Thinking of getting a GE dishwasher

[imperial70]

Hi,
Just wondering...
My Kenmore UltraWash dishwasher is about 15 years old. Runs great. Has the Whirlpool power clean module. But the racks on it are rotting. Sigh. Paid a lot for it to.

The new whirlpools have filters that have to be cleaned by the user. I'm not interested in doing that. I am not interested in finding my kitchen in flames either.

So I think I've found something. It's a GE GSD2100. It has the Pirahna food disposer. It is mechanical timer.

Any thoughts on this model?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Why don't you see about getting some second-hand racks for the Ultra Wash?

 

[volvoguy87]

WP Racks.

WP dishwasher parts are EXPENSIVE!!!! GE DW parts are a much better deal

I work for an appliance parts company. Post your model number and I can look up some racks on Tuesday or Wednesday and quote you dealer pricing. Yes, my store ships.

Dave

 

[bwoods]

GE 2100 is a good machine

Hey Paul,

Like most on this site, I am all for repairing and retaining a vintage appliance.

However, if you do decide to go with the 2100 is is a great machine for the price. The GE tower wash is tried and true and will give a good scrubbing to your daily dishes, as well as heavily soiled pots and pans.

Two additions on this newer machine make a good thing even better.

The "Hot Start Option"- ensures that incoming water, that might be cool from long lines from the water heater, gets heated up before the pre-rinses.

The "Fine-Filter" is an improvement over the old passive filtration system in that 100 percent of the water is now actively passed through the filter. The hard food waster disposer will grind up most anything that will pass through the sump grate (however, the slits are narrower than the ones in your Kenmore/Whirlpool, so it won't dispose of very large pieces of food such as a big lasagna noodle, etc.).

It filter out these ground up food particles, holding them in an area of the sump, and clearing them when the dishwasher drains.

You will be very pleased with the 2100, much more so than with GE's Tall Tub machines. It's one of the few new machines than can still scrub dried on oatmeal off of bowls in the upper rack. I have had two GE Tall Tubs, and they were quite inconsistent in their ability to do this.

Keep in mind, this is a lower line dishwasher, so GE did not go overboard with sound dampening, and it is quite audible when it runs. Personally, I like the comforting sound of the GE tower wash, but some people think a dishwasher should be near silent. To each their own.

 

[arbilab]

Mechanical timer is a reliability plus. You probably knew that.

 

[retro-man]

What I have found when buying a new dishwasher, I have purchased 3 recently, is to order the model with the nylon racks. You pay a little more but these type of racks compared to the normal racks that come standard is incredible. The durability and their longevity far outweigh the addition price. Pretty much all manufacturers offer them but most consumers don't know about this option.
Jon

 

[imperial70]

Hi Everyone, thanks for the assistance!

TomTurbomatic, I have thought about getting second hand racks. I tried about a year ago and didn't see anything. I'm not much of a fan of buying something like that online. I'm afraid I'll end up with what I have.

Volvo Guy, Exactly! the cost of replacing the Kenmore racks was about the price of a new dishwasher. Here is the information: Model Number 665.16765691 Serial Number FG0960128. I certail appreciate you taking the time to do this. Thanks!

bwoods, Thanks for the review. I was hoping that someone would have something good to say about the machine. If I don't get the replacement racks, I know what I'm going to purchase

arbilab, I concur. Especially since the circuit board/fire hazard issue is out of the equation. ;-)

retro-man, Yes, nylon racks are my first choice two. Makes sense that they hold up better.

 

[combo52]

Kenmore Ultra-Wash DW

If you use your DW fairly hard [ really dirty loads ] you will likely be VERY disappointed with the new GE DW you listed. We sold a few of these when WP stopped making the KM UW DWs a year a go. We were very disappointed with how cheaply the GEs were built, how much less capacty they have and the inability of the GE to handle food waste doesn't come close to what your current DW does. Further you can not place large bowls, pots and pans etc in the lower rack and still get glasses clean in the corners of the upper rack like your current DW allows.

 

If you buy the new GE diffidently keep your old KM DW as you will likely want it back fairly soon. It is not that hard to find a lightly used machine to get two good racks from and even if you have to buy two new racks at full price it is still cheaper and less trouble than buying and installing the new GE DW.

 

[bwoods]

Here we go again. I had a model one higher than the 2100. The difference was it had few buttons on the left. I think it was a 3100 or 3200, I gave it to my sister and brother-in-law after I performance tested it, and they love it. They replaced a mid line Whirlpool pwer clean with it, which worked fine, until it developed a sever leak.

It is virtually the same mechanaically,as the 2100, and has the hot start option and the fine filter. It washes virtually flawlessly, including all four corners of the upper rack, even with pots-pans blocking the lower spray. The lower spray arm in GE tower washes is not designed to wash the upper rack anyway.

It's litte noiser than the Whilpool they had, but my sister says the dishes come out shinier that with the Whirlpool, and I found the same to be true also.

As far as getting rid of large amounts of good sized chunks of garbage, nothing beats Whirlpool PowerClean module, at least that I have found.

GE has gone the way of virtually all DW manufacturers, and gone with anemic motors to meet out governments energy requirements. GE now uses a little, made in China, PSC motor. With that being said, I think it is the best motor of what is now out there.

Trust me you will like the GE, and because of the fine filtration and good rinsing, you will have very shiny meticulously clean dishes!

But that's not to say you shouldn't fix up your Kenmore in favor of the GE, as in general, I think almost all dishwashers were made better back then, and never say die to a vintage appliance!!

 

[gmmcnair]

GE Tower Wash Owner Here

I own the BOL GE portable that I bought in 2011. So far, dishes are flawless with properly scraped dishes and a good detergent (Finish Powerball All in One or Method Smarty Dish). It is noisy, granted, but it does a good job cleaning and hasn't had any issues in the year I have owned it.

GE Appliances: Shop for Home, Kitchen, & Laundry Appliances

GE Appliances is your home for the best kitchen appliances, home products, parts and accessories, and support.

products.geappliances.com

 

[firedome]

We have a 2010 GE BOL

model GSD2350ROOCS, mechanical timer, only 2 cycles and heated dry on/off. Very satisfied with this machine's cleaning performance overall. The only thing I don't like is that the top rack doesn't go all the way in smoothly, when empty it seems to "catch" a bit when about 3/4 of the way in, something I've noted on a lot of newer appliance, including stove storage drawers.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Amen on the oven storage drawer! My WP oven does the same thing. Just doesn't go in smoothly at all and will tilt to one side if you don't close it just right.

Regarding these BOL GE dishwashers - Am I correct that they are NOT energystar? And since they are NOT tall tub, are the motors bigger than the tall tub versions?

 

[DirectDriveDave]

In my own personal opinion, if you don't have any delicate dishes, like china, or something like that, I don't really see the need to go above a BOL dishwasher *shrugs* I'm just not sure of the overall benefits.

Though, I do have a question, our Potscrubber that we used to have (pic linked below for reference) did have a "light wash" but it was build into the timer and you had to manually turn the dial there for it, would that be the same for certain china and/or crystal?

500 internal error

 

[spankomatic]

I have a Kenmore Ultra Wash portable dishwasher and very happy with it. I'm not a big fan of any dishwasher with a wash "tower". In one apartment I had it would never pop up.  Loading around it is a pain! Sometimes I like to put a big greasy roaster pan right in the middle of the bottom rack. Can't if the dishwasher has a tower....

 

[supersuds]

For what it's worth, the latest Consumer Reports (July issue) has DW rankings.

The 2100 isnt specifically listed; however, the GE GLD2800V is 57th out of 72 models tested, BUT it still is rated as having "very good" washing and energy use. Noise is "fair" and cycle time is 100 minutes. And the price is only $300.

The top rated machine is a $700 Bosch Ascenta which takes only 95 minutes to complete a cycle.

 

[imperial70]

Spankomatic... you're lucky

My UltraWash has the tower based upper rack feed, not the direct feed.
But that's a good point. I gotta make sure that if anyone replies with racks that I check for that. I hope the model number is enough to differentiate for that.

 

[spankomatic]

I had one of those too...

Had to load around it on the top rack... The bottom rack did wheelies. It did wash pretty good.

 

[spankomatic]

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[spankomatic]

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