New Portable Whirlpool Dishwasher Arrives

[frigilux]

Model: WDP370PAHW0

Truth be told, hand-washing dishes for a few weeks wasn't horrible...but boy howdy am I glad the new Whirlpool arrived today!

Having company tomorrow, so I made a roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a loaf of bread to test the new machine.

First impressions: This is a plain Jane machine; no two ways about it.
Three cycles: Heavy, Normal or 1HR.
Two options: Heated Wash (but only to 120 degrees) and Heated Dry.

No adjustable racks; grayish plastic interior. Two wash arms. A filter that needs to be cleaned occasionally. It is not a quiet machine; rated at 55 db. and I think that's probably being generous. Gonna have to get used to the racket. I can't imagine listening to this for a 3+ hour Heavy cycle!

The racks have better tine spacing than the GE did, especially in the upper rack. The one thing I need to find is a sectioned silverware basket. I used one of the small end sections on the GE's basket and freed a lot of room for cookware in the bottom rack.

The 1-hour cycle should be done in 20 minutes. We'll see how well it cleaned everything. The toughest items will probably be the food processor bowl, lid and dough blade. All had dried dough on them.

Update: Color me impressed. Everything was clean using the 1-Hour cycle; and thank God, because I would not want to listen to that racket for a full-length cycle!

Photo 1: The front
Photo 2: The inside
Photo 3: The controls
Photo 4: Lower rack loaded
Photo 5: Upper rack loaded[this post was last edited: 8/24/2017-21:30]

 

[ea56]

Eugene

this is just like my new dishwasher, only mine is built in. I love this dishwasher! I only use the 1 hr. cycle with heated dry and every load is done in 80 mins., 60 to wash and 20 to dry. I find that there are usually a few pieces that may have a few drops of water left, but not a problem. I only rinse items that may be a little crusted, but most items go in without rinsing. We run it every other day so the food does dry a little, but everything comes out clean, and with very little if any water left.

I use Cascade Platinum Paks and Cascade Rinse Aid.

I really like that I can get my dishes done fast. The GE that this replaced took at least 2 1/2 hrs. for a normal cycle . hi temp, no heated dry. It cleaned just as well ast this new Whirlpool.

I hope you will like yours as much as I like mine.
Eddie

 

[toploader55]

They haven't changed that upper rack in years. I have a 2005 KenWhirl that cleans great but that top rack... hard to get glasses and cups in between those tines.

Non adjustable so wine glasses in the lower rack.

Good Luck. And no more Dish Pan Hands.

 

[lordkenmore]

Hope this DW gives you good service!

 

Having company tomorrow

 

So much for the "no longer entertain much" lifestyle! LOL


 

It is not a quiet machine

 

I remember when I first used a DW I used a WP that--I'd bet--was pretty much BOL. It was noisy, but I never minded the noise. I think it was just the novelty of a machine doing a chore I hated. Probably, with time, there would have been times I'd have disliked the noise. And, of course, cycle times were probably pretty short--much less IIRC than a hour.


 

Noise seems to be a big selling point at the local Home Depot. I remember looking for a DW for someone with a broken DW. And the salesperson suggested something high in the line because it would be quieter. I passed this idea on, and heard something like: I'll just buy the cheap one, and turn up the volume on the TV. (As it turned out, the old DW was repairable...so no new DW.)

 

I remember another time looking at some WP DD washer there. I think it was an Admiral. It got a lot of interest here at the time. But, of course, the salesperson (same woman, I think) told me that a washer twice the price was much better because it was quieter.

 

Of course, those more expensive machines have another advantage of interest to sales people: they presumably have better salesperson commissions...

 

[henene4]

For DW, at least for us, noise is the biggest selling argument. We never bought above 45dB ever again after we crossed that level. Once you are used to it, you wouldn't want to miss it.

You could check if you could add your own insulation. One would think door and bottom of the machine are the most noise leaking parts.
Loading can help as well. Loading items so walls are hit as little as possible.

 

[foraloysius]

Congratulations on the new dishwasher. I think you made the right choice under the circumstances. The portable GE has a 64dB rating. That's 3 x the noise your Whirlpool makes! If it works well on the 1Hr Wash cycle, I think you have a winner!

 

[johnb300m]

Kudos on the machine, and WP for actually making a near BOL machine that performs really well!
They tend to be good at that though, as the old DuraWash's were pretty decent as well.
But egads!
That crappy upper rack.
I'm glad you like it Frig, but I HATED it in every apartment machine I had.
The tines are very difficult to get glasses into.
It seems like that rack was designed only for small, narrow ice tea glasses.
NOT for nice, large Libbey glasses or coffee mugs, at all.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this machine runs both wash arms at the same time!?

 

[whitetub]

The upper rack according to what I see in the picture looks like it has good spacing. It reminds me of the older style GE dishwashers.

I find my Bosch dishwasher's top rack to be a pain in the a...for wide glasses or cups. Good thing I can move down a row of tines, to create more space.

 

[yogitunes]

I have a 1988 Kenmore UltraWash....which may seem noisy to some.....but it is also a portable, not all the insulation that a built in would get.....

not really an issue.....for one thing, I sort of like to know whats going on inside....as with my tall tub Kitchen Aid.....that's way too quiet to even know its on....

in any case, to quiet things down....removed the top and slid insulation down the sides, and one half of the back, as the cord and hoses are in the way....

a piece underneath, for my model, had to cut a circle out of the center for the motor to breathe.....

this was just drop ceiling fiberglass insulation, with the vinyl backing...about 1/2 thick....perfect fit to this purpose

your not going to wipe out all the noise, just tame it down some.....

 

[whatsername]

RE: silverware basket

You'll love this! It's the silverware basket, cup clips, knife holder, and Tupperware lid clips that Whirlpool used to include in some machines. I bought this for an ultra wash a few apartments ago and it improved loadability a ton. It has one small silverware basket with a lid which I think is what you want.

Amazon.com

 

[earthling177]

Yay! Congratulations and enjoy it in good health!!!

 

[seedub]

I see it's equipped with a soil sensor

... that works only on Normal cycle.

 

[norgeway]

As long

As I can keep a vintage Kitchen Aid running,im not buying anything new, the longest cycle on my 21 takes just over an hour.

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for comments and observations, everyone. Several mentions of tight glassware space in the top rack. My table glasses and coffee mugs fit, but the iced tea glasses have to jump over two tines.

Friends were in the area so we arranged to have lunch today. Used the roast beef, mashed potatoes and homemade bread to make what Minnesotans call a 'Beef Commercial.' A slice of bread topped with slices of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. Classic small-town, farmer lunch.

A classmate who drives semi trucks for a living called and is stopping by tomorrow when he's in the area. The ladies of the Catholic church we belonged to as kids made a hotdish for nearly every funeral luncheon called, surprise surprise, 'Funeral Hotdish.' We both loved it so I'm making that for lunch tomorrow. It will blow his mind; I'm sure he hasn't had it since we were teenagers.

Eddie (ea56): You mentioned using the 1-hour cycle in another thread, which is why I gave that a try with the first load. It did very well!

Eddie (toploader55): Don't have wine glasses any more, so that won't be an issue. See photo #2, LOL.

LordKenmore: I've entertained more in the past month than I had in the past couple of years. Funny how life works, sometimes. Will eventually get a small dinner table, but for now it's TV trays in the living room.

Henrik: I certainly do miss the quiet operation of my last few dishwashers, especially the GE, which was rated at 43 db or thereabouts.

Louis: Initially planned to get the full-size GE portable since the Speed Queens, GE range and hood were purchased at the same dealership. Glad I checked reviews first. They were almost universally awful, from reviewed.com to user reviews at several sites. My favorite was, "Haven't pulled a clean dish out of it yet!" The Whirlpool was the only other choice in a full-size machine.

John: I've only washed two loads, but so far it seems to be working out fine for my situation. You're right; both wash arms work at the same time.

Yogi: A dishwasher can never be too quiet in my book. I trust there's something going on in there, even if I can't hear it. Thanks for the insulation tips. May just have to try that if I don't adjust to the noise level.

Don: That's exactly what I was looking for in a silverware basket. Thanks for the link! Already ordered it via Amazon Prime so it should be here Tuesday.

Paulo: Thanks! We'll put the emphasis on 'in good health.' So far, so good.

Chris: I'll have to try the Normal cycle to see if it defaults to a shorter or longer cycle with a typical load.

Hans: The day you start buying new appliances rather than vintage will coincide with hell freezing over, LOL!

Steve: A couple of friends who have Bosch dishwashers love them; but both have commented that spaces are tight in the upper rack.

Photo 1: Coffee mug, table glass, iced tea glass in top rack of Whirlpool portable.
Photo 2: 21st century wine glass.
Photo 3: Small silverware basket and some useful clips for Whirlpool dishwashers (thanks to Don's link)

[this post was last edited: 8/25/2017-20:22]

 

[frigilux]

In case you were wondering...

 

[appnut]

Eugene, I'm so glad it finally arrived.  I'm assuming that dish load shown above did have a considerable amount of food soil in the cookware.  If so, "BobLoad" certification!!!  The utensil basket from Amazon link above, two of those make up 2/3 of my flatware basket all connected.  The middle "third" is equivalent to two of these.  That's the section I use predominantly.  For loads with small amounts of flatware, I use one of those like above.  In the 11 years I've had both Kenpools, I've only used at most the basket I predominantly use.  Maybe once or twice I've had two sections together, but never all 3.  I need the space for other things. 

 

The "larger" section I traditionally use is about 9.5 to 10" long.  Attached is a link to one that's similar to what I use. 

http://https//www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-6-918873-Silverware-Basket/dp/B008YDTFYW/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1503702890&sr=1-3&keywords=whirlpool+silverware+basket

 

[mtn1584]

I had the Maytag version

Difference was it had a food Chopper and a third level was arm. She was loud as heck, but did her job! I used to listen for three hours too! I always ran the longest cycle with heated wash. I had her 5 years and left her for my friends who took my old apartment.
Mike

 

[frigilux]

Bob: Like you, I want to maximize the amount of space available in the lower rack for cookware. The silverware basket for the GE I had looked like the one pictured, although this one is for a Whirlpool. The two little stubby ends come off and I used one of the ends alone 99% of the time. It was crammed full quite often, but it was generally all that was needed.

Mike: Your Maytag version looks significantly more deluxe than the Whirlpool. Wish they'd made them quieter, though.

 

[appnut]

Eugene, that photo looks exactly like the one from Kenmore #1.  And that's still the one I use.  I've not "undone" the baskets from Kenmore #2.