Question about vintage Whirlpool dishwasher

[thomasortega]

Hey guys!

I have a small question about the Brastemp Dishwasher we had in Brazil from 1977 to early 1990's.

It was built in Brazil by Brastemp, but everybody knew all Brastemp products had Whirlpool projects.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from my first or the second dishwasher, but here goes some details about it that might help you identify the machine and let me know the equivalent model in the U.S.

-- The control panel had a small inclination upwards, to help seeing the programs on the dial.
-- The dial was on the right, the indicator dot was a very small round LED (red when machine was running)
-- the lower arm was stainless steel or aluminum, right on the center there was a big white plastic screw with a hole to feed the upper arm.
-- two floaters on each back corner, do detect water level
-- the lower rack holded plates on both sides, facing to the center. two silverware baskets and a void right in the center of the lower rack to let the water jet reach the upper rack.
-- the filter was something like 1/4 of a ring, located at 3 o clock position.
-- the upper rack holded small dishes on the right side, facing to the front and the glasses. on the left side. The dishes part design somehow reminds a "W"
-- the door was usuallly a little bit difficult to close. the lock handle was square and had to be pulled up to open (usually difficult to open too so we'd have to pull the lock and then pull the door at the same time).
-- Inside the door, there was the rinse aid dispenser (left part, top) and right below it was the detergent dispenser (round, with two compartments and a small cover turned to reach the other side. so dumb that if you turn the dial more than once to find the desired cycle, the lid cover would open and release both detergent doses all at once.
-- the pump wasn't so noisy, but the unsulation was really poor. I remember I could hear the dishwasher running from my bedroom. water jets were so strong that it was very normal to find some glasses full of water after the cycle was done. I've never seen it running with open doors, but the water noise sounded like Robert's KA. not like these modern crap that sounds like a decorative fountain.
-- sometimes it also used to break glasses (they would fly and hit the top of the machine) and was also very normal to find most of the cutlery (usually small coffee spooons) on the bottom of the machine.
-- and finaly, it cleaned like a beast. even baked on foods on trays and pans.

So, what machine was that? Did Whirlpool have a machine like that in the U.S.? How was it compared to the other machines from same years?

And (try not to laugh) even today, most of the homes in Brazil don't have a dishwasher. Now much more people have them, but still a very small percentual of consumers. And more than 90% of consumers that have a dishwasher, use it a lot on the first weeks and then started to use it as a "junk holder" and continue doing dishes manually and use the machine only on holidays, when the house is really full of guests, IF THE GUESTS DON'T HELP DOING THE DISHES MANUALLY. Oh, and most of the people tend to wash everything manually before loading the dishwasher.
Even worse, most of the people say "a dishwasher won't clean as well as handwashing and pans can't be washed in them"

 

[eronie]

sounds to me like a brastemp kitchenaid!!! whirlpool has been with ka for a long time!! brastemp has alwawy took world teck

 

[thomasortega]

Maybe...

The very first model was made by Hobart and had a different design but some of the parts were similar to the next model. (1st lasted less than a year) then the second model remained on the market until early/mid 90's with only cosmetic changes outside.

By the way, we never had the very famous KA design, with the very heavy "+" spray arm. Since the very fist model it was a very light "~" with the hole in the center to feed the upper arm.

also, the machine was much bigger than a vintage KA and also had very different design from it everywhere.

The lock on the first Brastemp was an upside down "T" and it had some push buttons on the left and the dial on the right. The Brastemp logo was on the T.

I was never into dishwashers. I have two only because i bought a compact model to my new kitchen when i moved, it's built in but after some time I realized it was too small for us, so last year I got a second one, that my sister bought in 1990 but never opened the box and installed it countertop, next to the sink, but as the Brastemp talk came up in my mind after the baby mondial, I started to think about the old models we had and I was curious about it.

Maybe someday I'll remodel my kitchen and get a big DW again and get rid of these two small units, or maybe keep one of them to wash random items.

 

[thomasortega]

Yep...

Brasmotor's first technology was Hotpoint. They started building Hotpoint refrigerators in Brazil.

In 1950's they started making their own refrigerators. With very good technology (All by Brasmotor), so they created the Brastemp brand.

Of course the product range had to grow, so they bought Whirlpool technology to make the washers. Even the first Brastemp washer was made in Brazil, with Whirlpool technology (looks like a Lady Kenmore) but with a touch of brazilian design.

From 1959 to 1989 all of Brastemp machines had Whirlpool projects with a touch of Brastemp. Only in 1978/1979 Brastemp tried by the first time to make their own washer, Brastemp Minimatica. It had a Whirlpool agitator (3 straight vanes), was automatic but had no spin. It was made to be cheap. But the idea didn't work because it was too expensive if compared to other similar washers and the model was killed a few years later. Also, the machine was a POS.

in 1990, Brastemp launched Mondial, again together with Whirlpool, but it was the opposite. Whirlpool didn't sell another project to Brastemp. Some of the technologies applied to the World Washer was created by Brastemp, Whirlpool worked together. Everybody won because it was a good idea (at least in theory). Coincidently, that wonderful suspension system was created by mechanical engineering students in São Paulo. It was cheap to produce, easy to assemble and allowed the machine to have higher spin speeds even being so light. I remember the first time I looked at that machine, shocked and wondering how could they make it so simple and efective, 60% faster to be produced, using less parts, much smaller outside and bigger inside and much lighter without afecting the quality. It was a machine that everybody would look at them in stores and be sure the quality was enhanced, not like the modern crap we have today. A machine made to last more than vintage models. Almost a miracle. Even better, it was made to never have problems but if it happens, it was much easier to fix.

Brastemp (now called Multibras) showed they did their homework and learned how to make excellent machines. Actually, they were building the best top loaders in the world at that time. Almost as reliable as a Miele front loader.

Brastemp secret was put quality beyond profit and then compensate that on the final price. Brastemp could be even 150% or 200% more expensive than other machines, and people wouldn't mind because they knew it worth every cent.

Whirlpool realized they wouldn't have more profit selling projects and Brastemp was growing too fast (bought Consul, Semer and Geral) and it could be a rock in their shoes if someday Brastemp had the idea to enter the international market. More than fast, they spent millions of dollars and bought Multibras.

If they hadn't done it, maybe today Brastemp would be the world leader, beating Electrolux and Whirlpool and the whole world would have to work hard and offer machines much better than the modern crap of today. Looking by other point of view, that could be a disaster to the economy as everybody would stop buying new washing machines because their machines would last for decades. As everybody knows, most of the ordinary consumers don't replace their washing machines only because the color became out of fashion or because a different cosmetic design was launched. They use it until it dies.

 

[philr]

Since you said it's from 1977, Here's a picture of the Inglis Sterling dishwasher that my parents had when I was a kid. It was from 1976-77. It had no pilot light. Fancier Inglis Royal models had pilot a light (and one for the sanitize cycle) and the Royal 100 had a rapid advance timer with lights for each cycle.

My parents replaced this dishwasher with a slightly newer Kenmore (also a Whirlpool) and it had less features, no adjustable upper rack and only 3 push buttons for cycles instead of 5. It did have a small round amber pilot light. The timer button was a bit smaller than on their previous Inglis (as was the one on my grandmother's Inglis dishwasher from the late seventies) and the design of the push buttons changed but it was still very similar to their previous Inglis Sterling with the same angled aluminum control panel and a plastic door latch under it. I don't think that in the late seventies, any Whirlpool dishwasher had led lights. They had neon lights.

See the link below for a slightly older Inglis Royal 100. (my aunt had one from the mid seventies).
I think that the silver, non replaceable lower panel and door latch design was found all across the Inglis line then. Years ago, another of my aunts gave me an an almost BOL Inglis Superb portable dishwasher with the same door latch and silver lower panel and a friend of mine still has an Inglis Royal (without the rapid advance timer) and the same door latch and silver lower panel.

And speaking of Canadiana, how about a vintage Inglis dishwasher?

Life has kind of gotten in the way of my collecting and restoration work over the past couple of weeks, but I did manage to snag this neat Inglis (or 'Canadian Whirlpool') Royal 100 'Scour Wash' dishwasher. This one has me puzzled as to it's age... My first guess would be mid-70s but the...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[thomasortega]

wooooooo hoooooooooo

almost the same!

it looks like the first Brastemp dishwasher (but made by hobart)
did hobart and inglis have something in common at that time?

upper rack looks exactly like that, but the lower rack is a little bit different.

our machines never had a silverware basket on the door.

the lower spray arm was also different. the same screw, but it's design was with thinner arms and a small curve in the center.

the filter is exactly the same.

plate holders were removable (12 plates on each side of the rack) so after removed, the lower rack would be completelly flat to wash pans.

now we're getting very close to Brastemp...

guys, more info please?

 

[thomasortega]

curious detail that I forgot...

there was also an optional screw, sold at authorized Brastemp service to replace the upper arm feeder screw.

if the upper rack had to be removed for any reason (useful to wash the hood filter, for example)
we could replace the screw and get full power only in lower arm.

the brazilian version always had only one speed. (the only thing was the motor reversing to drain)

 

[philr]

Inglis in Canada was the same as Whirlpool in the US and the Inglis/Whirlpool dishwashers were almost identical but not related to Hobart-Kitchen Aid. Door-mounted silverware baskets (and the useful large cutlery basket on most models) were also a thing found on Whirlpool/Inglis/RCA and Kenmore-badged Whirlpool dishwashers.

Also, the large white plastic filter screen is a Whirlpool design. Hobart-Kitchen Aid has a very different design.