Questions about a Waste-King dishwasher

[turquoisedude]

Back during the age of lockdowns and border closures, I still managed to find some interesting vintage appliances... like this what I guess to be early 60s Waste King dishwasher.

Long story short, it was found, shipped to a friend's place in Ohio, then I finally picked it up last fall.  Today, I finally got around to inspecting and trying it.  I move a LOT slower than I used to (arthritis sucks...)

But the good news is the dishwasher started right up!!

Timer advances, pump motor started up and runs surprisingly quietly and the fill and drain solenoids seem to still work!

The lighted Waste king Universal badge is very cool!

 

[repairguy]

Congrats Paul!

 

[turquoisedude]

Now for the question....

Does anyone have a service manual or parts list for this model?

 

Someone did some electrical jiggery-pokery at some point, disconnecting the heater unit and jumpering the wires that would have gone to the thermostat.   My theory is that the machine was intended to run the main wash cycle for as long as it took to get the wash water to a specific temperature.  The thermostat tested open, so I guess the dishwasher had an infinite wash with near-boiling water.   But why the heater unit was disconnected is a mystery.  My best guess is that someone was very energy-concious and wanted to air-dry at all times.

 

Any suggestions about a replacement thermostat are welcome.

 

[appnut]

The only delayed water heating was the final rinse on the normal cycle. Water didn't circulat while it was heating water. Pots/Pans stopped after the 1st post-wash rinse. I'm swooning at the sight of the lighted badge. Makes me think of my mom on Mother's day. My mom just manually advanced the timer on the final rinse to water circulation if she didn't want the full water heat to 165 degrees. Especiaally when washing her china.

 

[appnut]

I believe this is probably a year newer model than ours was. Remember, this dishwasher was purchased while we were at the old house (sometime at late 1959 at the earliest) and brought it with us when we brought the new house (September 1961) and my dad installed the Tappan/O'Keefe & Merrit Dual Drench dishwasher from the new house at our old house). I vaguely remember what was most likely the Portable top loading Waste King at the dealer. Our lighted badge and timer dial had a 2-tone teal/turquoise theme. The timer dial had to be replaced as the plastic wore out from the dial being pulled out to start. The replacement dial was just like the above so it was a big contrast from the old theme.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Waste King Top Loading Portable Dishwasher

Appnut: Did they all have the matte black cover? Did they all have the hole in the lid for the timer dial? Did they all have the orange interior with the big Z shaped wash arm?

Turquoisedude: Congrats on the acquisition of the Waste King!

 

[appnut]

Tom, I was 5-6 y/o at the time. All I remember is the orange interior and what I came to know what the wierd wash arm I'd not seen before.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I was a few years older, but those are what I remember, too. I have never seen any literature nor even an ad for the machine, but it was lined up in a row of portable dishwashers in our branch of Rich's Department store in 1961, or 62 when portable dishwashers were really a hot appliance.

 

[chachp]

So excited..

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Paul, I am so excited to see you working on this one.  I can't wait to see it in action.  </span>

 

[rinso]

For a few model years, Waste King dishwashers had a quirky but non-mechanical detergent dispenser. It had two compartments on the sides that would fill with water during the pre-rinse. The right one had a small hole of which the water could slowly drain out, unbalancing the dispenser on its rotating hinge and causing the mechanism to tip over and dispense detergent. Ingenious, but prone to not tipping if an errant food particle should find its way to the drain hole. My aunt had one for many years and she said the dispenser always worked fine.

 

[appnut]

EuGene, the description you provided sounded just like Hotpoint's detergent dispenser. In 1958 they had their first spray arm dishwasher model and the owners manual describes the detergent dispenser in the door and its process/design during the prewassh and main wash. [this post was last edited: 5/14/2023-12:10]

 

[turquoisedude]

Further testing

I found a copy of a users manual for this dishwasher (a scan from a fellow collector) and was hoping to find out a little more about the cycling operation of this machine.   The question in my head was how the heater unit was powered with a jumpered connection to the thermostat. 

 

I used a C9 light socket hooked up to the heater circuit and observed that the circuit was being cycled by the timer.  During the wash period and during a pause in the 2nd rinse, I observed that power was feeding to the heater connections.  There was a brief pause in the 2nd rinse where the heater circuit was 'on' - this is where I figure the thermostat took over and kept the timer paused until the desired water temperature had been reached. 

 

During the dry phase of the cycle, I had read in the manual that the drying temperature was 'controlled'.  What I observed was that the timer was cycling current on and off to the heater.  And I had the crap scared out of me when the drain solenoid snapped open with a savage clunk.... LOL   The pump kicked in a moment later, no doubt to drain out any accumulated drips from the drying operation à la Frigidaire Spin-Tube.  

 

Just based on these observations, I would imagine that just reconnecting the heater will not be an issue... UNLESS there are timer contact problems but my logic is that if the light bulb worked, then the heater should also work. 

 

I'm still curious about the thermostat and what the specs are for it.  The user guide mentions heating water to 155 degrees which sounds like what the D&M/Kenmore machines in my stable do...  I'll do some more digging and I will be testing the tank and pump for leaks soon. 

 

Whee!!! 

 

[appnut]

Paul, there's so much I take for granted because I remember so much about it. To me, things seemed normal. I.E. the pump out during the tail end of the dry cycle. Our 1968 WK did this too. My Bosch does the same thiing, albeit right before the dry cycle ends. And that makes me think of this/our WK.

 

[turquoisedude]

Bob, I guess I have too much "GE History" where after the last rinse drain the pump stayed off.   I got surprised by the 62 KDS54 when I thought I could disconnect and store the hoses after the last rinse drain.  Nope.... LOL 

 

The current daily driver at the "city" house is that 66 Frigidaire Custom Imperial and, like the 63 Whirlpool that was installed before, there's a pump-out at the very end of the dry cycle.  I'm getting used to that now... LOL 

 

[jamiel]

WK seemed to make a big deal about the "sealed drying chamber"...maybe that was the impetus of the final pump-out (though I guess the pop-up dry of like a James or a Youngstown may have been what they were opposing).

 

[turquoisedude]

Applying some heat

Today's test: reconnect the heater and see what happens...

As I suspected, the heating unit came on during the main wash. It got hot and a bit smoky due to accumulated shmutz on the heater coil.  

Next up:  water testing!  It'll be a chance to flush out the dirt and dust from the tub.

 

[turquoisedude]

Waste King progress

I completed several successful water tests this weekend, minus the thermostat.  As expected, the heater was on during the main wash and there was a brief pause in the second rinse to boost the hot water temperature.   I still have to remove and test that thermostat, but I couldn't resist taking apart the control panel to give a thorough cleaning.   It made a huge difference!  I also washed down the wood front panel with a wood soap, then buffed it up with some lemon oil.  Again, huge difference.  

 

[peteski50]

WasteKing!

Paul you did a beautiful job on this dishwasher
Best of Luck
Peter

 

[tomturbomatic]

Beautimous!