Need help with '52 Westinghouse dishwasher

[knoble]

I would like to restore my 1952 Westinghouse top-loading dishwasher as a project with my son. He's in high school, wants to be an engineer, and hates handwashing dishes. I don't care if I use original innards (hoses, motors, etc) or modern stuff tucked in there to make it work. Does anyone know where I can get information about how to do it, and where parts might be available? Has anyone restored a dishwasher? (People keep telling me to buy new, but from my photo, you can see it matches the oven and rangehood, which both work perfectly! Also, it's amazingly cool and unique. btw, that side of the kitchen is all original 1952, and in fabulous condition (except the dishwasher).

I've been scouring the internet for resources/information, but have found very little. Suggestions? Ideas? Thank you!!!!!

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Kristy and welcome, I had the 1949 version of that machine installed in our kitchen for many years. It was great fun to use. See this thread

The downloadable service manual for this dishwasher is located here at the link below, Automatic Ephemera also has the owners manual...

Westinghouse Electric Dishwasher Service Manual

Westinghouse Electric Dishwasher Service Manual

www.automatice.org

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, Kitty, great kitchen (especially the dishwasher...LOL). There's lots of experience and expertise on restoring vintage dishwashers on this site, so don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have! That service manual that Robert has made available in the Automatic Ephemera library will be invaluable - doing a restore without documentation is always more challenging...

How is the interior of the machine? I will hazard a guess that this machine has not been used for some time - did the former owners of the house provide any clues about what it was (or was not) doing?

Looking forward to seeing more pictures of this one!!

 

[paulg]

What a great project

My dad (an engineer at Hotpoint) and I repaired many things together. That is why I am an engineer today.
This is a great project. It'll be a real point of pride when it is running - but that pales in comparison to the "on" time with your son and the cool stuff you'll learn (and probably learn a few swear words too LOL ! Keep the Band-Aids handy.)
Last but not least it is obvious this is an original Westinghouse kitchen. Why not try to keep it original?

 

[chachp]

What a beautiful kitchen.

I hope you can get that going again.

 

[mikepaquette]

WOW

Please keep us posted.

 

[knoble]

Hi Unimatic1140 - thank you SOOO much for the links to the manuals. I've downloaded them and have started reading. My first challenge is going to be to remove the dishwasher from under the counter. It looks like the real estate guy had this rubber baseboard stuff put in, and there's wood behind that, so we're going to have to cut our way in. (Tool purchase opportunity!!!)

Hi Turquoisedude - I've attached a photo of the inside. The racks are turquoise plastic coated, and I only saw one rust spot on the racks and it looks like it's been repaired. The tub just looks a little dirty, and the impeller blade has what looks like a worn spot. I'm not able to talk to the prior owners - I bought this place a year ago, and it had sat empty for 20 years prior to that. (So I have a 60 year old house with only 40 years of wear! Lucky me!)

When I first bought the house, I had anticipated that nothing would work and I would need to replace all the appliances. Then I found out the oven worked - and the temperatures were accurate. And the range hood works. And the cooktop had these cute knobs that light up different colors depending on the temperature setting (high = red, low = blue, rainbow colors in between). And then I realized I had fallen in love with 60-year old appliances.

I will try to keep the original Westinghouse parts as much as possible, if only because I'm on a budget and my labor is free. If something is truly broken, though, can you even GET spare parts?

Please be patient - progress won't be fast. I'm working on other projects at the same time. For example, I'm typing this in the dark because 2 breakers are broken (one died this afternoon), and because the panel is an antique, I'm going to have to figure out where I can get those breakers. (Doable, but takes time.) Also, I'm planning to tile a new counter in yellow tile to match my existing yellow tile in the kitchen. (There is ONE manufacturer in the U.S. who can match my tile, and they're in Gardena, CA.)

Also, I know this project is a stretch for me - my only other appliance repair was to replace a solenoid on a 10-year-old fridge. But I'm reasonably handy, and pretty motivated. (Just the thought of a modern-style dishwasher in that otherwise 50's kitchen just makes me cringe.)

 

[alr2903]

Welcome.................

Wow is right. The good folks here will help you thru this. It is so wonderful that you came here before even considering a replacement DW. Your kitchen is beautiful. If you had somewhere to stash a second-hand portable dishwasher temporarily until you can get your vintage machine working might be a short term solution. Hopefully not much is wrong with the "Westinghouse".

 

[paulg]

Mosaic

Is that fruit-and-bowl mosaic original to the house? It is very cool.

Owning vintage appliances is fun and totally worth the effort. It's great that most of your stuff works. However if you keep in touch with this gang... and maybe pick up some spare parts here and there along the way... you can have all your kitchen gear running for years to come.
And when you need that special trick to get things running again, you'll learn them here as this site is loaded with experts. You certainly came to the right place.

 

[christfr]

just take your time

its an awesome machine just take your time and youll get there. if we all can help just mail us or ask away

 

[christfr]

I got lucky the interior of mine was in great shape

 

[christfr]

the only thing I retro fitted was the pump mine was shot so I rigged in elec drain pump

 

[Unimatic1140]

If something is truly broken, though, can you even GET spare parts?

Yes and no depending on what is broken. I had to retro-fit a new electric drain pump in mine. When you do need parts you'll have to let us know what you need. Most likely we will be able to tell you what a suitable modern replacement will be.

Don't worry we will be here to help!

 

[jetcone]

Wow nice kitchen and am I seeing

Copper on those appliances , my favorite metal? That DW looks like it is in great shape low use as I can still see the tub reflecting the racks that means the enamel is in good shape.

 

I have never worked on this specific machine but I'll help anyway I can with 30 years of rebuilding underfoot this shouldn't be too daunting a project.

 

Jon

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow - the interior looks great! It looks like one of those machines that only got used on big occasions!! The top tub seal looks good and if the tub is solid, that's more than half the battle. The drain pump was probably the weak point on these older Westinghouse models, but as Robert has stated (and done!) it's not a big deal to replace.

If you done so already, it may be time to pour a couple of buckets of very hot water into the machine. You'll see right away if there are any serious leaks - a few drips may be seen but this could be due to gaskets and seals having dried up. Most often, the hot water softens them again and the drips stop. If you're feeling really brave, try setting the machine to wash and see what happens. You'll see if the timer is advancing and if the drain pump does kick in!

The water inlet valve might cause some grief - they often get 'stuck' after years of storage. You can clean out the original valve and in a worst-case scenario, a "modern" dishwasher water valve can be substituted.

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses!!

 

[knoble]

Hi all,
My son's out of school, and we're tearing into the dishwasher. And we need your help.

1st, responses to above:
paulg: The fruit and bowl mosaic is original to the house. I love it.
jetcone: It's a little dirty, but otherwise seems ok.
turquoisedude: The machine is completely inert. Doesn't run at all.

So what we've done: Thought we had to pull it out from under the counter, and the baseboard was continuous. So I cut the baseboard (no great loss, it was this cheap plastic stuff the real estate guy put in when he re-did the floor for a quick sale. Would have looked great in an office.) Also, the wood behind the baseboard was rotted out, which is kind of ominous - I'm anticipating leaks. When we tried to move it again, we couldn't budge the thing, and clearance was maybe 2 mm all around the cabinet.

So then we unscrewed the side panel and looked in, and there's piping from the wall that's attached to the dishwasher. So I think they intended for it never to be moved, so we'll need to work on it in place. So we took off the other side panel, and have been attempting to take off the front panel. Can't figure out how to get it off.

Help!

The knob goes thru the front panel into a metal bar thingy. The only screws we see are holding the handle (not the knob!) onto the front panel only. The metal bar thingy goes behind and across the front panel and has 2 screws on one side, but not on the other. We unscrewed the screws. Didn't seem to do any good. How do I get the front panel off? The only thing holding it on right now is the knob that goes thru it.

Here's a side shot. In the upper right of the dishwasher, you see the end of a bar with 2 slots in it. That's what's holding the knob in, I think.

Thank you all!
-Kristy

 

[Unimatic1140]

Kristy can you take a picture of the knob you are referring to that you cannot remove? I'm not exactly sure which piece you mean.

 

[combo52]

Great Looking Antique-Copper Westinghouse Appliances

Your WH kitchen appliances are probably about three years newer than 1952.

It should be fairly easy to keep the cook-top and wall oven working well for many years to come, but as an appliance repairman and an appliance restorer myself you will face many challenges trying restore and use this DW as a daily driver. If as you mentioned you want to keep the neat vintage look of your kitchen appliances you might consider buying a NEW Kitchenaid DW equipped for full custom front panel and take the entire front and trim from your WH DW and install it on a new DW, I have seen this done and until you open the door no one will ever know.

That said I will try to help answer questions about fixing the WH DW and keep in mind we have many good used parts for the cook-top and wall oven.

John L.

 

[knoble]

Hi Unimatic - here it is

Hi Combo52 - I want to try to fix what I have. If not, I would like to do as you suggest. I had already considered dropping the front panel into a new dishwasher. Shopped Sears, Lowes, Home Depot and none of them carried dishwashers where you could do that. I'm in the Central Valley of CA, and don't know where I can find a dishwasher where you can drop in a front panel. Also, are the dimensions the same? I don't want to cut up my existing cabinets - I have roll out drawers on one side, and a sink cabinet on the other side that's at an angle. The front of the dishwasher is 23 7/8 X 30 3/8.

THANK YOU!
-Kristy