What goes on inside the KDS-15?

[chachp]

Well it's been a labor of love but she's ready to go.  We all have our dream machines and this one is mine.  It only took a few things:

<ol>
<li>New Timer</li>
<li>New Fill Valve</li>
<li>New Wash Arm Support</li>
<li>New Wash Impeller</li>
<li>New Rinse Agent Dispenser</li>
<li>New Soap Dispenser Solenoid</li>
<li>New Door Gasket</li>
<li>New Blower Motor</li>
<li>New Racks</li>
</ol>
After spending more than I had planned along with the help of many great folks on this site and Craigslist she's good to go.  I have been thinking about putting her in as my Daily Driver but this model is just a hair taller than the newer ones and I think I would have to cut my tile overhang and I'm not sure yet that I want to do that.  I am looking at my options.

 

Here is a photo ready to go and a short video of a Rinse and Hold Cycle.

 

 

[toploader55]

Extra Credit !!!

Nicely Done.

Great Video too.

Happy HydroSweeping for many more years.

 

[mitch]

Looks great!

A labor of love!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you for the video. I sometimes used to hold in the door switch to watch our 15 fill and enjoy the "dancing waters", but only for a few seconds. It is amazing how fast it drains when the valve opens.

 

[yogitunes]

that is just too cool.......

 

[danemodsandy]

Congratulations!

This is exactly the 15-Series machine I like the best. I have a KDS-55 (the convertible/portable version of the 15), and it's wonderful, but that stainless and that pink panel you have are really, really beautiful.

 

[rockland1]

KDS15

Watching that video shows you why these machines worked so good. I wish Hobart would have stayed in residential machines.

 

[toploader55]

"I wish Hobart stayed..."

"in residential machines." Yes, How true.

But I wonder how many whiney complaints they would have because their machines make too much noise ?

We love our machines because they work and do the job in under an hour.

But like most things in life, it's a choice and preference.

Upstairs their is a Miele in residence. You can barely, almost cannot hear that machine until it drains into the waste Tee of the sink. But 2+ hours ??? I'd like to see my clean dishes before my next birthday.

 

[gansky1]

That's a great video!  Hurricane in a box.

 

How low is your counter overhang?  If you roll the feet all the way up onto the base frame of the machine, can you slide it in under the counter and then raise the feet to proper height and level it while it's in place?   The addition of a small strip of wood at the front on top of the dishwasher frame might get you enough clearance to keep the door away from the tile and still not be visible.  Hope it works out for you, these are great machines.

 

[chachp]

Clearance..

My overhang is a little shy of 34 inches.  My 20 and 21 fit fine but the 15 needs a little over 34 inches with the feet turned up all the way.  I may just see if I can carefully slide it back without the feet at all because I think that will give me the clearance.  If I get ambitious enough I'll pull out the 20 and see what I can do.  I was able to get my 17 in and out and I think that might be the same height I have to measure.  It's covered up in the garage at the moment.

 

I'm not in a huge hurry because I love the 20.  I could install this one in my utility room next to the kitchen and get use out of it that way or I could roll it up to the sink and use it.  I have been planning in the next year or so to do new counters and back splash.  This may entice me to move that up on the list.  AND if I do all that i will likely rip out a cabinet and make a place for a second dishwasher in the kitchen.  I have been talking about doing that for years.  I guess maybe I need to just put some money where my mouth is.

 

[norgeway]

I had one like this..

But I never could get it straightened out, when working correctly, nothing will touch it, and especially nothing made in the last 30 years!..I have seen pyrex dishes with burned on baked beans placed in one of these, no rinsing or anything, and in 45 minutes out it came spotless!!The top rack is difficult to load, I had a KDS 17, years ago that was easier because of the rack configuration, but for plain old washing, its just like a Norge washer, I will put it up against anything ever made!

 

[chachp]

What was the problem with yours?

I put a baking dish in the other night that I had baked chicken in. It was spotless. I was impressed.

I agree on the top rack. Those curly q tines seem odd to me. That would take some getting used to.

 

[norgeway]

The timer went out

During fill and flooded the kitchenLOL

 

[chachp]

Mine did too.

I bought a new one from the guy on eBay who says he has hundred of timers for Vintage appliances.  He had one for the 15.  I don't know if he has others or not.  I pasted a link to the auction.  They are all $45.   I was a little leery at first but thought I'd give it a shot.  He was real nice.  When I looked at the auction I saw the number (83810) of the timer and asked him to confirm that it was the right one.  He said he didn't have a cross reference to say for sure but he was pretty sure.

 

I asked if he would send photos of what he had so I could see the terminals on each side.  He did.  He sent them to my phone.  I confirmed it looked like the right one.  He sent it right out.  It didn't include the Rapid Advance Motor but that was an easy switch from the old one to the new one.

 

When mine flooded I was concerned that the fill protection didn't kick in and stop the fill but I'm not sure exactly how that thing works.  I am also not sure how to test if mine is working or not now that the timer issue is resolved.  Maybe I just need to throw in some water, start the machine and see if it stops filling before it floods.  Does anyone know of any other way to test?  I have a replacement switch for the fill protection device but I'm told it can be tricky to change out if the new one isn't installed exactly as the old one was. 

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[stevet]

Overflow switch check out

Ralph, we spoke about this on the phone a while ago and I thought I would repeat it here for those that have 15 series machines.
The overflow switch uses an air trap and a specifically sized tube that goes from the sump to the air trap.. It connects to the sump thru a small tube that is welded to the tank. The hose will often become brittle so if you decide to touch it, be prepared for it to break. When and if it is replaced, you must have the same length of tubing so it works properly. You can replace the rubber hose with a vinyl hoseif need be.

It is more common that the small hole in the sump(on the left side) gets clogged up with debris and lime scale. Eddie on the Cape had it happen a few months back to his machine.

You can clean it out with either a small pipe cleaner or a q-tip stick. Just don't go wild on it as you can either puncture that rubber hose or worse, break the small metal tube off of the tank. But that will usually fix the problem. If you can see schmutz in the air trap, you will need to remove the whole thing and clean it out as well and then replace it and the hoses as specified above.
The parts manual may specify the length of the hose so I suggest you check there as well.
Hope this helps

 

[firedome]

"This is exactly the 15-Series machine I like the best&#

and exactly the one that my parents bought in Baltimore in Septmeber 1965, right down to the Stainless Steel panels, the 1st d/w we ever had, and the one ignited my love for classic Kitchen Aid dishwashers to this very day.

 

[chachp]

Thank you Steve.

I do remember talking about this but I guess I didn't get it. This explanation is good and I will give it a shot.

 

[stevet]

The start of my Love of Dishwashers!

Roger,
A KDS-15 was our first dishwasher bought new in 1967 in Edged Coppertone. It had the wood grained, not pink Control panel. We had to learn to load it properly but once done it cleaned very well. Our only problem was the terribly hard water we had in Ozone Park, NY at the time. There was measurable lime buildup on the racks and glasses looked like they were dipped in milk when they came out of the machine. Using the Sani-Cycle exacerbated the liming of the machine and dishware.

Eventually the City of NY took over the water company and shut them down and pumped rain soft "city water" through the system and within a few weeks, all the lime scale dissolved and the glasses sparkled and the original Tri-Dura Porcelain shined like new as well.