My custom BOL dishwasher rebuild

[Chetlaham]

I've always had a soft spot for BOL machines, especially older ones. After being inspired by Robert's Hotpoint (epic find btw), I saw these on HD's site, and much to my surprise still electo-mechanical

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hotpoint-Front-Control-Dishwasher-in-Bisque-HDA2100HCC/205350188

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Front-Control-Dishwasher-in-White-GSD2100VWW/202868433

Portable is also being considered, but not yet finalized

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Porta...-Place-Settings-Capacity-GSC3500DWW/203248875

However I do not agree with the lengthy cycle time, redesigned wash arm/circulation system and the reduced water fills. (no thanks) Fortunately the molded parts like tub, escutcheon and door are nearly identical to GE's older machines.

I plan on installing a new timer in the machine

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Circuit-Board-Timer/WD21X574/271566?ss=-x67736435303064&mr=1

And detergent cam

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/ge-cam-wd16x301-ap2039370.html

To mimic the old 50 minute 11.5 gallon wash and long 35 minute dry on the 80's machines

http://products.geappliances.com/Ma...l/Dispatcher?RequestType=PDF&Name=49-5337.PDF

I read the reviews and a lot are complaining about poor drying which I can see from a shortened or cycled drying time.

The wash system will also be changed out, though I need to research the new pump design further... The drain solenoid on the new design only has one spring instead of two. After playing around with a GE dishwasher 9 years ago when the new design first came out, I discovered that the timer pauses the motor after each drain in order to close the drain flapper. Obviously something that wont work with the old style timing, but I am not to disappointed

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Pump-And-Motor-Assembly/WD26X10013/820985

New pump design FWIW. Looks similar but something looks off...

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDet...X10051/1811038?ss=-x67736333353030647777&mr=1

Sump, hub, grate and wash arm will also be updated

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDet...ly/WD35X10011/771153?ss=-x67736435303064&mr=1

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Sump/WD18X213/2478?ss=-x67736435303078&mr=1

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Sump-Cover/WD12X418/270715?ss=-x67736435303064&mr=1

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Sump-Cover/WD12X417/270714?ss=-x67736435303064&mr=1

If everything turns out well I may go a bit over board with a potscrubber cycle

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Switch/WD21X516/271489?ss=-x67736435303064&mr=1

I am not sure about the water valve's flow rate on these machines, but time will tell. I know GE's BOL and MOL water valves from the early 80s up until 2008ish all had the same flow rate, so adapting one to the new machine will be no worry. Only thing I am unsure about being GE selling separate wiring harnesses. I only need a terminal block that physically fits the timer and has wires that grab all the needed terminals. I might have to dig into an old machine for this, but if I can order harnesses separately or terminal blocks let me know.


Let me know what you think.

 

[joeypete]

I love those

GE/Hotpoint cheap-ass washers! hahaha. They are probably the most old school dishwashers you can still buy. I was intrigued by them for years and I came darn close to getting one when I replaced the Amana that came with my condo. The design, while primitive, does a decent job. Same design that I had in the GE I used at my house in Tucson for almost 10 years...in fact it's still there and working great at 16+ years old.

I'm very impressed you want to take on the modification....be excited to see how it goes. Keep us posted.

 

[Chetlaham]

Thanks

IMO the most reliable and long lived design ever used in dish washing. Ive seen this design go for 20, 25 even 30 years. Heck we have some early 1970s condos in the area which still have them chugging away. That speaks for itself. Also a breeze to service when needed.

Ive procrastinated for some time now, but seeing that these are the last electro mechanical models left and that replacement parts are being discontinued has me up for the challenge. The timer I found is the oldest BOL timer available for purchase.

 

[delaneymeegan]

 

 

Keep an eye on Craigslist ads.  One can frequently find cheap or even free dishwashers for parts. More than once, I've seen GE models of the genre' your looking for.

 

Yes, you should take pictures of the transformation.  

 

I'm surprised GE still makes this model.  Back when I had rental properties, in the 90s, I bought several of these.  Sometimes badged as GE, sometimes Hotpoint, I think one was even badged Kenmore in the early  2000s.  They had no sound insulation and were noisy.

 

Right now, I have a 2010 GE dw, I'm using as a parts washer.  It doesn't have sound insulation, but really isn't all that loud.

 

[Chetlaham]

Noise

Since GE redesigned the pump 16 years ago the noise has really gone down. The old pump made 2/3 of the noise and it was a hug energy hog for the same power the new ones put out. Also, if I am correct, BOL GEs currently have the most powerful motor on the market. Everything else like Kitchen aid is small watt motors.

If anyone sees a BOL Dishwasher from the 80s or even early to mid 90s let me know. The wiring harness will fit the timer and whole machine perfectly without modification. I checked GE's parts but cant seem to find anything. I do remember GE had a recall on late 90s and early 2000s machines from rinse aid leaking onto the wire harness, so Im guessing GE might (hoping) have a replacement harness for them.

 

[mark_wpduet]

These have the largest motors on the market?

Are you sure? There was a discussion that the WP built Maytag's have the largest motor, at least that's what it says on the Maytag website...

But I would NOT doubt that these do. These look like the OLD BOL dishwashers....In fact, this looks just like a BOL WP that came with my house in 2004 that I sold to a friend 6 mos after I moved in and upgraded....she still has it...It is LOUD and powerful...

 

[henene4]

64dB

Hell yeah this sounds loud... For comparison, most dryers over here are in that dB range, and the loudest DW I know of here are 55dB, but most run at 48dB or lower, with quietest being 37dB (TOL Elux built AEG in its night wash mode).

 

[mark_wpduet]

I just read in the description on the HD site

that these are NOT energy star certified......so then, if this is the case, what would make these any different than the older BOL dishwashers?

 

[Chetlaham]

Motor power

To be honest I am not 100% sure, but current wise (assuming both motors are equally efficient of course) would make GE's motor more powerful. I attached pics from when I installed my Maytag Dishwasher and another pic from the net showing the GE motor.

As for being different, these have a redesigned wash system with a self cleaning filter. The cycles are different to, the main wash is 56 minutes long and the water fills are greatly reduced to about 1.1 gallons from 1.8 gallons in the older machines. But other then that the rest remains.

 

[henene4]

The GE seems ever so slightly more powerfull wattage wise, yet, the first motor is about 10% faster!

 

[Chetlaham]

The GE motor probably has more available torque, either that its a lossier motor. One thing that intrigues me btw, 3,400 RMP is faster then what the 60Hz supply can produce for the number of typical poles (3,200 rmp).

 

[washer111]

This Looks Interesting

I actually thought of getting a cheap BOL machine here in Australia and somehow jerry-rigging a GE wash system in, such was my enthusiasm for GE machines for a while there. That said, the voltage constraints were probably going to through a monkey-wrench in the works.

Definitely looking forward to seeing the progress on this. I bet you can probably get some awesome dishwashing from this machine.

And I presume these still have the wash tower?

 

[Chetlaham]

Yup, they still have a tower.

Do you have a link your BOLs, Im really interested.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I will say this -

the upper rack configuration on these looks like crap. I'm trying to imagine loading it with those bumps instead of actual tines.....I dunno, maybe it could work....

 

[Chetlaham]

Upper rack

To be honest its not as bad as it looks. I tried this machine out briefly when it came with the condo I was living in at the time. Bowls actually fit better, however the old design handles cups better. The bottom rack was about equal.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I think I actually found a video that someone made

of the inside of these BOL GE/Hotpoint dishwashers in operation...it looks identical in the pictures......I just wish they didn't speed it up 8x.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjaZW-Akq2A

 

[joeypete]

Cool video Mark, thanks for sharing! That wash system does do a decent job of cleaning. Mine was an upper level model but it still used the tower but I also had a small wash arm at the top of the tub (that broke off). I ran it on Pots/Pans quite a bit so that's probably why it did a good job for me lol. That was back before I really took an interest in washing machines/dishwashers.

 

[johnb300m]

Found a slightly better video inside the BOL GE system.

 

[mark_wpduet]

cool...it's been a long time

since I've used a dishwasher that had a wash tower in the center where you couldn't block it when loading the machine....

The bottom would be a pain to load with that giant silverware basket I can see these not holding very much..

What does hot start do?