Westinghouse SUG4A

[bigalsf]

Hi everyone, it's been a little while since I posted. Last week I received a new "toy"! A Westinghouse Dishwasher from about 1966/67. This is one of my bucket list models! I can't be sure of the year because I can't find a serial-number decoder for these older models. It's in incredibly good condition for its age, and it works fine. It has a leak at the drain valve body in the gasket area. It's very powerful, and two of the cycles are preprogrammed for water heating in the main wash & final rinse. It's also very loud! While there was an insulation blanket surrounding the tub, there is nothing for the motor compartment. I can just imagine what these sounded like in a kitchen! Definitely no talking on the phone while this was running!

I have a service manual for this (thanks to the Ephemera library), but am looking for a parts list. Documentation for these models is seriously hard to find, if not impossible. Would anyone happen to have a parts list & any other literature for these models? I would greatly appreciate a copy.

Enjoy the pics! I'll post more info as I get into the machine.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Hi everyone, it's been a little while since I posted. Last week I received a new "toy"! A Westinghouse Dishwasher from about 1966/67. This is one of my bucket list models! I can't be sure of the year because I can't find a serial-number decoder for these older models. It's in incredibly good condition for its age, and it works fine. It has a leak at the drain valve body in the gasket area. It's very powerful, and two of the cycles are preprogrammed for water heating in the main wash & final rinse. It's also very loud! While there was an insulation blanket surrounding the tub, there is nothing for the motor compartment. I can just imagine what these sounded like in a kitchen! Definitely no talking on the phone while this was running!

I have a service manual for this (thanks to the Ephemera library), but am looking for a parts list. Documentation for these models is seriously hard to find, if not impossible. Would anyone happen to have a parts list & any other literature for these models? I would greatly appreciate a copy.

Enjoy the pics! I'll post more info as I get into the machine.

Congratulations on finding one of your bucket list machines.

 

[peteski50]

This is a great find
Best of Luck with it

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Hi everyone, it's been a little while since I posted. Last week I received a new "toy"! A Westinghouse Dishwasher from about 1966/67. This is one of my bucket list models! I can't be sure of the year because I can't find a serial-number decoder for these older models. It's in incredibly good condition for its age, and it works fine. It has a leak at the drain valve body in the gasket area. It's very powerful, and two of the cycles are preprogrammed for water heating in the main wash & final rinse. It's also very loud! While there was an insulation blanket surrounding the tub, there is nothing for the motor compartment. I can just imagine what these sounded like in a kitchen! Definitely no talking on the phone while this was running!

I have a service manual for this (thanks to the Ephemera library), but am looking for a parts list. Documentation for these models is seriously hard to find, if not impossible. Would anyone happen to have a parts list & any other literature for these models? I would greatly appreciate a copy.

Enjoy the pics! I'll post more info as I get into the machine.

I wish there were youtube videos on these.

 

[appnut]

I lived in 2 different apartments in school 1975-1976 with a version that had Normal and Rinse & Hold Buttons. Had a huge capacity and cleaned pretty well.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I think it was the 1965 CU DW testing that rated a WH highly.

 

[combo52]

Westinghouse‘s first wash arm dishwashers

Hi Alan, I’m so glad you got this machine. This has always been a favorite machine of mine.

I had a lot of experience with these machines, both using them, and of course repairing them.

This machine was in the top group. I think it was check rated and consumer reports in the fall of 65 or 1966 along with a whirlpool model and a KDI 15 they all rated as great performing dishwashers.

Our family was buying their first dishwasher in the fall of 1966 and my older brother who looked at consumer reports and my mother wanted to get the KitchenAid. My father and I decided to save $100 and get a Kenmore by D&M while the D&M worked OK it was a huge mistake not to get the KitchenAid or maybe even the whirlpool.

But back to the Westinghouse dishwasher, this was the first wash arm dishwasher that Westinghouse came up with. They definitely borrowed aspects from KitchenAid dishwashers, like KitchenAid it had a drain valve and a motor that did not stop in reverse. It basically had a single powerful lower wash arm with a wash tube in the center that distributed water into the upper rack so it helped clean items in the upper rack witch of course was weak in the corners just like other wash tube dishwashers, but the fact that the machine had a powerful half horsepower motor and a nice filter and the heater ran the whole time as It was washing and rinsing, It did an outstanding job for what it was.

The one I used most often was a basic 1969 model at a beach house down Bethany Beach Delaware the house had a water softener system so between the water softener and a good strong supply of hot water. This thing really worked. It was Noisy and It lasted into the mid 80s when I replaced it with a basic whirlpool non-power clean dishwasher.

The bad thing about these Westinghouse dishwashers was the durability was terrible. You name it and it went wrong.

A good friend of our families in Worcester, Ohio bought this Westinghouse dishwasher based on the good rating and consumer reports and the fact that she liked the local Westinghouse dealer. The dishwasher only lasted four years but she saved $30 by buying another Westinghouse dishwasher and using the same front panels on it because front panels were optional in those days and then when it failed in about another four years, she bought a third Westinghouse dishwasher. She had three Westinghouse dishwashers with the same front panels.

I replaced the third Westinghouse dishwasher in the late 70s with a whirlpool that lasted until she was almost 100, she would always tell me she couldn’t believe she had never had any trouble with the whirlpool dishwasher by comparison.

John L