Modern Day Appliances
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Designgeek
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Tom, my kitchen has limited space and isn't very well laid out.
What's really tempting about this is, $150 and I'll have the ability to sanitize dishes. At this very moment two friends of mine have colds or the flu, so the idea of sanitizing the dishes is particularly appealing. As far as time savings is concerned, I'm fooling myself if I don't think I'll sit there and watch the dishwasher occasionally
The cart option is interesting if I rearrange my kitchen, which isn't out of the question. I could also build a table of some kind that goes over the washer, and the dishwasher would sit on that table. In fact, if Johnb doesn't mind taking some measurements & photos of the hoses and suchlike, I have an interesting idea...
Johnb, how long are the hoses on the dishwasher? Specifically, if you extend the hoses as far as they'll go to the right of the unit without stretching them (i.e. dishwasher to the left of the sink), how long is the length of hose between the rightmost edge of the dishwasher and the sink coupler fitting? Also does it appear the hoses are attached at both ends (the dishwasher end, and the coupler end) in such a way that they could be disconnected and replaced with longer lengths of hose?
My guess is that, based on the way Danby machines are so hackable, it should be possible to put longer hoses on there. In which case the dishwasher would stay permanently on a custom table above the washing machine, which could be rolled out for use as per normal on laundry nights. This also means that I lose the wall phone and get a desk phone in the kitchen, which I suppose would also go on that table or on the counter under the cabinet.
If you could post close-up photos of the back of the unit and the faucet coupler, I should be able to figure out pretty quickly if the hoses could be replaced with longer lengths.
Speaking of appliances I want, the other thing I'm looking at right now is a Panasonic bread-maker. Pour in the ingredients, press the button, and four hours later, out pops a nice fresh loaf of warm bread. Now *that* is a really cool example of "fully automatic cycle." If only it had a window in the lid
What's really tempting about this is, $150 and I'll have the ability to sanitize dishes. At this very moment two friends of mine have colds or the flu, so the idea of sanitizing the dishes is particularly appealing. As far as time savings is concerned, I'm fooling myself if I don't think I'll sit there and watch the dishwasher occasionally
The cart option is interesting if I rearrange my kitchen, which isn't out of the question. I could also build a table of some kind that goes over the washer, and the dishwasher would sit on that table. In fact, if Johnb doesn't mind taking some measurements & photos of the hoses and suchlike, I have an interesting idea...
Johnb, how long are the hoses on the dishwasher? Specifically, if you extend the hoses as far as they'll go to the right of the unit without stretching them (i.e. dishwasher to the left of the sink), how long is the length of hose between the rightmost edge of the dishwasher and the sink coupler fitting? Also does it appear the hoses are attached at both ends (the dishwasher end, and the coupler end) in such a way that they could be disconnected and replaced with longer lengths of hose?
My guess is that, based on the way Danby machines are so hackable, it should be possible to put longer hoses on there. In which case the dishwasher would stay permanently on a custom table above the washing machine, which could be rolled out for use as per normal on laundry nights. This also means that I lose the wall phone and get a desk phone in the kitchen, which I suppose would also go on that table or on the counter under the cabinet.
If you could post close-up photos of the back of the unit and the faucet coupler, I should be able to figure out pretty quickly if the hoses could be replaced with longer lengths.
Speaking of appliances I want, the other thing I'm looking at right now is a Panasonic bread-maker. Pour in the ingredients, press the button, and four hours later, out pops a nice fresh loaf of warm bread. Now *that* is a really cool example of "fully automatic cycle." If only it had a window in the lid
Hey guys,
the tinted window is held by clips that slide into friction slots inside a 3mm groove around the window area. All i had to do was slide a knife edge under and pry it out. I did marr the finish and knick the edges of the window and door a bit, but they're so minor you can't see them unless you stare at them.
The grooves and exposed parts do not look like they would collect dirt easily, though anything's possible. With that said, it wouldn't be hard to clean.
In the not too distant future i will post some more pics, of the unit operating with the window exposed, as well as of the hoses and faucet adapter with measurements.
MODIFICATION:
The spray arm was spinning a bit fast for my taste, so i slowed it down a hair so it could have more contact time with dishes. I took an allen key and bent the drive jets to a higher up angle so they would drive the arm with a bit less force. I got the results i wanted. Previously, the arm would spin aprox. 95RPM, and i slowed it down to about 55 RPM. So it still has good velocity, but it won't be flying around like it used to. All the other holes have excellent 30deg. fan spray coverage, so i won't be modifying anything else.
the tinted window is held by clips that slide into friction slots inside a 3mm groove around the window area. All i had to do was slide a knife edge under and pry it out. I did marr the finish and knick the edges of the window and door a bit, but they're so minor you can't see them unless you stare at them.
The grooves and exposed parts do not look like they would collect dirt easily, though anything's possible. With that said, it wouldn't be hard to clean.
In the not too distant future i will post some more pics, of the unit operating with the window exposed, as well as of the hoses and faucet adapter with measurements.
MODIFICATION:
The spray arm was spinning a bit fast for my taste, so i slowed it down a hair so it could have more contact time with dishes. I took an allen key and bent the drive jets to a higher up angle so they would drive the arm with a bit less force. I got the results i wanted. Previously, the arm would spin aprox. 95RPM, and i slowed it down to about 55 RPM. So it still has good velocity, but it won't be flying around like it used to. All the other holes have excellent 30deg. fan spray coverage, so i won't be modifying anything else.
Some ideas of my own
this is off topic, but the thing that drives my interest to dishwashers out of all the other appliances is their spraying, filtering and sometimes macerating characteristics. Whirlpools and Frigidaires are some of my favorite, even though we've had GE all my life, because they have excellent hard food macerators.
The one issue i have with the Danby and other countertop dishwashers is their cleanable filter screen. I like the idea of the food being ground up and stored in a micro-filter chamber. So i've sketched a few countertop dishwasher modules of my own with macerating characteristics. The mechanisms are obviously horizontal, so they emulate whirlpool's current module with a big blade in front of a screen and a filter chamber that is flushed during draining.
I took the love of appliances [that all you have] and my engineering driven mind, and soared to a new level of appliance geek-dom.
this is off topic, but the thing that drives my interest to dishwashers out of all the other appliances is their spraying, filtering and sometimes macerating characteristics. Whirlpools and Frigidaires are some of my favorite, even though we've had GE all my life, because they have excellent hard food macerators.
The one issue i have with the Danby and other countertop dishwashers is their cleanable filter screen. I like the idea of the food being ground up and stored in a micro-filter chamber. So i've sketched a few countertop dishwasher modules of my own with macerating characteristics. The mechanisms are obviously horizontal, so they emulate whirlpool's current module with a big blade in front of a screen and a filter chamber that is flushed during draining.
I took the love of appliances [that all you have] and my engineering driven mind, and soared to a new level of appliance geek-dom.
Designgeek
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JohnB: Interesting point about modding the spray arm. That's way cool, and I agree, longer contact time with the water should make for better cleaning.
Re. macerators on countertop DWs. On one hand it would be a useful feature option. But personally I'm more likely to prefer the simplicity of a filter I can lift out and shake into the rubbish bin: less stuff to go wrong.
On the other hand, I would still tend to let dishes accumulate in the sink with a bit of water on them before loading into the DW, so all the obvious food bits would go down the disposall and a DW macerator could take care of the rest easily enough.
This also provides another useful application for graywater from the laundry wash cycle: fill up the sink, and drop the dishes in during the day. Then at night, empty the sink and the dishes come out with no obvious food bits on them, so they can go into the DW for proper cleaning & sanitizing on a faster cycle. More experimenting to do to find the best spot for water & electrical efficiency.
BTW, I'm a geek too, who likes to hack & modify. That's part of what got me on this site: learning from folks who have skills in an area I didn't, to hack household electrics and restore old equipment to working order.
What area(s) of engineering are you engaged in? (Me: PBX & telecoms.)
Re. macerators on countertop DWs. On one hand it would be a useful feature option. But personally I'm more likely to prefer the simplicity of a filter I can lift out and shake into the rubbish bin: less stuff to go wrong.
On the other hand, I would still tend to let dishes accumulate in the sink with a bit of water on them before loading into the DW, so all the obvious food bits would go down the disposall and a DW macerator could take care of the rest easily enough.
This also provides another useful application for graywater from the laundry wash cycle: fill up the sink, and drop the dishes in during the day. Then at night, empty the sink and the dishes come out with no obvious food bits on them, so they can go into the DW for proper cleaning & sanitizing on a faster cycle. More experimenting to do to find the best spot for water & electrical efficiency.
BTW, I'm a geek too, who likes to hack & modify. That's part of what got me on this site: learning from folks who have skills in an area I didn't, to hack household electrics and restore old equipment to working order.
What area(s) of engineering are you engaged in? (Me: PBX & telecoms.)
Engineering
I'm an Industrial Engineering Technology student at Northern Illinois University.
I've been facinated with electronics and machines since i was crawling. I took the interior of our 1983 Kenmore microwave apart at 4yrs. old, figured out how to turn on our 1978 GE dishwasher with the door open, and sketched the engine compartment of our 1983 Chrysler New Yorker with 80% accuracy [according to my dad], so Engineering/Technology seemed like a logical choice for an educaiton.
Technology is more the hands on/business side of theoretical engineering. So i would be managing engineers in the workforce, yet i still need to learn much of what they do, as well as business/industrial skills. I'm loving it so far!
I'm an Industrial Engineering Technology student at Northern Illinois University.
I've been facinated with electronics and machines since i was crawling. I took the interior of our 1983 Kenmore microwave apart at 4yrs. old, figured out how to turn on our 1978 GE dishwasher with the door open, and sketched the engine compartment of our 1983 Chrysler New Yorker with 80% accuracy [according to my dad], so Engineering/Technology seemed like a logical choice for an educaiton.
Technology is more the hands on/business side of theoretical engineering. So i would be managing engineers in the workforce, yet i still need to learn much of what they do, as well as business/industrial skills. I'm loving it so far!
Danby Dishwasher Discovery
In amazement, while looking in on my Danby while doing a load after dinner, i realized the Danby machines are sort of a 2 level wash system.
On the right rear of the interior tub are two small ports. Well, upon looking at them with a flashlight, i found out they spray water!
Not at the same time, i think they alternate. But they shoot across the tub and ricochet off of walls and dishes, distributing water everywhere.
A pretty cool idea with the limited space.
In amazement, while looking in on my Danby while doing a load after dinner, i realized the Danby machines are sort of a 2 level wash system.
On the right rear of the interior tub are two small ports. Well, upon looking at them with a flashlight, i found out they spray water!
Not at the same time, i think they alternate. But they shoot across the tub and ricochet off of walls and dishes, distributing water everywhere.
A pretty cool idea with the limited space.
Video!
Designgeek
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Johnb, you sound like me. I was disassembling things mechanical and electrical from an early age and sketching out mechanisms with high accuracy. But I'd rather be a geek than manage geeks; in my work I get to do both and I'm happiest in engineering mode rather than when trying to herd cats.
Interesting observation about the DW. Danby has a knack for coming up with clever subtleties that increase performance without adding cost. I'll bet the purpose of those rear sprays is to wash down food particles that are sprayed upward by the lower spray arm, for example stuff that might get stuck in the indentation on the bottom of a cup or mug that's face-down in the cup rack.
And I'll bet the way they achieve the alternating spray action is with a simple interrupter disc (probably made of teflon) located somewhere in the output line from the pump, and the disc is rotated directly by the rotation of the lower spray arm. Perhaps the lower spray arm is attached to a short wide shaft and the interruptor disc is on that shaft. As the disc rotates, the openings line up with channels that go to the upper spray ports you found. Just a guess, it'll be interesting to see how they actually do it. The other option would be another small pump with its own motor, since sometimes the most efficient layout is to just use another motor instead of a mechanical power transfer of whatever kind.
Interesting observation about the DW. Danby has a knack for coming up with clever subtleties that increase performance without adding cost. I'll bet the purpose of those rear sprays is to wash down food particles that are sprayed upward by the lower spray arm, for example stuff that might get stuck in the indentation on the bottom of a cup or mug that's face-down in the cup rack.
And I'll bet the way they achieve the alternating spray action is with a simple interrupter disc (probably made of teflon) located somewhere in the output line from the pump, and the disc is rotated directly by the rotation of the lower spray arm. Perhaps the lower spray arm is attached to a short wide shaft and the interruptor disc is on that shaft. As the disc rotates, the openings line up with channels that go to the upper spray ports you found. Just a guess, it'll be interesting to see how they actually do it. The other option would be another small pump with its own motor, since sometimes the most efficient layout is to just use another motor instead of a mechanical power transfer of whatever kind.
They are cool little dw's and so relatively inexpensive. Just the other day I was perusing a local super drug store, more non-drug items than drugs and they had the Danby model without a window but with a sani-wash and another one oddly without the Danby name on it but still a Danby, with a window but I can't remember if the window was tinted or not. I felt like carting one home but figure the ensuing fight over misspent money on non-necessities is probably not worth it. Stupid me saw one at a yard sale last summer but it looked like the window had been damaged and re-caulked in with rubber sealant and messy too so I left it.. I should have taken it just for fiddling around with. BTW Danby also makes a superior mid size microwave oven with that same mirror like metal interior and it's very inexpensive. How they can do that and others can't is beyond me.
I have seen m-wavers with SS interiors. These are usually found in micco- convection ovens, IMHO.
How do they do it (at that price?)
LACK OF DECENT WAGES PAID.
How do they do it (at that price?)
LACK OF DECENT WAGES PAID.
Designgeek
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Or lack of expensive advertising campaigns. Word of mouth works wonders.
Yes, poor wages are a problem with offshore manufacturing. But I haven't seen any specific allegation that Danby is using sweatshops. If that's of concern it should be investigated further.
Yes, poor wages are a problem with offshore manufacturing. But I haven't seen any specific allegation that Danby is using sweatshops. If that's of concern it should be investigated further.
Designgeek
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Johnb, I assume you're talking about those two holes in the top rear of the cabinet, right? (Clearly the lower spray arm must be spraying out of all its holes otherwise you'd have called for repair.) Curious; I wonder what that other hole is for...?
Perhaps we can get a technical service manual for these and discover a few things?
Perhaps we can get a technical service manual for these and discover a few things?
