Turquoise GE SU-70 dishwasher

[spacepig]

A few months ago, I asked for assistance in Super section in determining the year of a dishwasher I was planning to get, and it was mentioned that I should have posted here in IMperial. I *finally* was able to go get it this past weekend.

It isn't in the best shape as the front has a ding a few rust spots. There's a grey area one of the plastic racks that looks like it's been burned or something. The gasket is completely dry rotted, and we had to remove most of the insulation as it looked like a critter had made himself a cozy home out of it. No wiring appears to be chewed through. It also doesn't open and close at the lever in the front. It has to be grabbed from the back and wiggled a bit before it will open.

I went a little overkill with all the pictures...

 

[toploader55]

WOW !!!

Great pics of a very rare machine.

 

[turquoisedude]

Jeannine, I have a bunch of parts from a 1959 model (latch mechanism, racks, etc...) if you ever need them.  I also have some service information (not all model-specific, but I do have a wiring diagram). 

 

I am turquoise green with envy - the SU70 is a dream machine of mine and finding one would really, really tick off my fellow GE competitor, er I mean, collector in Connecticut.... LOL 

 

Keep us updated on this!!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of your great find.

 

[bajaespuma]

A little overboard with the pictures??

No such thing; thank you for all the images especially the shots of the inside of the tub which looks to be in decent condition. Congratulations on a great find: a glorious TOL 1960 dishwasher!

 

A couple of things:

 

Be careful of the insulation on the inside of the cabinet, it might be asbestos. Wear a mask until you or some expert can determine whether it is or not.

 

That lower rack looks to have had a portion toasted by the ridiculous heat from that Calrod. If you want to avoid that in the future use the CHINA or POTS & PANS cycle which will deactivate it during most or all of the dry period. Also, I don't exactly know how the PLATE WARM feature works, whether one turns it on and off manually or whether pushing the button activates a timed cycle that switches itself off automatically, but I'd bet this feature did most of the damage. Activating that red-hot Calrod in a dry tank with dry dishes would act like a broiler element on an electric stove.

 

As for myself (and someone we all know and love North of the Green Mountains):

 

[spacepig]

Thank you everyone for commenting and I'm curious to see if this thing runs. The person I bought it from never used it, and neither did the person before. That's about all I know of its history. I think first order of business will be to replace that gasket and figure out the latch so we can open and close it from the front. Maybe having it stabilized in a cabinet will make a difference. Also, does anyone know if there's a way to remove the hardware cloth looking thing at the bottom? I'd love to try and see if I can get the rust stains off.

Paul--thanks for the offer on the extra parts. I'll definitely be in touch!