The moment you've all been waiting for...1975 Whirlpool Imperial 540 Automatic Dishwasher!!!

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Good eye bob,i was about to post that too.The wp bottom line of today was the mid seventies tol machine.

The normal cycle on my machine consists of a rinse,then the main wash and two rinses after.

I have to say WP is definitely good at clean up and refridgeration.
 
Somebody help me

Exactly when did Whirlpool start making dishwashers? I know they have at least been around since 1960, but before that?
 
WoW!!!

Don't you just love it when people take GOOD care of there appliances? (It sure pays off later on!) I was suprised by how much this one looks like my 1971/1972 whirlpool under-counter model; yours has the exact spray arm, exact front, and exact timer. The one I have, has been in my kitchen since '71/'72 and is still in "like-new" cond.
Speaking of long-lasting whirlpool appliances, my '66 rca whirlpool dryer, and '60 rca-whirlpool refrigerator, are still going strong!
 
1959 was the first RCA Whirlpool with the revolving spray arm principle that KitchenAid started for home use in 1949.Believe it or not, Whirlpool started making electric dishwashers around 1914,consisting of a round metal tub,a motor driven impeller, the racks,you'd load the machine, pour 1 gal. boiling water in the tub with a pinch of soap ,and washing soda,if needed,let run a few minutes manually drain into a bucket, repeat with clear water, lift lid, air dry.1935, dishwashers became automatic, starting with Hotpoint.In the 50s, only KitchenAid had a revolving wash arm,with 3 exceptions. In 1950, a private inventer with The American DW co.made a spray arm machine, and was fast gone.Around 1955, came the Waste King, which was the 1st with multiple cycles, having a floating power arm with 58 jets. In 1958, Hotpoint changed to the spray arm design, calling theirs Double Deck washing, consisting of a lower arm, a fixed tower with an oversized circular frisbee shaped head with spray jets. The 1959 RCA Whirlpool with filter stream washing, a single spray arm design, outcleaned ALL dishwashers ever made up until then, due to a great sprayer, a filter that gratly resembles today's euros , and an excellent cycle design. No puny 5 min. wash,two 1 min. rinses here. It had a pre-rinse, THEN the 1ST wash ,another rinse, a second 15.5 minute wash, two more rinses, dry. It was great, I had a portable version of it.
 
YAY for Whirlpool. Has ALWAYS been my favorite brand of appliance. I do remember reading about CU testing the 1959 W/P dishwasher, saying it was the best performer. They go on to say it cleaned better than the other machines WITHOUT detergent than the others did WITH detergent!!!!!!!!
 
Congrats Retra

Well Done!!! Well Done!!!!
Bravo!!!; Venus. Wonderful that it has the porce/enamel door
too. In this new place I just got there is a Tall Tub Frigidaire. It seems to clean fine but I just hate loading the
silver ware and for that matter the racks bug me too. I always get "loading lock" on anything but my Wp. That Imperial looks pristine. I can't wait to see your next Vintage Find!!!
Dare
 
Agiflo, I hate to tell you, your "Normal" cycle used to be what WP and others called the short or light wash. All WP did was "rename" the cycle as "normal" so they could attain the energy star emblem. Today, on models with the "heavy" awsh cycle, it's as close to what Venus' SuperWash (Normal) cycle is. And Pots & Pans is what SuperScour is. Friends of mine have a mechanical Kenmore WP produced PowerClean dishwasher. PnP is Heated Wash, rinse, Heated wash, rinse, and heated final rinse. Heavy is Prewash, wash, rinse, rinse. Normal is Wash, rinse, and rinse.
 
Right exactly appnut,....if i choose heavy wash on my machine,it has the 1st wash a rinse,main wash and two rinses after.P&P on my machine is the same setup as heavy wash,but the
two main washes and the final rinse is heated to 145 degrees automatically.

Does your ge dw consist of two washes in the normal cycle?
 
Agiflow, I use my Light Soil cycle a lot---it's the same as other's "Normal" cycle. Pre-wash, rinse, heated main wash, and two rinses. Normal is pre-wash, two rinses, main wash, and 3 rinses. PotsCrubber is like Normal, but has a more extended heated main wash that's hotter.
 
All this dishwasher talk is making me look forward to tonights dinner party im having.I just made a big pot of red sauce(or as some of us with Italian blood would call it ..gravy ;))
Ahh meatblls, sausage,pork and a nice antipasta. YUM! Yes the old girl is certainly gonna get a work out tonight.
 
Miss the timer knob control...

Congratulations! What a find.

Early 60’s a neighbor had Whirl built-in, bow tie impellor, circular load bottom and top rack, center silver basket, smaller detergent strainer, top rack (semi adjustable; not on rollers but “slides” extremely difficult to push in/out), aqua interior, enormousness control knob, red beacon light and a chimney like vent method. I guess water vapor/moisture exited into the surrounding cabinetry.

71’ Florida vacation house had Whirl DW very similar to yours. Same big latch, not 2 speed, same cycles and enormous control knob. Detergent dispenser was very narrow and with magnetic latch on main cup.

CR for most of 60’s/early 70’s rated Whirls as best buy; close runner up Kenmore and the followed by basic GE.

I recently purchased the top of the MOL Whirlpool DW just beneath “tall tub“ with soil senor. It has adjustable top rack, direct feed upper wash arm and “anywhere” silver basket. The basic work horse, vertical mounted motor and with 8” motor panel. Gone is timer knob. Now “touch pads”. Sad and annoyingly it has needed 4 repair calls. Also, too much time spent with Whirl and repairman. They haven’t been trained. Rinse aid dispenser missing a part.

The manual states cycle progression. This is the “Energy Star“ rated cycle. “Normal” = main wash, followed by a “purge”/rinse and final rinse heated to 140F. Finally got micro processor and circuit board replaced. The only cycle that follows what the manual states is Pots-n-Pans. “Heavy” = brief none heated pre-wash, optional heated to 140F main wash, “purge”/rinse (doesn’t do that but a full fill first rinse like that of P/P and auto heated 140F final rinse. “Normal” still doesn’t follow manual explanation. It consists of a brief pre rinse, main wash, full fill first rinse (not “purge”/rinse) and final auto heated 140F rinse.

I have given up. Very pleased with performance. 9 out 10 times use P/P cycle. Rarely the others. Whirlpool “customer care” cannot explain nor repairman what is the cause of it not following the stated format. Go figure? Wish Whirl hadn’t done away with the old timer knob.
 
Appnut: Extra Rinse ...

Hello. Party Cycle is not complaining. Regarding the “extra rinse fill“. I totally agree with you.

What-the-Hell! Always been a proponent of extra rinses!

“Tad bit” concerned as to whether, or not, as soon as warranty expires. The “touch pad” cycle selection circuit board will completely fail. “Murphy’s Law”. $$$
 
Oh My GOD!!!!!

This is the exact same dishwasher I grew up with. The only difference was mom's had a woodgrain panel to match the kitchen cabinets and the dispenser was long and narrow with a magnetic lid. Her's was new in 1974. This is totally unbeleivable. Brings back happy childhood memories. Congrats Austin and Venus. And Venus for heavens sake listen to your son and stop Pre-Rinsing.

Christopher
 
Yes, I believe my aunt's undercounter model 440 was a mate to this one. Hers had four cycles -- Super Scour (A), Super Wash (Normal) (B), Rinse Hold (C), and Short (D). It didn't have the extra cutlery basket or the adjustable upper rack.

Interesting that no one has explained the 2 speeds. I don't know for sure, but I don't think it has a 2-speed motor. I think the lower speed (for China Crystal) is from either a half-fill, or by an aeration valve tied into the pump.

Magic Clean, perhaps you can provide the details??
 
Austin/Venus

Sorry to be responding so late about the noise of the WP-I think in general, portables are noisier than built-ins having all 4 exposed sides instead of one. Now there are certain makes and models which I'm sure are the exceptions to the rule, but I can still remember a 1970 Frigidaire custom deluxe portable that we owned which was quite noisy. A lot of vibration on the panels. This dw even had a brief drain with pump during the dry cycle which removed moisture from the tub-I have yet to see any I've owned since do that.
 
noisy WP dishwasher

my 88 built-in WP has a fiberglass mat the completely encloses all sides of the DW (much more than my old '78 KM DW did). One could probably get that mat as a part, and adapt it to the portable with skillful use of scissors.
 
WP cleaning better than Bosch

I wouldn't be surprised if the WP cleans at least as well as the Bosch, though probably not "better", and as we know, somewhat noisier.
 
Hi Pat & Jaune,

I ran a "half pre-rinsed" test load a week ago on the Super Scour cycle, and everything came out spotless. Yes, it is MUCH noisier than the Bosch (the Bosch's sound resembles a clothes dryer if you can believe that...), but cleans just as well.

I'm going to have to try a full non-rinsed load to see the TRUE cleaning power! And yes I will take pictures!

--Austin
 
TRUE cleaning power

The acid test will be if the WP can get a full non-pre-rinsed load clean on it's "Normal" cycle. I really like the "swooshing" sound my WP makes, makes me feel that there's some real "action" going on in there.
 
Whirlpool in the movies?

Since we're talking about vintage Whirlpools....I was watching Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds" (1963.) There is a scene where Rod Taylor's mother is loading a built in dishwasher. All you can see is the upper rack, but it's somewhat of an unusual design in the rack hangs down from the supports rather than the support slides being mounted at the bottom of the upper rack. Was this a early 60's Whirlpool? For you movie trivia buffs who might remember this scene.

Barry
 

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