Some additional history
The dishwasher above was the 3rd design of WasteKing machines. Growing up we had the previous design machine with the same cycles, but a single wash arm with needle holes. The bottom rack had four quadrants for loading (e.g. Large plates going left to right & front to back leaving an opening in the center. Smaller bowls & plates were loaded on the diagonal from the corners to the center. The upper rack was similar to the early KitchenAid's, with two simple dividers creating rows for the glassware (no tines).
Ours and the model above suffered from the same fate: the pumps on both models are made out of aluminum. These pumps wore out around the edge near the gasket, or most often in the bearing area. Bearings were replaceable, but expensive, and eventually WasteKing only offered a complete motor & pump assembly as a repair option (quite expensive with labor).
Part of the reason for their demise was also due to the design of the pump & motor. The pump housing formed the top of the motor. They were not seperate pieces. As the seals & bearings wore out, they resulting water leaks destroyed the motor.
Finally, these models had a plastisol tank. They suffered the same fate as the old GE models (the harder the mineral content of the water, the worse the eventual failure).
Although the stainless tanks were an improvement on durability, the pumps continued to be made out of aluminum. In the late 60's the pump was redesigned & was made of high impact plastic. The motor became a seperate component & their reliability increased.
A previous posting commented on the lack of filter in these later models. Because of this these machines redeposited alot of food soil back on dishes, thus resulting in thier fairly low ratings by Consumer Reports.
They are classic machines, with a truly unique design. Just not very reliable.
