Vintage Thermadorian Dishwasher - Wenham, MA

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turquoisedude

turquoisedude

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Surely a contender for a 'best-written craigslist ad' award. No price, no indication of cosmetic or working condition, no interior shots of the dishwasher!   Thermadorian is the most creative brand I've seen so far....

 

OK, rant aside, I've never seen a Thermador dishwasher quite like this.  The first thing that came to my weak mind is "Maytag Clone".  JennAir offered a dishwasher like this, but I wasn't sure if Thermador did or not so I have to ask.  


turquoisedude-2018041711390101057_1.jpg
 
Ralph....HAHAHAH!

Brilliant retort. I'm surprised you didn't go into a tirade about what some of these Thermadors are actually like to use/live with. LOVE the looks of them but GAWD are they loud and kinda crappy (my experience, only).
 
How bad can something this gorgeous it be?

These were rebadged Waste Kings made for the rich-bitch Thermador customers. Thermador, IMO, made some of the best built-in cooking appliances this country ever saw. I don't know how reliable they were but I will never forget Julia Child's fabulous 42-inch Thermador electric cooktop with 2-8", 4-6" and one (my favorite) 4" burner that I would have gotten so much use out of. They made an exceptional pyrolitic self-cleaning oven that was designed with an expanding flange that eliminated the need for a gasket. They used to feature rotisseries in their ovens but eliminated them by the late sixties, boo-hiss. They also made two beautiful 36" drop-in ranges that were style-setters of the time, fashioned in black glass and stainless steel. These dishwashers were made to coordinate with all these other appliances; St. Charles kitchens regularly featured these appliances. Maybe John LeFever can tell us whether they were mechanically sound or not.

 

I've used a TOL Waste King and I can't remember how noisy it was but it had a wicked effective Sani-Cycle where the machine stopped while the water heated to 180 F. I do remember John telling me that the walls and top of the tank were made of good Stainless Steel, but then they were lamely welded to a tank bottom made of cheaper material. Too bad.
 
A friend had this machine...

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I had a friend with this exact machine.  I am pretty sure it was a steam machine.  I know she hated it, and replaced it eventually but I don't remember why.  I do remember it was relatively noisy as she had it installed in an island that was part of a great room.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I don't remember the rack configuration of this machine.</span>
 
This is just a Wasteking DW, they are good looking, but in terms of reliability and performance they are about the same as a D&M DW.

 

TD built their own DWs in the 60s and into the early 70s these were pretty neat machines but were not sold in large numbers.

 

John L.
 
A friend had this machine...

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I had a friend with this exact machine.  I am pretty sure it was a steam machine.  I know she hated it, and replaced it eventually but I don't remember why.  I do remember it was relatively noisy as she had it installed in an island that was part of a great room.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I don't remember the rack configuration of this machine.</span>
 
I’ve heard all the horror stories but I’d still love to have some fun with the steam cycle, see how well it steams the crud right off the dishes! Too bad it’s in Thermadorian Massachusetts, the land of this Thermador...
 
The problem with the steam cycle, as both Nate (roto204) and I have experienced and that he documented in detail on one of his "machines of ill repute" threads, is that the steam cycle lasts so long that once it's done, the next fill ends up being mostly cold water due to the long period with no demand for hot water.  Unless you have a tankless heater or conventional one within a few feet of the machine, this is a bad system.
 
Ralph, the "situation" you describe is a common phenomenon today with long main wash cycles.  And my prewash is tepid due to distance of pipes running in my foundation and about a gallon or less draw and that's after I purge hot water line before I press start.  I see no degradation of cleaning.  So the "argument" doesn't hold water with me any more.  Mark Harmon totally loved the two of these he had in his kitchen and was very sad when they finally had to be sent to the happy hunting ground.  (And Mark is a tough cookie, he's as hard on dishwashers as I can be).  And these dishwashers have more than one steam phase.  Low and slow works well in many instances. 
 
Cold Fills

Bob, I agree that this is an issue with modern dishwashers as well.  I try to remember to run the hot water before the main wash cycle drains from my Miele, but have never timed that sequence to know when exactly to do it.  I'm not even sure it remains the same depending on the soil level.

 

At our new house the water heater is tankless, so this problem-that-might-not-even-be-a-problem will be solved.  I'm bringing the Miele because I've never had better results from anything else, and will try to find a home for the TOL Bosch that's in there now. 
 
We had a Thermadore Waste King from 1981 - 2002, which had the steam cycle. As I recall it was effective as my parents were content with its performance. My aunt had the Universal model from 1968 - 1997, with a console like the model shown here. I'm not sure how long her's actually lasted as she left it behind when she sold her house.

James
 
John, that's what I thought too, but today when I was at the new house the water warmed up quickly at kitchen and main bathroom faucets, which are both a good 20' away from the tankless unit.  

 

Maybe I'm just not used to brand new copper plumbing because it takes quite a while to get hot water at our current kitchen sink, which is less than 20' from our 40 gallon heater.
 
How Fast Hot Water Gets From The WH To A Faucet

Also greatly depends on the pipe size, a 3/4" pipe holds twice as much water as a 1/2" pipe, unfortunately many builders [ and in many cases it is code ] use 3/4" or worse yet 1" hot water pipes in homes which causes a lot of water and energy waste.

 

My main home has about 30 feet of 3/4" pipe from the WH to the furthest kitchen sink which causes us to run about a full gallon of water down the drain to get hot water. Our home in W Va. only has 1/2" pipe every where and it is amazing how fast you get hot water to the kitchen sink that is also at least 30 feet away from the WH.

 

John L.
 
I’ve always liked the idea of having a hot water circulation pump and a tankless water heater. Tankless for endless hot water and the pump for instant hot water.
 

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