My 1958 KitchenAid Hobart KD-2P-C Dishwasher

[VintageApplianceGirl]

Hello from Canada, I'm glad I found this website! I've recently purchased this rare 1958 KitchenAid by Hobart KD-2P-C top loading dishwasher. I ran it for the first time tonight and there are a few leaks, so I'm trying to work through those issues. You can see there is a leak at the water inlet valve area, which I haven't taken apart to view yet . I hope that's an easy fix. Another place I noticed water coming out during the wash cycle is at the top by the chrome handle. I feel like maybe something else should be here? There's a single hole but I'm not sure what for, if anything. There is also a leak at the sump/drain trap, which I'm hoping is just needing new o rings. The water didn't fully drain from the tub on the first cycle, until I turned off the water supply and set the cycle to drain a couple of times in a row, so I clearly have a few things to follow up on!

Over all everything else seems to work as it should! The cycle timer, dryer, and other electrical elements seem totally fine and did what they were supposed to do. I also changed the drain hose as the original cracked. I will change the fill hose eventually as well.

 

[DADoES]

Nice dishwasher! It looks to be in great aesthetic condition. You'll surely get some expert advice on the operational concerns.

 

[combo52]

KitchenAid first top load portable dishwasher

Congratulation on your acquisition of this machine, this was a very overbuilt machine

A little bit of splashing through that vent near the handle can occur that’s the vent for the drying function and the general vent for the machine.

If the dishwasher is empty, it’s more likely to leak a little bit around that vent.

The bigger problem is the leak at the drain valve that can be difficult to solve, also it’s not draining fully could be a bad drain pump. That’s a hard thing to fix as well. You may end up converting to an electric drain pump.

The inlet water valve should not be a big problem. They’re pretty easy to convert to something newer if the valve is not easily repairable.

Keep us posted and let us know how you like the machine.

John L

 

[VintageApplianceGirl]

KitchenAid first top load portable dishwasher

Congratulation on your acquisition of this machine, this was a very overbuilt machine

A little bit of splashing through that vent near the handle can occur that’s the vent for the drying function and the general vent for the machine.

If the dishwasher is empty, it’s more likely to leak a little bit around that vent.

The bigger problem is the leak at the drain valve that can be difficult to solve, also it’s not draining fully could be a bad drain pump. That’s a hard thing to fix as well. You may end up converting to an electric drain pump.

The inlet water valve should not be a big problem. They’re pretty easy to convert to something newer if the valve is not easily repairable.

Keep us posted and let us know how you like the machine.

John L

Thankfully, I was able to track down a service manual, which has been insanely helpful. It doesn't list the part numbers, but it tells me all of the machine part names and how they are taken apart and put back together.

I took apart the impeller, wash pump, drain pump, and fill valve, basically anything with a seal and I'm going to hunt down replacement seals. That's my first step, after that I'll run it again and see what happens. All of the solenoids, heater, blower, and motor itself seemed to run as they were supposed to, so that's my silver lining right now! I'm hoping to record what I do so I can help others because I haven't been able to find a single resource on the internet to even show me images of what I'm looking at hahaha.

It's been the same thing with my 1949 Westinghouse Commander stove, absolutely no info about it online at all. The manual I have is just the owner appliance manual and not the service manual, so there aren't any detailed parts info at all. Somehow through chatGPT, trial and error, I've managed to repair the Westinghouse 95% back to how it should be. Tomorrow my new (old stock) oven Robertshaw infinite switch arrives and that is the last thing that needs replacing. I'm terrified for anything to happen to my 1956 GE Combination fridge, because I just know that one will be the most difficult to repair So far, it runs like a dream with all original parts and zero upgrading to it.