Our 72 Roto-Rack Dishwasher!!!

[powerfin64]

Hi Everyone! Thought everybody would like to see our 72 portable Roto-Rack dishwasher, got from Craigslist for $75.00.
From the looks of it, it hasn't been used in a long time, was fairly dusty.
Is in great shape, tines are in perfect condition, timer and lights work, Roars and throws water big time!!

 

[powerfin64]

front control panel..(tried to resize the picture a bit)

 

[appnut]

yeah Rich, it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

[powerfin64]

for you Bob..

cycle buttons

 

[powerfin64]

cycle Dial.

 

[powerfin64]

hygenic rinse

 

[powerfin64]

both racks..

 

[appnut]

Thanks Rich. I have such fond memories of our 1970 and 1972 RotoRacks. I particularly liked the pump, which was a bit different in how it started up, in the 1972 model. The closeups are greatly appreciated (sniffle sniffle).

 

[powerfin64]

lower wash arm and tub

 

[appnut]

I liked these color racks better than the 1970s avocado color.

 

[powerfin64]

( your welcome Bob)

the roto- rack!

 

[appnut]

Now, if ya need tips on loading the rotorack, I could load it like nobody's bizness!!!

 

[powerfin64]

this was a tricky shot to do...

roto-rack spray tube..

 

[appnut]

A "potent" dishwasher lol.

 

[powerfin64]

LOL, I know chris will have NO problems doing a Bob-load!

tub and rack and silverware basket

 

[powerfin64]

trick question...

anyone know what this is?( I do )

 

[appnut]

That's for the forced-air drying

 

[appnut]

Warning, that heating element glows red during the dry cycle when you open the door in the dark.

 

[powerfin64]

hoses and power cord compartment(btw.. this is where the drying vent is too!)

 

[powerfin64]

got these too with it!

 

[powerfin64]

correct..

that is the air exhaust port, pulls the heated air from the tub up to the back of the machine, and out the hose compartment.

 

[powerfin64]

I ran the sani-wash the night I got it, and man, the last rinse water gets SCALDING hot!!but everything got clean.

 

[appnut]

That sani-rinse is 155 degrees

 

[peteski50]

72 Roto-Rack

Rich,
This is a real awsome dishwasher!
Best Of Luck with it
Peter

 

[rollermatic]

love your roto rack!

i use my top load version all the time and as you said it really heats that water in the sani rinse! everything always comes out clean.

i have a front loader like yours with the yellow racks i got from a guy in tenn last year but it has a bad leak around the left side of the door. seeing your pics and how much fun you're havin with your machine is prompting me to get mine out and work on it some more.

they really were unique dishwashers in the 60's and 70's with that top roto rack design. i used to love looking at them in the sears catalog!

pumps and motors are still available and plentiful too should you ever need them.

great pics! loved lookin at them!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

A gem!

That is a real beauty! Great save, especially with the vintage dishwasher detergent boxes and sachets!! The roto-rack is such a cool machine - I am sure you'll have "loads" of fun!! LOL
Congratulations!!!

 

[toggleswitch2]

Grew up with a permanently installed version of that machine.

Was a model-year later, in that momma's had a "hot" and "cool" dry selector.

Hers was a model "up" with two lights over those elongated pushbuttons and four neon indicator lights for temeperature behind script writing saying:

"COOL"
"NORMAL"
"SANI" and
(time) "DELAY"

The sequences were W-R-R-W-R-R-Dry for the "Normal" wash. Light wash was R-W-R-R-Dry (which was the cycle of choice in our home; everything was pre-washed to within an inch of its life).

The bad thing about the fan is that it sucked out. Rotted all the cabinetry. If it blew in, it would have rusted and rotted all the wiring in the front foor wiring "chase". (See panel #39971 for the air vents at the bottom of the door).

The only air vent to the outside from the front of the machine was surrounding the door latch slot which was I'd say was 4 inches(102mm), or maybe slightly less in width.

Mother toggle's model had the loudest blower fan. Had to wedge a thin board between it and the body of machine (procelain tub) to keep vibrations tolerable.

Have fun with it its a powerhouse. Be careful with acids (coffee, lemon juice, vinegar, wine tomato sauce/juice) they will dissolve the porcelain.

 

[gansky1]

That's the exact model we had - our first dishwasher, in white with avocado trim around the work-top. Looks like that machine had a wash-arm transplant at some point.

This is my current Roto - a never used 74 from Denver. They are fun machines.

 

[roto204]

Wash-arm

Good eye, Greg--I thought the Rotos had the wide-slot arms; the many-small-holed arms came later (so I thought). Great arm, though--I prefer that one to the version with slots.

What is that shield over the sump for? I never could figure that out, and the later models with the standard middle wash-arm and square upper-rack seemed to omit it. (Makes removing the wash-arm support a relative PITA.)

 

[combo52]

Sump cover D&M dishwashers

The black Bakelite cover was to hide the rust in the sump area that often showed up before the year warranty was over. D&M dishwashers from about 1967 on were at least a tie for the worst built dishwashers ever the late 70s early 80s White-Westinghouse machines were about as bad. The D&Ms had some fun features and ever one remembers them but the only ones you will ever see today in good shape had very little use.