The Youngstown Kitchens Jet-Tower Dishwasher has arrived!

[turquoisedude]

It has been a while since this was posted on the board, but the Jet-Tower dishwasher has finally completed its long journey from Atlanta to Ogden. I had it trucked into Newport, VT and zipped across the border on Friday to pick it up!

 

[turquoisedude]

Any dishwasher with a viewing port has to be fun, right??

 

[turquoisedude]

Funny that it is badged as an “electric sink”... To me the unit looks as if it is truly the ‘stand-alone’ unit. Just an aside, was the name “electric sink” a GE trademark??

 

[turquoisedude]

Tub looks pretty good. A little grime, but no obvious rust or other serious damage.

 

[turquoisedude]

Racks are good, but I am missing the silverware basket., Guess what I’ll be looking for next?? I suppose I could also sub the basket from the 1950 Round GE portable, but I am little ways off a wash test with the Youngstown!!

 

[turquoisedude]

The major components looked OK – very encouraging!

 

[turquoisedude]

Time to apply some power... I started out with the timer. It works!! I tried the drain solenoid next. It also worked!

 

[turquoisedude]

The moment of truth – the motor test... I clicked the ol’ power bar on and heard the motor try to start... but the power bar breaker popped. GRRRR. I was a little disappointed and decided to take a break.

 

[turquoisedude]

I spent the next few hours figuring how and when I could get the motor to my trusted motor repair shop in Magog. I extracted the motor and suddenly it hit me... “DUDE! You’re jumping to conclusions again” I decided to retest the motor... This time it started immediately and ran smoothly with no blown breakers, smoke, flames, or other flying debris. Most encouraging! That’s when another thought hit me: “Check the pump”. New problem found – that pump was frozen as solid as a case of pop left in the car overnight by mistake on a typical Townships February night....

 

[turquoisedude]

It took some doing (I have the cuts on my hands to prove it...) but I got the pump off and open for inspection.... What the heck was this stuff?? Whatever it was, the pump was jam-packed with it!!

 

[turquoisedude]

I scraped, it then tried soaking it in water, but I could not seem to make that impeller budge! The corrosion made me wonder if something like a drain cleaner had gotten poured into it... I am not sure what to do here... Should I be trying to free this with a solvent or something like WD-40 or should I try heating it??

 

[turquoisedude]

While simmering on what to do about the pump, I decided to attack the cabinet and tub. Most of the stuff washed right off with plain warm water!

 

[turquoisedude]

The wash tub is in really good shape alright. I think just a little more gentle scrubbing is all it needs!!

 

[turquoisedude]

This side was obviously the one right by the sink in the dishwasher’s former home. Fortunately, there is no piercing due to rust, but I am going to want to sand this down and treat it properly. Methinks some of that POR-15 stuff for sinks will be just the ticket here. Question: does the upper section of the cabinet (the dishwasher lid section) come off the rest of the cabinet? I saw a couple of screws on the back of the tub and it made me wonder... However, I thought it best to ask BEFORE I go and do something silly!

 

[turquoisedude]

Lid gasket was in surprisingly good shape too! I thought it was crumbling, but it was just caked with flaky grime. I guess the top of the dishwasher had been used as the drainboard for the sink...

 

[turquoisedude]

Bonus hardware: This switch was probably for the original Youngstown disposer in the sink cabinet. Really odd switch and wiring - it's a rotary on-off that only turns clockwise. Kinda off topic, but could this have been a reversing switch??
Anyway,I wasn’t looking for too many summer projects this year, but this one will be a priority!! Stay tuned...

 

[perc-o-prince]

Fantastic find!! I would love to find one. I would make room for the Youngstown. The closest I come is a working store demonstration model!

Enjoy and good luck. Did you try soaking the pump in vinegar. This could possibly clean it. If you see bubbles when in the solution then you know something is being cleaned away.

Rich

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Paul,

Congratulations on getting the Youngstown Dishwasher back to Ogden. I am pleased to hear that it is in pretty good shape.

Regarding the Water Pump - I think I would start soaking it in Limeaway for a few days to see if that will start to loosen the impeller and the green gunk. Other than that, I am not sure what to suggest.

Interesting that the cabinet says "Electric Sink" even though this is a stand-alone unit.

The term "Electric Sink" - I do not believe that it was a patented term. Various sink/dishwasher combo manufactures used the term "Electric Sink", at least from what I see in my vintage magazine ads. However, a 1927 Walker ad called their unit a "Super-Sink." The 1930 Conover brochure called their unit an "Electric Dishwasher Sink." Besides Youngstown, both Westinghouse and General Electric used the term "Electric Sink". Both Crosley and American Kitchens referred to their models as "Dishwasher-Sink Combination" or "Combination Dishwasher-Sink". Apex used "Dish-a-Matic Sink". KitchenAid uses the terms "Dishwasher-Sink Combination" or "Dishwasher installed in a cabinet-sink combination".

The switch you are showing, is definitely the control for the Garbage Disposal.

Good luck with the rest of the restoration.

Mike