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littlegreeny

littlegreeny

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Oct 12, 2015
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395
Location
Milwaukee, WI
I purchased a new Whirlpool dishwasher model #WDT730PAHZ to replace a BOL Frigidaire that died after only 5 years of use. I installed it last Wednesday and have tried all the cycles except heavy wash. I've been extremely pleased with how well it washes. I haven't had one item come out with a speck of soil. It's relatively quiet too.

I do have a few questions. Sometimes it will pause and drain a little water and refill. Is that what folks call a "purge"? What is it doing? One thing that disappoints me is the lack of drying. It was supposed to have a fan but I don't hear or see any evidence of a fan. I found I get acceptable drying just by leaving the heated dry off and opening it up right after the cycle to have everything flash dry.

I've read that Whirlpool dws are very reliable. It sounds like they had issues with the top rack breaking, control boards and main wash motors going out. Have these issues generally been resolved? Should I invest in an extended warranty or is it a waste of money? I purchased it at Best Buy and was thinking about buying their Geek Squad warranty. Does anyone have any experience with them?

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try heated dry

I have the Kenmore equivalent of this dishwasher with stainless steel interior. I typically use smart wash, high temp wash and heated dry. Try this combination. Also use rinse aid. I use the Cascade Platinum rinse aid along Cascade complete gel. I'd go with the citrus breeze scent. It gives the dishwasher a clean scent especially during the cycle.
 
I've mostly used the normal cycle. I tried the sensor cycle a few times and felt like it worked well but is about 3 hours. I ran the 1 hour wash yesterday and was very surprised how well everything turned out. I have not yet tried the sanitize option but was planning to with my next load as I had a plate with raw chicken on it.

I tried the heated dry and didn't really notice much of a difference in drying. I also did the heated wash a few times.

Not sure what cycle I should really be using as every cycle has given me great results. It seems like the manual was suggesting to use the sensor cycle for most loads though.

I use Trader Joe's powder and Lemishine rinse aid, and have been very happy with this combo.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with this dishwasher. Before the Frigidaire, I had a Bosch and find the performance comparable and think this dishwasher is a bargain considering how well and quietly it washes.
 
Upgrade!

Yes, I'm very happy having nylon racks once again! The vinyl racks in the Frigidaire had rusty tips. All my plates have little rust marks on the back now.

Thanks for the replies so far. I plan to try using the sensor cycle with high heat wash and heated dry. I'd still like to learn more about what it's doing during a purge. Is it just changing some water or is it flushing the filter, or both?

And I'd also love everyone's opinion on Whirlpool dw reliability and whether I should purchase an extended warranty.
 
Hey Littlegreeny, congrats!

The WP-based dishwashers I think are some of the best out there up with Bosch.
While they're generally not "trouble-free," they're certainly some of the most reliable out there.
And if something breaks or goes wrong, they're usually pretty easy and affordable to fix.

I have a KA dw, based on this same, now "old" platform, and it washes extremely well.
There's only a few things that it struggles with IME, but these trip up all dishwashers, and that's "protein stains" on pans and cookware. Stains like from cooking chicken mostly.
The soils will be washed away, but there's that white powdery protein stain left.
Otherwise, everything is spotless unless I made a loading mistake.

During some wash cycles, like if heavy soil is sensed, or when using Hi Temp/Sani, where they cycle usually defauts to a "hi soil" sequence, it will do 1 or more purges.

A purge on the filter cup based wash system will fill the sump with about 1/2 a water charge, and pulse the pump to the upper rack. The water in the upper feed tube will fall back through the pump, back flushing the filter cup several times. It then drains this water and proceeds to the next segment.
Doing this seems to be quite effective in Whirlpool's filter cup based systems keeping that filter cup quite clean!
Sometimes there will be soil stuck on that filter cup, but after subsequent lighter cycles and purges, the cup will be clean again. It's often not necessary to clean the filter up more than once every 2-4 months based on your loading style. And if you're someone who pre-rinses, you might not need to clean the filter cup more than ONCE in a YEAR. (Depending on your water quality/hardness).

Enjoy. I think you'll come to really like your WP dw.
 
Nice Dishwasher

I remember back in mid-2014 when I got my Maytag (Whirlpool) dishwasher, I had read of problems with the control boards and expect them to go out and yet I have never had a single issue after almost 6 years.

I always open the dishwasher when done, shake the racks, and in a few hours everything is dry. I don't necessarily need to unload it right then, but I'm sure some people will need to use heated dry as they need to unload immediately.

There was a theory on here a while back that I remember reading and that was for ovens and dishwashers. Using self-clean on your oven or the drying cycle on your dishwasher could shorten the life of the control boards. How true that would be? I don't know. I just remember reading it and it stuck in my mind. Could be total BS.
 
new filter based wash systems

What was behind the development of whirlpool's new filtration wash system? How long did it take for whirlpool engineers to design and test this platform? How did they make their wash pumps work effectively? How many gallons per minute does it discharge through the spray arms? I have the Kenmore powerwave with stainless interior. It does remind me of the European bosch wash system. Who had this system first? I could've sworn it was Kenmore or kitchenaid. Please explain. I'm also curious about the rpm of the wash pump motor. I just notice an electrical hum and splashing. It does sound like a flowing river. I'm also curious about how the filter works to collect soil throughout the entire cycle including switching of the arms.
 
Thanks guys!

John, that was an excellent explanation of the purge cycle! I could totally visualize it. It definitely works as I checked the filter a few times and it's virtually spotless. And I don't pre-rinse.

I haven't been so excited to run my dishwasher in years! LOL

Running the sensor cycle with sani-rinse and heated dry options now.
 
Not certain that anyone answered your question re: pauses followed by a drain and fill sequence.

It sounds like the routine performed early in the cycle when the unit is sensing - the soil sensor during the pause in action takes a reading of the turbidity of the water (how much gunk is in it), then drains a little of the water off, and replaces it with fresh water. Most sensor machines, if the water is still sufficiently turbid at the end of this sensing period, will then drain out all of the water and do two or so rinses before moving to the main wash. If the soil level is light, they might open up the detergent cup, switch on the heater, and move straight to the main wash.

I may have gotten that a bit wrong, and your machine might be different, but I'm 88% certain that's what's going on.
 
Sensor Cycle

We have a machine that is fairly similar at my University in my program's department. Students use the machine for coffee and tea cups, silverware, and any plates that are needed for lunch, etc. For the most part, the machine runs the best overall on the Sensor cycle. I have checked the filter numerous times and it is almost always clean. The sensor cycle seems to run more of these purges to flush out the sump and filter between fills, in comparison to the normal cycle. I always use the sanitize option and have good drying results without rinse aid. The heating element as far as I am aware cycles on and off when you use the sanitize rinse. The only time that the machine has let me down is using the 1 hour wash cycle. The silverware was not fully clean. For a majority of people, these machines are great despite the longer run times with options. Enjoy the new machine!
 
Are we taking about different generations of WP machines?
Only the Voyager pump models did “automatic purge filtration” segments where they would drain portions of water and add portions of fresh water.
The filter cup based models “do not” do that.
They will drain fully. Run a purge sequence. Then fully refill to continue washing.
 
Ah! You're correct, John! My 2015 Whirlpool WDF320PADB1 intermittently pauses during the sensor phase, but does not drain and fill. On the 1-hour cycle, it does the pulses you described in #1064315 after the main wash. On the other two: after each pre-rinse and after the main wash.
 
Voyager?

I don't know what generations had the voyager pump but as far as I can tell, mine seems to be purging a little water and then doing a partial fill of fresh water during the normal cycle all while the main wash pump is operating.

This morning I ran a load on the sensor wash cycle with high temp wash and heated dry options selected. I had more greasy items today from making bacon this morning. It did two pre-washes and then proceeded to the main wash. After the main wash it seemed to do a partial fill, pulse the pump, drain, fill, rinse then drain and fill for final rinse.

I noticed it seemed to do a partial dirty water purge when I ran the normal cycle with high temp wash and heated dry selected. I'll use that cycle and options on my next cycle and will pay close attention to what it's doing.
 

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