My KDS-57A

[michaelh]

I recently acquired this c1974 Superba 57A

It appears to be minimally used. Nearly no rust on the racks and very little in the sump. All components look great. It was converted to built in. I converted it back to portable for the time being. I did some light cleaning on it and added a longer power cord, unicoupler hose, and a wood block top. It is on top of a furniture dolly for the time being until I can find wheels that will work with it. The wood top also needs to be stained and finished. The faux wood on the control panel was scratched and bubbled so I soaked it in hot water and pealed it off. I might add something new in the future but I like the chrome look. I also swapped the black panels for the brushed stainless from a KDS-16.

So far all the cycles (haven’t tested sani cycle yet) seem to work fine.

I love how fast and powerful these machines are but I was very surprised how short the washes and rinses are. No wonder they use so much water. They start draining 30-60 seconds after they finish filling. My KA Electra spends more time cleaning, but not by much.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

 

[repairguy]

Looks good!

 

[DADoES]

 

 

[qsd-dan]

Removing the faux wood and installing stainless panels gives fantastic appearance. The porcelain interior looks amazing!

Enjoy using a great looking dishwasher that literally blasts food off of dishes.

 

[bajaespuma]

Aferim!

Congratulations on the machine and thank you for the great pictures. I peeled the fake wood-grain plastic off of my KA 17-A too. I wondered if it was the same stuff they used to line drawers. Not only does it look great but the wood-grain  dated the machines.

 

IMO the 17-A series was the best generation of KA's even without the separate wash-arm for the upper rack. Great machines. We had a KDC-17A and it was my Mom's favorite dishwasher. She like its simplicity and that it looked good in her kitchen. I would have preferred the Superba, but I didn't get a vote.

 

Julia had a KDC-17 in her Cambridge kitchen in the "Baking with Julia"period... just sayin'.

 

[michaelh]

Cycles

Thanks all for the comments.

I’ve been reading over the cycles. Curious why only the “soak cycle” has a purge? Perhaps to get the hot water in?

All the washes only have a detergent exposure time of 1-4 minutes, depending on what cycle you choose, with light wash being the least. I wish the main washes were twice as long. Also, the sani rinse, although potentially effective, is a lot of heated water wasted for only 2 minutes. All ways around though, I’ve been happy with the results in both machines.

Just various observations. I guess I’m so used to modern machines taking their sweet time. LOL

 

[DADoES]

 
The KDI-17a (Imperial) we had, the prewash was 3 or 4 minutes, the main wash was 7-ish minutes, maybe 9.  Fills were 2 minutes.

The purge is to flush standing cold water from the supply line.  Imperial did a initial purge (1 minute half-fill, drain) on all cycles (Soak, Full, Rinse-Hold), being that it doesn't have a rapid-advance timer for skipping over parts of the full timer program.

 

[valvashon]

If you are interested in a genuiune wood top (from the KD58 series so it's probably the same) let me know. I converted mine to built in. It's been outside for a little bit so will problaby need refinishing or a light sanding. Comes with the handle. It's super heavy for a piece of wood.

Let me know, I'll send you some pictures, you can make an offer.

Val

 

[michaelh]

Val

Thank you for your offer! This is just temporary. I plan on building it in at some point.

 

[michaelh]

First Load Complete!

Just completed the first load. I am very impressed although I don't know why I would have any doubt. I guess I was disappointed in the past with one arm machines, namely cheaper DWs installed in apartments.

It took 3 days to get a full load. We would have filled and in some cases had left over dishes that wouldn't fit in our little half size DW in a day.

I did minimal scraping and rinsing, and then I became concerned that it wouldn't get the dishes clean that had dried after 3 days with short and fast cycles. So, I did a soak cycle.

Every single dish, cup, glass, fork, knife, and spoon came out without a spot or crumb. I'm sold! (more than I already was)

If this is what you get with a one arm machine, I can't imagine the cleaning power on the KD-18s and above!

 

[michaelh]

Small leak

…In the back right corner. About a drip every 5-10 seconds.

The little circular flap inside the diffuser is down/closed and the diffuser cap is pushed down as far as it will go.

Any suggestions, Or is this just a typical occurrence from a design flaw?

 

[combo52]

KDS 17 leaking around the dryer unit

This was a fairly common occurrence make sure there’s no suds in the bottom of the dishwasher when it’s washing if the water is foaming, it’s up to drip down through the dryer unit a little bit.

You can take that little plate out make sure it’s perfectly clean and flat. This will minimize dripping, but it really won’t leak a lot and it probably won’t hurt anything, it was pretty common problem that people were usually unaware of because it’s behind and under the dishwasher until they moved if it was a portable model.
John

 

[michaelh]

Thank you, John!

No foaming, and water level is perfect. I will clean it again.

Aside from a few scratches, a small rusty trail from the signs on a small leak on the dryer unit were the only signs this machine was used. And it appears, she just has an inevitable leak back there.

 

[michaelh]

Leak is gone, this time.

I cleaned it out and even flipped the little “coin” onto its other side. No drips so far this cycle.