Maytag
I have always had KitchenAids with the upper wash arm and I, too, thought that was needed but quite a while ago, we found an almost unused Maytag convertible portable where the plates go in the bottom gray rack and other stuff goes in the gray top rack. There is a gray wash arm under the lower rack, a gray pop-up tower and a gray wash arm above the top rack. I have tested this machine with a one gallon plastic pitcher in the front left side of the lower rack and a straight-sided 16 oz., soiled with stuck on food, Tupperware container in the rack above it, tilted toward the middle like the instructions say for loading the top rack. The lower rack was largely blocking water to the top rack with 3 more gallon containers and about 5 of the quart size Rubbermaid sports bottles and a pan. I ran the normal cycle, wash, rinse, wash, rinse, rinse & dry. Detergent in both cups, rinse fluid dispenser filled, the temperature sensor for the wash was on and heated dry selected. Everything came out clean and there was no heating delay because the heating element was on during the wash and had heated the water enough to satisfy the sensor at 140 degrees when the sensor took the water's temperature a couple of timer increments from the end of the 2nd wash. Even most of the plastic was dry and not damaged by that big old heating element under the lower rack with the fan blowing. So I have to admit that at least my Maytag's tower does a credible job of washing stuff in the top rack when water from the lower wash arm is blocked from reaching the top rack and things are loaded so that they face the center. The excellent Maytag fine filter prevents redisposition of food soil. The little tiny holes in the wash arms do not throw plastic objects around in the tank. This is my third dishwasher in the kitchen. I don't think it holds as much as the 18s, but I almost have it worked out so that I can take something clean from one machine, use it and plop it in one of the other dishwashers holding dirty dishes and not have to put much away in the cupboards and drawers.
