What year was the Whirlpool Durawash Dishwasher model released in?

[maytaga806]

Hello,
I have a Whirlpool Durawash dishwasher. New kind of three level powerwash system. It still has the spray tower for the top arm, but still a newer model. What the heck year was the durawash made in?

 

[Chetlaham]

I would say around 1992 or 93. I remember they were one of the last manufacturers to offer a porcelain tub. They had just discontinued the vertical design and went to the horizontal design which was really nothing more than the whirpoolafied version of the GE design. I will admit though it performed well considering the resemblance.  

 

 

Here is one of the last vertical designs before the dura wash:

 

[Chetlaham]

Knob:

 

 

 

[maytaga806]

Yes, I have seen this dishwasher on Purplewave. Anyways, there is a new kind of updated duruawash kind. Its still a tower style, but updated.

This is what Im talking about, it has a new kind of look to the wash system. And I dont know what year this kind of wash system came out? 2004?

 

[maytaga806]

This is the old style three level wash system. What year was this ^ three level wash system updated?

 

[yogitunes]

Thats just a Whirlpool PowerWash Module....in the Kenmore lineup its an UltraWash.....I have two of them, one with the center tower, and one without...both great performers....

mine are 1988 and 1999 Kenmore models....both convertibles....

 

[Chetlaham]

That one is a Power clean module, or as stated above Ultra wash for the Kenmores. This is one of the best designs ever made for dishwashers ever. I know they had several versions of this, and I remember in the early 2000s they redesigned it to look like the first pic. But that's when I remember them coming onto the sears floor somewhere in 2004/2005, rather when they were introduced. If it helps I remember the fill went from 1.8 gals to 2.2, and one of the rinses was substituted for a purge on the timer models during the redesign but that's all I can think of.  

 

[washdaddy]

pic 1 & 2 are from the early to mid 80's. An apartment that I lived in many many moon ago had that particular dishwasher in it. It cleaned anything that you put into it whether it was poured on, baked on, fried on, or dried on.
All it took was to load that sucker up, fill the detergent cups, close it up and pull the knob.

Bingo- clean and shiny! For a BOL machine it was amazing!

 

[washdaddy]

pic 1 & 2 are from the early to mid 80's. An apartment that I lived in many many moon ago had that particular dishwasher in it. It cleaned anything that you put into it whether it was poured on, baked on, fried on, or dried on.
All it took was to load that sucker up, fill the detergent cups, close it up and pull the knob.

Bingo- clean and shiny! For a BOL machine it was amazing!

 

[washdaddy]

oops...sorry for the double post....go figure...modern cockamamie technology!

 

[llmaytag]

video

I'd love to see a video of one of these machines running. As I see it, the jet from the lower wash arm is directed into the cone, which in turn directs the jet into the upper wash arm. Am I correct that the jet from the lower wash arm isn't like tower that comes up to provide seal of some sort into the cone? Anyway, I'd like to see just how much, if any, water splashes back from 1) the entrance to the cone, and 2) from the cone to the upper wash arm. Of course then the ultimate is to see just how well the jets coming from the upper wash arm work.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The water inflatable bellows in the middle of the lower wash arm seals to the bottom of the tower. Neither turn. At the base of the upper wash arm is a self-centering cone to align with the jet coming from the tower to guarantee a full feed to the upper wash arm if it is off-center for any reason like something wedged against the tower pushing it to the side a little.

 

[appnut]

WP DuraWash

Daniel, here is a picture of what a DuraWash dishwasher looked like inside. Notice it is significantly different. There s a big fat water colum in the middle of the bottom rack (far fatter than the narrow column in the photo above that was for the PowrClean wash system) as well as there being a big fat column in the middle of the upper rack which allowed a "3rd" wash level off a dlclector on the top of the tub. Also notice the silverware basket, part of it has a loop which goes over the column in the bottom rack as an "anchor" and the basket is in the idle of the bottom rack much like a GE or Hotpoint dishwasher.

 

[llmaytag]

DuraWash

I was wondering what the bulbous thing was on the bottom of the PowerClean...and I suspected perhaps it as to create a seal on the bottom of the cone. I'd still love to see it in action.

Anyway, did the Durawash have the plastic lower wash arm with 10 jets? Five on each side, two of which on each side seem to provide direction and three going straight up. Except for the cone/tub on the top rack to provide the third wash level, this is exactly like the one that came with my townhome in 94 when it was new. Though there wasn't the tube on the top rack, at the top of the tub there was a deflector like nub directly above the tower. Anyway, it was a great dishwasher despite being loud. A piece of trim between the bottom of the door and the lower panel (short tub) was coming loose and I considered replacing it when it was about 12 years old, but a bit of super-blue took care of it. Then about four/five years ago I noticed that it sounded like the pump wasn't as "aggressive" sounding as usual so I started looking to replace it. I didn't know what the cause really was...until after I bought what I think was the last short-tub electronic Whirlpool. The interior of the new one is near identical except no cone, separate top wash arm, and silverware on the door. Same dispensers and all. After purchasing it, I was talking to a friend who is here on this board about the old dishwasher and after a few questions from him, we figured out that I was getting a lot of foam from glass measuring cups that I used for whey protein! He was right...I started pre-rinsing those a bit...and it worked as usual. Oh well, I've come to like the new one!

 

[combo52]

Whirlpool Dura Wash

Were introduced around 1990 and were always plastic tub machines, they were in production until very recently [ last year or so ]. The DW DW was less expensive to build and was only ever in the lower end of DW models WP built, WP was trying to compete with the cheap to build DWs that GE built and sold to builders.

The DW DW had a 1/6 HP horizontal motor somewhat like GE did, however WPs motor was a regular induction motor with start and run windings that used a motor starting relay. This motor not only used 1/2 the power of GEs motors but it reversed to drain which eliminated GEs troublesome, leaky and complicated drain valve setup.

The WP DW DWs worked pretty well and gave few problems, but they were not as good in overall performance as the Power-Clean DWs by any means. The biggest shortfall was the lack of a real wash arm for the upper rack so even though you could really pack it full things suffered in the corners of the upper rack just like GE and several other DW designs that just used a center tower design. [ no decent DW built anywhere in the world still tries to use a center tower to wash a full upper rack of dishes ] The DW DWs also did not have as good a filtering and disposer as the PC DWs had.

Leonard, your 14 yo DW DW probably was starting to suffer from a failing inlet valve, rinsing dishes is never the real or proper answer to DW problems.

 

[maytaga806]

Well. I saw a new one online, its called the Durawash, but it has the power clean wash system. And its a newer model. It still has the tower that goes to the top rack wash arm. I just dont know what year It was made in.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I went to Canyon Lake...

I went to Canyon Lake for spring break. The resort that I stayed at had a Whirlpool durawash dishwasher in it.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Pic # 2

looks like my gradma's WP dishwasher she bought in either 83, 84, or 85. I can't remember the exact year. I spoke to my dad and the dishwasher was replaced LAST year! That thing lasted over 30 years and to my knowledge was never repaired all those years.