The KD-19 that wasn't a KD-19

[mrcleanjeans]

Alright.It seems to me that the KD-19 is liked the least of all Hobart machines. Who has therefore taken one and surgically installed a heater-blower assembly on it and tinkered with the timer to rearrange when it preheats the water.It does have the longer wash arm not on the KD-18,so there's a plus in it's favor. But it WOULD make way more sense to heat the main wash to 150 instead of the prewash.And one could make that 140 for main wash and last rinse instead of 150
if there was a heated dry.BTW,was the 1100 watt heater-blower on the 17 much better than the 800 watt heater-blower of the 18? Would love all your feedback and thoughts.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Now I have to experiment...

In our haulaways today, I just found what I belive is a KDS-19 in black. I'll take some pics and will be experimenting with it tomorrow...

RCD

 

[tomturbomatic]

The 1100 watt dry heater dried better, but was hell on the coating of the lower rack that rested over it. The wattage was dropped for energy savings, but it was better for the rack. If you could substitute a timer from a KDS-18 and the door to have the right cycle buttons, you could make a decent dishwasher out of a 19, even if you did not change the blower for drying; just use the SaniRinse cycle to heat the load.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

Interesting stuff. More from others?

 

[roberth58]

Well I did it the hard way and added a heater from a KDC-20 to my KDS-19. Bit of a pain to do since I had to cut the inlet from the bottom of the 20 tub and JB weld it on to the 19 since the inlet on the 19 is plastic and wouldn't take the heat. Also used a SSR to power the element triggered by the fan. Well worth the hassle, its now an excellent washer and everything comes out clean and dry. Will keep me happy until I stumble across a KDS-18. I have been told its an easier swap if you have the parts from a 21 or 22, stevet can give a you a list of exact parts required.

Bob H.

 

[stevet]

I was about to say...

You all did it the hard way.. There is an easier way, but remember one very important thing.. the wiring for the plastic blower was only a 16 gauge wire IIRC and will not carry the current of the 800 watt blower safely nor at all if you happen to rig uo the 1100 watt job!
Other electrical items need to be added for safer operation in my opinion.
Regardless of the segment that heats the water, the machine cleans just as well as the 18 and 20 and it does maintain wash heating as well thru the cycles.
The real annoying item with it was the cold air drying. It worked well in theory in the lab or in ideal installations, but it did not take long to revert back to the heated dry with the heat off option in the 20.

Isn't it ironic how Hobart took the lead in energy savings and nobody was ready to embrace it. Yet today, we accept not very dry dishes and exceedingly long cycle times from our dishwashers all in the name of energy efficiency!

Give me a shout if you want more specifics on the conversion, as I did it to my 19 before the timer blew out and was nowhere to be found or rebuilt. It WAS the BEST drying Kitchenaid D/W I have ever had with the retrofit. And it cleaned great too!