely keepers. Good luck in fixing your leak.

Patrick

 

[yanie]

Thanks and wow!

thanks everyone!
I will follow your tips
and keep you guys posted on how my restoration-repair works out!

wow Patrick, your Mobile Maid is really in good shape,
it motivates me!

Yanie

 

[tomturbomatic]

That is our first Mobile Maid, too. Patrick, your dishwasher is so shiny inside. I loved the GE Textolite top in that pattern. Mom thought it was too "modern" back then. I especially liked the little solid gold "stars," but I do not think that I would want an entire counter covered in the pattern. The top of the DW was just the right amount.

Did you proud owners of this machine know that the 5 large openings at the end of the silverware basket were there so that long handled cooking spoons, spatulas etc. could be placed there with the handles down through the openings to take up less space and still get washed really clean?
Tom

 

[fa_f3_20]

Was there ever a built-in similar to this? The reason I ask is because when I was a young child (early '60s), a neighbor had a built-in that I recall having a front panel similar to this. (I never saw it operate; they used it for storage.)

 

[chachp]

How funny!

We had a neighbor who had a built in model and they only used it when they had company and to wash their good china. I guess she thought it wouldn't break in there. It's funny how people used to think about things like this.

 

[mikepaquette]

dishwasher style change

I was wondering what year these pink interior GE's started to replace the GE Mobile Maid with the bakalite impeller that I have ? The steel bowtie impeller & larger pink interior is far better. Some day I will find one . Mike

 

[bwoods]

wondering about performance

Yanie, et al,

Never had an impeller dishwasher. How is the washing performance?

Is there a lot of food redeposition since there is no filtration?

Barry

 

[bajaespuma]

The change from bakelite impeller to steel impeller happened between 1956 and 1957, I believe. Since I've had two of these, IMHO the higher end models with the "Power Shower" were better at leaving dishware cleaner than those without the top spray. What I liked about these machines is/was that for as old as they were they cleaned well, their cycles were quick, and they held a lot of dishes. Our TOL had four very different and very useful cycles; unfortunately, neither of my parents were interested enough in these things to read the manual so they never used anything but the NORMAL cycle (my mother occasionally used the CHINA CRYSTAL cycle after parties when she used her fine china).

HEAVY SOIL: extended wash time
NORMAL SOIL: wash and a dry
UTENSILS POTS & PANS: No heat for wash and no heat for dry.GE figured out that since no dishwasher could remove every bit of food from metal(although they didn't admit this), better not to "cook" and then "bake" leftovers on. This could have been used as an "energy saver" cycle.
FINE CHINA & CRYSTAL: Shorter wash times and the spray was aerated to be gentler on the dishes.

 

[bwoods]

Since this was an impeller model, with no wash pump, how did GE get water to the Power Shower...did they use the drain pump? With no filter or soft food disposer, what kept the food particles from clogging the shower arm?

 

[appnut]

Ken, thanks for finally explaining the cycles other than Normal Wash. Always wonderred if Heavy had a longer, delayed, heated wash. And intersting, the Utensil cycle went even "less" than KA and didn't have the heater on even during wash phases. "Aerated" meant less intense water splashing lol. And Tom, thanks for the explanation of the 5 large slots at the end of the silverware basket. I never had a clue and alays wondered.

 

[bajaespuma]

Who says there's no pump?

The power shower was/is operated by the same mechanism and venue as the drain. During the wash cycles,water is pumped up to the top of the tub where it is directed via a spring-valve to a hose connected to the top of the outer tub to the power shower mini-armature. During the drain cycles the motor is reversed as is the pump and water is sent through the other valve to the drain hose via an identical connection. If you look at the top backs of the washtubs of these units you'll see either one or two black plastic spring valves located on the top right side of the tubs. One valve is the drain the other (in models so equipped) is the flume for the power shower.

 

[bwoods]

Thanks, Bajaespuma.

I knew there was a drain pump, but I wasn't considering an open blade spinning in the bottom of a tub, a pump. Although, I guess, you could call it a pump of sorts...it is moving water!

If GE went to the trouble to divert water from the drain pump to the top shower, they should have just made the pump a little larger and sent it to a lower wash arm also.

The dishwasher above is a 1956...wasn't this about the time that the first pump/wash arm system were coming out? (KitchenAid??) Seems like GE was a little behind the curve on this one.

Barry