Need help and info on this GE Dishwasher I picked up

[xmikeymoox]

Ok so this little gem has popped my cherry for vintage appliances. I would like to restore this guy, but I do not know where to start. Can any shed some light on the year is was made? Also I noticed the bottom is starting to bubble from rust. I restore cars and I am a welder so I am not afraid to get my hands dirty.

The previous owner ripped it out of the kitchen and never tested it.

Teach me!!

 

[appnut]

Bott of the line 1964-1966??? And welcome.

 

[xmikeymoox]

Thank you!!

How do I go about testing this unit?

 

[rp2813]

The first thing you want to do is use the hottest water from your tap and dump in about a gallon's worth.  Let it sit for a while and check for leaks down below.  If there are any, the rubber seal may just need to soften up and that's what the hot water can often help with. 

 

If this were my machine, the next thing I'd do (if there's no leak or a just small one that's not impacting other components) is fill it with more water, snap the door shut, connect to power, start a cycle and see what happens.  If it completes a wash cycle and drains out the water, advance the dial to the "dry" section to see if the heating element works.  At some point you'll want to let the machine go through all of its cycles to make sure there are no timer-related issues.

 

Others here may approach this differently, but it's difficult to tell you how to proceed unless problems have been identified first.

 

Can you provide an interior shot?  If a visual check of the wash mechanism indicates it has been compromised, you'll have to address that before you can consider running the machine through any test cycles.

 

 

[xmikeymoox]

First shot

 

[tomturbomatic]

why it is rusting

As you might have guessed from looking at this machine, the tank and door are steel coated with a substance called Plastisol. Where breaks, cuts or splits in the Plasitsol occur, the steel underneath rusts. If the machine tests out OK mechanically, you are going to have to deal with the issue that is causing the rust. Generally, it does not involve any replacement of metal, just removing the Plastisol over the breaks, sanding down the rust, then a treatment with something to reseal the area. Some use two part epoxy that is sold for painting sinks and tubs. Others will offer different solutions.

By the way, it was not a very effective dishwasher so if you are planning on it being able to cope with dishes that you load without rinsing away most of the food soil, Just put it where the turquoise panel can be admired.

Welcome aboard.

 

[xmikeymoox]

I'm going to test the machine out this week. If my wife and I were going to use it full time then it would be used for sanitizing needs. We per wash everything before it goes in the dishwasher we have now.

I'll keep updating this thread as I go through the machine.

 

[bajaespuma]

Oh...

Your machine is an SD200-Y (the model and serial nos. are printed on a rating plate that should be riveted to the inside edge of the door). It is a 1964 model and although it's not a stellar cleaner it should do the job without a lot of fuss and bells and whistles. We had a very similar model and if you do dishes like some people who scrape and pre-rinse you'll be pleased with its performance. Its predecessor was top-rated by Consumer Reports, but something went wrong in following years.

Would appreciate many more pictures of the machine; racks, dispenser, control knobs, etc.

 

[turquoisedude]

Rust bubbles...

Ah, the bane of the GE Plastisol tub... I've actually repaired a couple of rusted GE tubs with that fiberglass-mesh-resin patch stuff that is used for auto and boat repairs - it's a long and involved process, though...

Check out how the tub behaves with just hot water in it, as suggested above.

I've got the 1963 version of this one - I must admit I've actually never used it with a load of dishes. I'll have to try that and see if this can outclean the '56 GE with the impeller... LOL

 

[rollermatic]

what a beautiful machine!

these are my fav old g.e. dishwashers, i have one very similiar to your's in coppertone and 3 or 4 toploader models, can't remember how many. seals are non existent (at least i can't find any) but 2 or mine i have rebuilt were not leaking and i was able to use the old seals and motors.

one i did put a new motor and seal (i bought the last one i think) into about 5 years ago. i use my toploaders frequently as i love4 the way they sound!

please don't pitch this machine if it doesn't test out well. before you throw it away please get ahold of me whether it runs or not!

hopefully it will not leak. my front loader has the same tub issues as yours. it will be a good year or so before i have time to even begin to address that problem and put it back together. as you fix your tub please post pics etc. so we can learn from what you did!

good luck with it! it's 1960's dishwasher nostalgia to the max! i used to look at those machines in the dept. stores when i was a kid and dream of having one! dreams do come true!

 

[rp2813]

Sanitizing

Just to clarify, if in your post above you were using the term in its most literal sense, that dishwasher will not provide high enough water temperatures to sanitize anything -- as far as I know.

 

Also, a very common cause of mechanical or seal/gasket failure is pre-rinsing dishes before loading them into the machine.  The various oily residues from soiled contents accumulate in the water during the cycle and serve as lubricant for those components, which extends their serviceability.  You also stand the chance of etching glassware, which can happen when the detergent has no soil to remove from any of the contents.

 

Given that your GE was never the best at processing particulate matter, you should consider just scraping the plates well or only rinsing them enough to remove loose bits of food.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Ralph, if they wash the dishes before loading them and just run it with clear water through the cycle, it should not do more than mineral up the machine and dishes, but you are right, loading clean dishes and adding dishwasher detergent does let the caustic detergent attack the seals, the Plastisol and the vinyl on the racks since there is no food soil to attack. Maybe just a teaspoon of detergent would help with the mineral film. You are also right in that the machine has no way of reaching sustained 180F temperatures for true sanitizing although high temperature water and a good chlorinated detergent will cut down on the germ count on machine-washed dishware.[this post was last edited: 7/18/2013-09:12]