Update
Just to update everyone, I'm on my 5th dishwasher...
So to quickly sum everything up:
I first bought the Kenmore 13229. The first one came with a leaky door so it was returned.
The second one came and was working fine, definitely worth the price, but I found myself wondering what if on the Maytag 8989. So, I returned the Kenmore and bought the Maytag.
The first Maytag had a dent in the far right corner so bad that the bottom rack couldn't even be put back in the machine without turning it sideways and was returned. I even noted to the girl at Lowes that the box looked pretty beat up when she was bringing it out to me, but she said they all look this way and it will be fine...
The second one washed well in the beginning, but the powerdry stopped working within the first 2 weeks. The machine would go into a wash cycle. Toward the end of the wash cycle all the lights on the machine would turn off for a few minutes and the machine wouldn't do anything, the wash light would then come back on for a few minutes without the machine doing anything, then it would go into dry mode, but the fan would never run. I had a repair man come out and I let him know what was going on. He ran the diagnostics program and said everything was working fine...Took him all of ten minutes and also told me to never run the dishwasher on sanitize or it will eventually melt the control board... After he left there was still no powerdry. Maybe I wasn't paying as much attention as when I first got the machine, but it seemed like it wasn't using as much water anymore. It would do a fill and only empty a very small amount of water and reuse most of the water from the initial fill. This would be evident in the sink disposer drain and by morning all that water would condensate on the dishes and there would be an off smell of dirty dishwater in there. I was still within my 30 days and decided to return this washer.
On to my 5th dishwasher. I decided to give Bosch a try. I decided on the SHP865WF5N 500 series. I was a little worried about the tines, but the key is the adjustable tines. I can fit 20 cups on the top rack (5 less than I can in a whirlpool machine). There is a section of tines that are too small to put any cups in, but I find it perfect for lids. I can also drop the second rack all the way down and still have the second rack wash arm clear all my large plates. This allows me to put extra tall cups and water bottles on the second rack and still be able to use the 3rd rack for utensils. This was something I could not do with Whirlpool machines. The second rack wash arm would hit plates at its lowest setting. At it highest setting I would have to remove the 3rd rack.
It's the most powerful post 2012 dishwasher I've ever owned. When the sump empties into the sink disposer it does it with more power than the 2015 Kitchenaid, Maytag 8989, or Kenmore 13229. I would like to get a GoPro inside to witness the wash action, but I do know it has enough power to flip full size Tupperware food storage containers and by the sound of the wash action it sounds extremely powerful. So far every dish has come out spotless.
Speaking of spotless, the stainless steel is not on this model. However, 3 coats of Johnson's paste wax has solved that. The stainless steel on this model is magnetic.
Drying action is ok. With the extra dry option, you don't need drying agent. I've used cascade drying agent set on level 2 with the sanitize option enabled. With this setup you don't need extra dry.
The Bosch offers lots of nice cycle options. It's got your basic Heavy, Auto, Normal cycles, but it also has a 30 minute wash for light loads that you might need done in the middle of the day. It has a half load option that cuts 30 minutes from the wash time, sanitize, extra dry, and delicate options that you can add to every cycle except the 30 minute cycle. It also allows you to digitally turn off the drying agent or set the appropriate level.
I set this dishwasher to Heavy or Auto with the Sanitize option enabled and the drying agent level set at 2. In just under 2 hours everything is clean and dry.
I just had some weird luck with machines. The Kenmore is a good buy for $400. In that price range I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I'm not sure what to say about the Maytag. The cleaning seemed great in the beginning. It seemed like it used more water than it did toward the end.
I do have to say, everything seems like high quality from the Bosch. From the packaging, to the motor, to the interior. I wish I would have taken some pictures of how well it was packaged, but I was totally over it and just wanted to get a machine installed. The great thing too is it was put together here in North Carolina.
For all those dishwasher shopping I hope you have better luck than me. I will say that I am grateful with how everything ended, because I am extremely happy with the Bosch!
