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mooksmom

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Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
7
A warm hello to all as I guess I join you on a possible new adventure! I bought this KA Regency D/W, in pristine condition, off CL. It's been keeping my Tupperware company til now and I finally have the time & inclination to see it 'get up & go'. I'm trying to locate/buy the adapter that fits from the hose to the sink faucet and thought I'd just find one at the local big box stores...NOT! I spent all day Friday going to specialty hardware stores that I know and a local appliance company that would normally have hard to find appliance parts...still no luck. What would help me at this point is what the needed adapter is called. Do I need to remove the D/W back and take the hose with me? I'm fairly handy and do it if needed. The tags in/on the D/W says it's a KA Regency by Hobart, M/N KDR-68. I do see another on this site from 2009, but that thread is closed.
Main question: should I keep seeking the adapter in hopes I can get the thing working? Is it one of the 'oldies but goodies; or maybe cut my loss at $50 and be done with it as I'm going to have many more headaches finding any needed parts in the future? Also, do the parts for this D/W also fit other KAs in years before or after? Any comments welcome! I'd be thrilled to see it work! The person I got I from didn't run it 10 times in her life as she thought it was only to do dishes after large family gatherings.

mooksmom++3-23-2013-18-04-18.jpg
 
Does it use the larger or smaller diameter couplings?

As I recall the Kitchen Aid portables use the larger diameter ones and I bet this one would work if you have to buy one. I don't know if this is a good price for them or not. I suppose it's a good price if no one has one to give you :)!

 
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so what I'm needing is the "coupler"???

I'm admittedly out of my comfort zone at this time on a dishwasher. I believe my not knowing the part's name might be half my problem and thanks for that. I'm not in a hurry. If someone might tell me what to measure or take a pic of, I'm good there. I do lots of my own home repairs and have worked on dryers before. In the meantime, I'm going to check on YouTube...sometimes they have the most useful videos of repairs of all kinds. I'm learning wire-wrap jewelry using some of the videos there.
Thanks much!
 
These are a standard fitting for all portable dishwashers.  I just bought one at Home Depot within the last year for a KitchenAid dishwasher older than yours.  It was in the same area with supply hoses for faucets.

 

If Lowes or Home Depot people give you a blank stare and you have an ACE Hardware nearby, somebody there should know what a faucet coupler for a portable dishwasher is, and can lead you right to it.
 
wooo-hoooo!

there are pix on my profile...of the hose end and the beautiful D/W. My first place I looked was Home Depot then Lowes...I'm guessing I need to LOOK MYSELF rather than depend on others, but until your help here I had no clue WHAT I was looking for. My gut told me that D/Ws have been around a long time as have faucets so there hard to be a 'universal' type adapter, but again, I had to depend on store employees to help me...and most just said, "we dont carry those."
When the rain here stops I shall resume my D/W adventure! If nothing else, it makes me more determined to get the old girl running...myself & the D/W.
I thank you ALL, and will keep you posted! Cross your fingers for me!
 
at Home Depot or Lowes

make sure you ask for an employee with actual plumbing experience, sometimes they DO have such, we have a guy here who is a retired plumber and is very helpful... but the off-the-street minumum wage people they often hire... NOT!
 
THE GREATEST NEWS of ALL...

update to the coupler saga~
I returned the small coupler the guys at the hardware store gave me and took my smart-phone with the picture that you sent to me here. I DID locate the correct coupler and it fit my faucet 100%! I spent parts of the weekend cleaning the filter and both the arms, even tho they weren't really dirty and removed the lower rack to clean IF the D/W does work. Today I moved into place at the sink, popped the hoses onto the faucet, plugged her in and said a little prayer that IF she leaked please not too huge a mess. I stood next to her with a mop and pulled the knob out at 'normal wash' energy saver dry.
SHE WORKS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE! She did have a tiny bit of leaking at the lower corners, front, but it is a total of maybe 1/4 cup and I'm thinking it is due to the door gasket being the original one and old...like her owner. Now that I know she works, I will put the racks n baskets back inside and run her with some CLR or bleach to remove the scumy-mold on the racks. Then I shall attempt to use her with Cascade and wash my dishes the next time I have some. If anyone knows how many gallons of water she uses on a normal wash cycle, would you please leave me that amount number in a short note? My household is only me and 2 babies on three days so I may be able to wash once a week unless I have company over.

I certainly appreciate your help throughout this saga! Is the door gasket something I will be able to find and replace myself? I'm a pretty competent DIYer, but know that part for these D/W are older and often have hard to locate parts. If anyone should have an extra gasket, and would like to sell it to me, I'd be happy to buy it. OR, if anyone knows where to find the gasket new, please tell me here and I will order one. I'm just SO THRILLED that it works! It's been sitting in my kitchen for 2 yrs. It was $50. well spent! I thank you for your hospitality and friendship.
Holly
 
She's on her way....congrats.......

for water usage.....just put a bucket or dishpan under the faucet during the drain period, once you have that measurement, multiply that by how many times it changes per cycle....

set your machne up with dishes and detergent...
why waste the hot water on a cleaning cycle, for the most part, dish detergent is bleach, but also, once the machine drains the first pre-rinse, open the door and add 1/2 cup of bleach to the water, close the door and let the cycle finish.....never hurts to open the door in the middle of the cycle, and with a scrubbie, go around the lower front edge of the opening and other areas that the water may not reach, usually food and scum builds up where the door sets into the tub when closed....
 
Water Usage

I believe on the KDS 17, usage was around 13 gal for a complete heaviest cycle. Depending how you hand wash, it will still be more efficient than hand washing, especially my way!!! Also remember that the machine uses enou to produce perfect results every time and is working those dishes like man. You may be able to get away with light wash, so long as you purge the hot tap before operation, to allow good detergent action.
 
Actually, according to the service manual, the KDS-17 used 18.9 gallons on the Soak cycle and 14.9 on the Full cycle.

The later 18 series machines were the first machines that reversed the water use trend and used about 15 gallons on the Soak cycle and about 13.5 on the Full cycle.

kenmore71++3-26-2013-18-42-46.jpg.png
 
Meticulously clean the gasket and sealing surfaces and the leak will probably go away. A lot of muck and buildup makes its way on bottom and lower corner seals of dishwashers over time and causes leaks.
 
Success! Yay!

The small leaks at the front may "take up" with use.  Make sure you have run the tap long enough to provide the hottest possible water for washing, as that may help soften the door seals and other rubber gaskets. 

 

As Yogi stated, you might need to clean the racks by hand.  You can also try running the machine with Lemishine (Target has it if your grocer doesn't) to de-scale the tub and components.  It's on the shelf near the detergents and rinse aids.  If you have hard water, using Lemishine once in a while will keep lime/scale deposits under control.  It works wonders on glassware too.

 

Additionally, as Yogi mentioned, the bottom of the door's interior panel is where greasy build-up can accumulate when the machine is used regularly.  You can't see it, but it's there.  With door fully open, you'll have to reach down between the bottom of the door and the tub and feel along the door's bottom edge.  A sponge (and if necessary, something that cuts grease) will clean it.  Since your machine didn't get used much, this area might only need a light cleaning, but it will be a maintenance item going forward.

 

BTW, I love your avatar.  Every year I planned to do something similar with our incredibly tolerant girl swaddled in a manger, but never got around to it before she left us last fall.

 

Ralph
 
what a great group of people here!

I SURE appreciate all your comments & help! I ran my D/W last evening without a single drop of water leaking out the door!! The dishes came out sparkling clean, just as I'd hoped they would. I had forgotten how nice life could be not having to wash dishes.

I sprayed the racks with bleach water and that got most of the mold off or loosened it. I tossed some bleach in the bottom of the D/W and with the dishes inside I ran the regular energy saver cycle and the whole inside is now sparkling clean! I had zero grime or anything stuck on as the D/W truly had only been run about 10 times in 40+ years. The mold came from the woman's son giving it a 'trial' run before he sold it to me...and he didn't run it thru the drying cycle...just shut and locked the door. It looks like I'm good to go now! Yee-Ha!
I feel like I know my machine better now, thanks to all the information all of you have provided for me...you truly are a great 'clan'!
Holly
 

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