old maytag dishwashers

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Chachp:

My "sister-n-law" has a bosch SHX46UC. We went to her house this summer for the hurricanes and again for Thanksgiving. I got to load and use the dishwasher and I LOVED IT!!!!. The silverware basket is in the front, but she keeps it long ways across the front. Her's also splits. However, When I loaded it and used it I had no problem with it. MUCH BETTER THAN A WHIRLPOOL IN THE DOOR, like I have. And it seemed to me that I could get more in it than mine. Porbably cause there was no tower to stack around.
 
Stabbing and Jabbing

The Maytag WC-400 dishwasher pictured earlier in this thread came with the instruction book and it instructs the user to load the silverware with the handles DOWN in the basket...

Many others (like the WP tall tub user guide) suggest alternating handles up and down to prevent nesting of items like spoons, etc.

Learn something new every day!
 
APPNUT and RE563:

The link below has a few pictures of my dishwasher (towards the end). You can see how the silverware basket fits in the lower rack. Unfortunately, it does not split. Recently, I was in Best Buy and noticed the IDENTICAL machine branded under the Siemens name. I noticed the lower rack was slightly modified and the silverware basket was split and could be placed along the front or the side. I thought about looking into replacing my lower rack with that one.

Other than that, I like the dishwasher. I always push it to the limit, and have never been disappointed with the performance. It is also so quiet, you really don't know it's running. I have had guests open it while it was on because they didn't hear it running. It's always pretty funny when it happens because they open it so quickly they usually get a little squirt in the face.

http://www.chachp.com/images/Hobby/dishwashers.htm
 
I guess we did get off track a bit didn't we? Sorry.

I had a top load Maytag dishwasher around 1981. I always liked the flexibility of the top load because you could get a lot in the bottom rack and not be concerend with things shifting as the rack goes in and out.

It eventually began to clean very poorly. I was living in an area with very hard water and I think the water intake clogged I didn't know enough at the time to try to clean it out. If I added water after every fill I could tell it was washing better but it was a pain. I replaced it. I sure wish I still had that machine. I recall seeing a photo on one of the member's pages of the exact machine I had.
 
Ralph, In the year or two I"ve been looking at Bosches, I've never seen a basket that big in the lower rack. That would drive me crazy. You do an awesome job of loading, but I bet our rssident Bosch cramming expert TCox6912 in New Orleans could give you some pointers. I'll make sure he see this thread.
 
I love my new (yes new!) Kenmore Elite Talltub KA Superba clone. Its silverware basket runs along the righthand side of the machine, and there are things in the top you drop the items through that prevents them from nesting. I love those! They lift up, and serve as a cover if you want to use a section as a small items holder.

It has 3 sections, one big one in the center, and two smaller on either end. You can split them up but mine are all together.

This is a wonderful machine in every possible way.

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5562970&uid=814581&members=1
1-6-2005-21-03-36--scott55405.jpg
 
Yes I agree with Scott. We have almost the same but the controls on on the front. It replaced a 25 year old Whirlpool that in the end would drive us out of the house although it cleaned well. This holds more and is so quite. Have to walk up to it and place you hand on it to know it is doing its job. The Whirlpool had the in the door basket we were very leary of the basket's but is great. Also nice to be able to take out the top rack to clean the big pots.
 
It's amazing all the options available since I bought my machine.

My sister recently replaced her 24 year old (and never repaired) Kitchen Aid Superba with a new one. It was still running well, but she was remodeling her kitchen and wanted a new one. Her new one looks very much like Scott's machine on the inside. I don't remember the controls but I do remember how much I liked the rack configuration. She does have the hidden controls like Scotts, and I know she has the delay start because she uses it every day.

Her old one had the lights on the left and the buttons on the right. Like the machine on the right in the attached picture. I can remember the Soak and Scrub cycle. It would heat the water, wash for a minute or two and sit for a little while. Then it would repeat it a number of times. While it was sitting you could hear the water heating in the bottom of the tub. I sure wish they made machines these days with that kind of quality. That machine was built like a tank.

1-7-2005-06-40-2--chachp.jpg
 
Chachp:

Great pics--Yep, for sure that none spliting silverware basket would drive me nuts as well.

Would love to see an inside of an old Maytag toploader. All the pictures i've seen of them are only outside of the machines--never any of the racking inside.

AAAHHH--the good ole KitchenAids--those are one of my first loves. Built like a tank, cleaned everything and every quick cycles. Full loads of dishes washed, rinsed and dryed in 45 to 59 mins. And to think back then people thought those cycles ran long--LOL
 
Packing it

I have indeed become the Bosch "cheerleader". When I remodeled my home last year, I put in one of the new Kitchenaid dishwashers ... was so disappointed in the washing ability that I gave this new machine to my sister and got myself another Bosch (I had one in my last home and loved it). I can pack some serious dished into this machine and I never pre-rinse, but I get great results every time. Todd
 
washing ability

I'm, surprised your KA(WP) disappointed in washing ability, seems like most any modern dishwasher does at least a good job of washing these days, what in particular was disappointing about the washing ability? And I assume your sister has lower standards and hasn't complained. What did it replace at her house?
 
Interesting. I have a friend here in Little Rock who has been complaining about her 2 year old Kitchen Aid dishwasher. She says it does a very poor job of cleaning. I asked the obvious questions like what kind of water she has, what soap she uses, what cycles she uses. She says she has had the repair people out a number of times and no one can figure out why it cleans so poorly. Had it been me, I would have insisted it be replaced but she didn't do that and now she feels it's too late.

I would have agreed with you KM1978 had I not heard of my friends problems. I wonder if both my friend and Todd just got a lemon. I have always had good luck with Kitchen Aid dishwashers. As I mentioned earlier in this post, my sister recently replaced her 24 year old model with a new one and loves it. Her old one was a Superba and it never had a repair. It was still running strong when she replaced it.
 
I too am a die-hard KitchenAid fan. I have owned Superbas since my first KDS-17 in 1977 in Chicago. When I moved back from California a few years ago, I bought the TOL tall tub KitchenAid. Quiet indeed. Cleans ok but doesn't dry like the flow thru of the older models. Finally found this one and had it shipped from Palm Springs to Chicago. The installer said he had never seen a new $1,200 dishwasher replaced with a 30 year old machine. I guess I buck the trend. I love this KDS-17. Elegant and washes like there is no tomorrow.

1-8-2005-10-32-1--fnelson487.jpg
 
That is a fabulous dishwasher! I have been to Fred's house and he has many wonderful appliances and vacuums! :)
 
PS - How about this KitchenAid

Thanks Scott! Thought I would also include this picture of the KDI-14P that I also had installed in my laundry room off the kitchen after the KDS-17 was installed. Alas the drain valve is faulty but Greg in Omaha is coaching me through getting it apart to repair. It's a shame because the machine is like new. I also had a Maytag WU 900 (all buttons) in CA that I really liked. Cleaned fabulous but sounded like a jet engine on takeoff in the kitchen.

1-8-2005-10-50-40--fnelson487.jpg
 
Speaking of KA, my buyers don't want the KUDS22, they want the new GE moved over from the new house (which kinda had been mentioned to them as a possibility).

I could have the KA installed in the utility room as a spare/complement to the F&P. I think the KA has much more personality than the GE. :-)

The GE can be seen in the background here:

1-8-2005-14-18-15--DADoES.jpg
 
Is that a Pilot light????

In the pictures of the white and avacado Maytag Portables I noticed that there seems to be a little red light on the left side of the control panel...is that a pilot light (as they called them in the 1950's) that lets you know when the dishwasher is on???? As for the belt drive Maytags...we had a 1979 U201 (I believe that is the correct model number), which was the next step up from the bottom, in Harvest Gold and that thing was not only noisy but on any cycle less than regular it wouldn't wash worth a crap (and it didn't do that good of job on the regular cuycle either, come to think of it). It was built like a tank though and we had it until October 1996 when the timer went out a week before my sisters wedding. I recently found the reciept from Memco for it and was shocked to realize my folks paid over $300 1979 dollars for that mess. My mom told that she didn't have it installed two weeks before she had to have the service guy come out and replace the heater fan because it was bent and kept making a knocking noise during the drying cycle. If I am ever able to get a vintage dishwasher it will be GE, Frigidaire, or Kitchen Aid all the way. PAT COFFEY
 
I never had any of the problems appliguy mentioned with my old Maytag. Yes, It was louder than the dishwashers on the market today. But that Maytag never, ever let me down with cleaning. I'm one who doesn't believe in pre-rinsing before loading and that Maytag cleaned like a charm everytime. I would have a hard time choosing between a vintage Maytag or KitchenAid tho. Both were fabulous machines
 
The Maytag Jetclean dishwashing system has never let me down either and I like the "upside down" loading, the capacity is tremendous for a vintage dishwasher. This avocado machine is a great cleaning dishwasher too and noticably quieter than the belt-driven design but part of the fun of a vintage machine is the noise and sounds of it getting the dishes clean.
 
We must have got a lemon

After reading Greg and Roberts posts and talking to a neighbor who had the same dishwasher we had, only hers was a year newer, I surmise my folks just ended up with a plain old lemon. My neighbor loved hers too and the only reason she got rid of it is because like ours the timer went out. She replaced hers with a 1998 Whirlpool which she likes ALMOST as much as her old Maytag. PAT
 
Mixed reviews

My Mothers girlfriend built a house in 1975 and put in the middle of the line Maytag dishwasher. She complained all the time about it. She said it didn't clean near as well as her old GE portable. They way she griped about it, I don't know why they didn't just rip it out and put in something different. I am also not aware of what other factors were involved with her dissatisfaction, such as water temp and hardness. I just know she did not like her Maytag DW.
 
KDS-17

fnelson487,

Cory and I just picked up this little ditty - saved her from the lethal crusher! It looks exactly like yours, but mine is white instead of SS. Was it an option on this model to get a variety of colors, or were you limited to just SS or white? I've always wondered if you 'picked' the color of a Kitchen-Aid as you would a car, or a fridge? Also, it needs a new motor - does the motor in a KDS-17A match with most others from the era? Thanks for the help!

Ben

(Cor - post a pic if you don't mind....)
 
When my family bought a KDI-17a back in 1975, the machine didn't include front panels. The buyer selected panels from a choice of colors, including stainless steel (which is what we got), brushed chrome, a frame for a custom wood panel, and the other standard color choices of the era. I know there was an extra charge for stainless, but I don't know if the 'base' price included a choice of white, avocado, gold, etc., or if there was a charge for *any* selection.
 
KDS-17 Front Panels

Ben - One of the beauties of the KitchenAid dishwashers of this era was what they called Vari-front panels. They generally had a rainbow of front panels to choose from of colors that were popular at the time. My first KDS-17 in Chicago was order with a edged-coppertone front which matched the first kitchen it was in and when I moved and took the KDS-17 with me I ordered harvest gold. Yikes!!! how tastes change. One of the options was a front panel that you could add your own panel to. This generally involved inserting a wood panel to match your cabinets. St. Charles Kitchens also matched formica to their cabinets - quite classy. I believe that KitchenAid was the first to offer this. Back in those days it was the height of the custom kitchen to have a built-in flush mounted KitchenAid with a front that matched the cabinets. The dishwasher blended in to the cabinets with the top panel the only indication that it was a dishwasher. Similar to the Sub-Zero and other built-in refrigerators of today. I have a brochure for the KDS-18 with no less than 10 front panels showing. The KitchenAids of this era also offered a stainless steel interior as an option - way ahead of its time. If you check out the KitchenAid site I believe that you can still get front panels for this machine. I was lucky enough to find one with a stainless steel front that blends in perfectly with my kitchen. Any other front can be powder-coated or painted to match.

Fred
 
maytag dishwasher

step mom had a maytag she used for years, but she said it was the sorriest dishwasher she ever owned. Went back to a kitchenaid. I don't think it was so bad, she just had a bug in her head about it. She hates her Buick LeSabre also. I can't find anything wrong with it. Go figure.
 
dislikes

She's probaly one of those people who drive me crazy that say they say they don't like something, but can never tell you exactly what it is when you try and pin them down to specific.
 

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