Old Kitchenaid dishwasher

[passatdoc]

In 1961, we moved into a 1930s house with original kitchen. Within a few months, mom had the kitchen renovation underway. Stainless steel built in Frigidaire double wall oven, Tappan steel coil cooktop, white formica with maple cabinets, a garbage disposal, and the piece de resistance, a KDS-14 Superba dishwasher. It had three buttons: Pots/Utility, Normal Cycle, Rinse/Hold. We were not allowed to push the Utility button because mom had lost the manual and did not know what would happen if someone pressed it! Cycles were either Normal or Rinse/Hold. She added a custom wood panel to it that matched the cabinetry, but the controls and handle were the same as what's pictured here: what today would be called a "semi-integrated" rather than "fully integrated" dishwasher.

 

[combo52]

BEST DW EVER

1984 and on WP Power-Clean and KM Ultra-Wash standard tub DWs. These are the true king of the big dirty Bob loads. Always done in 30-60 minutes, heats the water at critical times if needed, cleans everything in both racks even if items in lower rack block water to top rack and absolutely no food left in the machine ever. Sears still has some of these machines in stock if you hurry at about $300.

 

[aldspinboy]

Hey Guys...
This is a great segway to this wash system that I recorded at Roberts.
Even though people have seen his machine, this is a different take on it.
 
The dishwasher that Fred has, and Greg's, is ONE of my favorite vintage dishwasher machines ever !
My neighbor had this machine when I grew up back in the 70's - this family had an integrated model that matched a sort of blonde wood look.
 
They also had a boomerang grey counter top where the table was a white , pink , & light blue boomerang pattern imbedded in the sections.

When Mrs Morgan died , her silly daughter and father never used it again !
Soooo they USED IT FOR PLASTIC AND OR  PAPER BAGS FOR STOREGE..EEEK !
I tried for years to turn it on she said the power is off ..."I rather wash dishes by hand" she would say.
Fast foward to the 90's at this time the dial was frozen, the big handle was very loose , but the interior was mint as well as the BIG BLUE wash arm.
 
So I stop fighting for it because she wanted me to fill the hole with a new one and at the time it was not happening.
So I'm looking for one maybe someday but until then I will appreciate some of the members' machines and have fun with their's
until who knows if I get lucky.
 
Steve you're so right ...
Paul you're getting rid of the Inglis set which I'm so sorry they are not working out ...
But I would RUN to get this machine and take his ranting later from Chris lol.
Well hey.. it's smaller then the pair .
 
Fred , Greg , Robert ,  Mike , and others who own this machine how great that you guys are owners of them .
One word BEAUTIFUL !
 
Robert's machine the BIG BLUE pimped open glass dishwasher.
Since there is no element in this model Robert's water was very hot ..
at least 150 to 160 F.
And check out the gravity drain.
Don't dare RINSE dishes with this machine.

Darren k. 
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[appnut]

Well, the load I have in my dishwasher right now, no KA befoe an 18 series could it deal with without me having to run two or three lloads HALF FULL at best.  From last night and tonight's meal prep.  Two 4 quart casseroles, one for ziti and the other for squash.  an 8 in. square pyrex dish.  several plates, cutting board, collander.  Top rack is an 8 quart stock pot, 4 quart sauce pan, 4 mixing bowls of various sizes from 3 qua3rt on down, a 2 quart plastic dish, cutting board, and small misc. stuff.  The pasta related stuff sat from last night and the squash was baked tonight.  I got it stuffed and I know everything will come clean, I dn't care how long it takes it's also very quiet.

 

[fnelson487]

Well

I guess it is what you are used to.  My first owned dishwasher was a KDS-17.  If you have a couple of the pre 18 machines, and know how to load them, they definitely have their charms.  As far as style is concerned, those old pre-18 machines can't be beat.  Between the KDS-17 in the kitchen and the KDI-14 in the laundry room off the kitchen, I am in heaven!  We love running many dishwasher loads.  And check out the hostess!

 

[fnelson487]

BTW

Here is my KDS-17 in the kitchen.

 

[appnut]

I guess it is what you are used to.

Well, I thhnk it's stupid, especially for the kind of load I have in there right now, I'd be having to run at least two loads in either a 14, 16, or 17 because the bulky stuff wouldn't alow anything to be put in the top rack.  A 16s or 17 would require soadk & scrub.  My 6 gallons of water is much more efficiently used than 20 to 24 gallons for at least two loads out of a vintage 16 or 17.  I don't wash anything by hand and I don't believe in having part or all orf a rack empty and running the dishwasher because it's a 1-level wash wonder.  And y'all b*tch about modern machines not being efficient because of their 1.5 to 2 hour cycle lengths. I seem to rememberr in a 17 or 18 brochure, a soak & scrub cycle used between 1.3 and 1.6 kwhs per cycle.  I don't think my machine consumes that much because of the low wattage motor and heater even though it runs for a long time.

 

[fnelson487]

Bob

We are all entitled to our opinions without being called stupid.  Including you!

 

[passatdoc]

@fnelson487

Thanks for the photo of the KDS-14 with the wood panels. Our 1962 KDS-14 was similarly tricked out with panels that matched the new cabinets. We had white formica counters, so the overall appearance was pretty close to what is depicted in that photo.

I never knew that they were still making the "Custom" with the old-style handle into the 1960s. My grandmother lived in NYC but had a weekend home in CT, and she had an earlier KDS model (same handle) in a sink combination unit. The house was built in the early 1930s and originally may well have had one of those 40" long wall mounted kitchen sinks, which were replaced by the sink combo units as an alternative to full remodeling. I don't know the year/vintage of that unit, but I don't think they continued manufacture of combination sink units past the late 1950s.

In the 1970s and 80s as a visitor, I never saw the DW in use, so it may well have been broken and she never bothered to repair it, not sure. It had a slanted top that tilted toward the sink, so it was a good set up for a dish drying rack. It may have been she only used the DW for a large party or crowd, not sure. One thing is for sure: once it was no longer reparable, there was no replacement for it by the 1960s (combo unit no longer in production) so she either had to leave it in place or do a major remodel.

 

[jetcone]

Oh Fred

that 17 is beautiful! Never saw that wood graining before. Does that have two level wash?

 

 

[fnelson487]

Hey Jon

The 17 was the last of the single wash arm systems.  Built like a tank.

 

[passatdoc]

I don't know if earlier models could accept custom panels, but our KDS-14 c. 1962 had them. Must have been pretty innovative for the time. The control panel was the same as shown in the ad, beige and brown colored. Would have looked odd paired with say a light birch or white panel, but back then most cabinets were medium to dark toned wood. Our cabinets were maple-stained, a bit lighter than the cabinets in the ad, but looked good with the control panel.

The machine had only one mishap, my sister once put Joy dishwashing liquid in the soap dispenser instead of Cascade. For some reason, my mother never bought JetDry or whatever rinse agents were available at the time, and the DW definitely had a rinse agent dispenser. Consequently, now and then the glasses would be spotted at the end of cycle. Mom had never read the manual, with two consequences:

1. Jet Dry was never used, hence we sometimes had spotted glasses. However, we had a whole-house water softener which to some degree mitigated this issue.

2. We NEVER used the Utility/Pots cycle because Mom didn't know what would happen if that button were pressed. Instead, we used only Normal Cycle or Rinse and Hold. Probably some pots and baked on dishes and casseroles were washed by hand with the KDS-14 might have been able to handle it if given a chance with Utility cycle. Because we used only Normal cycle, we did a fair amount of scraping and rinsing. And it was this machine that put me in the mindset that you have to rinse dishes before loading them. It took my present Bosch DW, now ten years old, to break me of that habit!!

 

[passatdoc]

I don't know if earlier models could accept custom panels, but our KDS-14 c. 1962 had them. Must have been pretty innovative for the time. The control panel was the same as shown in the ad, beige and brown colored. Would have looked odd paired with say a light birch or white panel, but back then most cabinets were medium to dark toned wood. Our cabinets were maple-stained, a bit lighter than the cabinets in the ad, but looked good with the control panel.

The machine had only one mishap, my sister once put Joy dishwashing liquid in the soap dispenser instead of Cascade. For some reason, my mother never bought JetDry or whatever rinse agents were available at the time, and the DW definitely had a rinse agent dispenser. Consequently, now and then the glasses would be spotted at the end of cycle. Mom had never read the manual, with two consequences:

1. Jet Dry was never used, hence we sometimes had spotted glasses. However, we had a whole-house water softener which to some degree mitigated this issue.

2. We NEVER used the Utility/Pots cycle because Mom didn't know what would happen if that button were pressed. Instead, we used only Normal Cycle or Rinse and Hold. Probably some pots and baked on dishes and casseroles were washed by hand with the KDS-14 might have been able to handle it if given a chance with Utility cycle. Because we used only Normal cycle, we did a fair amount of scraping and rinsing. And it was this machine that put me in the mindset that you have to rinse dishes before loading them. It took my present Bosch DW, now ten years old, to break me of that habit!!