New Dishwasher ordered

[48bencix]

My 20 year old Sears Kenmore Ultrawash Dishwasher is not completing the cycles. Yesterday it was stuck in the rinse position on the timer and would only run for 10 seconds then stop. I thought it might be the heated water system stopping it so I deselected the option and tried other cycles. I did get it to pump out. From there it did not want to fill. Also did not want to pump out. So I went shopping.

I had been looking because of the age of the machine. Also racks were rusty and detergent dispenser gasket was old and dry. Exterior cabinet has some rust. I had settled on Maytag because of the self cleaning filtration system, pricing and overall quality. I checked Best Buy and Home Depot on line for price and installation dates. Then I drove down to Frutiridge Road and Zajic Appliance. This is where I bought my Speed Queen washer and dryer in 2017. The price is a little higher but installation a little lower and they had one model in stock. The will deliver and install on Dec. 30. I installed the Kenmore but I do not want to install this type of dishwasher. I also would rather have Zajic than Home Depot to do the installation.

I ordered Maytag MDB8959SKW in white to match my kitchen.

Of course this morning the old dishwasher seems to be operating. Maybe it is the pop up inside that prevents overfill of water. I hit that a couple of times before trying to operate. I am still replacing it.

 

[eurekastar]

At twenty years, it's had a good run!

 

[pinkpower4]

MDB8959SKW

I will be buying a dishwasher soon and have narrowed it down to the Maytag model you have in black or white or a Bosch 800. I would love to read your review on this later .

 

[neptunebob]

Now that you got it work...

Maybe hang onto the old dishwasher, it can come in handy for really dirty things like grills and broiler pans you don't want in the new one.  I find it a good thing to have an extra dishwasher in the basement.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

spray arm action

I thought the latest Maytags alternate their spray arms. Why don't they run simultaneously in the Maytag?

 

[egress]

the pump does not circulate enough water to supply all of the arms at once.
because of this, a diverter valve alternates spray arms, I believe in 4 zones, bottom, center, 3rd rack, top. this of course makes cycle times longer.

 

[mark_wpduet]

My Maytag is a 2014 front control Model between 7/8 years old at this point. No problems.

If I had to stop for a DW today it would probably be this one you got as well. Truthfully, I don't mind front controls at all, but the front control one doesn't have the third rack..

I also noticed this no longer has the top tiered rack (thank goodness).....which I live with but is a total pain sometimes.

 

[48bencix]

Cycle Guide

Normal Cycle is 2 hours 4 minutes and 3 gallons of water
Quick Cycle is 1 hour and 5.9 gallons of water

The Quick Cycle might wash all levels at once. The cycle guide is available at Best Buy under interactive tour and documents. It does not detail the actual cycle and how many washes and rinses in each. So each fill might be only about 2 quarts, not enough to operate all wash levels.

The old dishwasher washed today. I do not know what caused it to stop washing a few days ago. The overfill sensor was pretty dirty and may have stuck, preventing a fill, but that would not stop the motor.

 

[appnut]

Quickk Wash is most likely just like my 2015 Kenmore Elite/KitchenAid prewash/rinse/main wash/ rinse/rinse. Time minute segments are 9/7/18/24. The last rinse is so long to allow for water heating to help with no heat dry.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Maytag arm alternation

When did Maytag go to alternating wash arms? If so, why wasn't I informed? I thought they were the last holdout to run all arms at once. How were they able to do this?
I am intrigued to this day why Maytag recently started alternating their spray arms.

 

[bradfordwhite]

It's probably quieter and more efficient to alternate the arms. The pump motor can be half the wattage and the dishes really don't need to have constant contact with the wash water action.

I remember my bisque 2000 TOL Frigidaire had the alternating wash arms.

I'm really impressed with the water usage though "Normal Cycle is 2 hours 4 minutes <span style="text-decoration: underline;">and 3 gallons of water</span>"

They are not the noisy, energy and water hogs from the 70s and 80s.

 

[egress]

Maytag went to alternating arms only with this most recent wash system. their previous system I believe was heavily based on the point voyager, which was whirlpools and kitchenaids last wash system to not alternate arms.

I only hope they have fixed the diverter valve leaks that were common on the filter based whirlpool/kitchenaid dishwashers. from the videos I have seen of this wash system the pump is at least powerful enough to hit the ceiling of the tub from the bottom spray arm.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Maytag with alternating wash zones

It's interesting to know that Maytag finally went to the alternating wash system. Who would've thought?
Maytag never stated they were going to alternate their wash arms. Why now?

 

[egress]

Efficiency and likely whirlpool wanting to manufacture a single wash system instead of 3 or 4.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

whirlpool wash system for Maytag

How does Maytag's arm operation work? Does it start from the top then work its way down or vice versa? It's interesting that Whirlpool built a wash system for Maytag and include the hybrid between the global wash system and point voyager system in one. I am still intrigued.

 

[vacerator]

Long service life

That Ultrwash owes you nothing. My sister in law's Whirlpool quiet partner is from 1998. They're about to replace it. It's stuck on normal. Mine did the dame thing.

 

[48bencix]

Arrived and Installed

My new Maytag Dishwasher arrived today. I am showing three photos of the old one, which I have had for 20 years. It stopped working then started working again. I still wanted the new one. You can see the three racks. I have only run the rinse cycle and short cycle. Amazingly quiet. Very light documentation and no description of the actual cycles, such as how many washes and rinses. I will try with actual load tomorrow.

 

[appnut]

Martin, the Normal Cycle is Prewash, Wash, Purge if light soil and a full rinse if medium or heavy soil, final rinse, and dry. Light soil main wash temp is 105 degrees, normal soil is 120 degrees and heavy soil 120 degrees. The Heavy/PowerBlast cycle main wash is 120 or a bit higher and main wash is followed by 2 full rinses. Auto Cycle is variations of these. 1 hour wash is a prewash, rinse, main wash, and two rinses after wash. The final rinse on this cycle is 20 to 30 minutes long to make sure the final rinse water temp is higher. High temp wash raises main wash temp to 130 degrees. Standard final rinse temperature is 140 degrees. When Sani Rinse optoin is selected, main wash temp is raised to 135 or 140 degrees and final rinse is 155 degrees.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Looks like a fun new toy.  I really like that 3rd level for flat items.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

[48bencix]

Thanks fpr the cycle explanation

Bob,
Thanks for the cycle sequence explanation. This morning I pressed start twice which selects the Auto Cycle should be two hours and 4 minutes, time shows 2:54. The Auto Cycle is the sensor cycle and could be as fast as 2:03. The top control is visible from the front because the counter has a gap below it so I can see the timer when it is running. For the first use I thought the auto cycle would be nice to try. Unless I am right next to it I cannot hear it so I may miss some of what it is doing.

I do wonder about the pods. I have been using the Finish ones and they left a red greasy residue at the bottom of the door. For the first wash I cut off that clear plastic cover. They used to package the pods in a foil pack and that was better. Yes, I know the clear plastic dissolves, but why was that residue in my old dishwasher?

Martin

 

[appnut]

Martin, the initial cycle run on Auto is a calibration cycle. It does extra stuff. The cycle will always start out displaying longest time and will adjust as cycle progresses if appropriate. In both my Whirlpool/KitchenAid produced products, the time display would decrease or increase as the situation warranted.

 

[48bencix]

I suspected

I thought that might be the case. Another feature, miss-described in the literature, there is a small light on the front panel. When washing it glows blue, drying red, and when the cycle is done it glows white.

 

[appnut]

My 2 previous dishwashers did the same thing with the little light.

 

[iiijohnnymaciii]

Third Rack

Martin, how do you like the third rack? Do you find it very useful?

 

[48bencix]

Havn't had it long enough

John
Today is only the second full load. I put large spoons on the third rack. I am one of the "I do it every night" partial load users. But I actually do it in the morning because of cheaper electricity during the morning hours. Seems if I wait and do a really full load I run out of some bowl, plate or utensil. When I was shopping I actually liked the two rack model, but they had the three rack model in stock so I took it. Many dishwashers are not in stock. So you have to wait. Today I am testing it with a meatloaf glass pan, not pre-scrubbed like I normally did.

Oh, and Maytag makes a 9959 model with a fan. This model does not have the fan which would make drying more thorough. I have not seen that model anywhere. But it is not available in white so probably I would not want it.

I saw your comment about the filtration system and I purchased with a VISA card for the extra one year warranty. There have been some reports of the chopper breaking. But I think it is user replaceable.

Martin

 

[48bencix]

Meat Loaf Pan

The glass Meat Loaf pan came out squeaky clean. Lots of residue on it before washing. Happy with that.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

48bencix

Does your dishwasher alternate spraying or is it ran all at once?

 

[iiijohnnymaciii]

That’s nice to hear, Martin. I’d say you know how to pick dishwashers. Here’s to this one lasting as long as your last one!

 

[48bencix]

Too many models

Maytag makes too many models. If I had taken more time I would have ordered a model with the fan for drying. So far this one dries as well as my old dishwasher. The washing is much better, removing lots of gunk that I used to scrub off.

This model is alternating to how many levels I do not know. Maybe more than just two.

I asked about other brands and the salesman said that Bosch makes good dishwashers, but they did not have any in stock, and take a long time to order.

All in all I am happy with this one. I should have taken pictures before they slid it in. The insulation is 1/4" black material. Not the usual 1" thick fiberglass.

I am used to running the hot water for a few seconds to supply the dishwasher with the hottest water. Probably does not matter since the water is automatically heated for various washes and rinses. Since the cycles are so long, water coming in later would be colder.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Cycle

Glad you like it. I am very interested to see how reliable these machines are. From what I have read, it appears that the Auto cycle performs 2 post-rinses regardless (including final rinse). I would also look for a machine with the fan for drying.
I would imagine the issue with greasy residue would be resolved with adding phosphates to the detergent dispenser.