This K/A crawled out of The Pile and came looking for me... HONEST!

[redcarpetdrew]

Many of my long standing customers know of my habit... errr, HOBBY... and several have promised me their machines when it came time to replace them. This one showed up in the haulaway pile with my name on it. The customer felt that I would rescue it if not at least part it out and help other machines live on. Well, I chose rescue.

Meet the Kitchenaid KDS-18 in all her glory.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Console closeup LHS...

 

[redcarpetdrew]

and the right side as well... The condition of the console and paint is excellent.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations! I am very happy for you. What a wonderful find.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

The money shot... The interior is in decent shape considering this little one spent it's whole life doing 1-2 loads a DAY as the customer had a very large family. I was told that in it's lifetime, there was not one service call! There is one small chip in the inner door and a slight amount of stainage that her new (and VERY eager) owner can take care of.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Where the action takes place... This washes well. Kinda quiet for a KitchenAid with a few hundred thousand miles on her.

 

[appnut]

Wow, why did they get rid of it?

 

[redcarpetdrew]

The Hurricane In A Box...

Someone here on AW dropped that description on me in a past thread about a stunning KDS in black that went to the eager adoptive home that this one is going to. I thought it was so right on the money.

Now, right about now, a few of you are remembering that I have a new camera that works underwater and that I had threatened to use it in a dishwasher some day... Well... Hee Hee Hee...

Let me prove to you that the 'Hurricane In A Box' title is well earned. Dirty dishes, baked on cookware and people who hate hurricanes should look away now...

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value=""></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[redcarpetdrew]

This one came to me as many do. Not much wrong with it. The issue this one had was that after any cycle was complete, the timer would not reset for another cycle when the door was opened. All that was needed was to adjust a metal arm that pushes on a plastic actuator that resets the program switch bank and tells the timer to advance to reset position. That's all. This one was destined for appliance oblivion for that. Wow...

The racks DO have a little cancer starting but are quite usable as is. This won't be a problem as the new owner has extra racks I gave him, don't you Dan?

I'll let him share his story of growing up with an 18 and his delemma about what to do with two beautiful K/A's. Which to use or just go for it and install this 18 as well and have two! Problems, problems, problems!

RCD

 

[a440]

Awesome find Drew!
Awesome Video!
What part of the cycle were you recording on?
Nice camera.
You will love this dishwasher in your kitchen if you don't already have one.
I have two in my kitchen and would not have it any other way.
Brent

 

[lebron]

Wow this beast is in amazing shape. The console is simply immaculate.

 

[spiceman1957]

Good Show

I pity any dirty plate or casserole dish to have to go through this and end up in a watery grave lol
John

 

[70series]

My grandmother had this model in Stainless Steel as a Christmas present from my uncle in 1976. It was my favorite model along with the 17 series counterpart. Thanks for the inside video. Awesome stuff.

Have a good one,
James

 

[spankomatic]

I'm just drooling.... My dream machine!

 

[rp2813]

What an awesome score! And such a simple fix! Yay for Drew and Dan!

Except, now I know I'll never be able to pawn the KDS-20 off to Dan.

Then again, the way things are going with the Thermador, I may need to fix the drain issue and have that Superba 20 evict the Thermador.

I'd go after an 18 series if I didn't have the noise issue in this house. I could wring my sister's neck for bailing on her KDS-18 that had nothing wrong with it, just her bad water supply and lack of use made her think it was toast.

 

[toploader55]

Simply The Best

Hi Drew.

There is no question in my mind that The KDS 18 was KitchenAids Top Performer and the Best Machine they ever Built and Designed. To me they also have a timeless fashon like A Navy Blue Blazer ,Button down Collar Shirt and Khakkis.

Hobart just hit everything right on that Model.

Great Find, Good Luck with that one Dan, And Nice to see you posting your incredible finds Drew. Eddie

 

[mickeyd]

"people who hate hurricanes should look away now (chuckl

The lateral close-up should be reproduced and framed, #8. What a stunner, with all her glory in full view.

You're a lucky man, Dan.

Drew how 'bout another pic of that friendly, pleasant face you've been hiding which we only glimpsed in your last masterpiece.

Absolutely amazing what your new camera will endure. Jacques Cousteau would have loved it. "The Inside Washer World of Red Carpet Drew."

 

[rll70sman]

Beautiful!

I want one to replace the 2002 Whirlpool when it dies!

 

[jetcone]

beautiful machine

and boy that is a Hurricane!

 

[qsd-dan]

This won't be a problem as the new owner has extra racks I gave him, don't you Dan?

Yes, indeed!

Actually, the original "minty" racks immediately came out of the KDS-19 and the "seasoned" racks went in. The original racks are far too nice to use for daily driving.

Since I'm a big proponent of preventative maintenance, I'll be installing a new Hobart seal and impeller kit in the 18 since I have one kicking around here....somewhere. Hell, I may even install that NOS Hydrosweep arm I got a while ago!

Can't wait to mount this thing.....in more ways than one, lol

 

[redcarpetdrew]

"The Inside Washer World of Red Carpet Drew."

I love it! Almost as good as the "Jacques Cousteau Of The Washer World"... That little camera is just a kick to play around with. It opens up so many possibilities when shooting my finds. Sooner or later, I'll have to tackle filming a Thumper.

Brent, that camera is a Olympus Stylus 1050SW. 10.1 Mp, shockproof to 5ft and waterproof to 10ft. It's not bad but I'm still tweeking the settings for better video. The only drawback is that I'm stuck with the xD memory card setup and the biggest I can find is only 2gb as this is not the most popular of card formats.

Dan, Dan, Dan... What am I going to do with you?!?!?

RCD

 

[beekeyknee]

Front Panels

RDC,
Are the colored panels on the KDS-18 interchangeable like they are on the 19 and 20? They look fixed on the 18. Thanks.
Brian

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Brian, the color panels on this one are not interchangable. White is white unless you want to buy the new front panel and a whole new kickpanel.

RCD

 

[stevet]

Choice of colors!

The panel packs that we are used to seeing were a later addition to the product line and most of the machines Kitrchenaid had came with a single color when ordered and they were the wrap around type. If you wanted a custom panel, you had to order the trim kit which repalced the original wrap around ones.
The Vari Front panels had the reversible panels in white, black, almond and harvest gold and included the same for the bottom panel.If you wanted a custom panel or color, you could usually remove the metal ones and insert the properly sized custom one right in.

I have a bunch of them available if you want to change the look of the classic above. I always thought that the chrome trim along the edges of the panels complimented the smart styling of all the control panels they used.

 

[combo52]

KA DW PANELS

KA DW did not come with any front panels at all before they went to the Vari Front panel system. The machine came out of the box with no panels at all, The 18s and later did come with temporary cardboard panel because they would not meet ULs standards without some thing to cover the electrical parts of the machine.